Doctor of Nursing Practice - DNP
Doctor of Nursing Practice
St. Kate’s post-master’s DNP program is designed to meet the needs and demands of working adults. Completed within 24 months, this 35 credit program is based on hybrid learning, combining online and on-campus sessions. Students visit campus twice each semester and meet with the same cohort of students throughout the entire program.
Practicum experiences are structured in such a way that applied learning is enhanced and students have an opportunity to expand understanding of ethical leadership, social justice, interprofessional collaboration, knowledge of the discipline of nursing, informatics, evidence-based practice, organizational systems, healthcare economics and health policy. A final systems change project is required in order to demonstrate program outcomes and focuses on a specific practice issue identified by the student and supported by a DNP Project Team.
Degree Requirements
A minimum of 35 credits. The overall minimum grade point average of 3.0 on a 4.0 scale is required. All DNP students are required to provide documentation of practicum/clinical hours earned during their master’s degree program. A maximum of 460 practicum/clinical hours are applied to 1,000 hours for DNP competencies as outlined by American Association of Colleges of Nursing (AACN, 2006). Students complete a DNP project prior to graduation and document achievement of 1,000 clinical/practicum hours.
Years to Complete the Program
Students are expected to complete the DNP Program within four years of initial enrollment and will be allowed to re-sequence only once in the DNP course of study.
Curriculum
| Code | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| HLTH 6010 | Principles of Epidemiology and Biostatistics I | 3 |
| INDI 8515 | Outcome Evaluation | 1 |
| NURS 6012 | Basic Graduate Nursing Informatics 1 | 2 |
| NURS 8500 | Underpinnings of the Discipline of Nursing | 4 |
| NURS 8501 | DNP Practicum | 1 |
| NURS 8502 | DNP Practicum | 1 |
| NURS 8503 | DNP Practicum | 1 |
| NURS 8511 | DNP as Change Agent | 2 |
| NURS 8520 | Advanced Evidence-based Practice | 4 |
| NURS 8525 | Advanced Informatics | 2 |
| NURS 8535 | Leadership in Organizations and Systems: Implications for Practice | 3 |
| NURS 8536 | Healthcare Economics and Finance | 3 |
| NURS 8540 | Health Care: Power, Policy and Politics | 4 |
| NURS 8600 | DNP Project 2 | 4 |
| Total Credits | 35 | |
| Code | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| Optional "Electives" | ||
| Optional "electives" from nurse educator program for DNP students interested in teaching nursing | ||
| NURS 6693 | Learner Centered Teaching | 3 |
| NURS 7453 | Instructional Technology | 3 |
| NURS 7553 | Curriculum Design in the Discipline of Nursing | 3 |
| NURS 7603 | Evaluation and Educational Measurement | 3 |
| NURS 7653 | Leadership in Designing Systems for Nursing Education | 3 |
| 1 | NURS 6012 is a prerequisite course taken only by students with no prior course work in nursing informatics. |
| 2 | May also be completed by taking NURS 8610 DNP Project: Part 1 and NURS 8620 DNP Project: Part 2 (2 cr each) or four 1-credit courses. |
Clinical Practice
Students complete at least 540 advanced clinical practicum hours related to the systems change project, and need to have a total of at least 1000 clinical hours at the completion of the DNP program. (Note: A maximum of 460 hours may be applied from previous graduate level nursing clinical/practicum experience.) Students identify a site and site mentor for the systems change project, which may be conducted at the student's practice setting. Faculty collaborate with students to facilitate selection of mentors and clinical practicum experiences.