DNP: Family Nurse Practitioner
The Family Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) Nurse Practitioner (NP) Program is a full-time doctoral program for registered nurses with a baccalaureate degree in nursing who desire to become nurse practitioners. Consistent with the mission statements of the School of Nursing and the Graduate College at St. Catherine University, the DNP-NP Program educates nurse practitioners to lead and influence as doctoral-prepared experts in advanced nursing practice.
The DNP-NP Program begins with core graduate nursing courses and courses that lay the foundation for nurse practitioner clinical practice. Students will continue with family track-specific course work, followed by clinical hours and their DNP project. Courses are grounded in a commitment to critical inquiry, innovation, ethical leadership, social justice, with a holistic view of the person, designed to prepare scholar-practitioners who lead and influence, advocate for justice, honor diverse and global perspectives, and demonstrate expertise in their area of study.
Why the DNP?
The Nurse Practitioner program at St. Catherine University was one of the first NP programs in Minnesota. Our graduates have a long and successful history of providing excellent patient care, especially for the most vulnerable populations in Minnesota and throughout the country. Dynamic changes in the role of the nurse practitioner and the need for nurses to earn higher degrees supported the need to transform the M.S. Nurse Practitioner program into a DNP-NP program.
Years to Complete the Program
This is a 3- or 4-year program of study to complete the DNP-NP program. Students are expected to complete the Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) Nurse Practitioner (NP) Program within seven years of initial enrollment.
Important Technical Standards
For successful admission and continuance in St. Catherine University’s pre-licensure nursing programs, a specific set of essential cognitive, sensory, communication, psychomotor, and behavioral/ emotional/spiritual health abilities are required to be performed with or without reasonable accommodations.
Curriculum
| Code | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| NURS 7140 | Foundations of Advanced Nursing Practice | 3 |
| NURS 8150 | Leadership for Advanced Nursing Practice | 3 |
| STAT 7000 | Introduction to Biostatistics | 3 |
| IPE 7000 | Evidence Based Practice: Interprofessional Perspectives and Competencies 1 | 3 |
| NURS 7080 | Informatics for Advanced Healthcare Practice and Management | 3 |
| NURS 8300 | Advanced Outcomes Measurement and Evaluation | 3 |
| NURS 6223 | Advanced Pharmacology across the Lifespan | 3 |
| NURS 6160 | Advanced Physiology and Pathophysiology Across the Lifespan | 3 |
| NURS 6360 | Health Promotion and Population Health in Primary Care: Family | 3 |
| NURS 6143 | Advanced Health Assessment Across the Lifespan | 3 |
| NURS 6260 | Clinical Reasoning, Diagnostics, and Procedures | 3 |
| NURS 6540 | Primary Care I: FNP Care of Uncomplicated Acute and Chronic Conditions Across the Lifespan | 3 |
| NURS 6940 | Primary Care II: FNP Care of Chronic and Complex Health Conditions in Children | 2 |
| NURS 7540 | Primary Care III: FNP Reproductive Health | 2 |
| NURS 8040 | Primary Care IV: FNP Care of Chronic and Complex Conditions in Adults and Elderly | 3 |
| NURS 6545 | Primary Care Clinical I: Family | 1 |
| NURS 7045 | Primary Care Clinical II: Family | 3 |
| NURS 7445 | Primary Care Clinical III: Family | 3 |
| NURS 8045 | Primary Care Clinical IV: Family | 2 |
| NURS 8523 | Advanced Evidence-based Practice | 3 |
| NURS 8536 | Healthcare Economics and Finance | 3 |
| NURS 8543 | Health Care: Power, Policy and Politics | 3 |
| NURS 8515 | DNP Practicum I: Leading QI | 2 |
| NURS 8516 | DNP Practicum II: Strategic project planning | 2 |
| NURS 8517 | DNP Practicum III: QI implementation and data analysis | 2 |
| NURS 8518 | DNP Practicum IV: Sustaining and disseminating QI | 2 |
| Total Credits | 69 | |
- 1
May also be fulfilled by NURS 7060: Evidence-Based Practice
Three Year Plan
| First Year | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fall | Credits | Spring | Credits | Summer | Credits |
| NURS 7140 | 3 | NURS 7080 | 3 | NURS 6143 | 3 |
| STAT 7000 | 3 | IPE 7000 | 3 | NURS 6260 | 3 |
| NURS 6223 | 3 | NURS 6160 | 3 | ||
| 9 | 9 | 6 | |||
| Second Year | |||||
| Fall | Credits | Spring | Credits | Summer | Credits |
| NURS 8150 | 3 | NURS 8300 | 3 | NURS 6940 | 2 |
| NURS 8536 | 3 | NURS 6540 | 3 | NURS 7540 | 2 |
| NURS 6360 | 3 | NURS 8523 | 3 | NURS 6545 | 1 |
| NURS 8515 | 2 | ||||
| 9 | 9 | 7 | |||
| Third Year | |||||
| Fall | Credits | Spring | Credits | Summer | Credits |
| NURS 8040 | 3 | NURS 7445 | 3 | NURS 8045 | 2 |
| NURS 7045 | 3 | NURS 8543 | 3 | NURS 8518 | 2 |
| NURS 8516 | 2 | NURS 8517 | 2 | ||
| 8 | 8 | 4 | |||
| Total Credits: 69 | |||||
Four Year Plan
| First Year | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fall | Credits | Spring | Credits | Summer | Credits |
| NURS 7140 | 3 | NURS 7080 | 3 | NURS 8150 | 3 |
| STAT 7000 | 3 | IPE 7000 | 3 | ||
| 6 | 6 | 3 | |||
| Second Year | |||||
| Fall | Credits | Spring | Credits | Summer | Credits |
| NURS 8536 | 3 | NURS 6160 | 3 | NURS 6143 | 3 |
| NURS 6223 | 3 | NURS 6260 | 3 | ||
| 6 | 3 | 6 | |||
| Third Year | |||||
| Fall | Credits | Spring | Credits | Summer | Credits |
| NURS 8300 | 3 | NURS 6540 | 3 | NURS 6940 | 2 |
| NURS 6360 | 3 | NURS 8523 | 3 | NURS 7540 | 2 |
| NURS 6545 | 1 | ||||
| NURS 8515 | 2 | ||||
| 6 | 6 | 7 | |||
| Fourth Year | |||||
| Fall | Credits | Spring | Credits | Summer | Credits |
| NURS 8040 | 3 | NURS 7445 | 3 | NURS 8045 | 2 |
| NURS 7045 | 3 | NURS 8543 | 3 | NURS 8518 | 2 |
| NURS 8516 | 2 | NURS 8517 | 2 | ||
| 8 | 8 | 4 | |||
| Total Credits: 69 | |||||