Nursing Practice, D.N.P.
Program Description
The Marshall University Doctor of Nursing Practice (D.N.P.) Program prepares advance practice nurses to practice at the highest level of professional nursing. Students will experience customized learning during online synchronous and asynchronous courses. Portfolio development and D.N.P. projects will enhance personal and professional nursing expertise. This expert level of practice builds on past advanced practice education, experience, and certification. The D.N.P. final project provides the basis for developing competence in the translation of evidence into practice and better healthcare.
Marshall University offers a post-M.S.N. option that is 36 credit hours. The program can be completed in 2 years (full-time) or 3 years (part-time). Applicants to the program must be graduates from a nationally accredited Master of Science in Nursing program and hold advance practice certification as a Nurse Practitioner who wishes to obtain the D.N.P. without seeking a new practice specialty. Completion of a scholarly quality improvement project is required for program completion.
Application Deadlines
Applicants for the Doctor of Nursing Practice are considered for admission for fall semesters only, and all required application materials must be received in the Graduate Admissions office and the D.N.P. program prior to application review. Applicants are encouraged to apply as early as possible with applications being reviewed on a rolling basis until August 1. Applications may be reviewed after August 1 if capacity remains.
Admission Requirements for the Post-Master's D.N.P. Program
All applications are holistically reviewed based on the completed application package.
The D.N.P. program does not accept transfer credits from other institutions; accordingly, 100% of the credits for the D.N.P. degree will be earned at Marshall University.
The D.N.P. program is available to a limited number of qualified applicants. Admission is determined on a competitive basis. To be eligible for initial consideration for admission to the program, applicants must submit a completed application with all the following elements directly to Graduate Admissions:
- Completed Marshall University Graduate Application
- Non-Refundable graduate application fee.
- Official transcript from all post-secondary education programs attended.
- Official transcripts with degree posted, documenting a master’s degree in nursing from an accepted, accredited institution with a professionally accredited nursing program.
The following materials should be submitted directly to the D.N.P. program:
- Verification of 500 hours of supervised clinical practice in the master’s degree in nursing program.
a) Verification form is included in the D.N.P. application package
b) Applicants who have not graduated from master’s degree in nursing will
be required to submit the verification form upon graduation from the
master’s degree program no later than August 1. - Evidence of required cumulative GPA of 3.0 or higher on a 4.0 scale for the master’s degree.
- Evidence of a current unencumbered license as a Registered Nurse.
- Evidence of both RN and APRN licensure if applicable in the jurisdiction where the applicant plans to complete D.N.P. clinical hours.
- Two Professional References.
- Current professional resume or curriculum vitae (CV).
a) Should include education, work and volunteer activities, licensures,
and other certifications, awards, professional organization, etc. - Statement of professional goals
a) Describe reasons for applying to the M.S.N.-D.N.P. program,
speak to specific areas of interest and potential ideas for M.S.N.-D.N.P. project.
NOTE: Applicants with less than 500 hours of supervised clinical practice in the master’s degree in Nursing program may be considered on a case-by-case basis.
Successful applicants are not fully admitted to the D.N.P. program until they provide the following:
a. Successful completion of background check from agency approved by the program.
b. Successful completion of drug screen from agency approved by the program.
c. Documentation of immunizations required by the program.
Application Materials Required for the Post-Master's D.N.P. Program
Applicants for the Post-Master's D.N.P. must submit the documentation to Graduate Admissions office and to the D.N.P. program, as outlined above, to be considered for admission:
Marshall University
Graduate Admissions
100 Angus E. Peyton Drive
South Charleston, West Virginia 25303-1600
304-746-1900 or 304-746-1901
800-642-9842 ext-61900
Services@marshall.edu
Fax: 304-746-1902
Marshall University
College of Health Professions
D.N.P. Program
Prichard Hall Room 411
1 John Marshall Drive
Huntington, WV 25755
304-696-3530
Fax: 304-696-6739
Program Requirements
The student and advisor will develop a Plan of Study (POS) or blueprint for graduation requirements. The Plan of Study must be on file in the Graduate Studies office before the student registers for the 12th credit hour.
