Doctor of Nursing Practice
CGHS’ Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) in Strategic Organizational Leadership expands students’ personal and professional horizons in advanced practice nursing. Graduates will gain knowledge and skills in healthcare leadership and management that will refine and deepen evidence-based practice in nursing. The DNP requires successful completion of seven online courses and a clinical experience resulting in a scholarly final project.
As compared to the research-oriented PhD, the goal of the Doctor of Nursing Practice is to develop a specialty practice that influences healthcare outcomes for a variety of clients, ranging from individuals to a population. The benefits of earning the DNP include acquiring advanced competencies in leadership, quality improvement, collaborative practice, health policy, information systems, and population health within an ethical framework.
The DNP integrates web-based instruction, directed readings, discussion boards, a variety of assignments with collaboration between students, faculty, and healthcare leaders.
Program Purpose, Vision, and Values
Purpose
The Department of Nursing focuses on the development of strategic organizational leadership by applying student-centric teaching-learning methods in an online course delivery format. Graduates will apply critical thinking skills with quality analysis and improvement focus. We are committed to acknowledging care of the whole person, including those who are underserved, using evidenced-based practice as a foundation for change.
Vision
Graduates are advanced-practice nursing leaders who are recognized as contributors to improving overall population health and practice, promoting whole-person healthcare, and advancing the nursing profession.
Values
The values espoused by the program are:
- Leadership: We value leadership development for our students, faculty, and staff and encourage participation in community and professional service.
- Integrity: We value the highest ethical principles of fairness and honesty in all of our interactions.
- Scholarship: We value scholarly thinking and the generation of ideas through inquiry, analysis, and innovation.
- Diversity: We value differences among people and their personal and professional perspectives.
- Interprofessional education: We value the combined contributions of our educational community and work to achieve an environment of teamwork and collaboration.
- Innovation: We value new and efficient mechanisms for learning, teaching, and technological delivery.
Length of Program
The Doctor of Nursing Practice degree consists of 33 credit hours. This includes both online, asynchronous classroom learning and clinical hours. Clinical hours may be completed at a location near the student. Typically, the classroom coursework can be completed within a year, and the DNP Project can take potentially nine months, resulting in an earned DNP within two years.
Tuition and Fees
Tuition is due the first day of class. The tuition due each semester is based on the credit hours being taken by the student during that specific semester. Delinquent tuition penalties accrue at 1.5% per month, which is 18% per year. For more information on Student Account Collection, please reference ATSU Policy #50-112 within the Financial Policies section of this catalog.
Cost of attendance (COA), or budget is an estimated amount of all expenses for a period of enrollment. A budget, including all COA elements has been calculated for each program approved to certify for Title IV funding. An expense worksheet is also provided so students can calculate how the estimated cost of attendance will align with their actual costs and help to budget accordingly.
| Tuition |
Student Technology Fee |
| $824 per credit hour |
$38 per credit hour |
HIPAA Training
Health Information Portability & Accountability Act (HIPAA) training and certification is required for all ATSU-CGHS DNP students taking DNPP 7600, Advanced Nursing Practicum and DNPP 9100, Specialization Scholarly Project A. Students may submit current HIPAA training certificates of completion from their facilities or complete the training offered online by ATSU. An IRB review and/or approval is required before the DNP Project is initiated.
Learning Outcomes
Graduates from the DNP are expected to demonstrate competence in the following learning outcomes:
- Integrate science and nursing-based theories and data-based concepts to develop, critically appraise, and translate scholarship into practice.
- Articulate organizational theories and systems thinking to improve the quality, cost-effectiveness, and safety outcomes in healthcare.
- Correlate analytical methods and evidence to improve practice and the practice environment for the individual, aggregate, and population.
- Apply knowledge of patient care technology to improve healthcare outcomes.
- Demonstrate leadership in the assessment, implementation, and evaluation of health policy that addresses the underserved population through ethical and equitable advocacy.
- Lead and collaborate with interdisciplinary teams using communication, consultative, and leadership skills to improve quality and safety in health care.
- Analyze epidemiological data to synthesize concepts related to health promotion, socioeconomic dimensions of health, and population health to address the underserved population.
- Provide leadership in the assessment, implementation, and evaluation of healthcare deliverables within a quality improvement framework, addressing a variety of clinical situations that require advanced critical thinking.
Graduation Requirements
According to the American Association of Colleges of Nursing, students enrolled in a DNP program must have at least 1,000 hours of clinical hours past the baccalaureate degree attainment. Students may bring up to 500 hours from a master’s program in nursing to count toward the 1,000 hours. These graduate hours will need validation by the nursing program that granted the MSN degree.
Courses