Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP)

The Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) degree is designed for advanced practice nurses who wish to seek a terminal degree in nursing practice that is not research or educational focused. This program will prepare the DNP graduate in both quantitative and qualitative research, evidence-based practice, foundations of policy and practice design, and implementation of practice initiatives that can advance translational healthcare practices and services to significantly impact the delivery of healthcare services within communities. The DNP focuses on understanding research and applying it to practice.

Students that would enroll in this program include advanced practice registered nurses who have completed their studies within a practice domain and wish to obtain a practice doctorate specific to their field of study. This may include population foci in adult/gerontology, family, acute, and psychiatric nursing practice. Entry into the program may include APRN’s that have just recently graduated from study, or have been in practice for many years.

Admission Categories

Students will be admitted to the program based on their ability to meet the following requirements.

Have earned a master’s degree from an accredited college or university
Have a current RN and APRN license
Minimum of 3.0 GPA or higher
Personal statement of reasons for applying
One professional letter of reference

Degree Requirements: Student will complete a sequence of clinical and course components including approximately 500 hours of clinical practicum experiences to meet the preparatory requirements for a DNP project and the demands of a doctorate in clinical practice. The course requirements for this program include 9 DNP core courses and 3 population based focus.

Clinical Hours: In accordance with the AACN DNP Essentials, students need to have a minimum of 1,000 hours post-baccalaureate supervised clinical practice hours to achieve DNP competencies. Students will complete the number of hours to have a total of 1000 hours, which includes their clinical time completed in their master’s program. Post masters students will be required to submit a letter from their master’s degree program that indicates how many hours they have completed in their master’s program.

Required Courses (40 Credits & 505 Clinical Hours)

NUR 820 Scientific Foundations of Nursing Practice – 3 credits, FALL Year 1

NUR 826 Health Care Policy and Ethics – 22.5 Clinical Hours/3 credits, FALL Year 1

NUR 828 Qualitative Research – 3 credits, WINTER Intersession

NUR 830 Quantitative Research – 3 credits, SPRING Year 1

NUR 829 Quality, Risk Management and Use of Biostatistics – 45 Clinical Hours/3 credits, SPRING Year 1

NUR 827 Leadership in Health Care Organizations – 22.5 Clinical Hours/3 SUMMER I Year1

NUR 822 Business and Health Care Technology – 45 Clinical Hours/3 credits, SUMMER II Year 1

NUR 821 Analysis of Literature and EBP – 2 credits, FALL Year 2

NUR 825 Epidemiology – 10 Clinical Hours/3 credits, FALL Year 2

NUR 823 Chronic Health Care/Vulnerable Populations – 90 Clinical Hours/4 credits, SPRING Year 2

NUR 824 Community Health/Population Health – 90 Clinical Hours/4 credits, SUMMER I Year 2

NUR 831 Project Seminar – 180 Clinical Hours/6 credits, SUMMER II Year 2

The following represent the Doctor of Nursing Program outcomes:

Integrate the foundations of nursing practice into scholarly endeavors, practice and health care delivery. (Essential I, III)
Evaluate and employ principles of Evidence Based Practice (EBP) care to meet the needs of current and future patient populations. (Essential II, III)
Evaluate and implement analytical methods to apprise and develop EBP care to provide safe, timely, ethical and effective patient centered care. (Essential II, III,IV)
Analyze health care technology for accuracy, timeliness, feasibility that is financially responsible for health care organizations and population health needs. (Essential III, IV)
Demonstrate leadership in knowledge and implementation of health care policy, advocacy and ethical care for global populations. (Essential V)
Lead interprofessional teams in the analysis of complex patient and health care issues while maintaining cultural competency. (Essential IV,VI)
Synthesize concepts from various disciplines (epidemiology, biostatistics, environmental) for health promotion and disease prevention for diverse populations. (Essential IV, VI, VII, VIII)
Design and implement comprehensive approaches and therapeutic interventions for health promotion and disease prevention for diverse and global populations. (Essential IV,V, IV,VII, VIII)

Application Deadlines:

Applications are still being considered for fall admission. If interested, please contact:

Dr. Doreen Graham at grahamda@wcsu.educreate new email