Post Graduate Certificate - Nurse Educator

The Nurse Educator post-graduate certificate ascribes to the AACN Essentials and the NLN Nurse Educator Competencies to equip participants with the professional Knowledge, biblical Attitudes, Skills, and Habits (KASH) needed to develop sound clinical judgment and inspire ethical professional behaviors in diverse learners. Future educators study how to help their learners survive, adapt, and thrive in the challenging and ever-changing healthcare environment.

Participants complete required practicum hours and are prepared to efficiently fulfill virtual and in-person educator roles within various classroom and clinical settings through collaboration and innovation. The enrollee is educationally prepared to test for certification options through the NLN after acquiring two years of clinical teaching experience in an academic program of nursing education.

Upon completion of this program, students should be able to:

Create an environment in classroom, laboratory, clinical, and community settings that facilitates the achievement of outcomes among diverse cultural, ethnic, and socioeconomic learners.
Facilitate learner professional role development, transition, and/or socialization through effective communication and collaboration.
Employ technology, best practices, and various strategies to design, facilitate, assess, and evaluate learning domains in diverse settings to continuously improve program curriculum and outcomes.
Serve as a scholarly inquirer and change agent in the educational environment, addressing political, institutional, social, and economic forces.
Model being a Christ-centered community member continuously developing in character, scholarship, and leadership as a nurse educator with content expertise.

Admission Requirements

An individual with a Master’s or Doctoral degree in Nursing from a college or university accredited by an agency recognized by both the U.S. Department of Education (ED) and the Council for Higher Education Accreditation (CHEA) and national nursing programmatic accreditation (CCNE, ACEN, CNEA):

May apply to complete a post-graduate certificate in a master's nursing major for which they do not already hold a degree.
Must meet master's nursing admission requirements for the major Program.
Must submit an official transcript showing completion of a master's or doctoral degree in nursing.
A criminal history background check (at the student's expense) must be completed upon admission to any track of the Master's Nursing program. A criminal background check must be completed within six weeks following the start of the Program. Upon request, documentation of background checks, required health information, immunization information, drug screening results, and other required information may be provided to healthcare facilities where the student will be completing clinical/practicum requirements as part of their required course of study. Progression in the Program is dependent on the results of the reports.

To assist in the decision-making process, the Division of Master's Nursing reserves the right to require the applicant to interview.

Acceptance into any Masters Nursing program will remain valid for a period of 18 months.

Prerequisite Requirements

The prerequisites to enter the Nursing Education Post-graduate certificate are a Graduate Level Pharmacology, Pathophysiology, and Advanced Health Assessment. These prerequisites can be met in one of the following ways:

Successfully complete graduate-level Pharmacology, Pathophysiology, and Advanced Health Assessment courses or a combination course, with a minimum grade of "B".
Successfully achieve a passing grade of “B” in the IWU graduate-level Pharmacology, Pathophysiology, and/or Advanced Health Assessment courses or a combination course.
Provide proof of current APRN certification.

Program Requirements

All courses must be successfully completed in the sequence prescribed by the Program's requirements. Failure to successfully complete a course will result in an administrative withdrawal from the Program.
Any student found to have falsified clinical/practicum hours will be immediately dismissed and not allowed to re-enter any master's nursing program at IWU.
Students who maintain continuous enrollment, who make normal progress toward a degree, and who earn their degree within the major program's maximum time from the date of enrollment may meet the graduation requirements as stated in the catalog under which they enrolled.
Students must maintain an RN license that is active and unencumbered at all times during enrollment in the Program. Students must have a valid, unencumbered RN license in the state(s) of the practicum sites. If students have multiple state licenses, all must be unencumbered. It is the student's responsibility to notify N&G Nursing if the status of their RN license changes. Students will be administratively withdrawn from the Program at any point if this status is not maintained.

Clinical Compliance Documentation:

Before beginning any clinical or practicum experiences, students must meet all practicum agency requirements (at the student's expense). All Advanced Practice Registered Nursing students and, as required, other students must complete a second criminal background check and a drug screen, and submit documentation of health clearance, immunizations, and
meet any other requirements of the practicum site before any client contact. In addition, random drug testing (e.g. annually) or drug testing based on reasonable suspicion can be implemented at any time and without prior notice. Students who do not comply will be dismissed from the program. Progression in the program is dependent on the results of the reports.
Upon request, documentation of required health information, background check reports, drug screening results, and other required information may be provided to healthcare facilities where the student will be completing clinical/practicum requirements as part of their required course of study.

Completion Requirements

To complete the Post-master's certificates, students must meet the following requirements:

Satisfactory completion of all course and clinical requirements for the specific Program.
Minimum grade of "B" in each major (NRE prefix) course.
Cumulative GPA of 3.00 or above in all graduate work.
The certificate program must be completed within a maximum of three years from the date of enrollment.
Payment of all tuition and fees is required to receive a certificate.

Post Graduate Certificate Nurse Educator - Program of Study

Required Courses

Prerequisites: Graduate Level Advanced Health Assessment, Graduate Level Pathophysiology, and Graduate Level Pharmacology

NRE-600	Nurse Educator Role Development	3
NRE-610	The Academic Nurse Educator	3
NRE-620	Clinical Staff and Student Educator	3
NRE-630	Community and Patient Educator	3
NRE-640	Capstone Development of Nurse Educator Expertise	3
Total Credit Hours:		15