Major of Nursing Principles

Hello, I am Assist.Prof. Lecturer Elif Günay İsmailoğlu. I am working as a faculty member in Izmir Bakırçay University, Faculty of Health Sciences, Department of Nursing, Fundamentals of Nursing Division. My fields of study are Nursing Care Practices, Nursing Education, Clinical Skills and Simulation Applications. Our Fundamentals of Nursing Master’s Program with Thesis first started accepting students in the spring semester of the 2019-2020 academic year. Two faculty members and one research assistant are working in our division. Faculty members from the Divisions of Surgical Nursing, and Children’s Health and Disease also support our Master's program with thesis. The content of our Fundamentals of Nursing Master’s Program with Thesis is based on nursing care and nursing education. It leads nursing care and practices. It is a program with cognitive, sensory and psychomotor learning goals. In our program, we aim to train specialist nurses who can transfer the theoretical knowledge they have gained in the field of fundamentals of nursing at an expert level into practice. In addition to these, to have specialist nurses who can reflect this on practices in nursing which are based on evidence and nursing care. Moreover, who can use the teaching principles and methods they have acquired during their in-service training and nursing education. Last of all, who can plan and conduct scientific research. Our Master's program with thesis is a 4-semester program. In the first and second semesters, the students take applied and theoretical courses. Our program includes both compulsory courses that direct the student towards applying advanced nursing principles, as well as optional courses such as Patient Safety, Current Approaches in Wound and Stoma Care, Nursing and Ethics, Application of the Nursing Process, and Intensive Care Nursing, which the students can choose from according to their interests. In addition, there are courses such as Scientific Research Methods and Statistics that guide students on how an actual scientific study should be. In the third and fourth semesters, the student is in their thesis stage. In order for a student to graduate from our Master's program with thesis, they must be successful in both the theoretical and applied courses and have completed their thesis. Students who graduate from the Master's program with thesis receive the title of Specialist Nurse. Our graduates can work in hospitals in positions such as clinical nurses, specialist nurses, training nurses, intensive care nurses, chief nurses, and administrative nurses. They can also work as research assistants or faculty members at universities that provide nursing education. Apart from that, if they fulfill the necessary requirements, graduates can pursue a Ph.D. degree in the field of Fundamentals of Nursing.
The main research areas of the Fundamentals of Nursing Master's Program with Thesis are actually related to nursing care and nursing education. We are conducting research so that giving care, which forms the basis of nursing and is vital for it, is carried out as evidence based. Another reason for conducting research is to set standards in basic and advanced nursing practices. Apart from this, since Fundamentals of Nursing is a science field where clinical skills are important, we conduct studies examining the effects of different methods on students knowledge, skills and attitudes, especially in students' psychomotor skills training. Thus, it is a program that aids to increase the visibility of the nursing profession by both increasing the quality of nursing care and nursing education in the clinic. It is a prerequisite to have a bachelor's degree in nursing to gain admittance to the Master’s program. In addition, it is required to fulfil the minimum score barrier in the ALES (Academic Personnel and Postgraduate Education Entrance Exam) and foreign language exams which are determined by the institute during the admission period. Most importantly, applicants need to be successful in the written scientific exam. Apart from this, since the Fundamentals of Nursing is a discipline in which clinical experience is important, it is our aim to train our students to have clinical experience, critical decision-making, and critical thinking skills. We will apply to TUBITAK with a project proposal on innovation in education soon, which was prepared by the faculty members from our division. Actually, this will happen any day now. We also have plans to submit proposals for European Union and TUBITAK projects regarding the problems our graduate students experience in the clinics they work regarding giving care and basic practices. We aim to apply for inventions and patents in order to improve the standards in nursing care practices, too. We are also aspiring to develop projects with the cooperation of the industry. Dear candidates, the Fundamentals of Nursing Master's Program with Thesis is a branch of science that develops advanced knowledge, skills and attitudes specific to nursing and teaches methods that leads other nursing profession courses. We welcome all undergraduate nurses who have the aim of increasing the visibility of both nursing care and the nursing profession, and who also have clinical decision-making and critical thinking skills to Izmir Bakırçay University’s Fundamentals of Nursing Master's Program with Thesis. We wish the best of luck to the applicants who will choose Izmir Bakırçay University’s Fundamentals of Nursing Master's Program with Thesis.