Get Ready to Lead: Take the Fast Track from RN to MSN Online
American Sentinel is one of the few CCNE-accredited universities to offer a streamlined progression from RN to BSN and MSN. This pathway is specifically designed for registered nurses with a passion for knowledge and the desire for continuous career advancement. Instead of taking the BSN and MSN separately, this program is designed to save you time and money. You’ll earn your BSN and go on to earn your MSN within the same program
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Course Length
Nursing Courses
Total Tuition ++
Experience Matters
The reason we can offer best-in-class educational content is simple: online education for healthcare professionals is all we do. With this singular focus, we aim to improve patient outcomes and advance the healthcare industry through innovative learning environments. Our curriculum is designed and delivered by experienced nursing professionals with decades of practical experience. Like you, we place a high priority on evidence-based practice. As educators and healers, we remain focused on positive outcomes for our students, their patients and their loved ones.
Two Degrees – Less Time
Earning your BSN requires seven baccalaureate-level nursing courses, three graduate nursing courses and 30 hours of general education the majority of which are fulfilled with transfer credits. You are then on a shorter track to earn your MSN with just nine more graduate nursing courses including specialization courses from one of five areas: Case Management, Infection Prevention and Control, Nursing Education, Nursing Informatics and Nursing Management and Organizational Leadership.
Why Our RN to BSN/MSN Program Works for Working Professionals
- Monthly start dates
- Course length: 8 weeks
- No mandatory login times
- One-on-one support: MySentinel® Support
- End of Course Surveys 2018 and Biannual Student Satisfaction Survey 2019 results:
- 92% of students surveyed stated they could apply what they learned to their jobEnd of Course Surveys 2018 and Biannual Student Satisfaction Survey 2019 results:
- 98% of students surveyed recommend American Sentinel to a friend
- 98% of students surveyed are satisfied with their studies
What Our RN to BSN/MSN Graduates Can Do
Program Outcomes: Graduates of the RN to BSN/MSN accelerated nursing degree program will be able to:
- Integrate roles as leaders and collaborators in various healthcare settings.
- Use theoretical knowledge to guide advanced nursing practice.
- Analyze models that expand the role of nurses in a global society.
- Evaluate legislation, policies, and economics as applied to the current healthcare environment.
- Appraise research to enhance professional nursing practice.
The Mission of the RN to MSN program is to prepare highly qualified professional nursing personnel to serve global healthcare communities as administrators, educators, and informatics specialists.
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- Active, unencumbered RN License
- Diploma from a hospital school of nursing program
- ASN or ADN from an accredited college or
- Foreign education equivalent recognized by NACES evaluator
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Total tuition is $29,190++. Final tuition will depend on the number of transfer credits awarded and whether those transfer credits fulfill mandatory course requirements. Receive 60 credits for ADN or nursing diploma and RN license. An additional 30 credits can be earned by demonstrating course equivalency or Life Experience Credits. The maximum number of transfer credits is 90.
++Tuition listed is for nursing courses only. Most students transfer in a majority of the required general education credits. Students needing additional credits to fulfill the 30 hours of required general education will incur additional costs. Ask an Admissions Advisor for more information on the different low cost options for earning general education hours.
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Finish the program in three years or less, or take each course at your own pace. We give you options instead of limitations.
Practice Experience hours are embedded in three of the RN to BSN courses and they replace other required coursework activities such as reading and written assignments. Community engagement hours allow the student to complete activities that link directly to assignments and projects, allowing students to put their new skills and knowledge to use immediately.
Examples of Practice Experiences
- IDENTIFY a trouble area in your healthcare organization and assemble a plan to address it (example: plan to reduce the number of patient falls in a unit)
- EXPLORE “Sentinel City®” by riding a virtual bus and cataloging social and environmental issues in the community
- USE your skills to assess a virtual patient and create a discharge plan for that patient based on your observations
- SHADOW a nurse leader with experience in your specialization, paying special attention to how they apply nursing theory in their daily work
- DEVELOP an educational session that focuses on evidence-based practice in the nursing field
- INTERVIEW someone in upper management about the stewardship activities of the organization
- REVIEW the structure of your organization and note both the formal and informal power structures and alliances that influence decision-making
Questions about practice experiences? Contact your Admissions Advisor at admissions@americansentinel.edu or by phone at 866.922.5690 for more details.
Practice experiences (PEs) are educational opportunities built into the nursing programs to accommodate programmatic accreditor (CCNE and ACEN) requirements. Though it is a new type of assignment, PEs are not extra work, instead they replace more traditional schoolwork, such as reading and writing assignments. As interactive learning assignments, PEs encourage students to put what they learned in the classroom to work immediately.
ELAINE FOSTER
Ph.D., MSN, RN, Dean, Nursing and Healthcare Programs
RN to B.S. Nursing/M.S. Nursing Curriculum
The RN to BSN portion of this program is based on the Colorado Nursing Articulation Model. Nursing students will be awarded 60 credit hours for their U.S. RN license and original nursing curriculum, including foundational courses, from an associate degree in nursing or a diploma in nursing. View more information on RN to BSN/MSN practice experiences.
