Post-Master's to DNP Track

 

Post-Masters NP Curriculum

Students progress through the curriculum as a cohort following the rotations schedule below.
 

Semester I: Summer	Hrs.	Semester II: Fall	Hrs.	Semester III: Spring	Hrs.
N900: Philosophy of Science	3	N915: Evidenced - Based Practice & Research Translation	3	N910: Epidemiology	3
N905: Ethics & Social Justice	3	N920: Biostatistics	3	N930: DNP Advanced Practicum I	2
		N925: Program Planning	3	N950: Integrating Behavioral Health	3
Total Credits	6		9		8

Semester IV: Summer	Hrs.	Semester V: Fall	Hrs.	Semester VI: Spring	Hrs.
		N945: DNP Advanced Practicum II	3	N935: Leadership of Systems Change & Innovation	3
N940: Health Policy & Economics	3	N955: Informatics & Finance	3	N960: Capstone Project
Total Credits	6		6		3

 

Post-Masters Executive Leadership Curriculum

Semester I: Summer	Hrs.	Semester II: Fall	Hrs.	Semester III: Spring	Hrs.
N900: Philosophy of Science	3	N915: Evidenced - Based Practice & Research Translation	3	N910: Epidemiology	3
N905: Ethics & Social Justice	3	N920: Biostatistics	3	N930: DNP Advanced Practicum I	2
		N925: Program Planning	3	N954: Organizational Behavior	3
Total Credits	6		9		8

Semester IV: Summer	Hrs.	Semester V: Fall	Hrs.	Semester VI: Spring	Hrs.
		N945: DNP Advanced Practicum II	3	N935: Leadership of Systems Change & Innovation	3
N940: Health Policy & Economics	3	N955: Informatics & Finance	3	N960: Capstone Project
		N960: Capstone Project - may be taken early with advisor approval	3
Total Credits	6		9		3

Total Practicum Hours: 540 – 1020 hours

View DNP plan of study

*N965 Practicum. (2cr hrs, 180 practicum hours, may be repeated up to 4 times).

*N960 may be repeated through re-registration in order to complete capstone project and successful defense.

On admission, each student’s record is evaluated to determine how many hours of practicum are needed to finish the curriculum with 1000 or more hours of total graduate practicum time, which is required to obtain a DNP. Semesters designated for this practicum above are recommended. With advisor approval, the student may have an alternate plan for completing these. The following scale will be used to determine how many times N965 must be repeated, based on the number of practicum hours obtained in prior graduate courses:

1. If the student has 99 hours or less, N965 must be repeated 4 times for 8 cr hrs, 480 practicum hours
2. If the student has 100 - 219 hours, N965 must be repeated 3 times for 6 cr hrs, 360 practicum hours
3. If the student has 220 - 339 hours, N965 must be repeated 2 times for 4 cr hrs, 240 practicum hours
4. If the student has 340 - 459 hours, N965 must be taken 1 time for 2 cr hrs, 120 practicum hours
5. If the student has at least 460 hours, N965 is not required

View Nursing Course Descriptions

View Course Grading Scale

DNP Clinical Practicum

The DNP program requires:

1. The overall practice hours for the DNP are a minimum of 1000 hours. Students admitted to the Post-Masters DNP NP track will have 540 practice hours satisfied by the post masters curriculum. The remaining hours are validated in the masters curriculum by transcript analysis or by a certified letter describing the number of practicum hours earned from the accredited school awarding the masters degree. Students admitted to the Post-Masters DNP Executive Leadership track will obtain a minimum of 540 hours of practice hours in the DNP program but may be required to take additional practicum courses based on transcript analysis to meet the 1000 hour requirement.
2. Clinical practice hours for DNP students will occur at health care organization sites in the state in which the nurse is licensed. The practice component is conducted with the assistance of graduate preceptors who practice in the community where the student lives. Goals and objectives of the practice experience are negotiated with the student’s faculty committee, advisor and faculty of record. Oversight of the practice experience is he responsibility of the faculty.

Capstone Project Course and Other Program Requirements

The Loyola University New Orleans Doctor of Nursing Practice degree is a terminal practice degree in the same sense as the M.D. (physicians), PharmD (pharmacists) and D.P.T. (physical therapists) degrees and requires a rigorous analytical capstone project. The practice doctorate differs from the Ph.D. in Nursing. The Ph.D. focuses on the generation of research for new knowledge and culminates in a dissertation by the student. The D.N.P., however, is focused on translating the scientific research generated by the Ph.D. to health care in a timely manner so that patients experience the best applications of science and practice. The D.N.P. degree includes an integrated practicum or practice immersion experiences that generate a final scholarly project as a vital part of the program. A completed scholarly practice portfolio provides evidence of student achievement of the Essentials and will result in at least one publishable scholarly paper to disseminate the results. The development, implementation and evaluation of this project will occur over three semesters throughout the practicum courses and culminates in the capstone course during the final semester. Each student will defend their DNP Capstone Project proposal in an open forum to an interprofessional committee of at least two members.

 

Student Progression

Students must maintain a cumulative of 3.0 GPA and not earn a grade below B- in any course to progress in the curriculum. Only DNP courses are calculated for the GPA.

Length of Time to Complete the Program

Students are required to complete the program within five years of their first term of enrollment.