UNC Charlotte/Western Carolina University Doctor of Nursing Practice Program Approved to start Fall 2013
The Board of Governors approved the School of Nursing’s Doctor of Nursing Practice Program (DNP) with Western Carolina University, starting fall 2013. Offered in a hybrid format, this program will be taught on both campuses, which will allow students the benefit of working with a variety of nursing faculty and experiencing both urban and rural health care perspectives. Graduates of the program will engage in collaborative interdisciplinary efforts to improve health outcomes at the practice/organization, community, state and national levels.
To meet the needs of citizens in the southwest region of the state, graduates will apply research findings to practice settings, determine and measure system and population outcomes, manage information systems and use appropriate technology for health and risk communication. Graduates will use clinical scholarship, scientific evidence and analytical methods to manage directly the complex problems of clients/populations and systems.
The UNCC/WCU Consortium curriculum model will consist of 42 semester hours post-master’s and include practicum and project components. Courses will be offered on alternating campuses with use of Online technology and Hybrid education. Four eligible tracks for DNP Program enrollment include: Family Nurse Practitioner, Nurse Anesthetist, Nurse Administrator and Community Health. Graduates will be employed in a variety of areas, including primary care settings, hospitals, public health agencies, ambulatory surgical centers and schools of nursing.
Four other state-supported nursing programs (UNC-Greensboro, East Carolina University, UNC-Chapel Hill, and Winston-Salem State University) also have been authorized to offer the practiced-focused doctorate in nursing. Nurses throughout North Carolina will now have access to the highest level of education available to nurses for clinical practice as recommended by the IOM Report on the Future of Nursing and the American Association of Colleges of Nursing (AACN). Other groups such as the National Research Council of the National Academies have called for nursing education that prepares individuals for practice with interdisciplinary, information systems, quality improvement, and patient safety expertise.
For more information about the DNP program contact Dr. Dianna Inman, (dinman5@uncc.edu), DNP Program Director.