Policies
Academic Progression
Provisions for academic progression are further outlined In the Graduate Catalog and D.N.P. Student Handbook. Academic progression Is reviewed during orientation upon matriculation in the D.N.P. program and includes:
- All students enrolled In the D.N.P. program are required to attend a mandatory virtual orientation.
- All Marshall University graduate academic policies apply to all D.N.P. students unless specifically addressed in the D.N.P. policies. Students are required to review and download the current Graduate Catalog and D.N.P. Handbook upon admission to the D.N.P. program.
- The School of Nursing reserves the right to administratively withdraw any nursing student whose health, academic record, clinical performance, or behavior is judged unsatisfactory.
- A student must have an approved Plan of Study (POS) developed with his or her advisor/D.N.P. program director prior to registering for any D.N.P. class. Any deviation from the student's POS must be approved by his or her advisor/D.N.P. program director. Failure to comply with this policy can result In an administrative withdrawal from a course.
- A student must obtain a ''B" or above In all DNP courses to successfully pass the course.
- A student is permitted to repeat one nursing course in which a "C" is obtained, and the student may repeat the course once and must earn at least a "B" If the student earns another "C11" in another nursing course, the student will be dismissed from the DNP program.
- If a student needs to withdraw from any or all courses in a semester, the student must meet with his or her faculty advisor, course faculty and program director.
- All students must have a 3.00 GPA in their major to graduate and receive DNP degree.
- A student must meet all prerequisite requirements to register for any DNP course.
- A student who cannot meet pre-requisite requirements will need to meet with his or her advisor/DNP Program Director to modify their program of study {POS).
- If a student earns a Dor Fin any course, he or she will be dismissed from the program.
- Any student dismissed from the program will not be re-admitted.
- Students ln the graduate program who fail to enroll for a semester without an approved leave of absence (LOA) are considered withdrawn from the program and are not eligible for future enrollment.
- Students who do not follow the university procedure for withdrawal from a course will earn a grade of F for the course.
- No transfer credits will be accepted.
- All students must complete a minimum of 1000 graduate clinical hours (inclusive of the master's and D.N.P.) to graduate.
- All students have 7 years to complete the D.N.P. program starting with the first D.N.P. nursing course.
- Students must comply with all agency requirements in completion of course/cllnlcal/D.N.P. project hours.
- Students must have a clinical hour log signed by their advisor/D.N.P. program director every semester.
- Students must have Portfolio submissions reviewed and signed by their advlsor/D.N.P. program director every semester.
Clinical Hour Requirements
All students are required to have a minimum of 1000 graduate clinical hours by the end of the program. Hours must be supervised as part of an academic program and will Include hours from the APRN degree program and D.N.P. clinical/project hours.
On admission, students must provide documentation of clinical hours earned for their advanced practice degree. For students with a low number of practicum hours (<500 hours), individualized plans will be developed with D.N.P. program director to ensure the practicum hour requirement is fulfilled.
Based on D.N.P. coursework/project requirements, all students must complete approximately 500 project/clinical hours during the program. No more than 250 hours may apply to the D.N.P. project. The student will be responsible for documenting and submitting to the course faculty a log of clinical hours earned each semester as well as maintaining a log of hours completed during the program. The log must be submitted each semester or students will not be able to advance in the program.
D.N.P. practicum hours will promote application of the AACN Essentials related to Advanced Nursing Education (hereafter referred to as AACN Essentials) in a focused area of practice. These hours may include proposal and project development, implementation, evaluation and dissemination; clinical contact hours; hours based on participation in leadership activities and professional committees. The student will set goals and objectives in concert with their faculty and preceptor for clinical practicum experiences. The faculty/D.N.P. program director may be contacted to provide further clarity of what constitutes a clinical hour.
Portfolio Requirements
Portfolio items must be uploaded every semester and signed by the faculty advisor/D.N.P. program director. For any questions about the D.N.P. Portfolio, please contact your faculty advisor/D.N.P. program director or consult the D.N.P. Student Handbook.
