Board of Regents approves Doctor of Nursing Practice degree

The Board of Regents has approved a proposal for the School of Nursing’s Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) degree.

The program prepares nurses for leadership roles in advanced nursing practice. Students prepare for roles as clinical nurse specialists or nurse practitioners in adult/gerontology, pediatrics or psychiatric mental health. Students interested in dual preparation as an advanced practice nurse and nurse educator may add a nursing education focus.

Applications from post-MS applicants are due Feb. 1 for fall 2010 admission. Applications from those with a bachelor’s degree in nursing will be accepted after September 2010 for fall 2011 admission.

The DNP degree is a professional doctorate, which is a terminal degree for those engaged in a specific profession. The nursing profession is moving in the direction of other health professions. Professions that require doctorates include medicine, law, pharmacy and dentistry.

Increasingly, advanced practice nurses require doctoral degrees, according to recommendations from the American Association of Colleges of Nursing.

The addition of the DNP should help the School of Nursing provide graduate education for nurses and nurse educators to help meet increasing workforce needs in this field, according to a UW System task force report presented to the Regents in February.

For more information about the School of Nursing’s new DNP program, visit http://www.son.wisc.edu/academics/dnp.