Loyola gets green light for DNP

[cougarnurse]

OK, it's a go: The Maroon - Nursing practice degree among first 100 in U.S.

Loyola’s School of Nursing will soon be the first in Louisiana to offer a Doctor of Nursing Practice degree — after receiving the green light from the university’s Board of Trustees in May, all that remains is the final approval from the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools.

Loyola’s decision to offer the new degree comes on the heels of the American Association of Colleges of Nursing’s 2005 judgment to make the doctorate the new terminal degree for nurse practitioners by 2015.

According to Ann Cary, director of the School of Nursing, the new degree caters to the need for more primary care providers across the nation, especially in Louisiana. Compared to the rest of the country and most states in the region, Louisiana requires five percent of all U.S. primary care providers.

In addition, “63 of 64 Louisiana parishes are designated as having shortages in one or more health profession,” Cary said. Plaquemines, Franklin and Desoto parishes have only 17, 19 and 15 primary care physicians per 100,000 people — fewer than other urban areas that have 113 to 154 primary care physicians per 100,000 people, she said.

“Louisiana, along with all of the states in the South, are typically underserved with health care and this is one of the solutions for health care,” Cary said.

Unlike a PhD, which is research focused and places a heavy emphasis on scientific content, theory, method and metatheory analysis, the DNP is geared towards practice that incorporates evidence-based methods into routine medical services. Like a dissertation required in earning the PhD, the DNP requires a final practice application-oriented project.

Loyola’s new DNP degree will develop along a two-fold path — in summer 2010 the program will initially admit 25 post-master’s degree applicants, and in the summer of 2012 the program will extend its enrolment to 25 post baccalaureate applicants. The post master’s DNP is a two year program that requires the completion of 38 credit hours of doctoral work over a span of 6 consecutive semesters, whereas the post baccalaureate DNP will require the completion of 74 credit hours over three years.

All classes will be exclusively online, making Loyola the first among the Association of Jesuit Colleges and Universities to offer a DNP online program.

In keeping with the university’s Jesuit values, students are required to take three philosophy classes during the first two semesters. The second year of the program requires students to complete three practicum courses concluding with the final capstone project.

“Since the program is delivered online, students from all over the country will be able to bring a piece of Loyola back to their communities,” said Cary.

Cary said that Loyola “has a real vision for the way that health care needs to evolve” and that she is confident that the new program will be a great success for Loyola.

“Not only do we have many faculty already prepared to teach DNP classes, I came from a university that started this program as well,” Cary said. “Before even opening the application period, we already have three applications.”