Advanced Nursing Practice - D.N.P. Download to print

The Advanced Nursing Practice major within the Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) degree prepares students who have earned a bachelor’s of science in nursing degree to become clinical scholars (master's-prepared advanced practice nurses can complete the DNP in the Advanced Practice Nursing major). Students will develop leadership skills to effect health outcomes for individuals and populations by translating scientific evidence into clinical interventions; managing healthcare systems; and collaborating with other health care providers. The curriculum incorporates both clinical and didactic content. Graduates of the DNP program possess the educational requirements for advanced practice nursing (APRN) certification in the following specialties:

• Adult Gerontology Acute Care Nurse Practitioner coursework provides a knowledge base to practice at the highest level in providing advanced nursing care to adults with complex, acute and chronic illnesses. Clincal practica occur in a variety of healthcare settings such as specialty clinics, emergency departments, and acute, sub-acute, and intensive/critical care areas.
• Adult Gerontology Clinical Nurse Specialist coursework fosters acquisition of the highest level of clinical nurse specialist role competencies with adult patients and their families. Class and clinical experiences focus on health conditions ranging from wellness to acute care in a variety of settings with adult and gerontological populations. Students develop knowledge and skills in promoting interdisciplinary collaboration and organization effectiveness through competencies in direct care, consultation, education, program planning and evaluation.
• Advanced Practice Registered Nurse: Nurse Practitioner Adult Gerontology Primary Care students learn to function at the highest level of advanced practice in health promotion, risk detection, illness prevention, and management of acute and chronic illnesses in adults and older adults. Clinical experiences involve direct care in collaboration with other health professionals to maximize the effectiveness of community and health care system services. Clinical practica include primary care offices, such as internal medicine and family practice, clinics, managed care offices, emergency departments, free clinics, and occupational health settings.
• Advanced Practice Registered Nurse: Nurse Practitioner Family. Students in this concentration learn to practice at the highest level of advanced practice nursing through collaboration with other health professionals to provide continuity of health care to persons across the life span and to maximize the effectiveness of community and health care system services. Clinical experiences are offered in a variety of ambulatory care settings and specialty clinics in primary care offices including family practice, internal medicine, managed care offices, emergency departments, long-term care facilities, and academic and occupational health settings.
• The Primary Care Pediatric Clinical Nurse Specialist concentration prepares nurses as advanced practice nurses in the care of infants, children and adolescents. Graduates are eligible to sit for national certification as pediatric clinical nurse specialist. Students must complete 630 hours of supervised clinical practice as a part of this program for certification and a total of 1170 hours of supervised clinical practice for the completion of the degree.
• Primary Care Pediatric Nurse Practitioner. The focus of the Primary Care Pediatric Nurse Practitioner concentration includes health promotion, illness prevention, risk identification and the acute and chronic care of infants, children and adolescents. During clinical experiences, students learn to provide the highest level of advanced practice nursing to children within the context of their families and provide individualized and culturally competent care. Clinical experiences occur in settings such as doctor's offices, hospitals, outpatient clinics, specialty clinics, home health care and schools.
• Psychiatric Mental Health Family Nurse Practitioner. This concentration provides knowledge and skills in comprehensive psychiatric mental health assessment and diagnosis, medication management, and the use of advanced psychotherapeutic modalities, such as individual, family, and group psychotherapy.  The DNP degree in PMH Family NP prepares the student to function at the highest level of advanced nursing practice, using health policy, leadership, education, case management, and consultation.
• Women's Health Nurse Practitioner. This concentration prepares the student to provide the highest level of primary nursing care for women involving health promotion and disease prevention. Students gain competency in advanced nursing management of common acute and chronic conditions.  Students practice in direct care and in collaboration with other health care professionals. Clinical experiences foster development of clinical judgment and primary care skills through faculty mentorship and clinical preceptors in a variety of ambulatory care settings and specialty clinics.

Applicants to the Advanced Nursing Practice program must have:

• Active, unrestricted RN license in the state in which practica will be completed; Proof of the appropriate licensure must be obtained within the first semester of the student's program, or prior to beginning practicum hours, whichever comes first
• A baccalaureate and/or graduate degree from an accredited registered nursing program. An RN with a bachelor's degree in a non-nursing field will be considered based on review of a portfolio submitted with the application
• A minimum cumulative 3.0 GPA on a 4.0 point scale
• The successful completion of an undergraduate level statistics course
• GRE scores
• Professional experience in nursing as evidenced by: a resume or curriculum vitae and a pre-admission interview
• Three letters of reference from a health care professional or academic faculty who can speak to the applicant's professional and academic abilities
• A 300-word essay describing professional goals and reasons for seeking the professional practice doctorate
• International applicants must show evidence of one of the following:
  • a minimum internet TOEFL score of 83
  • a paper-based TOEFL score of 560
  • a MELAB score of 78
  • a PTE minimum score of 55
  • a minimum IEL TS score of 6.5

Students selected for admission to the nursing program must meet the College of Nursing's Clinical Compliance Policy

For more information about graduate admission, please visit the Graduate Studies website.

Depending on the concentration, the DNP program requires between 70-84 total credit hours.

Grade Point Requirement
The College of Nursing complies with the University standard for Grade Point Average. Please refer to the University Catalog section on Academic Standing - Graduate Studies.

Scholarly Paper/Project
A total of 6 credit hours of NURS 76199 Doctor of Nursing Practice Scholarly Project is required culminating in an oral defense and publishable manuscript.

Graduates of this program will be able to:

1. Develop systems and strategies to promote health and fiscal outcomes across the healthcare continuum.
2. Provide expert, advanced nursing care to select populations within a variety of settings based on evidence, ethics, theory, professional standards and models of care.
3. Provide leadership and interdisciplinary consultation and collaboration to plan, implement and evaluate programs of care delivery to improve health outcomes.
4. Synthesize and translate evidence for implementation and dissemination to improve healthcare outcomes.

The College of Nursing is accredited by the Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education