UCLA Masters Entry Clinical Nurse (MECN) Program

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Is anyone applying to this program? Any feedback on this program? This is great...Masters program in 2 years instead of 3 years like most other programs. Can someone tell me what is a clinical nurse? Is that same as clincial nurse specialist?

Pre-licensure Masters Entry Clinical Nurse (MECN) Program

The UCLA School of Nursing announces a new program for graduate study beginning Fall 2006 leading to the Master of Science in Nursing (MSN) degree. The program is designed for individuals who have a baccalaureate degree in another discipline to prepare for a career in nursing. This is a two-year program. Pending approval by the California Board of Registered Nursing, graduates will be eligible to take the National Council Licensing Examination (NCLEX) to be certified as an RN after completion of the program.

The new Masters Entry Clinical Nurse (MECN) program is designed to produce masters-prepared nurse generalists with special leadership skills to function in acute care hospitals and other health care delivery systems. This exciting and innovative program will produce graduates who assume accountability for healthcare outcomes for a specific group of clients within a unit or setting through the assimilation and application of research-based information. The MECN role focuses upon the provider and manager of care at the point of care, to individuals and patients in need of health care services at all levels. As such, the graduates of this program will be prepared to implement outcomes-based practice and quality improvement in clinical settings.

After completing the MSN-MECN program, graduates are able to:

  1. Select, evaluate and apply, in an inpatient setting and a variety of other settings, basic and advanced theoretical knowledge of core concepts including advanced leadership and health care systems concepts to the nursing process in order to deliver health care to clients from diverse cultural backgrounds (Competencies: Critical thinking; Cultural competence);
  2. Analyze health problems at a unit, aggregate (community) and systems level, and develop nursing interventions that balance the health needs at the unit and cohort levels (Competencies: Therapeutic nursing intervention, Critical thinking, Ethical conduct, Cultural competence).
  3. Demonstrate effective communication and collaboration skills with clients, research participants, other health professionals, colleagues, and policy makers (Competencies: Communication skills; Cultural competence)
  4. Evaluate existing nursing and health care systems research, apply findings to advance nursing practice, and participate in the development of new knowledge (Competencies: Research activity; Critical thinking);
  5. Demonstrate leadership and system skills and critical thinking which contribute to the effectiveness and efficiency of nursing and health care (Competencies: Professional role development; Critical thinking);
  6. Practice hospital- and community-based nursing guided by the principles of ethics and law. (Competencies: Ethical conduct);
  7. Participate in professional and community organizations and/or interest groups relevant to health care delivery and modify nursing standards and practices in keeping with current trends (Competencies: Professional role development).

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The first thing that stands out to me is the pending approval part, it is not approved by the CA BRN as of yet.

Next thing, is if you are getting the equivalent of a BSN thrown in to the meansure, you are going to be killing yourself with work. And remember that 100% of your program will be graded at the Master's Level, not split for when you go onto the later subject material.

Too much work and not enough time. This degree will not qualify you a Clinical Nurse Specialist role, nor the NP role. You will strictly be a generalist. So it is not the same as the traditional three year BSN/MSN programs.

It is going to depend on what you are going to do with your career down the road.

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Actually, it has been approved. I'm still trying to get more info on the program.

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With what you had posted above, it said that they did not have approval yet.

Again, it is going to depend on what you wish to do with your degree. It is not going to give you the NP or the CNS if that is what you are planning to do. That is something that you need to decide for yourself, what your goals are.

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Specializes in Nursing Professional Development.

What is also true is that when you are a new graduate, you will probably not be hired immediately into any kind of advanced role. Employers will want you to get a couple of years experience as a staff nurse before they will hire you in an advanced role.

If you are prepared for that, then it might not be such a bad thing ... but it is one more "new fangled" role and "new set of letters behind your name" that most of the people in health care will not immediately understand. It is one more example of a few people inventing a new degree and a new role that adds to the confusion that we currently have and that already causes us so much trouble.

The nursing profession is not well-served by the academics who keep adding to the confusion. If they were truly the leaders they say they are, they would be working to clean up the confusion, not adding to it.

