2010 Third National DNP Conference, San Diego

Breakout session T7 Details, Thursday, September 30, 2010, 4PM
Capri Room

Susan Instone, DNSc, APRN, CPNP & Mary Jo Clark, PhD, RN
University of San Diego Hahn School of Nursing
and Health Science, San Diego, CA
DNP Preparation for Advanced Practice Leadership:
A Longitudinal Research Study of the First Graduating Cohort

Goal of Presentation:
The purpose of this research study is to describe the leadership achievements, role transition, and practice innovations of the first cohort of 14 DNP students at program completion and at 6 and 12 months after graduation. While the nation has produced almost 700 DNP graduates by 2009 (AACN, 2010), to-date little has been published about how DNP graduates have transformed their practice to improve the health of our nation. This study will involve two phases: 1) analysis of achievement of program outcomes at the end of the course of study, and 2) analysis of the graduates’ leadership and practice achievements during their first year along with analysis of stakeholder’s perceptions about the graduates’ performance one year after graduation. This presentation will focus on phase I of the study.

Objectives:
1. Describe why the graduates chose the DNP degree
2. Describe how the graduates met the leadership, scientific, and practice outcomes of the DNP program.
3. Describe the role of faculty and clinical mentors in the development of leadership skills and practice innovation.

Speaker’s Background:
Susan Instone is a professor of nursing, board certified pediatric nurse practitioner, and director of the Doctor of Nursing Program in the Hahn School of Nursing at the University of San Diego (USD). For two years, she led a faculty task force to develop the curriculum for USD’s post-MSN DNP Program that began in 2008. The program is based on the AACN’s Essentials of Doctoral Education for Advanced Nursing Practice (2006). This fall, the School will launch the BSN to DNP program with NP and CNS options. USD is currently the only university in California that offers both DNP and PhD degrees. Dr. Instone’s areas of research include decision-making among children and adolescents with chronic, life-threatening illness and the use of standardized patients to evaluate the clinical competencies of NP and CNS students. She has a part-time clinical practice where she provides primary care to primarily low income, Latino children and their families. Dr. Instone earned a doctoral and master’s degrees in nursing from the University of San Diego and a bachelor’s degree in nursing from Mary Manse College in Ohio.

Mary Jo Clark has been actively involved in the development and execution of the DNP program at the University of San Diego and a principal investigator in a study of program outcomes for the first cohort of students. In addition, I am a member of the Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education Board of Commissioners and have been involved in the development and application of accreditation standards for DNP programs.

Debra Palmer, DNP, FNP-BC, ONP-C & Joseph Burkard, DNSc, CRNA
Kaiser Permanente, El Cajon, CA and
The University of San Diego
Unified Efforts to Promote Graduate Nursing Education for

Advanced Practice Specialty Care at the DNP Level

Goal of Presentation:
Current trends to unify efforts for nursing licensure, accreditation certification and education provide nurse leaders an opportunity to promote the Doctorate in Nursing Practice education as a vehicle for advancing specialty care education and in a universal format which is portable and easily implemented across academic settings. The future of specialty care translational research rests in the hands of the next generation of specialty care nurses .The current leadership of advanced practice specialty care RN’s must therefore address the education and training of these individuals now before patient care, and the future of advanced practice specialty care and the reputation of the nursing profession is compromised . It is an opportune time to ensure forward thinking into the future of a more unified, consistent and reproducible evidence based model for specialty care graduate education.

Objectives:
1. Identify current trends in education and health care, which contribute to a call to unify advanced practice specialty care nursing education at the Doctorate level
2. Provide an example for implementing specialty care education into a DNP program which dovetails with the DNP essentials and prepares the Advanced 3. Practice nurse for certification in a specialty field.
Provide examples of Models of care which utilize Nurse Practitioners in Specialty Care

Speaker’s Background:
As a recent graduate of a DNP program with over 20 years of experience as a Nurse Practitioner in a specialty field (Orthopedics) I recognize the value of the DNP education in promoting specialty care education. My experience in developing the National Certification for Orthopedic Nurse Practitioners and Clinical Nurse Specialist in partnership with the Orthopedic Nurse Certification Board is the impetus for my desire to increasing the number of qualified candidates to meet certification requirements. It is my belief Graduate level specialty care training programs are necessary to prepare candidates for national certification weather by demonstration of competency or examination. Physician Assistance’s who graduate from an Orthopedic PA residency program are the advance practice provider of choice at my place of employment as similar training for nurse practitioners is unavailable. Their proficiency is related to their specialty care training beyond PA school and often exceeds that of NP’s applying for positions in the orthopedic department.