The D.N.P. Portfolio is complete when all required documents are uploaded:
- CV.Resume
- CITI training
- NPI number when appropriate
- D.N.P. Project Proposal
- D.N.P. Project Final Copy
- IRB-Copy Determination of Research or IRB Approval
- Clinical Hours Log
- Exemplars from each AACN Essentials (See outline below and refer to D.N.P. student handbook)
It is important to reflect on which course assignments best demonstrate your understanding and application of the AACN Essentials from the reflected course. Mapping to each essential will be available in each course. Submit a course paper as the requested exemplar, as these assignments tend to best address the course objectives and AACN Essentials. Other exemplar options are another large assignment (e.g., presentation, group project). The exemplar assignment should be the final version submitted to the course that received a passing grade. The exemplar should not have any track changes and does not need to include revisions addressing faculty feedback received when the exemplar/assignment was graded. The exemplar must include a title page which includes the student's name, course name and number.
The D.N.P. portfolio must be completed after the final D.N.P. project defense and earn a 100% after evaluation by the student's D.N.P. committee chair prior to graduation.
For additional policies please see the graduate catalog and DNP student handbook.
D.N.P. End-of-Program Student Learning Outcomes
- Improve advanced practice nursing and person-centered care by integrating the broad perspective of nursing with theory and knowledge from biophysical, psychosocial, political, ethical, technical, analytical, cultural, spiritual, environmental, and organizational areas.
- Combine established and emerging principles of safety and quality improvement to promote safe environment for patients and health care professionals.
- Design complex, evidence-based approaches for the improvement of equitable health care across the continuum of care from prevention to disease management utilizing collaborative partnership with communities, public health, industry, academia, health care, local governments, and others.
- Formulate nursing scholarship with the purpose to Improve health outcomes and transform health care by generation, synthesis, translation, application, and dissemination of nursing knowledge.
- Build leadership roles and collaborate with other professionals to implement change that will improve the quality of care in complex health care systems.
- Maximize databases and information technology to improve health care systems and health outcomes for individuals, families, and communities.
- Develop leadership roles and professional nursing identity to influence health care and reduce health disparities, encourage cultural sensitivity, and promote access to quality care while recognizing qualities of personal health, well-being, and lifelong learning.
- Evaluate policy, care delivery and organizational systems for current and future revision and change.
Plan of Study
Full-Time
| First Year | ||
|---|---|---|
| Fall | Credit Hours | |
| NUR 700 | Scholarly Writing | 3 |
| NUR 702 | Hlth Prom and Pop Hlth | 3 |
| NUR 710 | Quality Improvement | 3 |
| Credit Hours | 9 | |
| Spring | ||
| NUR 704 | Leadership Role | 3 |
| NUR 706 | Health Systems Policy | 3 |
| NUR 800 | DNP Project I | 3 |
| Credit Hours | 9 | |
| Summer | ||
| NUR 708 | Information Systems | 3 |
| NUR 804 | DNP Project II | 3 |
| Credit Hours | 6 | |
| Second Year | ||
| Fall | ||
| NUR 712 | Biostats and Epidemiology | 3 |
| NUR 808 | DNP Project III | 3 |
| Credit Hours | 6 | |
| Spring | ||
| NUR 714 | Evidence Based Practice | 3 |
| NUR 812 | DNP Project IV | 3 |
| Credit Hours | 6 | |
| Total Credit Hours | 36 | |
Part-Time
| First Year | ||
|---|---|---|
| Fall | Credit Hours | |
| NUR 700 | Scholarly Writing | 3 |
| NUR 702 | Hlth Prom and Pop Hlth | 3 |
| Credit Hours | 6 | |
| Spring | ||
| NUR 704 | Leadership Role | 3 |
| NUR 706 | Health Systems Policy | 3 |
| Credit Hours | 6 | |
| Summer | ||
| NUR 708 | Information Systems | 3 |
| Credit Hours | 3 | |
| Second Year | ||
| Fall | ||
| NUR 710 | Quality Improvement | 3 |
| NUR 712 | Biostats and Epidemiology | 3 |
| Credit Hours | 6 | |
| Spring | ||
| NUR 714 | Evidence Based Practice | 3 |
| NUR 800 | DNP Project I | 3 |
| Credit Hours | 6 | |
| Summer | ||
| NUR 804 | DNP Project II | 3 |
| Credit Hours | 3 | |
| Third Year | ||
| Fall | ||
| NUR 808 | DNP Project III | 3 |
| Credit Hours | 3 | |
| Spring | ||
| NUR 812 | DNP Project IV | 3 |
| Credit Hours | 3 | |
| Total Credit Hours | 36 | |