Post-Baccalaureate Doctor of Nursing Practice— Nurse Practitioner

Family Nurse Practitioner specialization

Adult-Gerontology Acute Care Nurse Practitioner specialization

Corvette Yacoob, DNP, ARNP, FNP-BC, Program Director

Program Overview

This practice-focused doctoral program prepares advanced practice nurses with the knowledge and skills needed to lead in today’s complex health care environment. The program is designed for registered nurses with bachelor’s degrees and offers two clinical specialization tracks: Family Nurse Practitioner and Adult-Gerontology Acute Care Nurse Practitioner. This technology-enhanced program is part time and spans twelve consecutive semesters, allowing students to engage in professional nursing practice and graduate studies. Students must complete a minimum of 1000 hours of clinical instruction in their specialization. Students graduate with the knowledge, skills, and judgment needed to apply for A.R.N.P. licensure in Florida and to sit the national certification examination in their chosen specialty area. The M.S.N. nurse practitioner program is accredited by the Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education (CCNE), 655 K Street NW, Suite 750, Washington D.C. 20001, (202) 887‑6791.

Purpose

The purpose of the program is to foster the development of a community of expert advanced practice nurses who will transform practice and improve health care outcomes through the application of nursing knowledge.

Goals

The goals of the program are to prepare graduates as:

Nurse experts who provide culturally competent healthcare services that focus on health promotion, population health, and disease prevention within a holistic framework (Advanced Practice);
Scholars who evaluate, translate, synthesize, and apply knowledge, experiences, and the best available evidence as the basis for the delivery of advanced nursing care (Critical Thinking);
Leaders who use communication, collaboration, and technology to contribute to the enhancement of health care and health care systems (Leadership);
Health care professionals who consider the social, economic, and political environments while adhering to the concepts of integrity, ethics, and life-long learning (Professionalism); and
Advocates who influence health care policy (Advocacy).

Student Learning Outcomes

In accordance with The Essentials of Doctoral Education for Advanced Practice Nursing of the American Association of Colleges of Nursing (AACN), 2006, the faculty identified the following expected outcomes of each student at the completion of the D.N.P. program. Essentials 1–8 are foundational. All graduates will be able to:

Synthesize, integrate and apply nursing science with knowledge from the arts and sciences, and clinical expertise to delivery of nursing and health care services to diverse populations.
Assume leadership roles in the evaluation, design, organization, and improvement of health care delivery.
Discover, integrate, connect, disseminate and translate research across disciplines to reduce risk, promote safety, and enhance quality in clinical practice.
Use technology resources and demonstrate information and data literacy to manage complex heath care decisions and advance quality of care.
Advocate for changes in healthcare policy formation, financing, regulation and practice to remediate health disparities local and globally.
Employ effective communication and interdisciplinary collaboration skills to solve complex problems, facilitate change, and promote improved quality of care in or-generations.
Develop, implement and evaluate evidence-based clinical prevention and population health services for individuals and groups.
Engage in safe, effective, and efficient advanced nursing practice within a defined specialization.

In accordance with the Adult-Gerontology Acute Care Nurse Practitioner Competencies (National Organization of Nurse Practitioner Faculties [NONPF], 2012), the Nurse Practitioner Primary Care Competencies in Specialty Areas: Adult, Family, Gerontology, Pediatric, and Women’s Health (NONPF/AACN, 2002), select AACN (2012) Family Nurse Practitioner Competencies, and Criteria for Evaluation of Nurse Practitioner Programs (National Task Force on Quality Nurse Practitioner Education, 2002), graduates from the nurse practitioner specialty tracks shall be able to:

Integrate evidence-based principles from advanced pathophysiology, advanced pharmacology, advanced health assessment, and health promotion/disease prevention in clinical decision making related to management of patient health/illness status (Advanced Practice; Critical Thinking);
Establish a caring partnership with patients and/or caregivers based on mutual trust (Advanced Practice; Professionalism; Advocacy);
Incorporate teaching/learning principles to devise and implement an individualized plan of care to meet the needs of patients and families (Advanced Practice; Critical Thinking; Advocacy);
Incorporate principles of leadership to develop and implement the nurse practitioner role in healthcare delivery (Critical Thinking; Leadership; Professionalism);
Advocate for equitable, quality, cost effective care by managing and negotiating a variety of healthcare delivery systems (Leadership; Professionalism; Advocacy);
Ensure and monitor the quality of health care practice through the use of professional/legal standards, collaboration, consultation, referral, and use of evidence-based interventions (Leadership; Professionalism; Advocacy); and
Respect the rights of individuals to choose, participate, refuse care, and to express cultural and spiritual beliefs regarding their care (Advanced Practice; Professionalism; Advocacy).

Admission Requirements

Candidates are selected for admission on the basis of high promise for program completion and academic success in graduate education. These include:

