Nursing informatics in a registered nurse graduate program.

For many Registered Nurses the question is not whether to advance their education, but how to attain the requisite formal learning experiences given their professional and personal responsibilities. One innovative approach to facilitating the pathway to graduate education for a group of very experienced nurses lacking the BSN is the RN-MS Program at Northeastern University. This graduate-level curriculum provides an opportunity for selected Associate Degree and Diploma prepared nurses to integrate their basic nursing education, extensive clinical practice, professional leadership experience, and practical knowledge base within an extended (85 quarter hours) formal graduate program of study in a nursing specialization. The learning paradigm includes Nursing Informatics and computer competency. The intent of this work was to analyze the experience of RN applicants--students who participated in the faculty designed seminar and developed a typed portfolio using word processing software as part of the admission process in the RN to MS Program. The Nursing Informatics (computer competency component) and its integration throughout the curriculum will be evaluated.