Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP)

The doctor of nursing practice at the KU School of Nursing prepares advanced practice nurses at the highest level of nursing practice.  The DNP offers sophisticated, cutting-edge experiences that help nurses actively engage in a complex, dynamic, and demanding health care field.  Skills in collaboration, innovation and evaluation, complemented by advanced practice nursing skills will prepare nurses to shape the future of health care.  Such advanced practice nurses will be prepared to provide patient-centered care that is evidence-based, contribute to the development of evidence-based practice, and pursue leadership roles in a variety of health care and educational settings.

Post MS DNP Program

The Post MS DNP program is designed to assist the MS prepared nurse in gaining more depth and breadth in the specialty area in which the individual completed the MS degree (see list below).  It is not designed to educate the individual in a new specialty area. In certain Leadership tracks there may be MS level prerequisite courses which can be taken (prior to the DNP) which can allow a student to proceed to the DNP level courses in a new specialty area. 

DNP Specialty Majors

The KU School of Nursing DNP offers nurses a variety of specialty tracks within two majors:

Advanced Practice Major:

Tracks

• Adult-Gerontological Clinical Nurse Specialist
• Adult-Gerontological Nurse Practitioner
• Certified Nurse Midwife
• Family Nurse Practitioner
• Certified Nurse Anesthetist (currently not accepting applications for this track)
• Psychiatric-Mental Health Nurse Practitioner

Leadership Major:

Tracks

• Healthcare Informatics (currently not accepting applications for this track)
• Organizational Leadership
• Public Health (currently not accepting applications for this track)

Resources:
DNP student manual

Possible DNP Specialty Courses