SIUE School of Nursing to Offer Doctorate for Family Nurse Practitioners
Edwardsville, Ill. (PRWEB) February 09, 2015 -- The Southern Illinois University Edwardsville School of Nursing has announced that the family nurse practitioner master’s program will transition to a doctor of nursing practice with a family nurse practitioner specialization (FNP DNP) beginning in August 2015.
The doctoral program will consist of eight semesters of full-time coursework with an addition of only 12 credits more than the master’s degree. Individualized progressions will also be considered.
Students who graduate from the FNP DNP will be eligible to take the same certification exams, either the American Nurses Credentialing Center or the American Association of Nurse Practitioners, as the previous master’s students. Completion of one of these two exams is required for advanced practice nursing licensure.
“The nation’s complex health care environment requires nurse practitioners to possess the highest level of scientific knowledge and practice expertise in order to provide quality patient care and improve patient outcomes,” said Dr. Valerie Griffin, assistant clinical professor and coordinator of the FNP DNP program. “The SIUE School of Nursing continuously strives to keep our students competitive in the field of health care, and we feel that this new doctoral specialization will be beneficial for SIUE, students and the community.”
In 2009, the SIUE School of Nursing post-master’s DNP program was approved. The FNP DNP is the second post-baccalaureate DNP curriculum brought forward at SIUE. The nurse anesthesia (NA DNP) specialization was approved in early 2014. Following successful matriculation of all previously admitted students, the FNP master’s and certificate programs will be eliminated in June 2018.
SIUE has been educating baccalaureate-prepared registered nurses to become family nurse practitioners for several decades, receiving over 100 graduate applicants per year to fill the annual class of 36 students. The role of DNP graduates is to design new models of care, use evidence to improve practice, evaluate outcomes, identify and manage the health care needs of individuals, communities, and populations, and use technology and information systems to improve health outcomes. Through experiential learning, self-assessment and reflection, community engagement, interprofessional practice and scientific inquiry, DNP nurses emerge as leaders in the care of diverse populations.
“The transition from an MSN program to a DNP program will have a positive effect on the quality of health care provided by these advanced practice nurses,” said Griffin. “The program will prepare FNP DNPs to be our future clinical leaders in evidence-based practice.”
To enroll in the FNP DNP specialization for Fall 2015, visit siue.edu/nursing. The SIUE School of Nursing will accept applications for this new program until April 1, 2015.
The SIUE School of Nursing’s fully accredited programs are committed to creating excellence in nursing leadership through innovative teaching, evidence-based practice, quality research, patient advocacy and community service. Enrolling nearly 1,000 students in its baccalaureate, master’s and doctoral programs, the School develops leaders in pursuit of shaping the nursing profession and impacting the health care environment. Through expanded programs located on the SIU Carbondale campus and SIU School of Medicine campus, the SIUE School of Nursing is helping to solve the region’s shortage of baccalaureate-prepared nurses and enhance the quality of nursing practice within hospitals and medical centers.
Photo: SIUE’s Dr. Valerie Griffin, assistant clinical professor and coordinator of the FNP DNP program.
Doug McIlhagga, Southern IL University Edwardsville, http://www.siue.edu, +1 (618) 650-5600, [email protected]
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