Compassionate and exemplary professionals at the forefront of change.

We offer two pathways into nursing, as well as several options for Baccalaureate-prepared nurses to earn an advanced degree or certification.

You will be mentored by premier practitioners and researchers in the nursing field. With 15 faculty members as Fellows of the American Academy of Nursing, our commitment to excellence is woven into our faculty's credentials. More than 80% of the faculty hold a doctoral degree and actively publish in peer-reviewed journals and textbooks, actively engaging in research and securing grants that support student initiatives. In addition, a large majority are practicing clinicians who use their own real-world experience as teaching examples.

You will receive priority clinical rotation placements within the first few weeks of your education at prestigious healthcare facilities. The MGH Institute is affiliated with Mass General Brigham, which includes Mass General Hospital, Brigham and Women’s Hospital and others. These placements have often resulted in job offers after graduation.

Our nursing student support team is in place to help you succeed. We offer one-on-one meetings with Academic Support Coaches for check-ins and to address concerns, and workshops addressing a range of topics like test taking and organization.

Graduating classes have strong pass rates as first-time takers on both the registered nurse licensure (NCLEX-RN®) and advanced practice nursing certification (ANCC and NCC) exams. Graduates also consistently score well above both state and national averages.

Vision:

Educating exemplary nurses to lead in a diverse society.

 

Mission:

Through excellence in education, research, scholarship, clinical practice, and service, the School of Nursing cultivates a community grounded in social justice, equity, and inclusion to prepare graduates to lead interprofessional, holistic health care in a rapidly changing world.

 

Core Values:

As members of the MGH Institute community, we collectively commit to reflect the following core values in all we do:

  • The highest standards of professional, academic, and scientific excellence, ethical conduct, integrity, and personal responsibility.
  • An inclusive and welcoming environment where every person is treated with dignity and respect.
  • Mutual trust and collegiality in our relationships with each other and those we serve in health care and the community.
  • Productive partnerships among faculty, staff, and students that support learning and work, and foster interprofessional and global collaboration.
  • A connected, engaged, and diverse learning community where students develop a passion for lifelong learning and become graduates of choice for employers.
  • An environment that embraces and rewards inquiry, ingenuity, innovation, resourcefulness, and continuous learning.
  • A rewarding work environment where talented people thrive.
  • Accountability for our work and for prudent, efficient stewardship of our resources.
  • A world where health professionals lead in efforts to reduce climate change health consequences for people and their ecosystems.

 

As the successor institution to the Massachusetts General Hospital diploma nursing school - the oldest continuously operating school of nursing in the United States at the time of its closing - the MGH Institute has been at the forefront of nursing education for more than 100 years.

 

  • 1873: Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) establishes one of the first three schools of nursing: the Boston Training School for Nurses - based on the principles of Florence Nightingale, which became the Massachusetts General Hospital Training School for Nurses in 1896, and later, the Massachusetts General Hospital School of Nursing. 
  • 1900s: The MGH School of Nursing takes the lead in major nursing education initiatives: the publication of the first standardized nursing textbook in 1917 and revised in 1937 calling for graduation standard competencies; achievement of accreditation, in the early 1940s, by the National League for Nursing (NLN), one of the first schools in the United States; leadership of the National League for Nursing, the national organization responsible for quality in nursing education.
  • 1948: Ruth Sleeper, Director of the Massachusetts General Hospital School of Nursing (1946 to 1966), is elected President of the NLN and will serve two terms; during her tenure President Dwight Eisenhower declares a day in May to be National Nurse Day.
  • 1964: Ruth Sleeper recognizes the implications of the shift from hospital-based to university education for health professionals, and promotes the idea of a free-standing, degree-granting institution affiliated with the hospital.
  • Late 1960s: General director of Massachusetts General Hospital Dr. John Hilton Knowles expands the idea to include all non-physician education programs for health care professionals and proposes establishing a “MGH University” which would offer hospital-based, advanced level training programs.
  • Early 1970s: Dr. Charles A. Sanders, Dr. Knowles’ successor, pursues the idea of creating an affiliated graduate degree school.
  • 1975: A petition to grant degrees is submitted to the Massachusetts Board of Higher Education. 
  • 1977: The State of Massachusetts authorizes the MGH hospital system to grant academic degrees, and that same year the Massachusetts General Hospital Academic Division is launched. 
  • 1980: The academic division is renamed MGH Institute of Health Professions, admitting its first cohort of students.
  • 1981: The MGH Diploma School of Nursing closes; the oldest continuously operating school of nursing in the United States. It would become the MGH Institute's School of Nursing.
  • 1984: The School of Nursing graduates its first cohort of clinical nurse specialists with a Master of Science in Nursing.   
  • 1994: The School of Nursing offers its first advanced practice tracks in Family Primary, Adult Primary, and Pediatric Primary.  Courses to prepare for the clinical specialist role are gradually discontinued.  
  • 2001: MGH IHP moves into the Charlestown Navy Yard.
  • 2007: First post Master’s class is admitted to the Doctor of Nursing Program, one of the first four DNP programs in the US to be accredited by the Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education (2009). 
  • 2008: First Accelerated Bachelor’s in Nursing (ABSN) cohort is admitted. 
  • 2009: The academic structure of the Institute is reorganized with the addition of a Provost and Vice- President for Academic Affairs and the organization of the academic structure into two schools: the School of Nursing (SON) and the School of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences (SHRS) each led by an academic Dean. 
  • 2011: The MGH and the IHP establish the first interprofessional dedicated education unit in the U.S. Through active observation, this innovative model assists IHP students in recognizing interprofessional collaboration and practice delivered by direct care clinicians. 
  • 2012: An additional cohort of ABSN students is admitted annually.   
  • 2013: Four nurse practitioner degrees are added: Adult Gerontology Acute Care; Adult Gerontology Primary Care; Adult Gerontology Women’s Health; Psychiatric Mental Health
  • 2018: The SON launches the Ruth Sleeper Center for Clinical Education and Wellness through the generosity of May and Tom Chin.
  • 2023: The IHP School of Nursing joins the Massachusetts General Hospital Nursing Alumni Association in celebrating 150 years of MGH-sponsored nursing education. 
     

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We offer two pathways into nursing, as well as several options for Registered Nurses to earn an advanced degree or certification.