MSN: Quality, Safety, and Risk Management in Healthcare

Major: Quality, Safety, and Risk Management in Healthcare
Degree Awarded: Master of Science in Nursing (MSN)
Calendar Type: Quarter
Minimum Required Credits: 46.0
Co-op Option: None
Classification of Instructional Programs (CIP) code: 51.0701
Standard Occupational Classification (SOC) code: 11-9111

About the Program

The MSN in Quality, Safety, and Risk Management in Healthcare program draws from multiple disciplines. It’s ideal for working nurses who want to improve patient outcomes, reduce mortality rates, and create positive change in patient care.

The interdisciplinary patient safety and healthcare quality Master of Science in nursing program focuses on helping build key competencies. Students will learn how to enhance and monitor quality metrics, further safety for both patients and staff, and manage risks in a dynamic healthcare and nursing environment. Plus, the format enables students to learn and collaborate as they would in practice.

Graduates of this program will be prepared to lead teams in a wide variety of quality and risk management initiatives including:

• Aligning the patient safety, risk, and quality functions within the organization
• Ensuring that the patient safety, risk, and quality activities are aligned with the strategic goals of the organization
• Assessing current activities in patient safety, risk, and quality to clarify responsibilities and reduce duplication of effort
• Establishing a structure that ensures that patient care activities are addressed in a coordinated manner involving the patient safety, risk, and quality functions
• Assembling a team to ensure that the structure for patient safety, risk, and quality activities maximizes legal protections while allowing for the flow of information across all functions
• Coordinating process changes, data collection, data analysis, monitoring, and evaluation
• Evaluating the roles of patient safety, risk, and quality as the organization's needs change

The program is accredited by the Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education.

Additional Information

For more information about this program, contact:

Graduate Nursing Division
CNHPGraduateDivision@drexel.edu

Additional information is also available on Drexel's College of Nursing and Health Professions MSN in Quality, Safety, and Risk Management in Healthcare webpage and on the Drexel University Online MSN in Quality, Safety, and Risk Management in Healthcare webpage.

Admission Requirements (MSN)

• A Bachelor of Science in Nursing from a program fully accredited by the National League of Nursing (NLN/ACEN) or the American Association Colleges of Nursing (AACN/CCNE)
  • RNs with a BS in a field other than nursing may wish to pursue the RN-MSN "bridge" program or the Dual RN-BSN-MSN Pathway​.
• 3.0 or above on all previous coursework or the last 60.0 credits completed. Applications from RNs with a GPA less than a 3.0 may be considered on an individual basis.
• Official transcripts from all previous educational institutions are required.
• Two professional references required from colleagues or supervisors who can attest to the applicant’s knowledge, skill, and potential aptitude for graduate study
  • Letters of recommendations are waived for students with a 3.0 GPA or higher.
• Personal statement (no more than two pages and no less than one page double-spaced) that will give the admissions committee a better understanding of the following:
  • Why you are choosing this particular program of study
  • Your plans upon completion of the certificate
  • How your current work experience will enhance your experience in this program
• Curriculum vitae or resume
• Copy of current United States RN license required
• Copies of any Advanced Practice Nursing licensure and certification documents
• While specific experience is not required for applicants to the track, previous related work experience may make an applicant more competitive.

International applicants must possess a BSN (or its equivalent) and a current United States RN license.

TOEFL Requirement

International applicants, as well as immigrants to the United States and United States permanent residents whose native language is not English and who have not received a bachelor’s degree or higher in the United States, Australia, Canada, Ireland, New Zealand, or the United Kingdom, must show proficiency in English speaking as well as listening, writing, and reading. U.S. citizens born on U.S. military bases abroad may be waived from the TOEFL requirement after providing documentation of this status; otherwise, applicants must meet one of the following requirements:

If you take the TOEFLiBT exam, you are required to have a minimum combined score for the listening, writing, and reading sections of 79 plus a speaking section score of 26 or higher.

If you take the TOEFL, you are required to have a minimum score of 550 or higher and a Test of Spoken English score (TSE) of 55 or higher.

Degree Requirements

Writing-Intensive Course Requirement

A [WI], Writing Intensive, next to a graduate course in this catalog indicates that the graduate course is a writing intensive course. The graduate course is a required course in your curriculum.

Sample Plan of Study