Program Outcomes
The online Doctor of Nursing Practice degree enables the graduates to transform the health care delivery system and design new systems to improve the context in which health care is offered. Nurses prepared at the DNP level will function from a strong evidence-based foundation, effectively assessing health care policy, organizational effectiveness, and economic trends in health care to design new models for patient care services. The practice doctorate is designed for nurses seeking a terminal degree in nursing practice, and offers an alternative to research focused doctoral programs.
The graduate of the DNP program will:
- Demonstrate effective clinical judgment through the synthesis and interpretation of multiple data sources and the efficient use of multidisciplinary collaborative approaches.
- Function as a moral advocate for patients, families and communities, advancing their empowerment in complex situations.
- Model astute awareness of patient and family needs, anticipating their changing requirements and ensuring patient comfort and safety in all care planning.
- Actively seek opportunities to teach, mentor, and facilitate the professional development of colleagues.
- Develop, integrate, and foster strategies to address issues within the system to enhance patient care services and outcomes.
- Integrate system-wide responses to health care diversity requirements among patients and staff.
- Develop creative educational programs for the system to address patient needs, staff development and student achievement.
- Foster the exploration of new knowledge to address issues in the delivery of health care, especially nursing care.
- Advocate for culturally competent environments and systems of care.
- Sponsor and model ethical decision making in all aspects of practice with the self, patient, family, community and health care delivery systems.
Introduction to the Tracks
The School of Nursing offers two online Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) tracks.
DNP in Clinical Leadership
Invested in practical, hands-on education and experiential learning, the DNP in Clinical Leadership provides the knowledge needed to impact organizational and system changes by leading efforts in evidence-based practice involving quality improvement, evaluation of health care programs and influencing health care policy.
The Clinical Leadership DNP program can help you learn how to effectively influence patient outcomes and improve the quality of care in clinical settings through evidence-based practice. You may pursue roles where you will be responsible for managing nursing staff and serve as a resource of knowledge for your team in implementing best practices when it comes to patient care.
DNP in Executive Nurse Leadership and Health Care Management
As a graduate of the DNP in Executive Nurse Leadership and Health Care Management, you will be able to collaborate with senior executives and leaders across various health care disciplines to identify problems, propose solutions and implement change for health care systems as a whole. You will gain the knowledge of how finance, budgeting, human resources and other aspects of business fit together to improve patient outcomes.
This DNP track offers two entry pathways:
- Executive Nurse Leadership and Health Care Management DNP - Post-Bachelor's
Explore management and executive administration roles while developing key business skills. Developed in collaboration with Duquesne's Palumbo-Donahue School of Business, this program will help you learn effective ways to utilize and lead evidence-based practice initiatives that facilitate the delivery of safe, quality nursing care at organizational and system levels to improve patient care outcomes in a variety of health care organizations.
- Executive Nurse Leadership and Health Care Management DNP - Post-Master's
Developed in partnership with Duquesne's Palumbo-Donahue School of Business, this online DNP will teach you to utilize your leadership experiences to advance your awareness of business and executive administrative roles in health care. Enhancing these business and leadership skills will improve your abilities to lead change in organizations through the implementation of evidence-based practice aimed at improving health care delivery and achieving strategic organizational and system goals.
DNP Residency
The DNP program includes three residency experiences.
1. Strengthen your professional writing skills.
Writing is a complex process, especially at the doctoral level. Our writing residency prepares you to deliver high-quality academic papers and projects. Prior to orientation, you will gain access to writing modules created exclusively for DNP online students. Each module can be completed at your own pace.
2. Study advanced practice nursing in Italy or Ireland (optional)
This experience is an optional, study-abroad residency. It is part of the transcultural and global health perspectives course, GPNS 917.
DNP students can study advanced practice nursing in Italy at Duquesne's Rome campus or in Ireland at Duquesne's Dublin campus. This is an outstanding opportunity for doctoral nursing students to learn more about international health care systems.
3. Complete a specialized leadership project.
Nurses prepared at the DNP level are expected to provide leadership for evidence-based practice in nursing, and our DNP tracks focus on how evidence-based practice influences patient care.
