Program Objectives
The Adult-Gerontology Primary Care Nurse Practitioner DNP program prepares graduates to function as highly developed clinicians and leaders.
You will learn to practice in a variety of complex clinical, organizational and educational systems with diverse populations.
Our program gives you the tools to affect changes in health care outcomes through evidence-based decision-making and system redesign.
Graduates meet the following standards:
- Integrate science-based theories and data-based concepts to develop, critically appraise and implement practice approaches that improve health care and health care systems
- Apply organizational theories and systems thinking to improve the quality, cost-effectiveness and safety outcomes of practice decisions and initiatives
- Apply effective strategies for managing the ethical dilemmas inherent in patient care, the health care organization and research
- Apply knowledge of informatics to monitor and improve outcomes, programs and systems of care
- Provide leadership in influencing policies on the financing, regulation and delivery of health care
- Lead interprofessional teams to improve patient and population health outcomes
- Function independently in an advanced nursing role to improve health outcomes in a specialty area of practice
Graduation Requirements
Students entering the program with a bachelor’s degree need to complete a minimum of 71 term hours.
Students with a master’s degree must complete 59 term hours.
Master’s-prepared students who are APRNs must complete 38 term hours.
All students must complete the degree requirements within five years.
Clinical experience and residency
You must have at least one year of nursing experience before starting your specialty clinical practicum. This can be gained during your first year in the program.
The program features accessible clinical practice sites with individualized clinical practica precepted by expert health care practitioners.
Clinical experiences are available in a variety of settings in the Chicago area. This program is best completed by students living within regional proximity of Chicago.
The program includes a combined 756 clocks hours (two terms of clinical practicum and one term of residency):
- First term:168 clock hours
- Second term: 252 clock hours
- Third term: 336 clock hours
The DNP clinical project hours (252) are primarily taken before the start of direct clinical practice hours.
There is a total of 1,008 practica hours for the DNP project and advanced practice nurse role.