Nursing D.N.P. – Family Nurse Practitioner (FNP) Concentration (Post Bachelor’s)

Program Overview

College of Natural and Health Sciences

Site: Extended Campus/Distance/Greeley
Mode: Hybrid (online with Greeley intensives)
Start term: Fall

Director: Melissa Henry, Ph.D.

Location: Gunter 3080
Telephone: [phone]
Fax: [phone]
Website: www.unco.edu/nhs/nursing/

 

Post Bachelor's in Nursing – Graduates are qualified to be recognized as a Family Nurse Practitioner, apply for national certification from the American Nurses Credentialing Center or American Academy of Nurse Practitioners, and be recognized as an Advanced Practice Registered Nurse (APRN) from the CO State Board of Nursing.

Family Nurse Practitioner (FNP) Concentration: The post-bachelor's DNP program is for BSN nurses who are interested in a practice-focused doctorate. You will be prepared as a clinical expert with a focus on the critical thinking, leadership and political policy skills needed to advocate and create changes in healthcare practice at the individual, population and organizational systems levels. BSN to DNP graduates will provide primary care health promotion and disease management for patients with episodic or chronic illnesses across the life span, focusing on the underserved.

The Doctor of Nursing Practice prepares expert clinicians for advanced practice roles in hospitals, primary care clinics, specialty settings such as long term care facilities, and virtually any area they wish to practice within the healthcare industry. These highly skilled practitioners will be the leaders in healthcare delivery and care management.

Specific exceptions to the Graduate School requirements for doctoral degrees have been approved. Due to the clinical focus of this degree, rigorous academic standards are maintained throughout the program. To earn the Nursing DNP degree, students will be required to complete a DNP Scholarly Project instead of a doctoral dissertation. DNP students must complete the following as a part of the requirements for the DNP degree: a DNP Scholarly Project Proposal, the DNP Comprehensive Exam, formal Final Defense of the completed DNP Scholarly Project, and submission of the DNP Scholarly Project Final Document to the UNC Graduate School for approval as a graduate requirement.

Admission

General Doctoral Degree Admission Requirements

Program Requirements:

1. A bachelor’s degree from an NLN or CCNE accredited institution with an upper division major in nursing.
2. Eligibility for Colorado licensure as a registered nurse.
3. A minimum grade point average of 3.0 on the baccalaureate level.
4. A resume or curriculum vitae
5. Three letters of reference.
6. A statement of career goals A statement of career goals articulating "why now" for your practice doctorate. Prospective DNP applicants must describe their current professional RN role as it relates to their clinical experience(s), clinical advancement(s,) leadership role(s) and career goals as an NP.  
7. One year of clinical experience is required.
8. A personal interview may be required.
9. Submission of a brief sample of professional writing (maximum of 10 pages). Examples:
   1. Describe a scholarly evidence based case study that best exemplifies your practice.
   2. Describe a current practice related concept including its scope and significance, the patient population and the clinical setting of interest.
   3. Discuss alternative approaches described in the literature and identify an approach that you might take in addressing the concept.

Degree Requirements — 102 Credits

A minimum grade of ‘B’ or better or satisfactory in all nursing courses must be earned.

Nursing Science BS to D.N.P. Core — 27 hours

NURS 507	Policy, Leadership and Nursing Issues	3
NURS 601	Theoretical Foundations for Advanced Nursing	3
NURS 608	Advanced Health Care Concepts	3
NURS 618	Epidemiology in Advance Nursing Practice	3
NURS 658	Applied Nursing Genomics	3
NURS 668	Population Centered Health Care	3
NURS 678	Professional Practice and Healthcare Finance Seminar	3
NURS 700	Advanced Nursing Theory	3
NURS 707	Leadership in Health Policy	3

Nursing Practitioner Concentration — 18 hours

NURS 612	Advanced Pharmacology	4
NURS 613	Advanced Health Assessment	4
NURS 614	Advanced Pathophysiology	3
NURS 624	Health Promotion and Disease Prevention in Advanced Practice of Nursing	3
NURS 690	Advanced Professional Role	2
NURS 697	Scholarship of Advanced Nursing Practice	2

Nursing Practice FNP Concentration — 28 hours

NURS 654	Acute Care of Adults	3
NURS 656	Care of Chronic Illness in Adults	3
NURS 674	Care of Women and Pediatric Populations	3
NURS 675	FNP Clinical I	2
NURS 676	FNP Advanced Clinical Topics	2
NURS 677	FNP Clinical II	4
NURS 689	FNP Clinical Synthesis	1-11

Note: NURS 689: Take 11 hours

DNP Research Core — 29 hours

NURS 606	Research and Evidence-based Practice in Nursing	3
NURS 616	Leadership in the Measurement of Clinical Outcomes for Advanced Nursing Practice	3
NURS 725	Translational Research Methods	3
NURS 726	Introduction to the DNP Scholarly Project	4
NURS 727	DNP Scholarly Project Proposal Development and Defense	4
NURS 798	DNP Scholarly Project Practicum	1-12

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