July 1 is the application deadline for a wide range of graduate nursing programs at the University of Miami School of Nursing and Health Studies (SONHS). “SONHS is focused on developing the nursing workforce of the future,” said Dr. Hudson Santos, the School’s Dean and Dolores J. Chambreau, RN Endowed Chair in Nursing. “Our faculty guide students to the correct path through programs that blend state-of-the-art classroom and simulation learning with extensive clinical practice. As a result, our graduates master the skills they need to improve patient outcomes, excel on their specialty certification examinations, and become leaders in the health care community.
Anna Mudrytska, an oncology nurse at Baptist Hospital, agrees. “From the beginning of my time with SONHS, I have been impressed with the UM experience,” said Mudrytska, who returned for her Master of Science in Nursing degree after successfully completing a 12-month Bachelor of Science in Nursing degree at SONHS in 2021. “The professors and quality of instruction truly are second to none.”
SONHS offers a master’s, post-master’s certificate, or B.S.N.-D.N.P. option in the following specialties: Adult-Gerontology Acute Care Nurse Practitioner, Adult-Gerontology Primary Care Nurse Practitioner, and Family Nurse Practitioner. The School also offers a Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioner Post-Master’s Certificate.
On track to graduate this August, Mudrytska, once an oral surgeon in her native Ukraine, selected the Acute Care track. “Acute care was a logical bridge from maxillofacial surgery and dentistry,” she said. “Even though acute care can be chaotic at times, there are so many resources available to help patients… [that] we can go beyond the typical primary care environment to, hopefully, deliver better outcomes.”
Nurse practitioner Chantelle Jones completed her B.S.N. and M.S.N. degrees at SONHS in 2017 and 2020, respectively. She works in the Harvard University Health Services’ urgent care unit and says being a nurse practitioner opens competitive salaries and strong job prospects.
“As someone who graduated from the Acute Care program at UM, I can say that it stands out for several reasons,” she said. “First, it offers a comprehensive educational experience with a strong emphasis on hands-on training. Students are likely to be placed in their preferred clinical settings, utilizing sites that provide a variety of practice environments. This allows them to gain real-world experience and understand the responsibilities of their roles early on. The preceptors are exceptional educators, and the course material is thorough and expertly taught.”
The School’s state-of-the-art, five-story Simulation Hospital Advancing Research and Education (S.H.A.R.E.®) supports “comprehensive skills education in suturing, EFAST bedside ultrasonography, chest tubes, central lines, A-lines, paracentesis, and intubation,” added Jones. “This is an opportunity many other programs do not offer.” In addition, the Barkley review course is provided to help graduates prepare for their certification exams.
Josh Boyd, an emergency department charge nurse at Doctors Hospital, enrolled in the M.S.N. program at SONHS last year, after his significant other began the B.S.N.-D.N.P. Nurse Anesthesia program. “Everything the acute care program offered has lived up to expectations,” said Boyd, “from clinical rotations being assigned to us and having fair input on where we want to be placed, to our intubation and airway rotations, to our central line skills, to being able to work on skills in the simulation hospital. Everything they said on paper has been true and authentic, and I feel very lucky and blessed to be a part of this program. I truly believe it is going to make me a stronger, better practitioner compared to those who have gone to other programs.”
For more information about UM nursing programs, tuition aid, scholarships, and more, call 305-284-3666, or visit www.sonhs.miami.edu/academics/masters-programs/gradrfi/index.html.