Nurses educated outside of the United States will be required to take ENG105 Beginning Writing as their first course.
American Sentinel has partnered with Sophia Pathways to offer undergraduate general education alternativesmaking it more convenient to achieve your degree.
UNDERGRADUATE NURSING COURSES (21 credit hours)
GRADUATE COURSES (36 credit hours)
| Courses | Credit Hours* |
|---|---|
| CORE COURSES (18 credit hours) | |
| N501PE MSN Role Development* | 3 |
| N505PE Theoretical Foundations* | 3 |
| N515PE Research Design* | 3 |
| * BSN is awarded upon completion of N501PE, N505PE, and N515PE | |
| N521 Advanced Pharmacology | 3 |
| N522PE Advanced Physical Assessment | 3 |
| N512 Advanced Pathophysiology | 3 |
| Courses | Credit Hours* |
|---|---|
| Nursing Management and Organizational Leadership Specialization (18 credit hours) | |
| N525PE Human Resources Management | 3 |
| N530PE Leadership in Health Care Organizations | 3 |
| N508PE Clinical and Administrative System | 3 |
| N540PE Health Care Finance and Economics | 3 |
| N545PE Health Care Strategic Management and Planning | 3 |
| N555PE MSN Capstone | 3 |
| Courses | Credit Hours* |
|---|---|
| Case Management Specialization (18 credit hours) | |
| N508PE Clinical and Administrative Systems | 3 |
| N541 Concepts of Case Management | 3 |
| N542 Process of Case Management | 3 |
| N543PE Case Management and Evidence Based Practice | 3 |
| N544PE Life Care Planning | 3 |
| N555PE MSN Capstone | 3 |
| Courses | Credit Hours* |
|---|---|
| Nursing Education Specialization (18 credit hours) | |
| N531PE Curriculum Design and Learning Outcomes | 3 |
| N532PE Teaching to Diverse Learning Styles | 3 |
| N533PE Assessment of Learning | 3 |
| N534PE Distance Education | 3 |
| N537PE Organizational Dynamics of Higher Education | 3 |
| N555PE MSN Capstone | 3 |
| Courses | Credit Hours* |
|---|---|
| Nursing Informatics Specialization (18 credit hours) | |
| N508PE Clinical and Administrative Systems | 3 |
| N535PE Health Care Informatics | 3 |
| N526 Healthcare Data Analytics | 3 |
| N527PE Healthcare Project Management | 3 |
| IS555 Information Security and Privacy in Health care Environments | 3 |
| N555PE MSN Capstone | 3 |
| Courses | Credit Hours* |
|---|---|
| Infection Prevention and Control Specialization (18 credit hours) | |
| EPI500 Clinical Epidemiology | 3 |
| BIO501 Introduction to Identification of the Infectious Disease Processes | 3 |
| N570PE Infection Prevention and Control | 3 |
| N571PE Design of a Surveillance System | 3 |
| N572PE Collection and Interpretation of Surveillance Data | 3 |
| N555PE MSN Capstone | 3 |
* Credit hours are equivalent to semester hours
General Education (30 credit hours)
| Courses | Credit Hours* |
|---|---|
| ORI100 Orientation | 0 |
| Communication Competency (choose 6 credit hours) | |
| COM200 Intercultural Communications | 3 |
| ENG105 Beginning Writing | 3 |
| ENG110 English Composition I | 3 |
| Humanities (choose 9 credit hours) | |
| GHIS200 Global History of Nursing | 3 |
| GHIS201 History of Global Health | 3 |
| HIS125 Western Civilization I | 3 |
| HIS225 Western Civilization II | 3 |
| HUM200 Nursing: A Critical Voice in Health Care Transformation | 3 |
| HUM201 Media and Nursing | 3 |
| PHI215 Philosophy of Religions | 3 |
| Behavioral and Social Sciences (choose 9 credit hours) | |
| GA200 The Comparative Study of Health Care Systems | 3 |
| GEO200 Global Geography | 3 |
| NUTRI101 Global Nutrition | 3 |
| SOC220 Globalization | 3 |
| Science, Mathematics and Information Technology (6 credit hours required) | |
| MA120 College Algebra | 3 |
| MA215 Statistics (required for RN to BSN/MSN students) | 3 |
| Credit by Exam | |
| Culture and Values: A Survey of the Humanities | 3 |
| Gardner’s Art through the Ages: A Concise Global History | 3 |
| Jazz: The First 100 Years | 3 |
| Worlds of Music | 3 |
NOTE: Students may transfer courses in Physics, Geography, Geology, Forensic Science, Ethics in Biology, Anatomy, and Physiology to fulfill the six credit hour Science, Mathematics and Information Technology requirement.
* Credit hours are equivalent to semester hours
