MSN - Family Nurse Practitioner

On-campus FNP Skills Intensives occur in the second and third year of the program in the Simulation and Integrated Learning Center at SXU. Students learn suturing techniques, office procedures, chest and abdominal radiology interpretation, and orthopedic examination. In addition, students are introduced to simulation technology with OtoSIM and OphthoSIM during the workshop-style intensive. In a separate on-campus visit, standardized patients are utilized to allow students to complete sensitive female and male exams in a formative learning environment.

The Student Nurses Association (SNA) is an organization for students in all levels of the nursing program to connect at group meetings and through a variety of community service projects. The group is guided by two full-time nursing faculty members.

The goals of the graduate nursing program are to:

1. Prepare registered professional nurses to meet current and future health care needs of populations through advanced nursing practice and transformative leadership  grounded in Mercy values.
2. Provide a foundation for research or practice-focused doctoral study in nursing.

The MSN program outcomes are to:

1. Synthesize knowledge from other disciplines with nursing theory, research and policy to improve health care delivery and outcomes.
2. Assume leadership in designing, providing, and coordinating comprehensive care in complex and varied settings.
3. Lead initiatives to improve quality, safety, and communication in managing and providing health care.
4. Translate evidence into practice to improve patient and population outcomes.
5. Evaluate care outcomes through aggregate data analysis and appropriate application of informatics and health care technologies.
6. Advocate for patients/populations and health-promoting policies across the health care continuum.
7. Apply professional standards within a framework of ethical decision-making and an awareness of personal and professional values and beliefs.
8. Practice in collaborative and interdependent relationships with diverse patients, populations, and colleagues across a variety of health care settings.
9. Design patient/population-centered and culturally responsive strategies in the delivery of clinical prevention and health promotion services.
10. Engage in professional behaviors that promote lifelong learning and accountability for practice while serving as a role model.

The baccalaureate degree program in nursing and master's degree program in nursing at Saint Xavier University are accredited by the Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education (CCNE).

Because of the rigorous standards necessary to earn and maintain accredited status, CCNE-accredited nursing schools like SXU's School of Nursing give prospective students greater confidence in the education they will receive. Earning a nursing degree from a CCNE-accredited program will also assure employers of the value of your education.

Ranked No. 3 in the Nation for Best Online Graduate Nursing Program (2024) by U.S. News & World Report.

These distinctions help give you confidence in the professional nursing development you will experience as a student at Saint Xavier University, and they will demonstrate the full value of your degree to employers, peers, and patients.

SXU's online Family Nurse Practitioner program emphasizes health promotion, disease prevention, and management of common and complex health problems across the lifespan.

Graduates are eligible to take the family nurse practitioner certification exam administered by ANCC or AANP.

• The curriculum of the FNP program embodies the Mercy heritage and mission of Saint Xavier University: to educate persons to search for truth, to think critically, to communicate effectively and to serve wisely and compassionately in support of human dignity and the common good.
• The program can be completed in three years of full-time study. Six credit hours or more during a semester is considered a full-time courseload.
• The program format is online with scheduled, intermittent synchronous class sessions and on-campus FNP Skills Intensives which occur in the second and third year of the program. Some courses require synchronous testing with dates published in advance.
• Small class sizes, most taught by SXU full-time faculty, provide students with more personal attention.
• FNP faculty members integrate evidence-based practice throughout the curriculum and maintain active clinical practice.
• Our faculty and graduate staff will assist students in identifying appropriate practicum sites and preceptors.
• Each student is assigned a graduate advisor.
• The pass rate on the national FNP certification exam for graduates of SXU's FNP program has been 100% for the past five years.
• FNP students are eligible to apply for a variety of scholarships. Generous tuition discounts are offered to nurses employed by SXU clinical partner agencies.
• A post-master's certificate is available for students who already have a master's in nursing. Program of study is individualized.

*We accept FNP applications from Illinois, Indiana, and Wisconsin.

Please view the admission requirements to learn how to enroll and begin the application process.