Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP)

A Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) degree is an option for master’s prepared advanced practice nurses and post baccalaureate prepared nurses. This program prepares graduates who will practice at the highest clinical level. DNP graduates demonstrate expertise in advanced clinical nursing practice, clinical scholarship, and analytical methods to improve patient care. Expertise in quality improvement, leadership, collaboration, health care policy and finance is developed.

The DNP program is offered online and there are a few courses that require a visit to campus.

The MUSC DNP Program enables students to:

• Demonstrate expertise in advanced clinical nursing practice roles based on mastery of a specialized area of knowledge derived from a strong scientific foundation.
• Use clinical scholarship and analytical methods to improve quality and safety in health care systems through organizational leadership, systems thinking, and practice management acumen.
• Implement continuous quality improvement in patient care and provide leadership in practice and clinical decision-making through use of information systems and technology resources.
• Foster interprofessional collaboration and teamwork in the improvement of population health outcomes.
• Influence health care policy that determines the financing, regulation, access, and delivery of care.
• Promote health equity in the provision of care to eliminate health disparities.

The DNP program is a practice-focused doctoral program in nursing that awards both the Master of Science in Nursing (MSN) degree and the terminal professional degree of Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) upon graduation. Graduates will be employed in primary care settings, hospitals, public health agencies, and schools of nursing. The purpose of the program is to prepare graduates who will practice nursing at the highest clinical level.

Curriculum

The Doctor of Nursing Practice program has two-entry options:

• Post-Baccalaureate (BSN)
• Post-Master's (MSN) for Advanced Practice Nurses

There are four areas of specialty focus for Post-BSN students:

• Adult-Gerontology Nurse Practitioner (A-GNP)
• Family Nurse Practitioner (FNP)
• Pediatric Nurse Practitioner (PNP)
• Psychiatric Mental Health (PMHNP)

There are two program options for Post-MSN students:

• Advanced Practice Nursing (APN)
• Lifespan Palliative Care (LPC)

Additional palliative care clinical hours may also be added dependent on individual student goals/needs with the course NRDNP 876.

Graduate students can elect to add Nurse Educator courses to include:

• NURSM 615 Methodology of Online Teaching, 3 credit hours
• NURSM 703 Instructional Processes, 3 credit hours
• NURSM 713 Curriculum Design & Development, 3 credit hours
• NRPHD 800 Mentored Teaching, 3 credit hours