Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP)

Established in 2008, the Doctorate of Nursing Practice (DNP) is a program designed to prepare the nurse at an advanced level of nursing science. The program emphasizes the development of the student’s capacity to impact the clinical setting as leaders and educators and to utilize clinical research to improve and transform health care. This program is based on the understanding that nursing provides services which includes the direct care of individual clients, management of care for populations, administration of nursing systems, and development and implementation of health policy. Advanced practice nurses with practice doctorates will address significant practice issues in a scholarly way, adopt broad system perspectives for health promotion and risk reduction, and act as agents of change that transform client/community care, participate in the on-going evaluation of health care outcomes, and assist in the translation of research that leads to positive nursing practice changes.

The purposes of the Doctor of Nursing Practice program are:

To prepare clinically focused advanced practice nurses who are capable of translating knowledge into the clinical setting that contributes to the positive development of individuals, families, communities, society and the discipline of nursing.
To prepare clinically focused advanced practice nurses who will be capable of addressing the multiple weaknesses in the current health care systems through roles as leaders, educators and agents of change.
To prepare leaders for the discipline and profession of nursing that will have the skills to address issues of health disparities in an urban environment.

Applicants can enter the DNP program as a post-BSN student or as a student who has attained a master’s of science in nursing (MSN) degree with a clinical specialty or as a student who has attained a master’s of science in nursing (MSN) degree without a clinical specialty. Post-BSN students will complete training in a clinical specialty as part of their DNP degree, which will qualify them to sit for clinical specialty certification. Post-MSN students that don’t currently have a clinical specialty as part of the DNP will take classes that qualify them to sit for clinical specialty certification. More information about the three paths to a Doctorate of Nursing Practice degree can be obtained here.

Nursing Clinical Practice and Research at WSU

Wayne State University is an excellent setting for the Doctorate of Nursing Practice program. Currently we are a ‘top 30’ graduate program according to US News and World Report and ranked 5th in the nation according to the new Faculty Scholarly Productivity Index, a ratings system produced by the New York-based for-profit firm Academic Analytics and financed in part by the State University of New York at Stony Brook. The rankings were published in the January 12, 2007 edition of The Chronicle of Higher Education. Clinical practice is the norm among the PhD faculty in the College of Nursing. Our access to clinical sites, relationships with multiple health systems and the demand for our graduates strengthens our ability to provide an excellent environment for a clinical doctorate in nursing. The program utilizes an online, on-job, on-campus model and builds on our experience with online and distance programs. The College of Nursing’s faculty possess the qualifications that make Wayne State University’s DNP program one of the best in the state and nation.

For Additional Information
To learn more about the Doctor of Nursing Practice Program, please contact:
                Jean E. Davis, PhD, RN
                Assistant Dean for Adult Health Area
                Director of Doctoral and Post-doctoral Programs
                E-mail: jedavis@wayne.edu
                Phone: (313) 577-4144
Or
                Nancy George, PhD, FNP-C
                Assistant Professor-Clinical
                E-mail: nancy.george@wayne.edu
                Phone: (313) 577-8300

To request application materials, please contact
                Wayne State University, College of Nursing
                Office of Student Affairs, Room 10 Cohn
                5557 Cass Avenue
                Detroit, MI 48202
                Phone: (313) 577-4082
Toll-free: (888) 837-0847
E-mail: nursinginfo@wayne.edu
For Financial Assistance
Visit the College of Nursing and theWayne State University Graduate School for sources of support.