Doctor of Nursing Practice, DNP

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The DNP is the highest level terminal nursing practice degree and has been proposed as the entry point for Advanced Practice Registered Nurses (APRNs), that include nurse practitioners, clinical nurse specialists, nurse midwives, and nurse anesthetists (American Association of Colleges of Nursing (AACN, 2004). Nurse administrators are encouraged to hold the DNP degree. The DNP prepared nurse is vital to meeting the changing demands of the nation’s complex healthcare environment. The DNP program has two entry points: (1) a post-baccalaureate in nursing (BSN) and (2) a post-master’s degree in Nursing (MS or MSN). The post-baccalaureate pathway will have an advance practice nursing focus with students entering either a Family Nurse Practitioner or a Psychiatric/Mental Health Nurse Practitioner track. The post-Master’s entry pathway will have an Aggregate/Systems/Organizational focus in Health Systems Nursing Leadership (HSNL). These pathways to a DNP are consistent with the AACN recommendations regarding the terminal practice degree title of DNP. The uses a blended learning approach for delivery of both on-campus and online classes.

Post-BSN Doctor of Nursing Practice - Family Nurse Practitioner

The Post-Baccalaureate or BSN to DNP pathway is an advanced nursing practice degree program for individuals already holding a baccalaureate degree in nursing (BSN) and licensed to practice professional nursing. The family nurse practitioner track is one of two Advanced Practice Nursing Practitioner tracks and will require 90 semester credit hours and a minimum of 1050 supervised clinical hours.

Post-BSN Doctor of Nursing Practice - Psychiatric/Mental Health Nurse Practitioner

The Post-Baccalaureate or BSN to DNP pathway is an advanced nursing practice degree program for individuals already holding a baccalaureate degree in nursing (BSN) and licensed to practice professional nursing. The psychiatric/mental health nurse practitioner track prepares students to provide advanced psychiatric nursing care to individuals, families, and groups across the lifespan. The psychiatric/mental health nurse practitioner track is one of two Advanced Practice Nursing Practitioner tracks and will require 92 semester credit hours and a minimum of 1080 supervised clinical hours.

Post-Masters Doctor of Nursing Practice - Health Systems Nursing Leadership

The Post-Master’s to DNP pathway prepares nurses who already hold a master’s degree in nursing (MSN/MS/MN/MA) in a non-APRN specialty and who want to advance their knowledge of nursing practice and gain exceptional skills in health organizational systems. Post-Masters students will require 61 semester credit hours and a minimum of 1000 supervised clinical hours post BSN.

Note

Completion of the DNP requires a minimum of 1,000 hours of supervised clinical hours. Students may have the potential to transfer up to 500 supervised clinical hours from a prior graduate nursing degree. Each student will be evaluated based upon documents substantiating the already completed hours. For those students with a clinical master’s degree, it is likely that there are easily 500 hours to transfer. For those students with a non-clinical master’s, the number of practicum hours is generally less. NUR 887 is an optional course and is designed to add 60 contact hours and can be repeated as needed to meet the total number of practicum contact hours required.