Pacific College of Health and Science Announces Master of Science in Holistic Nursing Education
Pacific College of Health and Science (New York, NY) has announced its new Master of Science in Nursing 
(MSN) degree program, the first graduate degree in the United States specializing in holistic nursing, with tracks in nurse-coach and nurse educator, including a medical cannabis specialization option. The 40-credit program features a focus on holistic and integrative health care and offers a groundbreaking curriculum with courses such as psychoneuroimmunology and advanced holistic pharmacology. It is 100 percent online and under the umbrella of Pacific College’s prestigious WSCUC accreditation.
Pacific College’s MSN program was created in part to answer a growing crisis in healthcare: nursing professionals’ burnout triggered by the COVID-19 pandemic, and a shrinking workforce due to harsh working conditions. The program also prepares its graduates to lead the healing of healthcare from the inside-out, starting with care of self and then expanding out to care of colleagues, patients and families, health care organizations and communities.
Upon completion, nurses will be prepared to provide holistic and integrative nursing education in academia, hospitals, health care systems, and private practice consulting. As many hospitals expand to integrative health care (IHC) due to patient demand for complementary health care services, this curriculum teaches students to use evidence-based scientific and holistic knowledge as a foundation for their roles in nursing education. Students will also deepen their understanding of cutting-edge integrative and healing modalities, and learn to educate and coach patients about them.
“New York University Langone Health has been affiliated with Pacific College for five years, providing clinical experiences for their RN to BSN and holistic nursing students in the areas of healthcare leadership, community health, and integrative health and medicine. This relationship has been a mutually valuable collaboration between our nursing staff, administrative leaders, and PCHS nursing students,” said Debra Albert, DNP, MBA, RN, NEA-BC chief nursing officer, and senior vice president for patient care service at New York University Langone Health. “Together, we have worked to support the educational goals of nurses as well as the advancement of holistic health and integrative medicine approaches in the inpatient setting and in local communities.”
Graduates of this Holistic Nursing MSN will be prepared to work in existing or emerging traditional, integrative, holistic health care settings, or in private practice. They will also be ready to sit for the appropriate holistic nurse, advanced holistic nurse, or nurse coach board certification exams offered through the American Holistic Nurses Credentialing Corporation (AHNCC). With the appropriate number of clinical hours, graduates can sit for the board certification exams for Nurse Educator or Nurse Professional Development Specialist. The prerequisite for entering the holistic MSN Program is a bachelor’s degree in nursing (BSN).
For more information, visit www.pacificcollege.edu/nursing/msn.