A baccalaureate or graduate degree in nursing granted from a regionally and professionally accredited or internationally recognized college or university. A bachelor’s degree from another discipline will be considered on a case-by-case basis. Official transcripts from all colleges and universities attended must be submitted directly to Barry University.
A current, unrestricted license as a professional registered nurse in the United States. Out-of-state applicants must be eligible for endorsement by the Florida Board of Nursing. An unrestricted Florida license must be received prior to starting the Program and maintained throughout enrollment in the Program.
A minimum of one-year, full-time clinical experience as a Registered Nurse within the last three years.
A minimum grade point average (GPA) of 3.0 on a 4.0 scale. Applicants with a master’s degree from a regionally accredited college or university will have their graduate GPA included for admissions consideration.
Transcript evidence of satisfactory completion (grade B or higher) of an undergraduate nursing research course.
Transcript evidence of satisfactory completion (grade B or higher) of a statistics course, which included descriptive and inferential methods, within five years of program start date.
Applicants to the DNP Family Nurse Practitioner specialization must provide evidence of current BLS-certification.
Applicants to the DNP Adult-Gerontology Acute Care Nurse Practitioner specialization must provide evidence of current BLS and ACLS certification.
GPA of 3.2 or greater.
Three letters of recommendation from professional references.
Upon the start of the program, accepted candidates are required to possess a notebook computer with specified software which conforms to criteria established by the Program. Applicants are advised that portions of the didactic coursework are web-based and may also be provided in conjunction with telecommunications or video teleconferencing instruction. Candidates should possess basic computer literacy skills, including the use of word-processing, Windows operating systems, electronic mail, and navigation of Internet applications. Students without these prerequisite skills are encouraged to take CS 180 Introduction to Computers. This course will not count towards degree requirements.
Applicants may be required to fulfill specific prerequisites or other conditions of admission prior to an admission decision.
All applicants must affirm and attest to sound physical health, emotional stability, and personal integrity that will enable them to successfully complete the educational program, comply with criteria for nursing licensure, and adhere to American Nurses Association professional codes of conduct and practice. Applicants must affirm and attest that they are free of addiction to substances of abuse, are not restricted in their practice of nursing or under investigation by any Board of Nursing, and are willing to adhere to Drug Free Workplace policies and procedures of affiliate clinical training sites, to include submission to randomized drug testing and/or testing for cause and upon Program demand.
Admission is on a competitive basis for a limited number of positions. As a result, applicants may meet minimum admission requirements but not be selected for a personal interview or admission. Applicants are advised to contact the Office of Financial Aid to investigate funding options at the time they are considering submission of their application package.

Application Process

All application materials must be complete and be received by the Office of Admissions by August 15 for admission to the Program at the start of the fall semester. Applications received after August 15 will be considered on a space available basis. Only those candidates with a completed application package on file, inclusive of all documentation noted above, will be considered for admission. The above criteria are evaluated as a composite package, serving as an indicator of predictive success in the program. The Admissions Committee will rank all applicants as Accepted, Provisionally Accepted, or Not Accepted.

Curriculum

Curricular content is reflective of CCNE standards and standards set forth by the professional associations of the nurse practitioner specialty tracks. The program consists of 76 credit hours (Family Nurse Practitioner) and 79 credit hours (Adult-Gerontology Acute Care) delivered over a four-year, part-time course of study. Some courses require pre- or co-requisites (see course descriptions), and/or may be sequential in nature. Coursework is offered via a combination of traditional, web-enhanced, and hybrid distance learning formats. In addition to didactic and clinical coursework, students complete a comprehensive examination and a doctoral scholarly project.

Progression Requirements

Students must comply with policies related to the Academic Dishonesty Policy and Civility Policy, failure to do so will prevent progression;
Students must receive a grade of B in all courses and maintain a cumulative GPA of 3.0 on a 4.0 point scale to progress in the DNP Program; if a student receives less than a B grade or a cumulative GPA of 3.0, the student may not progress to the next semester;
Receipt of two failing grades is cause for dismissal from the Program;
Students may not progress in the Program while on a Medical Leave of Absence;
Students may not begin a new semester with a grade of ‘I’ grade in a didactic or clinical course from the previous semester without the permission of the Program Director; and
Students must successfully complete a semester to progress to the next semester.

Graduation Requirements

Students must complete a minimum of 76 credits in the Family Nurse Practitioner specializations or 79 credits in the Adult-Gerontology Acute Care Nurse Practitioner specialization to graduate;
Satisfactory completion of ALL courses, rotations, final comprehensive examination, scholarly doctoral project, and clinical requirements are necessary for the student to graduate;
Students who attain a cumulative GPA below a 3.0 will not be able to graduate; and
All degree requirements must be completed within four years of the date of full admission into the program (approved leave of absence time does not count towards this requirement); a student enrolled in NUR-807 DNP Scholarly Project III who does not complete the course requirements by the end of the semester will receive an ‘In Progress (IP)’ grade, the student will be required to enroll in a continuous matriculation course each additional semester until the project is completed.

Clinical Sites

Students assume an active role in choosing a site for clinical education. All clinical sites must be approved by the Program Core Courses: The Adult-Gerontology Acute Care Nurse Practitioner specialization requires a hospital-based clinical education experience. Only hospitals which have a clinical agreement with Barry University will be considered. Space and residency slot limitations may impact choice of sites.

Transfer of Credits

Acceptance of transfer credits is at the discretion of the program director. A maximum of six graduate credits may be transferred from a regionally accredited or internationally recognized institution of higher education at the time of matriculation. The Program’s sequential design and specialty content prevents transfer credit of specialization coursework from outside of the curriculum. Only courses with a final grade of B or higher will be considered for transfer. Transfer credits must meet the criteria established by Barry University.

Grading Policy

The following grading policy exists for this program:

A	90%–100%
B	80%–89%
C	70%–79%
F	0%–69%

Receipt of a failing grade is cause for dismissal from the Program.

I	=	Incomplete
IP	=	In Progress
Withdrawal from a course after the add/drop period of the semester constitutes a failure.

Students who are dismissed from the program may re-apply for admission. Readmission is not guaranteed.

An ‘I’ (Incomplete) grade is not automatically given for absence from class or incomplete work. An ‘I’ grade will need to be requested in writing by the student to the course instructor when course assignments have not been satisfactorily completed. A substantial portion of the required coursework and assignments/assessments, as determined by the faculty member, should be complete to qualify for an ‘I’ grade. Students who are granted an ‘I’ grade in a course must complete all the course requirements by the end of the next semester. An ‘I’ grade becomes an F if assignments are not completed.