Cedarville Magazine, Fall 2016

Program Highlights M.S.N. § § Popular program tracks: § § Family Nurse Practitioner § § Global Public Health Nursing § § Nurse Educator § § In-depth, professional, advanced practice study for nurses § § Nursing care informed by Christian compassion and Gospel mission § § Flexible completion plan in five to eight semesters § § Course work almost exclusively online § § Graduates qualified to sit for national certification exams “The qualities I hope to emulate in my practice— tireless compassion, steadfast hope amidst discouraging circumstances, and quality care to families —were imprinted on me at Cedarville.” Marcia (Knaus) Williams ’94, M.S.N. ’13 Learn more and apply: cedarville.edu/MSN Master of Science in Nursing Starting Locally, Thinking Globally as a Public Health Nurse by Heather Hall, M.S.N. ’15 Prior to starting graduate school, I looked at many advanced public health nursing programs and found Cedarville to be the only school with a Master of Science in Nursing (M.S.N.) with a focus on global public health and a biblical emphasis on missions. These would both be key for a future in medical missions. Class sizes were small. This facilitated vital access to mentorship and personal relationships with professors. I really wanted to explore God’s plans for my career and knew I would benefit from one-on-one conversations with professors. In my experience, Cedarville’s rigorous academic standards w e r e n o t o n l y designed to equip me with competitive k n ow l e d g e a n d skills, but to also bring out the best in me personally and professionally, so I would be able to advance the Kingdom in my everyday ministry and work. The professors encouraged me constantly to think outside the box, challengingme to understand fully my beliefs and practices so I could enter the working world with conviction and a firm foundation. For example, Sharon (Klopfenstein) Christman ’92 encouraged us to develop our own biblical model of practice so we would have a framework specific to the context to which God was calling us as we entered into a higher level of nursing leadership. The classes at Cedarville providedme with a structure that made me feel I was getting a broad and comprehensive exposure to the specialty of global public health nursing, but they also allowed me the creativity to focus on specific areas of interest. From a concept analysis paper on sustainability to a thesis that explored the world of traditional medicine in Africa, I was encouraged to use my assignments in a way that built upon knowledge gained in preceding classes and demonstrated a theme reflective of the career focus I desired. My practicum experiences ranged from participating in infection control at a local hospital to facilitating a workshop on female genital cutting in Kenya. Looking back, I can honestly say that my graduate experience at Cedarville completely lived up to my expectations. I had the freedom to tailor my experience to explore God’s c a l l i ng on my life. Tod ay, a y e a r a f t e r g r a du a t i ng f rom Cedar v i l l e’s M.S.N., I am in a job that I love, working i n t he U. S . wit h tuberculosis patients and with refugee and immigrant populations in Dayton, Ohio, full of vision for advancing the Kingdom overseas in the near future. Heather Hall, M.S.N. ’15 is a nurse at Miami Valley Hospital in Dayton, Ohio. She plans to serve as a full-time medical missionary to East Africa. I found Cedarville to be the only school with a Master of Science in Nursing with a focus on global public heal th and a bibl ical emphasis on missions. Cedarville Magazine | 11