The Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) is a practice focused doctorate that prepares professional nurses for scholarly practice. Our graduates are clinical and health system experts that create, reform and lead improvements in practice, policy, populations, organizations, and government. In addition to the traditional DNP-Clinical Practice, Jefferson offers a DNP-Post Baccalaureate Entry. Part time and full time plans of study are available. Enter our DNP Program and engage in inter-professional leadership across the health care continuum. Our nationally recognized, expert faculty will mentor you to design, implement and evaluate a year-long doctoral project aligned with your career interests and goals.
DNP Program Outcomes
- Synthesize knowledge from ethics and the biophysical, psychosocial, analytical, and organizational sciences into the conceptual foundation of advanced nursing practice at the doctoral level. (Essential I)
- Employ organizational and systems-level leadership principles in the development and evaluation of care delivery approaches that meet the current and future needs of communities and populations. (Essential II)
- Design, direct and evaluate scholarly inquiries that incorporate evidence appraisal, research translation, and standards of care to improve practice and the practice environment. (Essential III)
- Analyze ethical and legal issues in the use of information, information technology, communication networks, and patient care technologies used to support safe, high-quality patient care. (Essentials II, IV)
- Influence policy makers through active participation on committees, boards, or task forces at the institutional, local, state, regional, national, and/or international levels to improve health care delivery and outcomes. (Essential V)
- Integrate skills of effective communication, collaboration, shared decision-making, and leadership with interprofessional teams to create change in health care. (Essential VI)
The accredited DNP program:
- Is designed for the working healthcare professional, and all coursework is completed online
- Can be completed on a full-time or part-time plan of study
- Focuses on leadership, systems thinking, reflective practice, health policy, implementation science and evidenced-based clinical practice
- Includes three practica that comprise the doctoral project and provide the opportunity for application of knowledge gained in all the courses
DNP graduates lead and practice at the most advanced level of nursing.
We prepare students to plan, initiate, lead and evaluate change in practices and health systems.
Graduates in administrative, healthcare policy, informatics and population-based specialties focus their practice on aggregates: populations, systems (including information systems), organizations and state or national policies.
Now BSN prepared nurses can enter the DNP-Post Baccalaureate Entry program directly, and earn a conferred MSN prior to completing DNP nursing coursework.