UMSL receives grant for new DNP program

October 17, 2008

The College of Nursing at the University of Missouri-St. Louis announced today that they received a grant to help fund the new Doctor of Nursing Practice program. The college began offering the program this summer. UMSL is one of only three universities offering the program in Missouri.

Bobbie Lee, project director and director of graduate studies and research in the College of Nursing at UMSL, said the college intends to use the grant to assist with start-up funding for faculty and program consultants, student recruitment and program supplies.

"This grant will help the college further its mission to serve the people of Missouri," said Juliann Sebastian, dean of the College of Nursing at UMSL. "That means offering advanced-level degrees not only in nursing research, but also nursing practice. While UMSL alumni continue to help generate cutting-edge nursing research through the college's Doctor of Philosophy in Nursing program, the new DNP program will help train our students how to best implement this research."

The college received $260,516 for the 2008-09 academic year with recommended total funding of $891,867 over three years from the Health Resources Services Administration of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. The grant will pay for 62 percent of the total program costs during the first three years. The remaining 37 percent of the program costs -- or $530,850 -- are expected to be funded by the program's revenues.

The DNP program at UMSL is designed to prepare graduates to attain the following:
• Generate strategies to improve health care in complex clinical environments,
• Help shape health care delivery and policy, and
• Lead the health care community by providing excellence in advanced clinical nursing practice.

Sebastian said there is a growing demand for advanced practice nurses to hold a practice doctorate.

"Today's health-care environment is complex and there are needs for enhanced quality care and patient safety, as well as new care delivery models," she said. "Increasing the number of prepared nurses holding doctorates with a clinical focus will help meet these needs."

To be admitted to the program, students must have a master's degree in nursing, be certified by a national certification board and recognized by the Missouri State Board of Nursing as advanced practice nurses.

"The DNP program at UMSL is intended to help advanced practice nurses better translate clinical research into actual use in a clinical setting," said Lee, director of graduate studies and research in the College of Nursing at UMSL. "It will be of particular use for nurses pursuing a management or organizational leadership role."

UMSL's DNP program requires completion of 41 credit hours during three years or part-time study. Visit http://www.umsl.edu/~nursingweb/ for more information on the Doctor of Nursing Practice program at UMSL.