The Doctor of Nursing Practice program:
The right choice for nurses who wish to excel in practice
The Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) program offers doctoral preparation to nurses whose career emphasis is in direct clinical nursing practice or in areas that support clinical practice such as administration, education, and health policy development. This contrasts clearly with the aim of PhD education for nurses, the goal of which is to prepare nurses for scientific investigation.

Health care is more complex than ever, demanding additional education for those assuming leadership roles in caring for patients and assuring quality of care. Research by Aiken and others clearly connects better patient outcomes to higher levels of nursing education. The DNP program at Ohio State prepares nurses for a higher level of excellence in direct patient care, administration, population health, and the college educator role.

Expanding your career and practice expertise
The DNP program offers the experienced master’s prepared nurse the option to tailor his or her program of study to best support each person’s unique career goals. Electives provide each student with a wealth of learning opportunities both at The Ohio State University and among collaborating institutions in the Big Ten Conference. Students may also enhance their current specialty expertise by selecting additional specializations such as mental health, acute care practice, gerontology, or college educator.

DNP competencies
There are eight essential competencies for those holding the Doctor of Nursing Practice title. These include: informatics, prevention and population health, organizational and systems leadership for quality improvement, health policy, advanced nursing practice, inter-professional collegial relationships, clinical scholarship, and scientific foundations of nursing practice.

The special focus of our program is a holistic approach to personalized health care that considers not only genetics and genomics, but also the impact of health disparities and quality and effectiveness of the patient/population-provider relationship on health outcomes. The goal of scholarly productivity in the DNP program is the application of translational science to achieving excellence in the nursing care of individuals and populations, and within health systems and policy arenas. 

As a graduate of the DNP program at The Ohio State University, you will be able to:

• Practice at the highest level of nursing, integrating and applying knowledge from the
  sciences with the fields of organizational management, ethics, health policy, and
  information technology
• Demonstrate leadership skills in organizational and health systems management to
  improve the safety and quality of health care
• Apply analytical skills and translational science methodologies to practice-focused
  scholarship
• Provide leadership in inter-professional collaborative teams to improve health
  outcomes for individuals, populations, systems, and the crafting of policy
• Demonstrate high levels of skills in health promotion and disease prevention
  strategies for individuals, populations, and systems
• Develop skill in the analysis and shaping of health policy
• Demonstrate skill in the application of ethical decision-making frameworks to resolve
  ethical dilemmas in health care

Program length
Full-time students with a master’s degree in nursing complete their program of study in two years. Part-time students ideally complete their programs of study in three years.

Program structure
The DNP program is open to nurses with a master’s degree in nursing, education, administration, or public health as well as experience in clinical practice, education, policy, or administration. Certified registered nurse anesthetists (CRNAs) are not accepted at this time. The post-baccalaureate option will follow in several years.

All required DNP coursework is offered through a variety of distance technologies that will provide students with both synchronous and asynchronous learning opportunities. Most electives and additional specializations are not available in the distance format.

There is also a requirement to attend summer intensive sessions on campus. These opportunities provide students with essential socialization experiences with their fellow colleagues in doctoral study as well as individual consultation time with DNP faculty advisors.
    
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