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Fay W. Whitney School of Nursing
Doctor of Nursing Practice
Doctor of Nursing Practice - the new standard in advanced practice nursing education - is for the registered nurse with a minimum of a baccalaureate degree. Our program offers family nurse practitioner and psychiatric mental health nurse practitioner options with an emphasis on rural primary care. (Page last updated 1/13/2012)
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Why we are offering the Doctor in Nursing Practice (DNP) Program
Over the last decade, nurse practitioner (NP) education has undergone a major transformation. In 2004 after recognizing the additional knowledge and skills required for advanced practice nursing, the American Association of Colleges in Nursing (AACN) published its “AACN position statement on the practice doctorate in nursing”.1 This landmark document called for the Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) to be the entry level degree for the advanced practice nursing roles, including NPs, clinical nurse midwives, clinical nurse specialists, and certified registered nurse anesthetists. Unlike the PhD, the DNP does not prepare graduates to conduct original research. Rather the DNP is a practice doctorate that prepares nurse clinicians for the highest level of nursing practice.
Plans for the Doctor of Nursing Practice Program:
When we will admit the first class
In November 2010, the University of Wyoming’s Board of Trustees approved the Fay W. Whitney School of Nursing’s (SON) proposal to offer the DNP degree, and in the FALL of 2012, the SON plans to admit its first cohort of DNP students. (update 12-16-2011)
A somewhat unique approach to the DNP
Our DNP program has been designed to educate innovative NPs who utilize evidence to create new ways to improve health care. Our Doctor of Nursing Practice program is somewhat unique from other DNP programs that have simply added doctoral courses onto their existing master’s level curricula. Instead, we believe that the DNP is a reconceptualization of the advanced practice nursing role and have redesigned our NP curriculum from the ground up. However, similar to other DNP programs in the country, our program has also been developed around the AACN’s essentials for DNP education.2
How the DNP is similar to, and how it will differ from our former MS NP program
Not unlike our former master’s NP program, our DNP program has been designed to prepare NPs to serve rural communities within the Rocky Mountain region. In addition, it has been designed to be distance accessible to students living anywhere in Wyoming.
However, we have also made substantial changes to our curricula and course delivery. Please read through the following frequently asked questions (FAQs) and recheck this web page (http://www.uwyo.edu/nursing/DNP) from time to time for program updates.
FAQs about UW DNP Program - last updated 12/16/2011
School of Nursing DNP Program Contact Info
Questions? Contact the DNP Program Coordinator, Ann Marie Hart, PhD, FNP as follows:
Email: annmhart@uwyo.edu; Phone: 307-766-6564
Updated 1/5/2012
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American Association of Colleges of Nursing. (2004). AACN position statement on the practice doctorate in nursing. Washington, DC: Author.
American Association of Colleges of Nursing (2006). The essentials of doctoral education for advanced nursing practice. Washington, DC: Author.