Nursing Practice

The College of Nursing offers a Post Masters’ Doctor of Nursing Practice (D.N.P.) degree. Graduates of D.N.P. programs are experts in designing, implementing, managing, and evaluating clinical care and health care delivery systems and are prepared to lead at the highest clinical executive ranks. This program’s focus is on the care of vulnerable, rural, and underserved populations.

There are 11 Student Learning Objectives expected of the University of New Mexico College of Nursing D.N.P. graduate:

1. Assume the role of the doctoral prepared nurse in teaching, scholarship, leadership, and service.
2. Apply analytic methods to create, evaluate, and adopt effective innovations to improve health.
3. Analyze, translate, and apply evidence to improve health outcomes.
4. Engage individuals and communities to develop, implement, and evaluate interventions to address their health disparities.
5. Facilitate optimal health outcomes through delivery of culturally sensitive care, including clinical prevention strategies, identification of risk, individualized interventions, and formation of therapeutic relationships with clients.
6. Apply clinical, community, and policy interventions to reduce health inequities.
7. Evaluate and critique social policy relevant to the organization and delivery of health care.
8. Integrate and evaluate information systems in patient care technology for clinical, research, and administrative best practices.
9. Apply leadership and advocacy skills in the development, implementation, and evaluation of health care organizations, delivery of care, and policy.
10. Utilize effective management and organizational skills to assume a leadership role in health care delivery, policy, and systems.
11. Practice nursing reflectively, guided by theory, based on best evidence and integrating creative and critical thinking.

The College of Nursing offers five D.N.P. concentrations in two tracks:

Administration Track

• Nurse Executive Organizational Leadership (NEOL)

Practice Track

• Clinical

D.N.P. Core Courses:

Clinical Concentration

Nursing Executive Organizational Leadership Concentration (NEOL)

The Doctor of Nursing Practice (D.N.P.) doctoral degree is designed for individuals in senior leadership roles who seek to lead complex clinical systems. The Nurse Executive Organizational Leadership (NEOL) concentration provides a curriculum that leads to a D.N.P. for students who enter the program with a B.S.N. and a Master’s degree in a related field (M.B.A., M.P.A., M.P.H., M.S.A., or a Master's degree in Nursing with a Nurse Administration concentration, or a related M.S.N., e.g. informatics, health policy, clinical, etc.) and have at least three years of progressive management experience, or equivalent as determined by the application committee. Graduates of the NEOL concentration are experts in designing, implementing, managing, and evaluating clinical care and health care delivery systems and are prepared to lead at the highest clinical executive ranks.

The NEOL concentration has the following requirements:

* Thirty-seven credit hours is the most common requirement as determined from past experience. The Residency and Capstone courses are variable-hour courses, allowing students to take additional clinical/practice hour credits should their Master’s program not provide sufficient hours to meet accreditation standards. Students should meet with their advisor to ascertain their individual requirements.

** This reflects clinical hours earned in the D.N.P. program; students' total clinical hours dependent on their prior Master's clinical/practice hours.

Clinical Concentration Admission Criteria

• Bachelor’s degree in nursing from an accredited school or university. (RN’s with baccalaureate degree in non-nursing fields are considered on an individual basis).
• Master’s degree as an Advanced Practice Nurse, Certified Nurse Midwife or Clinical Nurse Specialist from a nationally accredited program.
• Minimum GPA of 3.0 in nursing courses at the master’s level.
• Current and unencumbered Registered Nurse and Advanced Practice or Midwifery license from the state in which the applicant will be completing their practicum, submitted with the application.
• Current national certification in their specialty. A copy must be submitted with the application.
• Agree to sign a commitment to enroll in the program of study with course sequencing, and must participate in the required annual D.N.P. residency week held on campus the summer semester of each year.
• Participate in a personal interview (to be arranged by the D.N.P. Program Admissions Committee) and can be conducted in person, by phone, or Web-based conferencing.
• Letter of intent which specifies short and long term professional goals, and a clear statement of how the D.N.P. will advance the applicant's clinical nursing practice.
• Current Curriculum Vitae or Resume.
• Two to three page essay that identifies a system or population focus and related health problem area the applicant intends to address as part of their D.N.P. program of scholarship.
• Three professional references from those who know the applicant's work well and can comment on abilities to succeed in doctoral education and an advanced leadership role. At least one must be from an individual who has evaluated the applicant's work in the past, such as a professor or supervisor.
• Official transcripts from each college or university ever attended.

Nurse Executive Organizational Leadership Concentration Admission Criteria

• Must have either a B.S.N. or a Master’s degree in a related field (M.B.A., M.P.A., M.P.H., M.S.A.), or a Master's degree in Nursing with a Nurse Administration or related concentration (informatics, health policy, clinical, etc.), and have at least three years of progressive management experience, or the equivalent as determined by the application committee.
• Applicants who do not meet the M.S.N. in Nursing Administration requirement are admitted to the D.N.P. NEOL program predicated on passing a compressive exam by the end of the first semester. Should the student not pass the examination, she/he is required to complete an Independent Study designed to address areas for improvement identified in the examination.
• Applicants must have at least a 3.0 GPA at the master’s level (with a 3.5+ GPA preferred).
• Minimum of three years in progressive nursing management or leadership practice management.
• Must have a graduate level inferential statistics course within the past five years or complete one within the program of studies.
• Current and unencumbered RN license from one of the 50 U.S. states or territories; if an advanced practice nurse or certified in a nursing specialty, a copy of the applicant's advanced practice license or certification must be submitted.
• Must agree to sign a commitment to enroll in the program of studies course sequencing based on terms and must participate in the required annual D.N.P. residency week held on campus the summer term of each year.
• Personal interview is arranged and can be conducted in person, by phone, or Web-based conferencing.
• A letter of intent which specifies career goals and a clear statement of how the D.N.P. will advance the applicant’s executive administrative practice.
• Current Curriculum Vitae or Resume.
• Submission of either a two to three page scholarly document with a description or an example of a specific health care administrative problem that the applicant would like to see changed (preferably the D.N.P. Project idea), or a first-authored scholarly publication.
• Three references from those who know the applicant’s work best and can comment on the applicant’s abilities to succeed in a higher level and advanced nursing executive role. These may be from a professor, supervisor, or colleague (no more than one may be from colleagues).
• Official transcripts from each college or university attended.
• Must have pre-arranged practice site(s) for the residency and capstone courses, and meet all clinical clearances and liability of those site(s). All practice sites, liabilities and clearances must be obtained by end of first term of enrollment.

Scholarships

• College of Nursing Scholarships
• Teaching Assistantship