College of Nursing

Undergraduate degree: BSN

Graduate degrees: MSN; DNP; PhD in nursing

Graduate certificates: adult gerontology acute care nurse practitioner; adult gerontology primary care nurse practitioner; family nurse practitioner; health systems; pediatric nurse practitioner–acute care; pediatric nurse practitioner–primary care; psychiatric/mental health nurse practitioner

Faculty: https://nursing.uiowa.edu/faculty-staff/faculty-directory

Website: https://nursing.uiowa.edu/

The College of Nursing is an integral part of the University of Iowa health science campus, sharing in and contributing to teaching, research, and patient care resources that have earned international recognition. The university provides a robust setting for nursing preparation because the educational and clinical resources vital to educating nurses are evidence based, diverse, and available on or near the campus. Faculty and students participate fully in university life and contribute their time, interests, and abilities to the many general and special activities of a major research university.

The college's Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN), the Clinical Nurse Leader (CNL) and Nursing Systems Administration (NSA) subprograms for the Master of Science in Nursing (MSN) as well as the MSN Entry into Practice subprogram and the Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) program, are accredited by the Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education (CCNE), an autonomous accrediting arm of the American Association of Colleges of Nursing (AACN). They also are approved by the Iowa Board of Nursing. The anesthesia nursing program (in the Doctor of Nursing Practice) is accredited by the Council on Accreditation of Nurse Anesthesia Educational Programs.

Graduates of the prelicensure BSN qualify to take the National Council Licensure Examination (NCLEX) required for practice as registered nurses (RN). Graduates of advanced practice majors in the graduate program are eligible to take certification examinations and apply for Advanced Registered Nurse Practitioner (ARNP) licensure.

Related Minor and Certificates

Aging and Longevity Studies

College of Nursing students may participate in the Aging and Longevity Studies Program, which provides undergraduate students with a multidisciplinary approach to gerontology. The program offers a certificate and a minor. Students plan their course of study with their academic advisor in close cooperation with the Aging and Longevity Studies Program coordinator. The Aging and Longevity Studies Program is administered by the School of Social Work (College of Liberal Arts and Sciences). For more information, see Aging and Longevity Studies (College of Liberal Arts and Sciences) in the catalog.

Informatics (Health Informatics Subprogram)

The Graduate College offers the Certificate in Informatics with a health informatics subprogram. The subprogram emphasizes the organization, management, and use of health care information; health care research, education, and practice; and information technology developments in the socioeconomic context of health care.

College of Nursing students working toward the certificate complete IGPI:5110 Introduction to Informatics, which explores decision-making processes and technological tools to support health care administration, management, and practice; and EPID:5200 Principles of Public Health Informatics, which focuses on systematic applications of information science, computer science, and technology to public health practice, research, and learning; methods of disease surveillance, data collection, analysis, and reporting with health informatics.

Students earn additional credit in foundational informatics coursework, including one elective chosen in consultation with their major program advisor and their certificate advisor. Students who earn credit for a thesis, project, or independent study in their major program of study may apply the credit as an elective if the certificate advisor determines that the subject matter is pertinent.

To learn more, see the Certificate in Informatics (Graduate College) in the catalog. For additional information, see Health Informatics on the Graduate College website.

Professional Improvement

Registered nurses who wish to take University of Iowa coursework to fulfill professional or personal improvement objectives may request admission in the professional improvement (PI) category. This admission status allows students to take some graduate courses at the university without committing to a degree objective.

Admission as a nursing professional improvement student requires a formal application, including submission of three current written recommendations and all academic transcripts. Graduate Record Examination (GRE) General Test scores, required by the university, must be submitted before the end of first semester registration.

Application deadlines are July 15 for fall semester admission, Dec. 1 for spring semester admission, and May 1 for summer session admission.

Since acceptance as a PI student does not influence acceptance to the college's graduate degree programs, PI students interested in earning a graduate degree in nursing must apply for admission to the degree program (see Programs and then "Admission" under each graduate program of study in this section of the catalog). Students may count a maximum of 6 s.h. or two required nursing core courses that they complete as PI students toward MSN requirements. Professional improvement students may not enroll in PhD courses.

Nursing students have access to state-of-the-art equipment at the Nursing Clinical Education Center.

Continuing Education

The college offers nonacademic, short-term continuing education programs for nurses. Contact hours are awarded for these programs. The College of Nursing is an Iowa Board of Nursing approved provider of continuing education (Provider Number 1).

Student Organizations

All College of Nursing BSN prelicensure students are members of the National Student Nurses Association and its local chapter, the Iowa Association of Nursing Students (IANS). The Student Nurse Association at the University of Iowa (SNAUI) provides opportunities for professional growth and development in nursing. SNAUI representatives are members of the Undergraduate Student Government (USG).

The UI Multicultural Nursing Association (MNA) provides support, network opportunities for leadership and professional growth, and development for underrepresented students who are undergraduate nursing interest and nursing majors, graduate nursing students, and underrepresented nursing professionals in the region.

University of Iowa Men in Nursing (UI MiN) provides opportunities for nurses to meet, to recruit, to talk, and to influence the environment for men in nursing. It is open to all nursing students.

The college's Association of Graduate Nursing Students (AGNS) provides opportunities for professional growth, sharing of research, and representation on varied college and university committees.

See Student Life–Nursing Student Organizations on the College of Nursing website.