There is no need for this new degree. A person with an MSN (or MS with a major in nursing) should be able to do the needed work. At the more advanced end, people with doctoral degrees can do it. We should be supporting and strengthening those programs -- not weakening them and our profession by having each school create its own degrees and making new ones every year.

llg

llg

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After speaking with the admission coodinator, she says that this is a "new" master level bedside nurse. What's a bedside nurse? I asked what is the difference between someone who graduates with this program vs. a BSN. She says that a "master" level RN will be able to do more. She didn't elaborate on what she meant by more. However, she did say that this is not same level as clinical nurse specialist or NP. It sounds like a glorifed RN with an MSN title. I have no idea what the purpose of a Master level RN if it's not a specialist. Can someone help me understand?

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This is what we are trying to tell you, you will be on par with the BSNs on the unit. You are not getting specialist training, but will be a generalist. Please look at what they have posted about the program. You will not be at the same level of the nurse practitioner or the clincal nurse specialist.

You will not be able to do anymoer until you get any experience under your belt, and again, there will not be advancement into a an advanced clincial role, just thru management. and they were even unable to tell you how this role or training will differ from the BSN, they can't. It is essentially the same.

How can you be a specialist without generalist training first? You can't.

If your goal is CNS, or the NP, then this is definitely not the route that you should choose.

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That's what I'm coming to. I just don't understand what would be UCLA's motivation to start this program? Why not an accelerated BSN? Obviously, they have talked it over with the CBRN and received funding from them. Are they trying to start a new category of nurses? In talking with CSULB, they said that they didn't get funding for their accelerated BSN program for Fall 2006 because the State of CA wanted to produce more Masters level nurses. They got funding for a new accelerated BSN/MSN program (36 months). It would be interesting to find out what they are thinking. It looks like they are trying to stratify/establish hierachy within the nursing field. Hmmm...

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Specializes in Nursing Professional Development.
Can someone help me understand?

I think you are developing a very good understanding ... asking good questions, etc. Keep up that approach and you'll be fine.

Many schools are creating new roles, new titles, new degrees, etc. and they are not well thought out. The people in the practice arena have had minimal input into the creation of these roles and I feel sorry for the students who believe all of the schools' marketing. When they graduate, unless they work for that particular school's hospital, they may find themselves with a degree that employers have not heard of .... prepared to function in roles that are not in employers' budgets.

It's a shame our supposed "leaders" don't use more common sense.

llg

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Specializes in Nursing Professional Development.
In talking with CSULB, they said that they didn't get funding for their accelerated BSN program for Fall 2006 because the State of CA wanted to produce more Masters level nurses. They got funding for a new accelerated BSN/MSN program (36 months). It would be interesting to find out what they are thinking. It looks like they are trying to stratify/establish hierachy within the nursing field. Hmmm...

I think the funding is a big part of these decisions in general. BSN and MSN programs don't get special funding. Nor do the faculty members involved in "traditional" BSN and MSN programs get the glory and/or publication opportunities that they can get if they try to establish something new. By making up a new title, they get money and a few published articles out of it -- but at the expense of the profession.

Expanding and/or improving the existing CNA/LPN/ADN/BSN/MSN/PhD hierarchy is less glamorous and is less likely to get an administrator or faculty member fame, glory, and grant money. However, the 5 levels of nursing education that already exist should be enough to fill the needs! Within those 5 levels, people can focus on specific areas, functions, etc. with having "majors" or getting certifications, etc. -- but nobody in the practice arena is crying out for more educational degrees and titles! And yet ... the schools keep making up new ones and getting grants to fund them ... and writing articles about them ... and using those articles to get promotions and tenure for the faculty involved.

Can you tell I really resent this latest development in nursing?

llg (RN, PhD)

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I would love to get into this program. It's perfect for me and what I want to do. I don't think UCLA will have any problems in getting approval from the CBRN for this program.

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I think you are developing a very good understanding ... asking good questions, etc. Keep up that approach and you'll be fine.

Many schools are creating new roles, new titles, new degrees, etc. and they are not well thought out. The people in the practice arena have had minimal input into the creation of these roles and I feel sorry for the students who believe all of the schools' marketing. When they graduate, unless they work for that particular school's hospital, they may find themselves with a degree that employers have not heard of .... prepared to function in roles that are not in employers' budgets.

It's a shame our supposed "leaders" don't use more common sense.

llg

Doesn't the program offer the MSN? The MECN is just to distinguish it from the other "advanced" programs, right?

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