Paper
Monday, November 5, 2007

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This presentation is part of : Developing Leaders for the Future
The Doctor of Nursing Practice: Preparation of Future Nursing Leaders
Patricia Gonce Morton, RN, PhD, CRNP, FAAN, School of Nursing, University of Maryland, Baltimore, MD, USA, Kathryn Lothschuetz Montgomery, PhD, RN, CNAA, Organizational Partnership, Outreach, & Clinical Enterprise, University of Maryland School of Nursing, Baltimore, MD, USA, Michele Michael, PhD, CRNP, Family and Community Health Department, University of Maryland, School of Nursing, Baltimore, MD, USA, and Jane Kapustin, PhD, CRNP, Department of Organizational Systems and Adult Health, University of Maryland School of Nursing, Baltimore, MD, USA.
Learning Objective #1: explain how DNP programs will prepare future nursing leaders.
Learning Objective #2: analyze the approach used at the University of Maryland School of Nursing's DNP Program to prepare future nursing leaders.
     Complex healthcare systems require a new generation of skilled nursing leaders to create and sustain improvements in quality of care delivery and health outcomes for all groups. The 2004 Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) position statement from the American Association of Colleges of Nursing (AACN) called for a transformational change in the education of professional nurses and in the development of collaborative partnerships so that nurses could attain the skills and knowledge to innovate and lead at the highest educational, clinical, and executive ranks.

     To achieve this goal, the University of Maryland School of Nursing (UMSON) implemented a post-master’s DNP program in the fall of 2006.  To create a program with a focus on leadership and innovation, the faculty drew from the rich resources within the UMSON and with other partners.  Currently, the UMSON offers 13 master’s specialties thus offering the DNP student a diverse cadre of expert faculty to guide their coursework, practicum experiences, and capstone projects. The UMSON’s collaborative relationships with the other schools on the campus such as medicine, pharmacy, social work, law, and public health offer the DNP students unique opportunities for elective courses and interdisciplinary study.  The presence of a major teaching hospital on the campus that employs 11 doctorally prepared nurses provides the DNP student with varied opportunities for practicum experiences.  The DNP program is further enhanced by the student’s ability to broaden their leadership and innovation skills by taking courses such as business administration and health policy at other campuses with in the University of Maryland system.   As a result of these rich and diverse resources, the DNP program was designed not just for advanced practice nurses, but for nurse informaticians, academicians, administrators, and policy analysts.

    
 
 

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