Population/Public Health Nursing MSN

Advance Your Nursing Career as a Population/Public Health Nurse (P/PH)

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A Population/Public Health Nurse promotes and protects the health of populations by using knowledge from nursing, social, and public health sciences. Our Population/Public Health program, which allows students to take up to 100% of courses online, is offered as a 42-credit Masters of Science in Nursing degree program for students who already hold a BSN. Get started today in a program that allows for in-person and online learningβ€”whether you study full-time or part-time.

Population/Public Health Nurse Role

A Population/Public Health Nurse promotes and protects the health of populations by integrating knowledge from nursing, social sciences, and public health. These nurses work with individuals, families, and communities to improve health outcomes on a broad scale. They focus on prevention, education, and advocacy to reduce health disparities and foster healthier communities. P/PH Nurses play a critical role in addressing the social determinants of health and implementing strategies to support community-wide well-being.

Responsibilities and Impact of the P/PH Nurse

  • Prevent disease: by designing, implementing, and monitoring programs/policies to reduce illness/disability.
  • Promote healthy lifestyles: by encouraging behavior change, wellness, and prevention.
  • Address social health inequities: by improving access to education, employment, and safe housing.
  • Advocate for public health policies: that support community health and long-term well-being.
  • Lead communities during crises: such as public health emergencies or natural disasters.
  • Recognize and intervene: in cases of violence or abuse, ensuring safety and access to support services.
  • Provide screening and preventive tests: to detect health issues early and guide timely intervention.
  • Connect individuals to vital resources: like financial, legal, social services, urgent care, and surgical support.
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Take Up to 100% of Courses Online!

Students in this program can participate in up to 100% of courses online via the ΞΆΓάΘ¦ Hyflex model. The Hyflex model is designed to provide the highest quality education coupled with the flexibility and accessibility needed by adult learners. Synchronous sessions are offered in both in-person and remote formats, allowing students the flexibility to participate in each class in the way that best meets their needs.

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Accreditation

The baccalaureate degree program in nursing, master’s degree program in nursing, and Doctor of Nursing Practice program at ΞΆΓάΘ¦ are accredited by the .

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Recent Recognition

Money Magazine recently ranked ΞΆΓάΘ¦ as ! Weighing quality against costβ€”and considering debt, employment rates, and recent graduate salariesβ€”our program received 4 out of 5 stars!

Program Details

Admission, Retention and Course Information

Here we provide information on admission and course requirements, course descriptions and the handbook for MSN Graduate Students for you to review.

Handbook for MSN Graduate Students

Health Requirements

Every year students must provide health services with evidence of a negative PPD test or compliance with treatment. Before beginning some clinical nursing courses, students may be expected to meet additional health requirements. 

All nursing students must have the following information on file in College Health Services:

  • an admission physical exam
  • 1 dose of tetanus-diphtheria-pertussis (Tdap)
  • 2 doses of live measles vaccine (preferably MMR) or a blood titer confirming immunity
  • 2 doses of mumps vaccine (preferably MMR) or a blood titer confirming immunity
  • 1 dose of rubella vaccine or a blood titer confirming immunity
  • 3 doses of hepatitis B vaccine (Please Note: A hepatitis B surface antibody titer to confirm sero-conversion is recommended one-to-two months after the final dose.)
  • provider documented proof, including date or age, of chicken pox disease or a varicella titer confirming immunity or two doses of varicella vaccine
  • an initial 2-step PPD** tuberculin skin test and yearly PPD updates (or chest x-ray if PPD positive and yearly TB assessment, which is completed at College Health Services)
  • flu vaccine every fall semester

*Health-care workers born on or before Dec. 31, 1956, are only required to have documentation of one dose each of measles, mumps and rubella or titers confirming immunity.

**2-Step PPD – two separate PPDs planted at least a week apart but not more than a year apart prior to entering into nursing clinical.

View Printable Version of Health and Immunization Checklist

Please Note: Students will not be admitted to the first class meeting of a nursing practicum course without having complied with the health requirements. Proof of immunization may be obtained from your physician, high school, previous college or university, military record, and/or from blood titers.

Please Note: Nursing majors should follow the guidelines on the college immunization form or call College Health Services at 401-456-8055 for further information. Once all required information is complete, students may pick up their laminated identification cards at College Health Services.​

MSN Program Outcomes

Students of the MSN Program will demonstrate mastery of all of the Essentials of Master’s Education in Nursing (AACN, 2011) and the AACN (2021) Competencies and level-2 Sub-competencies within the Ten Domains for Nursing, leading to achievement of the following MSN End-of-Program Outcomes: 

  • demonstrate the integration, translation, synthesis, and application of established and evolving knowledge from basic science, nursing knowledge and other ways of knowing, and other disciplines that results in clinical judgment founded on a broad knowledge base. [Domain 1] [MSN Essentials I, III, IV, VIII]
  • manage person-centered care at the advanced nursing level across the organization/system, provider, patient, and/or population level that focuses on the individual within multiple complicated contexts, including family and/or important others. [Domain 2] [MSN Essential II, IV, VII, VIII, IX]
  • manage population health that spans the healthcare delivery continuum from public health prevention to disease management of populations.[Domains 3, 6, 9] [MSN Essentials VI, VII, VIII, IX]
  • synthesize, criticize and apply nursing knowledge, research, scholarship and evidence-based practice to improve health and transform health care. [Domains 1, 4, 5, 7, 10] [MSN Essentials I, II, III, IV, V, VIII, IX]
  • incorporate principles of quality, safety and implementation science to optimize health and healthcare outcomes. [Domains 1, 5, 7] [MSN Essentials I, II, III, IV, VII, VIII, IX]
  • collaborate across professions and with care team members, patients, families, communities, and other stakeholders to optimize care, enhance the healthcare experience, and strengthen outcomes. [Domains 2, 6, 7] [MSN Essentials V, VI, VII, VIII, IX]
  • relate evidence-based methodologies, system-thinking, business and financial acumen to provide safe, quality, evidence-based and equitable care to diverse populations. [Domains 3, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10] [MSN Essentials I, II, III, IV, V, VI, VII, VIII, IX]
  • integrate information and communication technologies and informatics processes to gather data, support care delivery, and inform decision making. [Domains 4, 5, 7, 8, 9, 10] [MSN Essentials I, II, III, IV, V, VII, VIII, IX]
  • demonstrate an advanced-level professional nursing identity that encompasses self-reflective practice, commitment to inclusivity and social justice, accountability, collaborative disposition and ethical comportment that reflects nursing’s values. [Domains 6, 9, 10] [MSN Essentials VI, VII, VIII, IX]
  • contribute to an organizational culture that promotes personal health, resilience, lifelong learning and expansion of nursing expertise. [Domains 9, 10] [MSN Essential IX] 

Other Information

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Rhode Island Nursing Education Center

Rhode Island Nursing Education Center (RINEC) is a Providence-based facility for baccalaureate, master’s and doctoral level nursing instruction for ΞΆΓάΘ¦'s Zvart Onanian School of Nursing and URI's College of Nursing.