Nursing Practice (DNP)
The Doctor of Nursing Practice (D.N.P.) program at the University of St. Francis is a post-MSN program that will prepare you, an advanced practice or advanced role nurse, for greater leadership in health care delivery, administration, and education. Doctorally prepared nurses are influencing the direction and nature of health care delivery nationwide. USF’s DNP program was the fourth such program established in the State of Illinois and prepares graduates to provide the most advanced level of nursing care for individuals and communities based on evidence-based, medical, and nursing research and practice guidelines.
Students in USF’s DNP program are advanced practice and advanced role nurses of the highest caliber. Upon graduation, they will be fully prepared as health care providers to practice in health care settings that serve our most vulnerable citizens, including the poor, elderly, working families, the marginalized, and the uninsured. An additional education concentration is also available to those doctoral students who plan to educate tomorrow’s nurses. The DNP program is a natural outgrowth of the University’s highly acclaimed graduate nursing programs that have sustained a high pass rate on certification exams, grounded in AACN DNP Essentials, NONPF Guidelines, and QSEN standards for nursing education.
The DNP program is delivered online, with practicum experiences and translational research opportunities as key components. Be ready to work with the newest and latest clinical guidelines, protocols, translational research activities, and policy initiatives. The DNP student will provide or direct health care involving individual patients and families, promote the public’s health, manage vulnerable populations who experience health disparities, manage and direct provider services and influence health care policy. Students are guided to a specialization in vulnerable populations they plan to work with upon graduation.
Curriculum
Major Program (40 credit hours)
| Code | Title | Hours |
|---|---|---|
| NURS 810 | Professional And Organizational Communication | 4 |
| NURS 812 | Information Management in Advanced Practice | 3 |
| NURS 814 | Health Care Policy, Politics, Practice | 4 |
| NURS 816 | Diversity and Social Justice Issues in a Global Society ((100 practice hours) | 4 |
| NURS 910 | Advanced Quantitative and Qualitative Research (100 practice hours) | 4 |
| NURS 914 | Health Care Finance and Practice Management | 4 |
| NURS 916 | Advanced Nursing Practice Role Selective (100-350 practice hours) | 4 |
| NURS 980 | Translational Research I (100 practice hours) | 4 |
| NURS 990 | Translational Research II (100 practice hours) | 4 |
| NURS 998 | Advanced Nursing Practice Role Residency (100-350 practice hours) | 4 |
| With Optional Education Concentration | ||
| Teaching in Nursing (4) | ||
| Nursing Education Methods and Measurement (4) | ||
| Nursing Education Practicum (4) | ||
| Total Hours | 39 | |