News Archives - 2002

The Master of Arts in Transcultural and Community Health Nursing Program at Augsburg College recently received accreditation by the Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education (CCNE). Officially recognized by the U.S. Secretary of Education as a National Accreditation Agency, the CCNE is an autonomous accrediting body that ensures the quality and integrity of baccalaureate and graduate nursing programs throughout the country.

Augsburg's Transcultural Nursing Master's is unique in the Metropolitan Twin Cities and Rochester areas in that the curriculum is designed to prepare nurses for advanced transcultural and community health nursing practice in a global community and across care settings with particular emphasis on addressing health disparities. Graduates of the program are eligible to apply for certification through the American Nurses Credentialing Center and the Transcultural Nursing Society.

Transcultural Nursing is a formal area of study and practice focused upon diverse health practices and illness explanations that exist among different cultural groups. With the rapidly increasing diversity of Minnesota's population, graduate preparation in Transcultural Nursing is critical to nurses being responsive and competent in addressing the wide range of health needs and disparities that exist within our communities locally

The curricular focus on health disparities and addresses the difficulty some population groups have in gaining access to health care systems because of poverty, age, race, religion, and/or national origin. An emphasis on community health reflects the program's responsiveness to the growing trends of shorter hospital stays and increasing populations of uninsured, underinsured, unemployed and homeless persons living in the city.
By offering a master's education in nursing, Augsburg is being both consistent with its mission to prepare leaders for service to the community and responsive to the severe shortage of master's and higher degree nurses in the region.