The philosophy of the Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) program is congruent with the University mission that emphasizes high-quality education, personalized learning environment, and attention to research, scholarship, and creativity to advance knowledge. Consistent with the Baccalaureate program philosophy, the DNP program seeks to further prepare leaders who are dedicated to the improvement of health care outcomes at the local, state, national, and global levels. Like the Master of Science in Nursing program, the philosophy of the DNP program includes advanced nursing practice and evidence based practice foci. An additional area of emphasis is chronic illness.
Mastery of these foci may occur through post-Masters to DNP preparation. The DNP program philosophy holds that the basis for the highest level of nursing practice is the integration of nursing knowledge from the biophysical, psychosocial, analytical, and organizational sciences. Further, education at the DNP level provides a basis for translating evidence-based research findings into safe, high-quality clinical practice for a wide variety of patient populations. Finally, DNP-educated advanced practice nurses are uniquely prepared to emerge as leaders utilizing a blend of clinical knowledge, organizational skills, economic understanding, political awareness, and technological proficiency to impact patient outcomes in complex health systems.
