News Release

June 8, 2006
Contact: Kaylyn Kendall Dines
(973) 972-5000
dineskd@umdnj.edu

UMDNJ Offers New Jersey’s First Nursing Practice Doctorate Program

NEWARK—Nurses who have master’s degrees are invited to attend one of two information sessions at the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey highlighting the state’s first Doctor of Nursing Practice degree program, which will begin this fall. The D.N.P. is widely endorsed as the highest level of clinical education for nurses in advanced practice or leadership roles.

The sessions, which are for nurses who plan to provide direct patient care or manage patient care delivery, will take place at the UMDNJ-School of Nursing in Newark and Stratford. One session will be held on Tues., June 27, at 4:30 p.m., at the Stanley Bergen Building, 65 Bergen Street, in Newark. The second will be held on Wed., June 28, from 6 p.m., at the University Educational Center, 40 E. Laurel Road in Stratford.

The program is offered in an executive education model, with classes held over one weekend during each four-week course. The 32-credit program will involve both classroom and distance learning and can be completed in four semesters of full-time study and five to six semesters of part-time study. Students who take courses during the spring, summer and fall may complete the program within two years.

“We are proud to be the first nursing school in New Jersey to offer this doctorate program,” said Dr. Sara Torres, dean of UMDNJ-School of Nursing. “Our DNP program will appeal to experienced, expert nurses who want to remain on the front-line of nursing and want to attain the highest levels of excellence in practice, either in direct patient care or in nursing leadership or administration.”

This program offers an alternative to research-focused doctoral programs in nursing such as the Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.). While the Ph.D. can prepare nurses for careers in research and education, the D.N.P. is designed for nurses involved in clinical practice or in areas that support clinical practice such as management and policymaking. Currently, advanced practice nurses (APN) including nurse practitioners, clinical nurse specialists, nurse midwives, and nurse anesthetists, are prepared in master's degree programs.

Fourteen DNP programs exist nationwide and nearly 200 programs are being developed. Graduates of DNP programs are likely to serve as Advanced Practice Nurses or Clinical Nurse Specialists in primary care, acute care and critical care environments or as executive nurse administrators in roles such as chief nursing officers at hospitals or directors of private clinics. They may also choose to serve as clinical faculty in nursing schools.

Member institutions of the American Association of Colleges of Nursing, which represents nearly 600 nursing schools, have voted to shift the level of preparation necessary for advanced nursing practice roles from the master's to the doctorate level by the year 2015. The D.N.P. degree has also been endorsed by the National Academy of Sciences.

The DNP is the second doctorate program at the UMDNJ-School of Nursing, which also offers a joint Ph.D. in Urban Systems in collaboration with New Jersey Institute of Technology and Rutgers University.

Applications from masters-prepared nurses are currently being accepted for the D.N.P. program at UMDNJ and applications must be received by July 15 for priority consideration. Prospective students are requested to register for the information sessions by contacting SNadmissions@umdnj.edu. For more information about graduate programs at the UMDNJ-School of Nursing, call 973-972-5336 or visit http://sn.umdnj.edu.

UMDNJ is the nation’s largest free-standing public health sciences university with more than 5,500 students attending the state's three medical schools, its only dental school, a graduate school of biomedical sciences, a school of health related professions, a school of nursing and a school of public health on five campuses. Annually, there are more than two million patient visits at UMDNJ facilities and faculty at campuses in Newark, New Brunswick/Piscataway, Scotch Plains, Camden and Stratford. UMDNJ operates University Hospital, a Level I Trauma Center in Newark, and University Behavioral HealthCare, a mental health and addiction services network.