DNP Goals & Competencies

Goals

The goals of the DNP are to prepare expert Advanced Practice Nurse clinicians who will:

• Apply evidence from nursing and the biophysical, psychosocial, behavioral, and clinical sciences to complex health issues.
• Implement health care delivery models and strategies designed for quality improvement in patient care.
• Analyze existing research and design and conduct evaluations of clinical interventions to implement evidence-based practice.
• Employ an evidence-based framework when conducting research on clinical interventions.
• Develop and advocate for health care policy.
• Collaborate with other health professionals to provide high quality, ethical patient-centered care that meets current standards of best practice.
• Synthesize concepts of health promotion and protection and disease prevention in managing complex health problems.
• Apply expert clinical judgment in providing comprehensive assessment, diagnosis, and management of health and illness in diverse populations.
• Provide visionary nursing leadership through contributions to the management and guidance of health care systems.

Competencies

The competencies of the graduate with a DNP will be to function as an expert Advanced Practice Nurse who will be able to:

• Provide appropriate independent advanced nursing care to individuals, families, communities, and clinical populations.
• Appraise scientific progress and selectively translate science to guide clinical decision-making and program development.
• Assume appropriate, effective leadership roles within the health care system.
• Effectively evaluate the quality of health care using technological, financial, clinical, organizational, and scientific methodologies and intervene appropriately to improve quality of care.
• Evaluate current and past scientific evidence into practice, evaluate outcomes of evidence-based interventions, and disseminate findings to diverse audiences.
• Evaluate current technology and information science and implement technological advances in informatics, as appropriate, to clinical situations.
• Analyze legal and ethical implications of health care policy and shape policy to eliminate health care disparities.
• Apply knowledge about organization, management, leadership, and culture to provide optimal care to individuals, families, and communities within diverse health care arenas.