Mar 29, 2024  
2018-2019 Graduate Catalog 
    
2018-2019 Graduate Catalog [ARCHIVED CATALOG]

Nursing Major, DNP


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The College of Nursing offers the Doctor of Nursing Practice program (DNP), designed for BSN or MSN graduates or those with a BSN and a Master’s degree in a business or health related field, who are interested in earning a clinical doctorate in nursing.

Student Learning Outcomes (SLO) - Graduates of the program are expected to:

  • Integrate nursing science with other disciplines as the basis for the provision of the highest level of evidence-based advanced nursing care.
  • Demonstrate and promote professionalism, advocacy, social justice, equity, ethical principles, and scientific integrity in advanced nursing practice.
  • Engage in and promote intra and inter-professional collaboration in clinical practice models, health policy, and standards of care for individuals, families, and communities across culturally diverse populations.
  • Generate ethically responsible system and outcomes research and analyze evidence from nursing and related sciences to translate findings into practice.
  • Utilize current and emerging information systems/technology to support, evaluate, and improve: 1) nursing care, 2) healthcare systems, and 3) patient and population health.
  • Synthesize and use appropriate theories, concepts and scientific data to support, evaluate and improve patient and population health.
  • Assume leadership in advanced practice, health policy, mentoring, scholarship, and scientific inquiry.
  • Disseminate credible and relevant evidence supporting decisions using various forms of communication.

Admission

  • All applicants must hold a Bachelor’s degree in nursing from a program accredited by the National League for Nursing Accrediting Commission or the Collegiate Commission on Nursing Education.
  • Submit online application to the Graduate Admissions Office. Meet admission requirements of Graduate School.
  • Hold a master’s degree in nursing or a business or health related field [e.g., MBA, MPH, MHA).
  • BSN to DNP applicants for the Pediatric Nurse Practitioner Acute Care track must complete a minimum of one year of employment in an acute care setting (usually a hospital) prior to the beginning of coursework in the Acute Care track.
  • Have a minimum cumulative graduate grade-point average of 3.00 on a 4.00 scale for previous college work.
  • Have completed 3 credit hours of graduate-level statistics within 2 years of admission.
  • Achieve competitive score on the verbal and quantitative portions of the Graduate Record Examination if undergraduate GPA is below 3.30. If undergraduate GPA is 3.30 or above, then applicants are exempt from the GRE requirement.
  • Have TOEFL scores of at least 550 on the paper test or 80 on the internet-based test if native language is not English.
  • Complete College of Nursing Graduate Program Data Form.
  • Submit College of Nursing Graduate Rating Forms from three college level instructors and/or nurses and administrators who have supervised applicant’s professional work.
  • Submit an essay describing personal and professional aspirations.
  • Schedule a personal interview with the College of Nursing DNP admissions committee. International applicants may be interviewed by telephone or teleconferencing at the discretion of the admissions committee.

See College of Nursing website (www.nursing.utk.edu) for current application deadlines and additional information on admission procedures.

Special Requirements and Policies

  • Prior to enrollment in the DNP program, each student must successfully complete a criminal background check.
  • Each student must hold personal professional liability insurance and health insurance.
  • As Registered Nurses, DNP students must be licensed to practice nursing in the state where employed and in all states where their clinical experiences will occur (if different from state of employment).
  • Each student must present evidence of meeting current health requirements. See College of Nursing website, www.nursing.utk.edu.
  • Each student must present evidence of current health care provider CPR certified.
  • A maximum of 6 graduate credit hours taken before acceptance into the DNP program may be applied toward the degree.
  • A minimum grade of B in all DNP and other graduate-level nursing courses and a 3.00 cumulative GPA is required for continuation the program.
  • The College of Nursing prohibits students from repeating graduate coursework with two exceptions: NURS 505 Advanced Clinical Pharmacology  and NURS 515 Advanced Pathophysiology for Nursing Practice . Students may only repeat these courses after earning a D or F; original and repeat grade will be included in the GPA.

The College of Nursing will observe the following grading scale: 

A    =  92 – 100 4 quality points
B+  =  88 – 91 3.3 quality points
B    =  83 – 87 3 quality points
C+ =  78 – 82 2.3 quality points
C   =  75 – 77 2 quality points
D   =  67 – 74 1 quality point
F    =  66 or below 0 quality points

Residence Requirement

For the doctoral degree, a minimum of two consecutive semesters of full-time registration is required. A statement as to how and during what period of time the residence requirement has been met will be presented with the Application for Admission to Candidacy along with signatures of approval from the major professor and the department head/program director.

Requirements

The following courses are required for all students.

