Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP)

Course Descriptions

NURS 5610 Information Technology and Evidence–based Practice

This course explores the many ways in which information is used in making health, healthcare and nursing decisions. Emphasis is placed on the locating, accessing, and evaluating information through search and critical appraisal skills as a basis for evidence-based practice. Integration and communication of information for decision making is a prominent feature of this course.

NURS 5620 Healthcare Ethics for the Nurse Leader

This graduate-level seminar course is designed to enhance the student's ability to describe and analyze ethical concepts foundational to nursing practice. Students will use a variety of ethical decision-making frameworks to address ethical dilemmas arising from increasingly complex care, use of technology, consequences of policy interventions and global health issues. Students will be challenged to examine individual and professional values. The course emphasizes the informed nurse's leadership role in promoting ethical care delivery at all levels of care, from individual to system

Nurs 6000: Legal Issues and Health & Social Policy

This course will explore the interrelationships between policy, ethics and the law and their impact on clinical practice and health care/nursing administration. Broader social issues common to vulnerable populations will be examined using ethical and legal frameworks. Recurring issues in clinical practice will be examined for how legislation and regulation impacts care. System issues relevant to health and healthcare delivery will be explored for its impact on care and policy implications. Practices/protocols/policies that are compliant with legal and ethical mandates will be explored. Organizational and social policy implications of these clinical issues will be examined and approaches to communicating and advocating for policy change will be developed.

NURS 6100: Principles of Epidemiology & Statistics

This course introduces students to the study of diseases and ill health through their patterns of occurrence in human populations. The approaches of epidemiology in estimating the burden of disease, and in evaluating primary, secondary and tertiary prevention strategies are presented. Statistics Basic to this understanding are also explored.

NURS 6200: Advanced Health Promotion Across Diverse Cultures

Analysis of the impact of social, cultural, ecological, & systems of care delivery factors on healthcare disparities across population groups. Emphasis is on application of sociocultural and nursing theories and methods in analyzing healthcare phenomena within the context of advanced practice nursing roles in shaping community-based care and population-based systems delivery.

NURS 6300: Theory Application in the Clinical Setting

The evolution and development of theories relevant to nursing practice, including grand and middle-range theories, and the philosophical underpinnings and implications of theories will be analyzed. Strategies for theory development, evaluation, and application will be emphasized. Students will explore the philosophical underpinnings of both qualitative and quantitative research methods. Implications for research and practice will be discussed. 

NURS 6400: Knowledge Translation for Advanced Nursing Practice

This doctoral level course is designed to provide the knowledge and skill essential for the advanced practice nurse to translate knowledge to clinical practice. Emphasis is on synthesis of clinical evidence and knowledge translation for point of care decision making and identification of best practice. The course will culminate in a systematic review of a body of research relevant to advanced nursing practice concepts.

NURS 6410: Clinical Inquiry Seminar, I

This doctoral course provides the student with advanced study and direction in clinical inquiry leading to development of the capstone proposal and completion of the clinical inquiry project. Students are guided in the application of fundamentals of scientific writing and criticism, and the planning and preparation for a clinical inquiry/capstone project. Emphasis is on the appraisal of the elements of a proposal, development of a problem statement, project question and background, significance, and the conduct of research with human subjects

NURS 6500: Interdisciplinary Leadership, Quality and Collaboration

This course will explore critical topics in organizational and systems leadership that emphasizes the primacy of clinical work, quality models, continually improving health outcomes, and ensuring patient safety. Leadership and communication strategies to move interdisciplinary groups toward common goals and objectives will be examined. Students will create missions and visions for cultures of excellence, evidence, and cultural sensitivity. Strategies of quality improvement (evidence transfer and utilization) and interdisciplinary communication will be emphasized.

NURS 6600: Health Care Economics and the Business of Practice

This course will examine both healthcare economics and the business of practice. The relationship of economic issues, health policy & clinical practice will be explored. Economic concepts and tools will be used to examine issues and solve problems/issues pertaining to health care and the delivery of healthcare services. Approaches to economic evaluations will be explored and students will use findings from economic evaluations to inform policy makers about the costs and effects of medical interventions to support their decisions on the allocation of health care resources. Evidence-based critique skills will be expanded to include critical appraisal of economic evaluation studies and Actuari software will be used to conduct an economic systematic review. Relevant finance concepts will be explored to develop skills in assessing the practice/organizations’ financial condition, budgeting, and profit analysis.

NURS 6700: Methods and Appraisal of Evidence for Advanced Nursing Practice

This course explores the philosophical underpinnings of nursing knowledge relevant to the role of the Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP). Quantitative and qualitative research designs related to the generation of evidence will be analyzed. Students acquire skills in evaluating and appraising evidence for clinical practice, including advanced concepts for searching and assessing literature. The course provides students with an opportunity to examine the merits of different types and levels of evidence while analyzing the generalizability and implications for clinical practice.

NURS 6710: Clinical Inquiry Seminar, II

This doctoral course provides the student with continued advanced study and direction in clinical inquiry leading to development of the capstone proposal and completion of the clinical inquiry project. Students are guided in the application of fundamentals of scientific writing and criticism, and the planning and preparation for a clinical inquiry/capstone project. Emphasis is on the refinement of the problem statement, review of the literature and a preliminary description of the project, including a theoretical/conceptual framework.

NURS 6920: Selected Practice Cognate DNP Role Development Immersion

This role immersion course provides the DNP student an intensive opportunity for reflective practice highlighting students' clinical strengths and professional interests in a comprehensive real-world context that includes utilization of leadership, consultation, advocacy, and collaboration competencies. Individual experiences will be developed under the guidance of a faculty advisor with completion of 135 hours in an approved setting. Students will be jointly supervised by a graduate faculty member and the clinical site preceptor. A series of seminars will complement this immersion course. Seminars are designed to assist students to reflect on best practice approaches and their consequences and to generate solutions for creatively dealing with barriers that interfere with the delivery of equitable, evidence-based, patient-centered care, and on integrating fiscal, quality improvement, informatics and policy concepts and other intervening variables that affect environments of care.

NURS 6900: DNP Residency and Project

Under the guidance of their DNP faculty advisor, students will synthesize, integrate and translate newly acquired knowledge and skills in the implementation and evaluation of their selected project. Using scientific theory, systematic evidence appraisal, systems, organizational and policy analysis, and models of care delivery, students will complete the DNP project.

NURS 6800: DNP Practice and Practicum (optional)

This course is designed to integrate knowledge of nursing theory, evidence based nursing practice, physiologic and pathophysiologic foundations, ethical and legal principles and health care systems into clinical practice. In consultation with their DNP faculty advisor, students will select an area of clinical practice and implement advanced clinical decision-making in the provision of culturally sensitive, patient centered, evidence based care. Case presentations from the students’ clinical practicum experience will be used to explicate clinical trends, expert clinical judgment, and individual and population focused interventions. Expertise, knowledge and data gained from this course will be used in the development of the final project proposal.

Course Progression

Students are expected to follow the cohort progression of courses. Students who opt out of this progression will have to obtain a revised program plan of study approved by the Director of the DNP Program. Registration for the final DNP Practice and Practicum course extends for a six-month period of time. If students have not completed the capstone at the end of the six- month period they will be expected to register for the course, “Capstone Continuation” (1 credit). All coursework must be completed within four years of enrollment and registration into the program. Extensions of time will be considered for exceptional cases and must be requested through the Director of the DNP program.