Why Elms for your Doctor of Nursing Practice degree?
- Designed for practicing RNs to discover your unique path in nursing
- Specialize in the Family Nurse Practitioner track across the lifespan continuum.
- Clinical Placement Support provided
- Complete a practice-focused scholarly quality improvement project in a faculty-mentored environment.
- Educated in the knowledge and skills to pass the ANCC or AANP board certification.
- Clinical placement support provided.
- Course and clinical faculty are committed educators as well as nurse practitioners, each continues to practice professionally to remain grounded in clinical practice.
DNP in Family Nurse Practitioner
The Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) degree curriculum educates registered nurses in the Family Nurse Practitioner role to provide comprehensive health care to diverse populations across the lifespan. After graduation and board certification, our FNP graduates are qualified as Advanced Practice Registered Nurses (APRN) to practice in a range of family practice settings, including adult primary care, urgent care, private practice, and long term care in hospital and community based settings.
The National Organization of Nurse Practitioner Faculties (NONPF) voted in 2018 that all APRN programs convert to the DNP degree as a pathway for preparation and entry into the nurse practitioner role by 2025.
FNP competencies are concentrated in comprehensive and preventative health care within a family-centered model. This approach includes health assessment, follow-up care for health problems, and health promotion and disease management activities based upon care of children, women, and adult populations. The FNP curriculum is designed to provide in-depth content focused on patients across the lifespan within the framework of the family and community.
FNPs increase health care access for patients of all ages. Elms DNP graduates are prepared for practice as family nurse practitioners in a variety of community settings, including clinics, private practices, schools, businesses, and specialty offices. By 2026, demand for nurse practitioners is expected to grow 31%, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Underserved populations in urban and rural communities have the greatest need for FNPs.
Scholarly Project
The Elms FNP program culminates in a practice-focused quality improvement project completed over the course of several semesters. The DNP Project demonstrates a student’s ability to synthesize scientific evidence focused on new systems or population health approaches for improved outcomes in a practice setting.
Certification
Upon completion, students are prepared to take the American Nurses Credentialing Center or American Academy of Nurse Practitioners certification exams for family nurse practitioners.
Curriculum
Click to view course requirements for the Family Nurse Practitioner (FNP).
The DNP program offers a three-year plan for completion of program requirements; year one – fully online with some scheduled Zoom coursework, year two – in person & some scheduled Zoom coursework, year three – mostly online with some scheduled Zoom coursework.
Foundational Core – 10 Credits (BS-DNP only)
Online & scheduled Zoom course requirements
| Course # | Course Name | # of Credit Hours |
|---|---|---|
| NUR 7408 | Innovating in Practice | 1 |
| NUR 5105 | Translating and Integrating Evidence into Practice | 3 |
| NUR 5005 | Nursing Knowledge and Practice | 3 |
| NUR 5302 | Health Care Policy and Advocacy | 3 |
Clinical Core: Advanced Practice – 15 Credits
Zoom & In-person course requirements
| Course # | Course Name | # of Credit Hours |
|---|---|---|
| NUR 6006 | Advanced Diagnostic Analysis, Health and Physical Assessment with 30 hours of supervised lab practicum practice hours | 4 |
| NUR 6004 | Advanced Pathophysiology | 4 |
| NUR 6007 | Advanced Pharmacology and Therapeutics | 4 |
| NUR 7600 | Clinical Decision Making and Diagnostic Reasoning for the Advanced Practice Nurse | 3 |
DNP Theory Core – 30 Credits
Online & scheduled Zoom course requirements
| Course # | Course Name | # of Credit Hours |
|---|---|---|
| NUR 7105 | Organizational Systems and Quality Improvement | 3 |
| NUR 7306 | Biostatistics | 3 |
| NUR 7307 | Research Methods and Translation for Advanced Practice | 3 |
| NUR 7400 | Financial Management in Health Care Delivery | 3 |
| NUR 7304 | Population Health and Epidemiology | 3 |
| NUR 7406 | Leadership and Collaboration in Health Care Organizations | 3 |
| NUR 7100 | DNP Immersion I: Role Development of the APRN Nurse Practitioner | 3 |
| NUR 7111 | DNP Immersion II: Scholarly Project – Project Idea | 3 |
| NUR 7112 | DNP Immersion III: Scholarly Project – Project Development | 1 |
| NUR 7113 | DNP Immersion IV: Scholarly Project – Project Implementation | 1 |
| NUR 7114 | DNP Capstone: Scholarly Project – Project Evaluation | 3 |
Advanced Practice Specialty: Family Nurse Practitioner – 25 Credits
Zoom & In-person course requirements
| Course # | Course Name | # of Credit Hours |
|---|---|---|
| NUR 7021 | Primary Care I: Infancy through Adolescence and Practicum | 4 |
| NUR 7022 | Primary Care II: Young Adult to Older Adult and Practicum | 4 |
| NUR 7023 | Primary Care III: Women’s Health and Practicum | 4 |
| NUR 7309 | Ethics for Advanced Practice | 3 |
| NUR 7024 | Primary Care IV: Complex Health Problems in Primary Care and Practicum | 6 |
| NUR 7404 | Transition into Practice and Certification Seminar | 2 |