Research drives health care and defines the procedures, policies and patient care measures that keep everything in motion, and that is why we require you to complete a DNP Practice Project. Your project will demonstrate what you have learned throughout the coursework, and it will showcase a solution to a specific problem as it relates to your chosen DNP track.
Working closely with faculty, you will select an area of interest to evaluate, such as a population, program, system or clinical intervention within a health care setting. Each course in our DNP program builds on the last — enabling you to work toward the completion of your DNP project every step of the way.
Coursework
Please note that revisions to courses and coursework are ongoing.
DNP in Clinical Leadership Coursework
Course # |
Course Title |
Credits |
| GPNS 907 | Health Care Policy and Finance | 3 credits |
| GPNS 917 | Transcultural Care and Global Health Perspectives | 3 credits |
| GPNG 928 | Social Justice and Vulnerable Populations | 3 credits |
| GPNS 937 | Ethical Leadership in Complex Organizations | 3 credits |
| GPNS 954 | Analytical Methods for Evidence-Based Practice and Practice Improvement | 3 credits |
| GPNS 956 | Nursing Infomatics and Data Management | 3 credits |
| GPNS 957 | Evidence-Based Practice I | 3 credits |
| GPNS 958 | Evidence-Based Practice II | 3 credits |
| GPNS 959 | Change Management and Project Analysis | 3 credits |
| GPNS 960 | Doctor of Nursing Practice Practicum I | 4 credits |
| GPNS 961 | Doctor of Nursing Practice Practicum II | 4 credits |
Total = |
35 credits |
Executive Nurse Leadership and Health Care Management DNP - Post-Bachelor's Coursework
Course # |
Course Title |
Credits |
| GPNG 524 | Evidence-Based Nursing Practice & Policy Development | 3 credits |
| GPNG 527 | Clinical Prevention and Population-Based Health Promotion | 3 credits |
| GPNS 907 | Health Care Policy and Finance | 3 credits |
| GPNG 928 | Social Justice and Vulnerable Populations | 3 credits |
| GPNG 933 | The Legal Environment in Nursing and Health Care | 3 credits |
| GPNG 955 | Organizational Leadership in Nursing & Health Care | 3 credits |
| GPNS 917 | Transcultural Care and Global Health Perspectives | 3 credits |
| GPNS 954 | Analytical Methods for Evidence-Based Practice and Practice Improvement | 3 credits |
| GPNS 956 | Nursing Informatics and Data Management | 3 credits |
| GPNS 957 | Evidence-Based Practice I | 3 credits |
| GPNS 958 | Evidence-Based Practice II | 3 credits |
| GPNS 959 | Change Management and Project Analysis | 3 credits |
| GPNS 960 | Doctor of Nursing Practice Practicum I | 4 credits |
| GPNS 961 | Doctor of Nursing Practice Practicum II | 4 credits |
| MGMT 601 | The Entrepreneurial Manager | 3 credits |
| MGMT 605 | Behaviors in Organizations | 3 credits |
| MGMT 619 | Budgeting and Finance for Managers | 3 credits |
| MGMT 620 | Business Strategy | 3 credits |
Total = |
56 credits |
Executive Nurse Leadership and Health Care Management DNP - Post-Master's Coursework
Course # |
Course Title |
Credits |
| GPNS 933 | The Legal Environment in Nursing and Health Care | 3 credits |
| GPNS 954 | Analytical Methods for Evidence-Based Practice and Practice Improvement | 3 credits |
| GPNS 955 | Organizational Leadership in Nursing and Health Care | 3 credits |
| GPNS 957 | Evidence-Based Practice I | 3 credits |
| GPNS 958 | Evidence-Based Practice II | 3 credits |
| GPNS 959 | Change Management and Project Analysis | 3 credits |
| GPNS 960 | Doctor of Nursing Practice Practicum I | 4 credits |
| GPNS 961 | Doctor of Nursing Practice Practicum II | 4 credits |
| MGMT 601 | The Entrepreneurial Manager | 3 credits |
| MGMT 619 | Budgeting and Finance for Managers | 3 credits |
| MGMT 620 | Business Strategy | 3 credits |
Total = |
35 credits |