The University's School of Nursing has recently become the first school in the Commonwealth of Virginia to offer the Doctorate in Nursing Practice program.
The DNP program is aimed at nurses who already hold a master's degree in a specialty area and who can then continue their education to receive a doctoral degree.
The purpose of the program is "to educate nurses at the highest level of clinical practice," according to Dr. Doris Glick, director of the DNP program and director of the master's program at the University's School of Nursing.
The program is the second doctoral degree to be offered by the School of Nursing. Currently, the school offers a Ph.D. program that is meant to train students for research careers in nursing.
"The [DNP] program is essentially a clinical doctorate, equivalent to, say, a dental degree for dentists, for those individuals that would like to continue practicing, or for those wishing to teach," said Dr. Jeanette Lancaster, dean of the School of Nursing.
The National Academy of Sciences called for the creation of a clinical doctoral degree, which led to the conception of the DNP.
"Research has shown a clear link between higher levels of nursing education and patient outcomes -- when people have better results from better nursing care," Glick said.
After starting to develop the DNP program several years ago, administrators navigated the program through the University's Board of Visitors and Faculty Senate before receiving final approval Jan. 9 from the State Council of Higher Education in Virginia, according to Glick.
The first class will enter the program in the fall of 2007. The School of Nursing has received over 1,000 inquiries for a class that will admit only about 20 students, Glick said.
She added that motives behind the creation of the program at the University include "the rapid expansion of knowledge that underlies the nursing practice, the increasing complexity of patient care, public concern about the quality of care and patient safety, the shortage of doctorally prepared nursing faculty and increased educational expectations for all health care professionals."
The DNP program is supported by about 40 other institutions around the country.
"Our faculty has worked very hard to develop this program," Lancaster said. "It shows the spirit of our faculty and their desire to be on the cutting edge."
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