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By Sheron Smith Russell Dunn knew he’d go for a graduate
degree someday. But he hadn’t put much
Innovative Nursing
Master’s Degree thought into it since 2011, when he graduated as a
Will Meet Critical charter class member of what is now Middle
Need in Middle Georgia State University’s pre-licensure bachelor’s
Georgia & Beyond program in Nursing. Between his job at Navicent
Health in Macon and helping his wife care for two
Russell Dunn, a member of the tots, there wasn’t much time.
charter class of Middle Georgia
State’s pre-licensure bachelor’s “Secretly, I had been waiting on Middle
degree in Nursing, is now one of the Georgia State,” said Dunn, 27. “That’s what I told
first students in the University’s new myself. ‘When Middle Georgia State gets a
graduate program. JESSICA WHITLEY. graduate program, that’s when I’ll go back.’”
This spring, the University launched the Master
of Science in Nursing: Adult/Gerontology Acute
Care Nurse Practitioner. The program gives RNs
with bachelor’s degrees the opportunity to
become Nurse Practitioners.
Repeating history, Dunn is a member of the
charter class.
“It’s great,” he said. “This program is very
important to the faculty and staff in the Nursing
department. They are more than
willing to put their time and
effort into helping you be
successful.”
A Nurse Practitioner (NP) is an advanced
practice RN. Middle Georgia State’s new graduate
program is designed to produce NPs with
specialization in the care of specific high-risk
populations, such as the elderly. Adult/
gerontology acute care Nurse Practitioners work
in acute care settings such as hospitals,
rehabilitation facilities, nursing homes, physician
specialty practices, trauma units, burn units and
community healthcare facilities.
Graduates will be eligible for national
certification in Adult-Gerontology Acute Care
advanced practice nursing.
“There’s no question there is a critical need for
NPs with this specialization,” said Dr. Rebecca
Corvey, dean of the University’s School of Health
Sciences. “Middle Georgia State Nursing
graduates with baccalaureate degrees have
8 MIDDLE GEORGIA STATE UNIVERSITY
