At Dominican University of California, in the midst of the
bustling San Francisco Bay Area, graceful old buildings and shady
tree-lined paths are the setting for serious learning and lively
debate. Here, you'll find a diverse group of students from around
the world who will become classmates, project partners,
roommates, and friends. You'll find a wealth of resources and
support services to help you determine a major or find a career.
What you won't find at Dominican are large lecture classes --
there aren't any. The average class size is 13. Our faculty are
here because they are dedicated to teaching you. The
administration and faculty are available to guide, support, and
advise you -- academically, spiritually, socially and
emotionally. You won't slip through the system. You will be
challenged to understand the world and cultures around you; you
will be able to analyze, create, contemplate, reason, persuade,
compare, adjust, think, collaborate and solve.
Dominican is a private university of Catholic heritage with a
strong commitment to nursing excellence and relationship-centered
education. Our graduate nursing curriculum offers registered
nurses the opportunity to prepare themselves as leaders and
innovators in today's changing health care system by addressing
three major demographic trends. These are: the needs of an aging
population, the urgent need for nurse educators, and the
integration of complementary and alternative therapies into
mainstream health care.
The Dominican nursing program follows guidelines defined by the
California Board of Registered Nursing for Clinical Nurse
Specialist status and is accredited by the Commission on
Collegiate Nursing Education (CCNE).
Master of Science in Nursing - Geriatric (Clinical Nurse
Specialist) & Nurse Educator
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No other program in the San Francisco Bay Area combines the two
specialties of educator and geriatric clinical nurse specialist.
This unique combination offers a broad spectrum of career
opportunities to our graduates. Dominican's program offers the
advanced practice skills and theoretical foundations to provide
health care and health guidance for the geriatric client.
Graduates will fill two critical roles in health care, that of
the nursing instructor/nursing faculty and the nurse who
specializes in care of the fastest growing U.S. cohort: the
elderly. Courses blend theory and practice in geriatric nursing
and nurse education and incorporate knowledge and skills in both
clinical and academic environments.
An acute shortage of nurses trained to care for the rapidly aging
population and a diminished supply of nursing faculty able to
train these professionals has led to a huge demand for both
geriatric clinical nurse specialists and nurse educators. The
geriatric focus of this program will qualify graduates for a
California Board of Registered Nursing approved Clinical Nurse
Specialist designation in Geriatric Nursing Practice. The nurse
educator focus of the program will qualify graduates to teach in
undergraduate or graduate programs of nursing and be education
specialists for both hospitals and community health agencies.
Master of Science in Nursing - Integrated Health Practices
(Clinical Nurse Specialist)
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The Master of Science in Nursing in Integrated Health Practices
(Clinical Nurse Specialist) provides students with a solid base
in advanced traditional, Western nursing practice and affords
them a sound foundation for understanding holistic, complementary
and alternative approaches to health care.
The program is designed to address the community's increased use
of non-medical forms of health care and healing practices.
Special attention is placed on cultural diversity and providing
care and guidance for underserved populations and the chronically
ill, disabled and elderly. Courses focus on advanced nursing
practice and on alternative health practices, systems and
beliefs.
Graduates of the program become Clinical Nurse Specialists (CNS)
in Integrated Health Practices and are qualified for the
California Board of Registered Nursing certification and eligible
to sit for American Holistic Nurses certification. The curriculum
prepares nurses for advance practice as expert clinicians,
educators, consultants or researchers, and qualifies them to
apply for studies at the doctoral level as they continue their
nursing careers. Dominican nursing alumni excel in all facets of
this dynamic field, practicing throughout the nation and the
world.
ADN-to-MSN Accelerated Program
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The associate's-to-master's accelerated degree program is
designed for the Registered Nurse (RN) with an associate's degree
who wants to advance quickly to the master's level. The first
year in the program is a year of bridge work, after which the
student advances into the graduate program, and proceeds through
the usual course work after the third semester.
This program results in a Master of Science of Nursing in as
little as 3 years for associate's-prepared students. Students
entering the program with a bachelor's degree complete the
program in as little as five semesters, or 21 months. Those
students completing the 500 hours of clinical course work are
eligible for advanced practice licensure as clinical nurse
specialists.