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Online MSN, Nursing Leadership

Nursing leadership roles come in a variety of shapes, sizes and titles, and provide nurses with the ability to lead their fellow nurses through higher titles and responsibilities. Nursing leaders may work as managers and control nursing units within a large setting like a hospital. They may choose to work as care coordinators and help design and implement policies and treatments for patients. They may also choose to work as nursing directors and take charge of all the nurses in a particular medical facility. This role is typically a highly stressful one and requires a lot of responsibility within that chosen profession. Nursing leadership roles can require long hours and it may even be necessary to work after hours.

Where Nurse Leaders Work

Nursing leaders work at tasks like organizing nursing duties and responsibilities, educating nurses throughout extended training programs, designating codes and policies for nursing staff within a particular medical facility, creating schedules and maintaining their order among the nursing staff, and treating patients. Nursing leadership can be found at all nursing stations including hospitals, military settings, government positions, community and public health roles, private clinics, nursing homes, and anywhere else that nursing staff may require leadership and management.

Some of their most frequent job titles include the following:

  • Assistant Director of Clinical Services
  • Clinical Care Coordinator
  • Director of Patient and Family Relations
  • Regional Director of Clinical Services
  • Director of ICU and Medical Surgical Services

Program Curriculum

Apply to GSW

Graduate Major

Master of Science in Nursing, Nursing Leadership

Health & Human Science Complex
Carter I

Tiffany Aldridge
229-931-2239
tiffany.aldridge@gsw.edu

Faculty & Staff

Nursing Students

The School of Nursing offers two admissions cycles for Nursing Leadership students: Fall Admission - March 1st; Spring Admission - October 15th

Curriculum Information

The leadership concentration focuses on developing nursing leaders who are able to influence, design, mange, transform, and evaluate the evolution of nursing services and care delivery. The leadership track has five (5) core courses and seven (7) courses concentrating in nursing leadership. Included in the track is a 3 hour focused project. Fulltime students may complete the program in 22 months.

Plan of Study & Models

Course Delivery
Accreditation
Resources

All courses in the MSN program are offered fully online through the Georgia On My Line (GOML) learning management system. A separate sign-on is required for GOML from that of the email system used by the home institution. The GOML Common Academic Calendar details specific deadlines for each semester. 

All theory (didactic/lecture) courses are offered online via GoVIEW online platform. The clinical requirements (preceptorship, practicum internship) in the curriculum will not be online. Preceptors for these experiences will be arranged in the student's locale whenever feasible. The student and preceptor in a clinical course must hold licensure as a registered nurse in the state in which the clinical experience will be provided and will comply with the Board of Nursing's regulations regarding placement.

The master's degree program in nursing at Georgia Southwestern State University is accredited by the Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education. This CCNE approval for the MSN program extends from February 1, 2021 to December 31, 2026.

Admission Requirements

Graduate students can submit required documents through the document portal after completing the admissions application process. Students must complete the following items in order to be considered for the MSN program:

  • Graduate application for admission & $25 application fee
  • Official transcripts from all colleges/universities attended with a minimum 3.0 GPA
  • Applicant must have their BSN at time of application
  • Three completed recommendation forms from professional or clinical associates
  • Current professional resume
  • Current active, unencumbered RN license
    (An unencumbered license means a license that is not currently on probation, monitoring, suspension, and/or does not have any other type of limitation including current participation in an alternative to discipline program.)