Doctor of Nursing Practice (Post-MS to DNP)

• Defining the DNP

  A Doctor of Nursing Practice refers to a specific degree while a nurse practitioner refers to a job title.

  A Master of Science in Nursing (MSN) is the minimum degree requirement in order to become a nurse practitioner, while a DNP is an advanced degree that prepares you for advanced roles in the healthcare industry.

  A DNP is designed to prepare nurses for leadership roles within their organization (and the nursing community at large), improve key competencies, and improve patient outcomes, whereas a PhD in Nursing is meant to prepare nurse scientists and scholars for advanced academic research.

• Students' Scholarly Practice Project Titles (2024)

  • "Using Evidence-Based Restraint Alternatives to Educate and Evaluate Nurses’ Attitude Towards Limiting the Use of Physical Restraints in a Nursing Home Facility"
  • "Measuring Academic Nurse Educators' Understanding of Autism Spectrum Disorder"
  • "Determining the effectiveness of an educational intervention for newly licensed nurses to recognize and respond to bias and microaggressions in the workplace"
  • "Complementary and Alternative Medicine Therapy Use in Women’s Healthcare"
  • "How does leadership style education influence self-efficacy?"
  • "The Effect of an Educational Module about the STOPP/START Screening Tool on Nurse Practitioners’ Knowledge and Self-Efficacy in the Outpatient Care Setting"
  • "Increasing Self-Efficacy by Providing an Educational Empowerment Program to Reduce Nursing Burnout with Nurses in a Psychiatric Unit"
  • "Preserving Creativity and Mitigating Burnout in Nursing Faculty: A Pilot Project"
  • "Assessing Bias: Elevating Cultural Competence in Women's Health Nursing"
  • "Improving Nurses’ Awareness and Screening on E-Cigarette Use in Adolescents"
  • "An Education Module to Improve Nursing Faculty's Confidence in Using the Lasater Clinical Judgment Rubric"
  • "An End-of-Life (EOL) Educational Intervention on National Guidelines and the CARES Tool to Improve Acute Care Registered Nurses’ Confidence in Providing EOL Care"
  • "The Experiences and Perceptions of Certified Nursing Assistants on the Myths of Aging and Caring for Older Adults Living in Long Term Care Facilities"
  • "An Investigation of the Use of an Educational Intervention on Reality Shock for the Transition of Newly Graduated Registered Nurses from Academia to Professional Practice in the Acute Care Intensive Care Unit"
  • "The Effects of Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction among Burnout Inpatient Mental Health Nurses"
  • "A Comparison of PHQ-9 and PHQ-2 as Screening Tools for Adolescent Depression"
  • "Improving Teamwork and Job Satisfaction through Improved Communication"
  • "Resiliency in Nursing Students"
  • "Assessing a Video Presentation’s Ability to Motivate Oncology Nurses Towards the Use of Acceptance and Commitment Therapy for Self-Care"
  • "The Impact of a Mental Health Education, Stigma and Suicide Awareness Program: A Community Mental Health Promotion Project for Church Clergy Who Support Adolescents and Young Adults"
  • "Evaluating the Effect of an Orientation Education Module on Novice Nursing Faculty Self-Confidence"
  • "The Impact of Educating Nurses on Motivational Interviewing to Reduce Medication Non-adherence among Patients Diagnosed with Schizophrenia"
  • "The Case for Telehealth in Rural Medicine: Educating Providers on the Advantages and Efficacy of Telehealth to Increase Acceptance of Use"
  • "Stress Management Intervention to Promote Self-Efficacy in an Associate Degree Nursing Program"
  • "An Exploration of the Use of an Educational Intervention Providing Updated Breast Cancer Prevention and Screening Guidelines for Oncology Nursing Society Members to Share with Non-Oncology Peers to Promote Outreach to Underserved Communities"
  • Increasing Self Efficacy in Novice Nursing Faculty in a Community College System
  • "Evaluation of documentation in the EHR of elements of PCC/"What Matters" on long-term care units where clinicians have completed an education program on the Age Friendly Health Systems 4Ms" model of care
  • "The Impact of SCD or PTSD education on nurses' ability to recognize signs and symptoms of PTSD and seek help."
  • "An Educational Program to Promote Culturally Competent Care by Healthcare Workers"
  • "An Educational Intervention to Improve the Knowledge and Confidence Levels in Providers to Refer Patients with Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease to Pulmonary Rehabilitation"
  • "Self-Efficacy in Registered Nurses during End-of-Life Care"
  • "Providing an Educational Intervention to Improve Nurses’ Knowledge and Confidence in Recognizing and Addressing Burnout and Stress in a Mental Healthcare Facility."
  • "Nurses’ education program on Telehealth practices for providing mental health services using Telehealth as a platform"
