Graduate Programs
Degree Programs
Doctor of Nursing Practice (D.N.P.) Program
Purpose
The Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) is a Post-Masters 37 credit hour practice-focused professional doctorate. Graduates of the program are prepared to assume leadership positions in nursing and health care, both at system and direct patient care levels. Graduate will contribute to quality improvement and patient safety through systems thinking, reflective practice, informatics, translation science, and evidence-based clinical practice.
Program Outcomes
Graduates of the program are expected to:
1. Use relationship-centered nursing leadership to improve health care and the health status and outcomes of people.
2. Engage with communities of practice to frame problems, design and implement evidence-based interventions, and evaluate outcomes.
3. Integrate the needs of diverse societies in the design, delivery, and evaluation of health services in complex systems.
4. Transform clinical practice through reflection, action inquiry, strategic resource management, information technology and/or knowledge-based resources.
5. Translate knowledge for application to the delivery of advanced nursing practice.
6. Implement changes based on evaluation of health systems, health policy, and nursing science in response to social, political, economic, and ethical issues.
7. Evaluate the impact of change on complex health systems including individuals and populations.
Admission Criteria
Admission to the Indiana University School of Nursing (IUSON) DNP program requires approval by the faculty and is based on the applicant's qualifications as evidenced by grade point average, certification, statement of professional aspirations, official transcripts, references. A personal interview is required. Acceptance into the program is competitive. The following criteria must be met for unconditional admission to the DNP program:
1) Master's Degree in Nursing from an NLNAC or CCNE accredited program.
2) Masters Nursing degree program cumulative GPA of 3.3 or higher.
3) 1 year of post - Master's work experience.
4) Self Assessment and/ or demonstrated competency through a portfolio process of the knowledge, skills, and abilities related to content in the course I630 Introduction to Informatics or equivalent graduate level informatics course work
5) Nursing R505 Measurement and Data Analysis or Nurs L650 Data Analysis for Clinical and Administrative Decision Making or equivalent graduate level statistics completed within last 3 years with a grade of B or better.
6) Certification in specialty area of practice. In the absence of certification documentation from the academic master's degree program about supervised practice hours in an advanced practice specialty area, Students who are not certified have the option of obtaining certification in their specialty by the end of the first semester of study or completing an additional number of practice hours required to meet the 1000 post Baccalaureate practice requirement for the DNP degree.
7) An unencumbered RN licensure in state of practice.
8) Completed online IUSON DNP application.
9) Official transcripts from all college or university coursework
10) Written career goal statement (limit of 500 words)
11) Three professional references (at least one from a current or former supervisor)
12) Resume or curriculum vitae
13) Statement of possible community agency or health system mentor, and/or general idea of DNP scholarly inquiry project
14) Admission interview
DNP Curriculum
Thirty-seven credit hours (post- masters MSN) are required to complete the curriculum and include the following courses:
- I631 Clinical Information Systems (3 credits)
- D615 Health Care Outcomes and Decision Making (3 credits)
- D735 Clinical Epidemiology and Statistics in Nursing (1-3 credits)
- D736 Inquiry I: Evidence-based Research and Translation Science (1-3 credits)
- D737 Inquiry II: Evidence-based Research and Translation Science (3 credits)
- D743 Influencing Public Health Policy (3 credits)
- D744 Strategic Resource Management in Nursing and Health Systems (3 credits)
- D749 DNP Practicum (1 -3 credits) It is expected that students will come to the program with variable documented supervised hours of clinical practice that supported initial certification. A total of 7 credit hours of practicum course work may be required of students to meet the 1000 post baccalaureate practice hour requirement for the DNP degree. Clock hour to credit hour ratio: 5 clock hours to one credit hour per week (total 75 clock hours per credit per semester)
- D751 Knowledge Complexity (3 credits)
- D751 Relationship-Centered Leadership in Complex Systems (3 credits)
- Elective (3 credits)