Thomas Jefferson University Board of Trustees
Approves Doctor of Nursing Practice Degree

(Philadelphia) Thomas Jefferson University's Board of Trustees approved a Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) degree, thus expanding the continuum of educational opportunities for nurses offered by the Jefferson School of Nursing, to range from Associate of Science in Nursing through the practice doctorate. The new program is scheduled to start in the fall of 2007.

"Jefferson is the ideal institution to offer this degree because our status as an academic health center allows us to offer students an inter-professional educational experience," shares Mary G. Schaal, RN, EdD, Professor and Dean of the Jefferson School of Nursing. DNP students will take core courses, such as biostatistics, organizational change and advanced topics in health informatics, together with doctoral students from Jefferson Medical College, Jefferson College of Graduate Studies and the other disciplines within Jefferson Schools.

The DNP program is congruent with the University's mission which includes educating professionals who will form and lead the integrated healthcare delivery and research teams of tomorrow, discovering new knowledge that will define the future of clinical care, and setting the standard for quality, compassionate and efficient patient care.

The new degree is also in line with the AACN's recommendation that advanced practice nurses should be doctorally prepared by 2015. This includes nurse practitioners, certified nurse specialists, nurse anesthetists, and nurse midwives.

Jefferson will offer the DNP curriculum in a mix of on-line and in-class courses. Full-time students who have a MSN complete the 36-credit program in one calendar year; part-time students complete the degree on their own timeline. A combined MSN/DNP program enables students with a BSN to complete both degrees in two to three calendar years of full-time study.

Thomas Jefferson University is an academic health center comprised of Schools of Health Professions, Nursing, Pharmacy and Population Health; Jefferson Medical College; and Jefferson College of Graduate Studies. Students learn in a community of clinicians, physicians, researchers, and educators, and they have access to world-class facilities and learning opportunities.

For more information about the DNP and other programs at Jefferson, visit www.jefferson.edu/jchp/nursing/dpn.cfm or call 1-877-JEFF-247.