Nursing, Doctor of Nursing Practice

The University of Saint Joseph’s highly regarded Nursing program offers a rigorous academic curriculum combined with clinical, real-world experience. Our Doctor of Nursing Practice program will prepare you for professional advancement and leadership roles in managing the clinical care of patients, improving health care systems and clinical education.

Graduates of the program will practice at the highest level using advanced knowledge from Nursing and other disciplines to improve health outcomes. This will be accomplished by educating students to critically analyze the effects of health policy and current evidence-based research as it relates to clinical practice.

The Doctor of Nursing Practice program at the University of Saint Joseph is accredited by the Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education (CCNE), One Dupont Circle, NW, Suite 530, Washington, DC 20036, 202-887-6791.

Program outcomes

1. Integrates scientific underpinnings from advanced practice Nursing
2. Validates evidence-based practice through competence in quality improvement, systems thinking, scholarship and information technology
3. Fosters professional collaboration to improve individual patient outcomes and population health through advocacy and policy
4. Formulates leadership skills to strengthen advanced Nursing practice and health care delivery
5. Embraces responsibility for advanced Nursing practice and health care delivery
6. Synthesizes theoretical concepts from Nursing practice to improve the care of patients and populations in a culturally competent manner

Admissions requirements

Submit an application, available at www.usj.edu/grad-application include:

• $50 non-refundable application fee
• Official sealed Master’s (M.S.N.) transcript from a regionally and nationally accredited institution with a minimum cumulative GPA of 3.2
• Three letters of recommendation
• Personal essay: Describe your clinical interests and why you want to pursue your Doctorate in Nursing Practice
• Immunization records
• Nursing supplemental health form
• Copy of valid nursing license
• Certified background check
• Certification form documenting previous master’s-level supervised clinical hours signed by the previous school’s program director

A comprehensive curriculum

Using the America Association of Colleges of Nursing Essentials for Doctoral Education, the D.N.P. program at the University of Saint Joseph prepares the graduate in:

• Scientific underpinnings of practice
• Organizational and systems leadership for quality improvement and systems thinking
• Clinical scholarship and analytical methods for evidence-based practice
• Information systems and technology for patient care
• Health care policy for advocacy in health care
• Interprofessional collaboration for improving patient and population health outcomes
• Clinical prevention and population health to improve our nation’s health and advanced Nursing practice

Advanced Practice Nursing programs in Psychiatric Mental Health and Family Health are offered with clinical internships in community and hospital settings in our master’s degree programs . Students who pursue the Nurse Practitioner coursework along with the D.N.P. and the required clinical hours are eligible to sit for the national accreditation exams as either a Family Nurse Practitioner or a Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioner.