Doctor of Nursing Practice

The doctor of nursing practice degree program at Baptist Health Sciences University is accredited by the Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education (655 K Street NW Suite 750, Washington, DC 20001, 202-887-6791).

The doctor of nursing practice degree program is also approved by the Tennessee Board of Nursing (Health Related Boards 665 Mainstream Drive, Nashville, TN 37243, 1-615-532-5166; tn.gov/health).

NURSING TECHNICAL STANDARDS FOR THE DOCTOR OF NURSING PRACTICE STUDENT

The following technical standards outline reasonable expectations of a student enrolled in an Advanced Practice Doctor of Nursing Practice program for the performance of common advanced nursing functions:

Communication

Ability to communicate with a wide variety of people, and the ability to be easily understood. Reading, writing, recording and documenting patient information required. Ability to effectively maintain relationships, appropriate interactions and communicate of significant examination findings to other healthcare professionals, patients, and families are expected.

Analytical Skills/Critical Thinking

Analytical skills sufficient to appropriately assess and record subjective and objective findings, process information, to transfer knowledge from one situation to another, and to prioritize tasks. Critical thinking ability sufficient to accurately analyze alterations in functional patterns. Analytical skill sufficient for advanced use of the nursing process that includes: advanced level assessments, client counseling and education, appropriate prescriptive therapy, demonstration of self-care skills and evaluation of appropriate plans of action for diagnosed problems.   

Hearing

Auditory ability sufficient to appropriately assess and record a systematic, complete health history and physical examination on clients; monitor and assess patient needs; and detect and respond to alarms, emergency signals, and cries for help.

Vision

Visual ability sufficient for observation and assessment necessary to appropriately assess and record a systematic, complete health history and physical examination on clients, and in the care of patients and operation of equipment.

Tactile

Tactile ability sufficient to conduct appropriate systematic and complete patient assessments and operation of equipment.

Mobility

Physical ability, flexibility, strength and stamina sufficient to provide safe and effective care.

Fine Motor Skills

Fine motor abilities sufficient to provide safe and effective care.

Behavioral

Emotional and mental health stability and flexibility that allow for the establishment of therapeutic boundaries, to perform multiple tasks concurrently and to handle unique situations, stress, and strong emotions.

The goals for Doctor of Nursing Practice education at Baptist University are to prepare professional nurses for advanced nursing practice who:

• Demonstrate advanced knowledge and skills in planning and health care delivery.
• Provide advanced practice person-centered care for diverse population foci along the health-illness continuum.
• Provide leadership to promote equity, inclusion and quality and safety.
• Provide leadership to multidisciplinary teams through analysis of critical health indicators to promote enhanced quality and stewardship of health care resources.
• Innovatively designs, manages, and evaluates policies and processes to effect desired change in integrated health care systems.
• Successfully pass the credentialing examination in their specific population foci.

The Doctor of Nursing Practice

The curriculum guiding the Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) includes full-time and part-time options for academic study. The doctoral curriculum builds upon the baccalaureate nursing framework and essential competencies.  The doctoral curriculum includes the adult-gerontology acute care concentration with a total of 63 credit hours.  The program learning outcomes reflect the expected student learning outcomes for which the program is preparing its graduates.

Upon completion of the Doctor of Nursing Practice Program, the graduate will be able to:

1. Integrate, translate, and apply knowledge from nursing and other disciplines to distinguish professional nursing and form a basis for advanced-level clinical judgment.
2. Provide person-centered care built upon a scientific body of knowledge to guide advanced-level nursing practice.
3. Engage in advanced-level collaborative activities across the entire healthcare delivery continuum for the improvement of equitable Public Health outcomes.
4. Generate, synthesize, translate, apply, and disseminate advanced-level nursing knowledge to improve health outcomes.
5. Use advanced-level principles of safety and improvement science to enhance quality and minimize risk of harm to clients and others.
6. Collaborate with clients and care team members to optimize equity in advanced-level care delivery, enhance the healthcare experience, and strengthen outcomes.
7. Effectively and proactively coordinate resources within healthcare systems to provide safe, quality, and equitable advanced-level care to diverse populations.
8. Use informatics processes and technologies to manage and improve the delivery of safe, high-quality, and efficient advanced-level healthcare services in accordance with best practice and professional and regulatory standards.
9. Form and cultivate an advanced-level professional identity that reflects nursing’s characteristics and values.
10. Participate in activities and self-reflection that foster advanced-level personal, professional, and leadership development.

Baptist University seeks academically well prepared, highly motivated graduate students who are interested in advanced practice careers in nursing. Admission is based on a variety of criteria including grade point averages, essay submissions and personal interviews. Special attention is given to the academic performance of the applicant’s most recently completed degree program in nursing. The GPA calculation for the most recently completed nursing program will be based only on those grades earned at the degree-granting institution. The performance in the basic sciences and math will also be considered in the selection process.

Admission to the University and Program:  The number of applicants admitted to the DNP program at Baptist University during any academic year may be limited.  Thus, the admission/selection process is competitive.  Minimum criteria for admission to Baptist University are specified; however, meeting the criteria in no way guarantees admission.  Students who do not meet the minimum criteria by the published deadlines will not be considered for admission.

DEADLINES

June 15: Post BSN to DNP final admissions deadline. Applicants who meet the admission criteria by June 15 will be considered for admission based on available openings.

March 15: Post MSN to DNP admission deadline. Applicants who meet the admission criteria by March 15 will be considered for admission based on available openings.

(DNP) The nurse applicant must:

Unconditional Admission:

• • Entry-level degree (Baccalaureate in Science of Nursing or a Master of Science in Nursing) from a regionally accredited college or university, or advanced practice Master of Science in Nursing Degree from a regionally accredited college or university.
  • Total cumulative GPA of 3.0 (4.0 grade-point scale) on all collegiate course work or

cumulative GPA of 3.2 (4.0 grade-point scale) during their entry-level nursing degree program.

• • Submit final official transcripts from all colleges attended.
  • Applicants must be in good standing and eligible to return to all institutions previously attended.
  • Hold an unencumbered Tennessee RN nursing license or multi-state privilege (compact license), and maintain throughout enrollment.
  • Advanced Practice Registered Nurse applicants must hold an unencumbered advanced practice nursing license at the time of application and maintain throughout enrollment.
  • Complete two years of clinical nursing experience in an area appropriate to the selected specialty concentration prior to enrolling in the clinical courses.
  • Students may apply for admission and take core courses while completing this requirement. For the acute care adult-gerontology practitioner concentration, one year of experience in caring for critically ill patients is desired.
  • Complete a written essay and faculty panel interview for consideration of selection.

Provisional Admission may be granted if there is evidence that the applicant has the potential for satisfactory graduate work. This evidence may include exceptional professional experience, professional certifications accomplishments, or professional reference.

• The applicant must have earned a total cumulative GPA 2.8 (4.0 grade-point scale) on all collegiate course work.
• Has a minimum of five years nursing experience.
• Adult-gerontology acute care applicants must have a minimum of three years nursing experience in an emergency, critical or step-down level of care in the past five years.

Students must comply with the citizenship/residency requirement for all Baptist University applicants.

Upon acceptance to Baptist University, the applicant must submit the following:

• • $100.00 non-refundable enrollment deposit within 30 days of acceptance and is held in escrow and applied to the student’s first trimester of study.
  • Drug screen clearance
  • Criminal background check clearance.
  • Required immunizations.
  • Proof of Basic Life Support Certification for healthcare providers or Advanced Cardiac Life Support. Students are expected to maintain current certification throughout their enrollment in the program.

All DNP students are expected to attend a new student/program orientation. Dates for orientation will be sent by postal mail and email upon acceptance to the University.