Nursing Education and Nursing Administration programs also will include Justice, Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion specialty tracks.

Building on its deliberate step into leadership, education, and administration, MGH Institute of Health Professions has launched two new programs that will complement its clinical practice degrees while providing opportunities for new jobs and advancing careers. 

The MGH Institute, the only degree-granting affiliate of Mass General Brigham, New England's largest healthcare provider, is now offering the Master of Science - Leadership in Nursing Administration and Master of Science - Leadership in Nursing Education. The part-time, online programs, designed for nurses looking to advance their career, will take about two years to complete and will begin in Fall 2022. 

“We’re filling the void in the healthcare workforce landscape because there is great demand for these kinds of graduates,” said Dr. Paula Milone-Nuzzo, president of MGH Institute of Health Professions. “Nurse educators and administrators who have the knowledge, skills and confidence to effect change will play a key role in the future of health care.” 

Graduates will be part of a new generation of healthcare leaders taking what they learn from these programs to lead with a lens that focuses on social determinants of health and health equity.

Along with taking courses in the School of Nursing, students will also take courses in the School of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences and in the new School of Healthcare Leadership. This interprofessional aspect – students from different programs collaborating via group discussions, simulations, and case studies – is a critical differentiator at the Institute. 

“Having well-rounded students who are versed in a variety of disciplines makes for a more effective professional. We’re expanding the IHP’s interprofessional lens to include the administrative and educational side of the healthcare industry,” said Kenneth R. White, PhD, APRN, FACHE, FAAN, Dean of the School of Nursing. “It's important that we utilize our faculty expertise and knowledge in topic areas that aren't typically found in nursing schools, such as economics, marketing and entrepreneurship, data analytics, and other business domains.” 

The new nursing programs are part of a growth initiative that will increase the Institute’s student population by 40% to more than 2,300 over the next few years. Founded in 1977 by Massachusetts General Hospital, the Boston graduate school is now in its 45th year.

The Leadership in Nursing Administration program will help nurses become expert leaders in the clinical setting. They will be exposed to complex systems thinking, organizational theory, quality improvement, finance, informatics, population health, business, and leadership practices. The goal is to prepare graduates for roles as nurse administrators, nurse managers, nurse directors, or to work in specialty roles in nursing informatics, quality management, or consulting. Those who aspire to be chief nursing officers or other executive leadership roles can pursue the Institute’s Doctor of Nursing Practice degree, after having earned a master’s degree.   

The Leadership in Nursing Education program is aimed at nursing faculty in higher education, clinical instructors in their respective organizations, nurse educators in healthcare organizations, or experts in continuing professional development. Graduates will have the ability to run innovative education models with inventive approaches for teaching and learning in a rapidly changing environment.  With the rise in simulation, popularity of interprofessional education and equity, and inclusion principles embedded in all aspects of education, students will have the tools needed to be successful in whatever job they pursue after graduation. 

According to Dr. Alex F. Johnson, the Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs, a key benefit is the opportunity to take courses with students in the healthcare leadership school who are pursuing similar leadership learning.

“Aligning the programs within the Schools of Healthcare Leadership and Nursing is one of the many unique features we can offer,” said Dr. Johnson. “We’re able to provide expertise from across all our programs to make this offering quite impactful. This is a wonderful avenue for professionals to expand their role with leadership responsibilities.” 

Both programs also will offer a focus on Justice, Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion (JEDI), which will help prepare graduates to lead and educate an increasingly diverse workforce. 

“We are weaving the Institute’s JEDI principles into the curriculum, into the fabric of admissions and placements, and we’re thinking about social justice and the social determinants of health so we can prepare nurse leaders to educate increasingly diverse populations and care for a progressively diverse patient population,” said White. “Not many, if any, places in higher ed are implementing specialty tracks like this in nursing education.”