The Critical Care/Trauma Clinical Nurse Specialist.
Because inpatient care focuses increasingly on treating the sickest of the sick, the need for advanced practice nurses to provide and coordinate care in emergency departments, trauma, critical care, and intensive care units has never been greater.
Clinical nurse specialists in critical care, emergency and trauma settings fill that role. They bring clinical expertise to acute care and lead the care management processes that are essential in today's health care environment. Many also play a vital teaching and research role; from the front lines they lend a unique and essential perspective to understanding a range of issues confronting nurses.
The critical care/trauma program at UCSF is rooted in the belief that nursing is the hub of inpatient care. As such, nurses are the first line of defense as the acuity of hospitalized patients continues to increase.
Geared to the schedules of working RNs, our program teaches the skills needed to work and lead effectively, to evaluate clinical outcomes, and to promote high-quality, cost-effective care.
Students are afforded opportunities to get hands-on experiences in prestigious clinical settings with expert advanced practice nurses as their mentors. Students with particular interests in research can work with faculty researchers to develop research skills.
The curriculum includes patho-physiology, pharmacology, monitoring and clinical management of critical care, trauma, and emergency department patients, critical analysis of practice issues, and clinical experiences in advanced practice roles.
Our graduates go on to become clinical nurse specialists, clinical educators, clinical researchers, trauma coordinators, and several other leadership positions in both established and evolving critical care, emergency, and trauma nursing roles.
Frequently Asked Questions
Goal statement, letters of reference, extracurricular activities,
language skills, activities on-the-job, research activities, work
experience, professional organization activities, and Grade Point
Average (GPA) are ALL considered when the application is reviewed.
List all of these aspects.
Be sure to ask colleagues to review your goal statement. Include
examples of on-the job activities. Describe any volunteer and
professional activities. Make sure to ask your colleagues for
"excellent" references and have them give specific reasons why they
believe in your success.
4.0 maximum scale) is expected for admission into the School of Nursing,
although special circumstances can be discussed.
Doctoral Programs: an undergraduate Grade Point Average (GPA) of 3.2, and, if a graduate (master's) degree has been earned, a Grade Point Average of 3.5 is expected, verified by official transcripts.
Caution: transcripts from outside the USA require special handling.
Non-English transcripts or international transcripts (especially
transcripts using different grading systems) should be submitted for
translation and/or evaluation to a transcript evaluation agency.
The purpose of the evaluation is to verify that your
degree/coursework is the equivalent to that of a US Bachelor or Master's
degree.
Evaluation agencies provide a variety of services. Be sure to request an evaluation that provides the following:
- Lists all subjects/courses completed at the post-secondary level
- Provides a U.S. semester credit and grade equivalent for each course
- Provides a U.S. grade point average (GPA) for the Bachelor's degree or its equivalent on a 4.0 scale, and
- Designates the level (upper or lower) of each undergraduate course
Un-translated non-English transcripts will not be accepted.
A well-written goal statement is an essential component of a competitive application.
- Masters-level Applicants.
A brief goal statement
referring specifically to your choice of specialty area, and to your
experience, must be created. This goal statement is used as a source of
information and also as an example of your writing ability. Be as
specific as possible and focus on your professional goals and how you
envision these goals can be achieved through study at UCSF. (MEPN Applicants:
the essay should focus directly on your understanding of the nursing
profession, your personal goals as a nurse, and how you envision these
goals can be achieved through study at UCSF.) This goal statement is
about two double-spaced typewritten pages in length; please remember to include your own name at the top. - Doctoral (PhD) Applicants.
Your goal statement
should be as specific as possible in discussing your area of study and
research interests and should provide evidence of congruence of your
goals with the program's goals, and the resources of the School and the
University. For your reference, the research interests of current UCSF
faculty members are reported in our Faculty Research Activities compendium. Your application will also include a (one-sentence) summary statement of your proposedarea of research interest.The PHD applicant's goal statement should be about five double-spaced typewritten pages in length; please remember to include your own name and page number at the top of each page, e.g., "Smith, J. B., Page 4 of 5."
Many of our students find that sharing housing is a good approach to solving both the availability and cost issues. Housing in the San Francisco Bay Area may be expensive, but help can be found with the Campus Housing Office, the Student Affairs Office, and previous graduates can often give advice.
The CCT program cannot be taken through on-line or distance learning. Students are required to attend classes at UCSF two days a week and attend clinical a minimum of 1-2 days a week.
The CCT program is a progressive and additive program that must be taken within the two year time frame. Part time study is not an option. The ideal work schedule would be part time or per diem 1-2 days a week so your schedule is very flexible. This allows the student the have the widest variety of clinical settings available during the course of the program. Working full time may severely limit the available opportunities for clinical placements as well as not allow adequate time for studying.