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                        JeffNEWS, August 16, 1994
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Jefferson Begins Family Nurse Practitioner Master's Degree Program
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Thomas Jefferson University has added a family nurse practitioner track 
to the options in its master of science in nursing (MSN) program, which is 
conducted jointly by the College of Allied Health Sciences (CAHS) and the 
College of Graduate Studies. Widely considered to be an area of need in the 
national healthcare picture, family nurse practitioners are expected to
help close the gap between the demand and the supply of primary care 
providers.

Nurse practitioners are employed in a wide variety of settings.  At 
Jefferson, for example, nurse practitioners currently work in such 
departments as obstetrics/gynecology, neurosurgery, orthopaedic surgery, 
family medicine, emergency medicine, psychiatry and human behavior, and the 
patient testing center.

A key feature of the program is the strong emphasis on collaboration and 
interdisciplinary strategies for meeting primary healthcare needs.  
Building on Jefferson's well-established commitment to primary care, the 
family nurse practitioner program will have close ties not only with 
allied health departments, but also with the Jefferson Medical College 
departments of family medicine, internal medicine, and obstetrics/
gynecology.

Laurie Sherwen, RN, PhD, FAAN, director of the MSN program, says, "The 
family nurse practitioner program at Jefferson is the only program in the 
Delaware Valley that is truly collaborative.  Together, medical and nursing 
education at Jefferson will have a major role in preparing professionals 
for leading-edge practice in primary health."

The director of the new program is Virginia Arcangelo, RN, PhD, 
assistant professor of nursing, CAHS. 

The program is organized so that full-time students are able to complete 
the degree requirements in five semesters and part-time students in nine 
semesters.  Classes are offered in the evening.  Applications are now being 
taken for the fall semester.

Upon completion of the program, graduates will earn a master of science 
in nursing degree and will be eligible for Nurse Practitioner Certification 
by the State Board of Registration in Nursing in the Commonwealth of 
Pennsylvania.

In addition to the family nurse practitioner track, the Jefferson MSN 
program currently offers five other tracks:  nursing administration; adult 
rehabilitation and chronic health care; pediatric rehabilitation and 
chronic health care; critical care/trauma; and home, community and public 
health care.  Further, the program offers subspecializations in traumatic 
brain injury and HIV/AIDS.


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Information provided by:  Editor, JeffNEWS
                          (215) 955-6204
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