  • "Utilizing an Educational Intervention to Increase the Autonomy, Confidence, and Motivation Levels of Registered Nurses Caring for Older Adults in Long Term Care About the Use of Psychotropic Medications"
  • Implementing Therapeutic Music to Reduce Stress among Oncology Nurses
  • Providing an Educational Intervention for Psychiatric Mental Health Registered Nurses to Help Evaluate Their Attitudes Towards Patients with Substance Use Disorders to Reduce Stigma
  • Improving Home Care Nurses' Self-Efficacy and Proficiency Using An Education Module On Preventing Central Line Catheter Infections: A Quality Improvement Project
  • "Determining the Success of an Educational Program Supporting Nontechnical Competencies With Critical Care Nurses in a Rapid Response Team"
  • School nurses’ perceptions of resources needed to care for school-aged children after an infectious disease outbreak
  • An Exploratory, Descriptive Project Investigating the Use of Functional Medicine for Pain Management Among Functional Medicine Providers
  • Improving Nurses' Competence in Smoking Cessation Strategies for Patients with Anxiety.
  • Alerting the Rapid Response Team (RRT): The Correlation of RRT Training on Patient Outcomes and Nurses' Self-Confidence
  • Improving Confidence in Emergency Room Nurses During a Code Stroke
  • Does an educational intervention about the Screening, Brief Intervention, and Referral to Treatment (SBIRT) tool increase knowledge and use of the tool in healthcare professionals after four weeks?
  • Empowering Women's Health Registered Nurses to Support to Breastfeeding Mothers from Ethiopian Origin
  • Effects of Video-Based Cardiac cath education on self-efficacy and knowledge of nurses in cardiology unit.
  • "Experiences of Direct Care Employees and their Perceptions of Burnout and Work Satisfaction in a Youth Residential Mental Health Setting."
  • A Pedagogical Intervention for Critical Care Nurses to Identify Barriers to Implementing Restorative Breaks to Minimize Risk of Burnout Syndrome
  • "A Wellness Program's Impact on Burnout Experienced by Psychiatric Nurses"
  • Increasing Self-efficacy of the Aesthetic Nurse and Nurse Practitioner from an Online Education Module with a Standardized Cosmetic Injection Assessment Tool
  • "The Implementation of Idea Huddles and Their Effect on Direct Patient Care Staff’s Level of Decision-Making and Perception of Work Environment"
  • Diversity in Nursing Education: A Qualitative Inquiry
  • "Implementation of an Educational Module on the EBP Approaches to Dementia Care on Nurses Knowledge and Confidence amongst RN-BSN Students"
  • Evaluating the use of simulation to increase new graduate nurses' confidence in clinical reasoning and decision making
  • "To Err is Human: Examining Skills and Attitudes toward Medical Errors and Incident Reporting after an Error Disclosure and Root Cause Analysis Simulation with Pre-licensure Nursing Students"
  • "A Deeper Understanding of High-Functioning Autism Spectrum Disorder formerly known as Asperger Syndrome"
  • Application of Culturally Responsive Teaching to Online Nursing Education
  • Evidence-based Suicide Risk Assessment and Nurse Education on Suicide Prevention
  • "Enhancing Pediatric Nurse’s Knowledge and Self-Efficacy in Asthma Care via an Evidence-Based-Practice Education Module"
  • "Creating a Culturally Sensitive Onboarding Process: Experiences through the Lens of African American Nursing Students"
  • "Combating Compassion Fatigue with a mindfulness approach for the oncology nurse"
  • "Implementing an Evidence-Based Practice Severe Hypertension Treatment Algorithm Among Labor and Delivery and Inpatient Postpartum Nurses"
  • "Retrospective Chart Review of the Impact of Glucose Gel on NICU Admissions for Hypoglycemia"
  • "A Qualitative Project on the Experiences of Minority Graduate Nursing Students and their Mental Health"
  • "The Impact of Obstetric Hemorrhage Simulation Training on Nursing Confidence and Self Efficacy"
  • "Implementation of Twiage, an Electronic Triage System to Improve Pre-Hospital and Hospital Communication"
  • "Increasing Self-Efficacy and Reducing Alarm Fatigue in Nurses Working in Critical Care"
  • "Trauma Informed Leadership"
  • "Caregivers Coping with Mental Health Symptoms While Caring for a Child with Asthma"
  • "Knowledge, Attitudes, and Readiness Related to Trauma-Sensitive Schools Training in Public High School Teachers: A Mixed-Methods Pilot Study"
  • "Using Boundary Management to Decrease Burnout in Nursing Faculty"
  • "The Big Three: Can Nursing Students Increase their Knowledge and Understanding of Critical Thinking, Clinical Judgement, and Clinical Reasoning?"
  • "Transportation Barriers Among Spanish Speaking In-Center Hemodialysis Individuals"
  • "Assessment of Nurse's Knowledge of Temporary Epicardial Pacing Wires in Post-operative Cardiac Surgery Patients"
  • Improving self efficacy of nurses using the critical time intervention tool.

