14.6  The Doctor of Nursing Practice

The Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) is a joint program offered by the University of Alabama in Huntsville College of Nursing (UAHCON), the University of Alabama at Birmingham School of Nursing (UABSON), and The University of Alabama Capstone College of Nursing (UACCN).

The DNP is a practice-focused degree to prepare graduates to function at the highest level in specialty practice or to assume leadership positions in health care. Graduates of the DNP program focus on providing care with an emphasis on improving quality and access to underserved and diverse populations. Graduates employ abilities and skills in these areas to advocate for reasonable, rational and data-driven health regulations, standards, and practices; sustain collaborative and strategic relationships, promote innovative, effective health care programs; and form partnerships with diverse groups to address health disparities.

For most students, the post-master’s DNP curriculum is a minimum of 34 credits that include the development of a practice or leadership focused project. This scholarly project is designed to synthesize scholarship in an advanced practice specialty or an area of healthcare leadership and serves as a capstone program experience. All courses are offered in a distance accessible format, and students may develop the scholarly project under the direction of program faculty and onsite mentors.

Admission Requirements for the Doctor of Nursing Practice  

Admission requirements are consistent with those of the Graduate School.  Applicants for the DNP will be considered on a competitive basis.  Nurses who are interested in the program are encouraged to contact the Capstone College of Nursing, Director of Graduate Programs. The following are minimum requirements for admission:

·       Appropriate educational preparation consisting of an MSN earned from an accredited school of nursing (master's degree in nursing required), and advanced specialty certification where available

·       For regular admission:  a grade point average of at least 3.0 overall (based on a 4.0 system) or 3.0 for the last 60 semester hours of undergraduate work

·       For conditional admission:  a grade point average of at least 2.5 overall (based on a 4.0 system) for undergraduate work and a score of at least 900 on the Graduate Record Exam (GRE) or a score at least at the 40th percentile on the Miller Analogies Test (MAT).   (Note.  When concordance tables are published for the revised GRE in summer 2012, the minimum score on the revised GRE for conditional admission to the DNP will be included here). 

·       Current unencumbered RN licensure in the United States and eligibility for an Alabama license

·       Completed Graduate School application and “Statement of Purpose”

·       Two-page writing sample outlining a potential scholarly project

·       Two letters of reference written on professional letterhead

·       Successful interview with a DNP faculty member 

Additional information is in the Admission Criteria section of this catalog.

Degree Completion Requirements

The Doctor of Nursing Practice will be awarded to the student who has met the following requirements:
 

●  GPA of 3.0 or higher

●  good standing at the time of graduation

●  successful completion of the capstone project

●  successful completion of the required coursework and scholarly project hours

Clinical Hours for Degree Completion

A minimum of 1000 graduate clinical hours (MSN + DNP) is required for completion of the DNP degree.  Four hundred-twenty of these hours will be earned in the DNP program, and the remaining hours must be documented at the master's level. Certification in an advanced practice area can be used as an indicator of the achievement of the required masters hours. If you do not have Advanced Certification as a nurse practitioner, clinical specialist, midwife, nurse anesthetist, or nurse executive, a portfolio assessment and official verification of the total number of clinical practice hours in your MSN or Post-Master's certificate program are required to document hours of advanced practice prior to the DNP.  If you cannot provide documentation of sufficient clinical hours, you will be required to take additional class hours as determined through portfolio assessment by the Director of the Graduate Program and the Associate Dean for Academic Programs.  In such cases, 60 clinical hours are the equivalent of 1 semester credit hour.

Program Length

The DNP degree typically can be completed in one year of full-time study or two years of part-time study.

Time limit for doctoral study

Doctoral programs of study may include appropriate coursework that has been earned no more than six years (18 consecutive fall, spring, and summer semesters) prior to the date of the student's admission to the doctoral program. All degree requirements must be completed within seven years (21 consecutive fall, spring, and summer semesters) of the date of the student's admission to the doctoral program.

Residency

The  practice-focused DNP program has a practice-based residency.  The student fulfills the residency requirement by satisfactorily completing the practice-focused, comprehensive, scholarly project in the final semester of the program.

Additional information is in the Degree Requirements section of this catalog.

 

JOINT DOCTOR OF NURSING PRACTICE PROGRAM

Full-time Post-masters Program of Study

Part-time Post-masters Program of Study

THE UNIVERSITY OF ALABAMA GRADUATE CATALOG

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