MSU-Meridian School of Nursing shares academic model with statewide nursing leadership

Contact: Marianne Todd

MERIDIAN, Miss.—The Mississippi State University School of Nursing is sharing its direct-entry Master of Science in Nursing model with leaders across Mississippi representing every school of nursing in the Magnolia State.

The MSU nursing school recently hosted the annual retreat of the Mississippi Council of Deans and Directors of Schools of Nursing, attended by 63 nursing leaders from private and public schools, including community colleges and universities.

“We serve as an advisory to the IHL, but this is also about making sure we continue to have a solid voice in what happens in nursing education,” said MSU Dean of Nursing Mary Stewart.

Attendees saw firsthand the internal workings of the state’s first direct-entry MSN program, which launched at the MSU-Meridian Riley Campus in August 2024 with 36 students. The program will seat its third cohort this August with more than 50 accepted students.

Boasting a 94% pass rate among its first graduates in August 2025, the program accepts students with non-nursing bachelor’s degrees to prepare them to take the NCLEX for licensure as registered nurses and to be practice ready.

Educators also toured the MSU Center for Simulation, which has received accreditation by the Society for Simulation in Healthcare in Teaching/Education and in Human Simulation.

Mike Cummings, program director for Jones College’s Associate Degree Nursing program, said he was impressed by MSU-Meridian’s Anatomage Table instruction.

“We have equipment similar to what you’re using,” he said of the human-based 3D virtual dissection system. “But it is how you’re using them that is something we can take back for use in our program.”

Retreat highlights included a mini-tour of Meridian with a reception at the Mississippi Arts + Entertainment Experience and dinner at Weidmann’s Restaurant, as well as presentations from Meridian Mayor Percy Bland; MSU Executive Vice Provost for Academic Affairs Peter Ryan; Ochsner Rush Health CEO Larkin Kennedy; and MSU Senior Advisor of AI and Data Governance Julie Jordan.

“Sharing this competency-based instruction that produces practice-ready nurses is about one endgame—that’s better patient outcomes,” Stewart said. “We’re all nurses first. We’re just lucky enough that we found a way to both take care of our patients and be part of the academic world at the same time.”

Learn more about MSU’s School of Nursing at www.nursing.msstate.edu.

Mississippi State University is taking care of what matters. Learn more at www.msstate.edu.