Doctor of Nursing Practice

Program Code: R-DNP
Degree Designation: Doctor of Nursing Practice
Department: School of Nursing
Website: nursing.duke.edu/academic-programs/msn-master-science-nursing/bsn-dnp (Post-BSN) & nursing.duke.edu/academic-programs/dnp-program-nursing (Post-MSN)

Program Summary

The Duke University School of Nursing is proud to be the first school in North Carolina to offer a Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) degree. The inaugural class entered in Fall 2008. The DNP Program is designed for nurses in advanced nursing practice who have an earned master’s degree in nursing or a health-related profession and for nurses with an earned bachelor of science in nursing who want to pursue the DNP and complete an advanced practice major.

The Duke DNP is a practice doctorate, which provides students with the skills and tools necessary to assess the evidence gained through nursing research, evaluate the impact of that evidence on their practice, and, as necessary, make changes to enhance quality of care. As nursing leaders in interdisciplinary health care teams, graduates of the Duke Doctor of Nursing Practice Program work to advance health equity and social justice by preparing nurse leaders and innovators with a commitment to improving health outcomes through transformative excellence in education, clinical practice, and nursing science.

The curriculum is based on American Association of Colleges of Nursing (AACN) guidelines and focuses on translation of evidence to practice, transformation of health care, health care leadership, and advanced specialty practice. The common thread throughout the curriculum is data-driven, evidence-based work that leads to quality care and patient safety. The program requires a minimum of 74 to 83 credit hours post-BSN depending on the advanced practice major selected or 35 credit hours post-master’s.

The DNP Program is designed specifically to meet the needs of employed nursing professionals to continue in their jobs while also pursuing this graduate degree. Students receive rigorous online and distance-based courses in the DNP program. It is expected that students will attend on-campus intensives as required.

A DNP Project course (for all students) and an advanced practice synthesis (for post-BSN students only) are the integrating courses that bring together the practice and scholarship elements of the degree.

The DNP degree is designed to provide the knowledge required for evidence-based nursing care, systems that promote safety and quality, and outcome measurements for patients, populations, and communities. The DNP builds on master’s degree program content, which prepares graduates for an advanced role (for example, nurse practitioner, clinical nurse specialist, nurse anesthetist, health care leadership, informatics). In addition, the DNP Program includes theory and empirical findings from nursing and other disciplines (including the translation of research into practice, use of information systems, system change, leadership, and policy).

The School of Nursing also offers a doctorate of nursing practice with specialization in nurse anesthesia (a 36-month full-time program, requiring the completion of 83 credit hours, as well as a nine-credit hours Executive Leadership Specialty).

The Duke Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) Program has two primary points of entry:

• Post-BSN Entry allows students who enroll in the DNP program after earning a bachelor’s degree in nursing and being admitted to the DUSON MSN Program to prepare for an advanced practice role as part of their DNP Program. For these students, completion of the DNP degree requires a minimum of 71 to 83 credit hours post-BSN, depending on the advanced practice major selected.

• Post-MSN Entry allows students who enter the DNP program with an earned master’s degree in nursing in an advanced practice major master’s-prepared nurses to build upon their experience and education. For these students, completion of the DNP degree requires a minimum of 35 credit hours, including 6 credit hours of graduate electives and 5 credit hours of Nursing 975 (DNP Project).

DNP courses are delivered either fully online or in a distance-based format. On-campus sessions, which are two to three days in length, are typically scheduled once per semester.

DNP Program Outcomes

The program outcomes of the DNP program reflect integration and application of the knowledge and skills obtained in the program.

Thus, at the completion of the program, the DNP graduate will be able to:

• use translational science and analytic methods to develop, identify, implement, and evaluate best practices to improve health care and health care systems.

• act as a practice scholar to design, direct and evaluate system changes to promote safe, timely, effective, efficient, and equitable patient-centered care.

• engage in complex, evidence-based advanced nursing practice and evaluative approaches to care delivery for individuals, communities, and populations.

• partner with others to develop interactive interprofessional teams that communicate effectively, promote health, reduce risk, enhance patient outcomes, and improve complex health care delivery systems.

• employ strategic leadership skills to influence health policy; implement ethical, cost effective, and evidence-based changes in care systems; and advance the profession.

• translate knowledge into practice and policy to reduce health disparities, encourage cultural sensitivity and promote access to quality care while advocating for social justice and equity locally, nationally, and globally.

• use data analytic methods, information systems, and technology to evaluate, integrate and apply knowledge that will improve programs of care, outcomes of care, and care systems.

Academic Requirements

Sample DNP Matriculation Plan for Post-MSN Entry Student

*Minimum of 5 DNP Project credit hours divided among 4 semesters depending on project complexity required for degree.