Using Simulation with Master’s Entry to the Profession of Nursing Students (MEPN)

Abstract

Master’s Entry to the Profession of Nursing (MEPN) programs have, for over 20 years now, been an option for students interested in taking the registered nurse (RN) licensing exam in the course of attaining a master’s degree. Developed for those with either a bachelor’s degree or a graduate degree in a discipline other than nursing, entry-level master’s degrees are also referred to as generic or accelerated programs. These offerings usually take 18–36 months to finish, with baccalaureate-level content and initial RN licensure typically completed within the first year. Paced for students who have shown an ability to succeed at a 4-year college or university, such programs often produce Clinical Nurse Leaders while increasing diversity within the RN workforce and enabling more practitioners to earn advanced degrees. The IOM 2011 report, “The Future of Nursing” [1], challenged the nursing profession to, by 2020, increase the number of nurses with a bachelor’s degree to 80%, while doubling the number of nurses holding a doctorate—training that would, in the latter case, prepare these individuals to assume faculty positions in newly proposed accelerated training initiatives, such as MEPN programs. While such goals would seem to encourage programs to actively pursue such potential students, many schools of nursing have not tailored their curricular offerings to meet the needs and expectations of this richly experienced population [2].