  Credit Hours
NURS 604 - Principles of Population Health   3
NURS 610 - Review and Critique of Scientific Literature   3
NURS 612 - Health and Health Care Policy   3
NURS 613 - Nursing Leadership in Complex Systems   3
NURS 620 - Philosophical and Theoretical Foundations for Practice   3
NURS 622 - Evidence Based Practice I   3
NURS 623 - Population Health in a Global Society   3
NURS 624 - Evidence Based Practice II   3
NURS 626 - Health Systems Finance   3
NURS 630 - DNP Scholarly Project Proposal   2
NURS 633 - DNP Practice Immersion   1-12
NURS 634 - DNP Scholarly Project        3
  Total 33-44

Requirements for Family Nurse Practitioner concentration

  Credit Hours
NURS 501 - Advanced Nursing Research   3
NURS 510 - Theoretical Foundations of Nursing   3
NURS 504 - Advanced Health/Physical Assessment and Diagnostic Reasoning       3  
NURS 505 - Advanced Clinical Pharmacology    3
NURS 515 - Advanced Pathophysiology for Nursing Practice   3  
NURS 570 - Family Nurse Practitioner I   6
NURS 571 - Family Nurse Practitioner II   3
NURS 572 - Family Nurse Practitioner III   2-4
NURS 573 - Family Nurse Practitioner IV           8
  Total 34-36

Requirements for Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioner concentration

  Credit Hours
NURS 501 - Advanced Nursing Research   3
NURS 510 - Theoretical Foundations of Nursing   3
NURS 504 - Advanced Health/Physical Assessment and Diagnostic Reasoning       3  
NURS 505 - Advanced Clinical Pharmacology    3
NURS 515 - Advanced Pathophysiology for Nursing Practice   3  
NURS 519 - Psychopharmacology in Advanced Practice   3
NURS 560 - Advanced Practice of Mental Health Nursing I   6
NURS 561 - Advanced Practice Mental Health II      6
  Total 30

Requirements for Nurse Anesthesia concentration

  Credit Hours
NURS 501 - Advanced Nursing Research   3
NURS 510 - Theoretical Foundations of Nursing   3
NURS 504 - Advanced Health/Physical Assessment and Diagnostic Reasoning       3  
NURS 505 - Advanced Clinical Pharmacology    3
NURS 506 - Advanced Anesthesia Pharmacology    3  
NURS 516 - Advanced Pathophysiology: Anesthesia Implications in Neurological and Cardiovascular Conditions    2
NURS 517 - Advanced Pathophysiology: Anesthetic Implications in Respiratory and Renal Conditions    2
NURS 518 - Advanced Pathophysiology: Anesthesia Implications in Obstetrics and Pediatrics       2
NURS 522 - Chemistry and Physics for Nurse Anesthesia   3
NURS 523 - Advanced Principles of Nurse Anesthesia Practice   2
NURS 524 - Basic Principles of Anesthesia I   3
NURS 525 - Basic Principles of Anesthesia II   3
NURS 526 - Practice Issues: Nurse Anesthesia   2
NURS 544 - Clinical Nurse Anesthesia Practicum/Seminar I   4
NURS 545 - Clinical Nurse Anesthesia Practicum/Seminar II   8
NURS 546 - Clinical Nurse Anesthesia Practicum/Seminar III   2
NURS 547 - Clinical Nurse Anesthesia Practicum/Seminar IV   9
NURS 548 - Clinical Nurse Anesthesia Practicum/Seminar V   10
NURS 549 - Clinical Nurse Anesthesia Practicum/Seminar VI   10
NURS 583 - Clinical Nurse Anesthesia Practicum/Seminar VII      2
  Total 79

Requirements for Nurse Executive Practice concentration

  Credit Hours
NURS 501 - Advanced Nursing Research   3
NURS 510 - Theoretical Foundations of Nursing   3
NURS 589 - Human Resource Management        3  
NURS 590 - Nursing Administration I     6
NURS 591 - Nursing Administration II    6  
NURS 594 - Health System Quality Management    3
NURS 595 - Healthcare Finance       3
  Total 27

Requirements for Pediatric Nurse Practitioner concentration

  Credit Hours
NURS 501 - Advanced Nursing Research    3
NURS 510 - Theoretical Foundations of Nursing    3
NURS 504 - Advanced Health/Physical Assessment and Diagnostic Reasoning    3
NURS 505 - Advanced Clinical Pharmacology    3
NURS 515 - Advanced Pathophysiology for Nursing Practice    3
Primary Care Track courses  
NURS 527 - Clinical Experience in Pediatric Health    5
NURS 528 - Development and Behavior of the Pediatric Population    2
NURS 550 - Pediatric Nurse Practitioner I    2
NURS 551 - Pediatric Nurse Practitioner II    2
NURS 562 - Care of the Pediatric Patient with an Acute Illness    2
NURS 563 - Care of the Pediatric Patient with Chronic Conditions       2
  Total 30
Acute Care Track  
NURS 541 - Care of Child with Complex Acute, Chronic, and Critical Illness   2
NURS 527 - Clinical Experience in Pediatric Health   5

Students will be admitted to candidacy after successfully passing a comprehensive examination and defending the DNP Scholarly Project proposal. The DNP Scholarly Project produces a tangible and deliverable academic product that is derived from the practice immersion experience and is reviewed and evaluated by an academic committee. The DNP Scholarly Project committee is composed of a minimum of two doctoral-prepared (DNP or PhD) faculty. When appropriate, a third committee member may be selected, who holds special expertise relative to the specific project. The third member may be a faculty member from another academic unit, or external to the university.

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