Post-Masters NP Curriculum

Apply by November 1, 2016 for the May 2017 term!

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.

View MSN-DNP Progression

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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 master's 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 600 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 the responsibility of the faculty.

DNP Scholarly 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 DPT (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 DNP, 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 DNP 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 Scholarly 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.