Doctor of Nursing Practice

Print Degree Planner (opens a new window) |

History and Philosophy

The University of Virginia (UVa) School of Nursing (SON) opened the first Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) program in Virginia in 2007 in response to the demands associated with increasing complexity in the health care system, expansion of scientific knowledge, and growing concerns regarding the quality of patient care delivery and outcomes. The UVa program, now fully accredited by the Commission for Collegiate Nursing Education (CCNE), supports the vision for transformational change in education for professional nurses who practice at the most advanced level. The American Association for Colleges of Nursing (AACN) position statement on the DNP degree recommends that nurses practicing at the highest level should receive doctoral-level preparation. More recently, the Institute of Medicine (IOM) statement on the Future of Nursing recommends that nurses achieve higher levels of education and training to meet the increasing demands of contemporary health care.

The Essentials of Doctoral Education for Advanced Nursing Practice (http://www.aacn.nche.edu/dnp/pdf/essentials.pdf), developed by the AACN, provide guidelines for DNP programs and to serve as a basis for accreditation of programs. The DNP Program at UVa was designed to meet these Essentials. The program encourages DNP students to tailor an individualized program using cognate courses from any School or department throughout the University.

Purpose

The purpose of the Doctor in Nursing Practice Degree is to prepare DNP students to:

Perform at the highest level of nursing practice.
Assume leadership roles in complex healthcare delivery systems.
Critically appraise existing literature and other evidence in a specialty area to determine and implement best practices.
Improve patient outcomes by expanding DNP student knowledge of evidence-based practice.

Program Objectives:

Objectives for the proposed DNP program are derived from the AACN document, The Essentials of Doctoral Education for Advanced Nursing Practice. At the completion of this program, students are expected to demonstrate the competencies required for the highest level of nursing practice. DNP graduates will be able to do the following:

Integrate nursing science with knowledge from ethics, the biophysical, psychosocial, analytical, and organizational sciences as the basis for the highest level of nursing practice;
Demonstrate organizational and systems leadership for quality improvement in healthcare systems;
Apply clinical scholarship and analytical methods to evidence-based practice;
Use information systems technology and patient care technology to improve and transform health care;
Demonstrate leadership in health care policy for advocacy in health care;
Collaborate with interprofessional and intraprofessional teams to improve patient and population health outcomes.

Admission

Admission Requirements

Master’s degree in a nursing specialty area from a college or university accredited by either the National League of Nursing Accrediting Commission (NLNAC) or the Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education (CCNE) and certification, where relevant, in an advanced nursing specialty area.

Academic record that demonstrates a minimum of a B average.

Three satisfactory letters of reference—two from doctorally prepared nurse educators and one from a current or recent employer—that speak to the applicant’s ability to pursue doctoral studies.

Current curriculum vita that reflects professional achievements and productivity.

Clearly written essay of no more than 1000 words describing educational, research, and professional goals.

A course in intermediate statistics completed within the past 5 years.

An unencumbered, valid RN license in Virginia.

Be available for a personal interview if requested.

Admission Procedure Application forms may be obtained from the School’s website. The applicant must:

Submit official transcripts of all post-secondary academic work. If an institution will not release an official transcript directly to the applicant, the student may request that the transcript be forwarded to the School of Nusing;
Obtain three letters of recommendation.

The completed application with fee and all supporting data must be forwarded no later than March 1 for fall semester enrollment. International applicants are encouraged to submit the admissions packet before February 1.

Degree Requirements

To earn a Doctor of Nursing Practice degree, the student must successfully complete:

The prescribed program of study, including cognates.
Two practica experiences.
All capstone requirements including (a) writing and defending an evidence-based proposal, (b) conducting an appropriate project, (c) submitting an acceptable written report of the project, and (d) passing an oral final examination on the conduct and conclusion of the capstone project.
All additional requirements as specified by the School of Nursing, the capstone committee, and the academic advisor.

Program Description

The DNP program of study requires a minimum of 39 credits, as follows:

Core Courses

All students take 18 credits of core courses, designed to emphasize competencies consistent with AACN Essentials of Doctoral Education for Advanced Nursing Practice. These core courses provide conceptual and theoretical basis required for all DNP graduates, and research competency necessary for effective leadership at the highest level of evidence based practice.

GNUR 8430 - DNP Capstone Proposal Seminar Credits: 1
GNUR 8650 - Managing Information Technology Credits: 3
GNUR 8640 - Nursing Ethics for Advanced Practice Credits: 3
GNUR 8610 - Health Behavior and Health Promotion Research Credits: 3
GNUR 8620 - Concepts and Methods in Health Services Research Credits: 3
GNUR 8630 - Culture and Health: Implications for Health Systems and Research Credits: 2 to 6
GNUR 8660 - Evidence-Based Practice Credits: 3

Cognates

The purpose of cognate courses is to allow students to gain depth and breadth of knowledge related to their nursing specialty area and that supports their Capstone Project. In collaboration with their advisor, students choose a minimum of 6 credits of relevant cognate graduate courses (at the 5000 level or above) to add depth and breadth to their nursing specialty focus. These credits may be chosen from within the School of Nursing or from a number of interdisciplinary programs and courses throughout the University of Virginia, including those offered by Law, Medicine, Engineering, and the Graduate School of Arts & Sciences (GSAS). This allows students to take optimal advantage of the richness and diversity of opportunities afforded by UVA. Courses from other Universities may be transferred with approval of the student’s advisor and the SON Registrar.

Practica

DNP students need a minimum of 1,000 hours of post-baccalaureate practice experience to achieve the DNP competencies. This addresses the AACN requirement for 1000 hours of supervised clinical practice for DNP. It is anticipated that most students will come to the DNP with at least 500 supervised clinical practice hours from their specialty master’s program. If their program did not require 500 hours, students will need to schedule additional precepted clinical hours to meet the 500 hour MSN-level clinical hours expectation.

Capstone Project

The DNP program culminates in the successful completion of a 6 credit Capstone Project. This project is conceptualized in the early stages of the program and continues throughout the program. The Capstone Project is designed by the student in collaboration with a three-member committee and must be a significant, evidence-based contribution to nursing practice and be suitable for publication in a peer-reviewed, practice-focused nursing journal. Examples include: program needs assessment, evidence-based program development, evaluation of an existing program, development of an assessment or therapeutic protocol, or a cost/benefit analysis of program models. Through this scholarly project, students are intended to demonstrate synthesis of scientific knowledge in their specialty practice area and contribute to existing nursing knowledge.