MSN For Working Nurses

A specialty track is a concentration. You must select one of eight specialty tracks in the MSN degree program (Adult-Gerontology Nurse Practitioner, Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioner, Educator, Executive, Family Nurse Practitioner, Healthcare Policy, Healthcare Policy and Informatics). When you graduate, you will earn a Master of Science in Nursing degree with the specialty of your choice. Specialty track availability varies by state.

It is possible to change MSN nursing specialty tracks within all non-nurse practitioner tracks (Educator, Executive, Healthcare Policy and Informatics). If you wish to change tracks, we recommend that you do so while you are in your core courses because credits completed in the original specialty track will not transfer to a different specialty track. Switching into the Adult-Gerontology Acute Care Nurse Practitioner, Adult-Gerontology Primary Care Nurse Practitioner, Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioner,  or the Family Nurse Practitioner specialty track is subject to Dean approval and availability.  

Students who enroll in the Accelerated MSN Options will not be eligible to transfer to the traditional online MSN program.

You will be responsible for finding your own preceptor or mentor, which includes the site where they work, to earn your master’s degree in nursing. Your experiential learning coordinator will provide guidance on how to locate a mentor or preceptor and a site. Once you've identified where you would like to complete your practicum your coordinator will begin to secure the necessary contracts on your behalf.

If you’ve tried to find a preceptor, but despite your best efforts, it hasn’t worked out—don’t worry. Chamberlain’s Preceptor Matching Service can help you identify an available masters in nursing practicum location and preceptor.

Communicating with your MSN nursing professors is vital to your success in your MSN program. In addition to all graduate faculty members being doctorally prepared, they also participate in an extensive training program to prepare them for online teaching and to provide you with the support and care you deserve. The following are the avenues for contacting your professors:

Email and phone: Professors will provide their contact information in the syllabus. They are required to provide you with their email address and most provide their phone numbers with office hours. Professors typically respond within  24 hours on the weekdays and 48 hours over the weekend..
Q&A forum: You will have a Q&A forum in every class you attend to post comments and questions that can be answered by anyone in the class, including the professor.

Threaded discussions: Graduate nursing program professors are very good at participating in threaded discussions throughout the week and driving conversations to gain insightful information.

Support is essential in online MSN programs. Chamberlain has several resources that can help you become acclimated to the online classroom. Once you apply you will have access to Chamberlain Care Student Success Strategies, which provides information on time management, scholarly writing, using the library and more. You can also ask your admissions representative for a personal tour of the masters in nursing online environment in which you will be taking classes or you can view the Online Classroom Demonstration Video Series to learn about what you can expect when you log into your class.

We are dedicated to supporting you throughout your educational journey. To further support your success, a Student Online Readiness Assessment is designed to help assess the skills needed for success in your online MSN program courses. You will see the assessment listed as a task in the Canvas Learning Management System (LMS) course.