Master of Science in Nursing - Nurse-Midwife/Women's Health Nurse Practitioner

The School of Nursing at California State University, Fullerton offers the Women's Health Care Concentration as part of our Master of Science in Nursing Degree. This advanced practice nursing option includes applied client-oriented practice as well as a foundation in professional core issues. The core courses cover research critique and proposal writing; theory application, testing, and refinement; and making sound decisions within legal and ethical frameworks in a complex health care and policy-making system. Additional skills developed include information competence, critical thinking, problem solving within an interdisciplinary framework, health promotion and disease prevention, research application, advocacy, and an understanding of the unique needs of vulnerable populations. This education provides the scientific, professional, and clinical foundations needed to establish a quality clinical practice. Graduates are prepared to provide primary health care to women across the life span. Clinical placements are arranged in conjunction with CNMWHCNP faculty. Nurse-MidwifeWomen's Health Nurse Practitioner: The graduate of the nurse-midwifery specialty assumes responsibility for the primary health care needs of women, in collaboration with physicians and other health care professionals. This occurs in a wide variety of settings such as outpatient, hospital, and community agencies. Program emphasis is placed on the attainment of knowledge and experience in the care of women during pregnancy and for well woman gynecologic health care. Main areas addressed include management during the intrapartum period and care of the initial newborn, management of women's health needs for family planning, interconceptual care, and well woman gynecology to include perimenopause and menopause health care. The Women's Health Nurse Practitioner curriculum includes 49 semester units of graduate nursing coursework. The program can be completed in 2 years of full time study or 3 years with the first year being part time and the second and third years being full time. Students complete the majority of the didactic coursework in a face to face classroom setting on the CSUF campus. Supervised clinical hours are completed each semester at partner clinical facilities. Clinical placements are facilitated by the CSUF Women's Health Care concentration leads. Clinical placements for the Women's Health Care program are located in Orange, Los Angeles, Riverside and San Bernardino counties. Travel to assigned clinical sites is required as part of the program. Clinical courses require between 8 and 40 supervised clinical hours per week.