Frequently Asked Questions About the Doctor of Nursing Practice Program

• 1) What is a Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP)?

  The Doctor of Nursing Practice is one of the highest levels of education available to nurses. It is designed to help nurses advance in their careers, whether to an advanced nursing job or a leadership role within their organization. The program places heavy emphasis on teaching research methods, data analysis, and evidence-based practice.

• 2) What is the difference between a Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) and a Nurse Practitioner (NP)?

  The primary difference between a Doctor of Nursing Practice and a nurse practitioner is this: The term “nurse practitioner” refers to a job title, while the term “doctor of nursing” refers to a specific degree.

  While a Master of Science in Nursing is the minimum degree requirement in order to become a nurse practitioner, a DNP is an advanced degree that prepares you for advanced roles in the healthcare industry.

• 3) What is the difference between a DNP and a PhD?

  While the a Doctor of Nursing is designed to prepare nurses for leadership roles within their organization (and the nursing community at large), improve key competencies, and improve patient outcomes, a PhD in Nursing is meant to prepare nurse scientists and scholars for advanced academic research.

• 4) What kind of career will a DNP prepare me for?

  Depending on your exact interests and specialization, earning your DNP can prepare you for a variety of job titles and roles, including (but not limited to):

  • Nursing education
  • Senior level management within your organization
  • Advanced patient care
  • Clinical research
  • Policy making

• 5) Do I need a master's degree to apply for a DNP?

  Yes. The DNP program is designed for individuals who hold a master’s degree in nursing and who function in an advanced practice or leadership role within their organization. This may include nurse practitioners, clinical nurse specialists, nursing leaders, and nursing educators.

  Other admission requirements include:

  • A completed Hours Verification Form in addition to the online application
  • Two essays, an up-to-date resume, and two letters of recommendation
  • A minimum graduate GPA of 3.0
  • Please note that the GRE is not required for the Doctor of Nursing program. However, if your overall GPA falls below a 3.5, you may want to consider submitting your official GRE scores.
  • An interview with the program director