The Post Master’s Doctor of Nursing Practice
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The Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) is a 39-credit doctoral program at UMass Boston’s College of Nursing and Health Sciences, open to applicants holding a Master’s degree in Nursing with preparation as family, gerontological, or adult nurse practitioners, or clinical nurse specialists, as well as those holding an MS in Nursing and certified as nurse midwives and nurse anesthetists. The DNP is differentiated from the PhD by its focus on developing graduates at the highest level of excellence in nursing practice and clinical leadership. The DNP degree program focus is on increasing the appropriate supply, diversity, and distribution of highly trained advanced practice nurses to meet emerging health care system needs. Graduates will gain knowledge and competence in health systems leadership, policy development, and interdisciplinary collaboration to improve health care quality and increase health care access for all populations. Course work and internships focus on preparing graduates with transformational leadership skills in program development and policy change.
Students build on knowledge acquired in their master’s degree in advanced practice nursing and post graduate clinical experience. Faculty scholars and clinical leaders distinguished in practice, education, and research guide students as they develop competence in the role of Doctor of Nursing Practice.
The scope of knowledge addressed in the UMass Boston CNHS core and specialty courses reflect the student outcome competencies cited in The Essentials of Doctoral Education for Advanced Nursing Practice (AACN, 2006) document including:
- advanced scientific underpinnings for practice;
- organizational and systems leadership for quality improvement and systems thinking;
- clinical scholarship and analytic methods for evidence-based practice;
- technology and information for the improvement and transformation of healthcare;
- health care policy for advocacy in health care;
- interprofessional collaboration for improving patient and population healthcare outcomes;
- clinical prevention and population health for improving the nation’s health; and
- advanced nursing practice at the highest level of clinical expertise.