The application deadline for the January 2013 class is September 1, 2012. 

Post Masters DNP

The post masters Doctor of Nursing Practice program at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga School of Nursing is a program of doctoral study for the nurse desiring specialty education in advanced levels of nursing practice. The DNP emerged from recommendations from the Institute of Medicine and leaders in health care. Embracing those recommendations, the American Association of Colleges of Nursing (AACN) advanced the concept of the DNP and recommended that by 2015 all new applicants for advanced practice certification should have a DNP degree. The purpose of the Doctor of Nursing Practice program is to provide a rigorous education to prepare advanced practice nurses who translate science to improve population health through expert leadership. The program was designed using the Essentials of Doctoral Education for Advanced Nursing Practice specified by the AACN.  The DNP program curriculum for most post master’s students will be a minimum of 34 semester credits. As a component of the DNP program, the student will develop and implement an evidence-based innovative translational project that could solve a significant health-care problem. With the student's faculty advisor/mentor, he/she will develop and present a scholarly project. Students will also complete additional clinical requirements to meet the mandated 1,000 hours of specialty training that is one of the distinctions of a DNP graduate.

Post Baccalaureate DNP

The UTC School of Nursing will begin implementing the Post Baccalaureate DNP in 2014.  The curriculum will incorporate the core DNP curriculum offered in the Post Masters DNP, but it will also include specialty courses specific to particular concentrations.  The Post Baccalaureate will also have a translational project as a component of the program.  Student's will be required to complete clinical requirements to meet the mandated 1,000 hours of specialty training for the DNP. Detailed curriculum information and tract offerings will be available soon.

Program Features

The DNP Program features online learning with both synchronous and asynchronous experiences.  Each student is assigned an individual faculty advisor/mentor throughout the program as well as faculty, staff and program support to help navigate the program.  In addition, orientation is on campus to allow for initial face-to-face meetings with faculty, staff and other students.  The translational project is another feature of the program that allows the student a unique learning oportunity.  The program also allows students to enter one of two tracts: the direct practice role (nurse practitioners, nurse anesthetist, clinical nurse specialist, and nurse midwives) or the indirect practice role with emphasis placed on organizational and leadership, and  health care policy and program development. All DNP students are required to complete the core curricula competencies with in depth preparation in their specialty area.

Program Outcomes

The UTC DNP curriculum is based on the American Association of Colleges of Nursing (AACN) Essentials of Doctoral Education for Advanced Nursing Practice (AACN, 2004). Regardless of the individual’s entry point, DNP curricula are designed so that all students attain DNP Program Goals.  The DNP student will:

• Practice in a specialized advanced nursing role through comprehensive assessment, ethically and culturally sensitive planning, therapeutic intervention and evidence-based evaluation. (Essentials 8)
• Apply evidence-based prevention by integrating epidemiological, biostatistical, environmental and other scientific data in providing health services to individuals, aggregates and/or populations. (Essentials 7)
• Employ organizational and systems leadership competencies to address current and future health, safety and other quality improvement issues for health services. (Essentials 2)
• Analyze, select and evaluate information systems and advanced technical resources to support and improve health care. (Essentials 4)
• Critically seek and appraise new knowledge from nursing and other sciences and translate this knowledge in developing, implementing and evaluating new practice approaches to meet goals for improving health care. (Essentials 1, 3)
• Initiate, analyze and/or influence proposals for health policy, respecting the perspectives of the consumer, other health care providers and the affected communities or public entities, while incorporating principles of business, finance and economics. (Essentials 5)
• Stimulate effective system change as a leader or a member of a collaborative and/or inter-professional team. (Essentials 6)

DNP Application Information

DNP Curriculum Information  

DNP Translational Project Information

Direct and Indirect Practice Roles

Frequently Asked Questions