Doctor of Nursing Practice in Clinical Leadership

Learn to improve patient outcomes and translate research into practice with our Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) in Clinical Leadership program. The DNP curriculum is designed around evidence-based practice, quality improvement, and systems leadership. The DNP is a practice-based terminal degree, offering an alternative to a research-focused doctoral degree program. Graduates may pursue roles in which they are responsible for managing nursing staff, teaching undergraduates, or as part of a team implementing best practices in patient care or reviewing health policy initiatives.

 

Program Information

The Doctor of Nursing Practice in Clinical Leadership is a two-year program to prepare nurses for leadership roles by focusing on evidence-based practice, quality improvement, and systems leadership.

Program Type

Major

Degree

Doctorate

School

School of Nursing

Duration

2 years

Required Credit Hours

35

Modality

Online

Admissions

Admission Requirements

To qualify for our online Clinical Leadership DNP, you must:

  • Hold a current, unencumbered RN license.
  • Hold a BSN degree (required) from an accredited college or university with a 3.0 GPA or higher.
  • Hold a master’s degree (nursing or non-nursing) from an accredited college or university with a 3.0 GPA or higher. MSN degree preferred.
  • Have completed an undergraduate statistics course with a “C” or higher or graduate statistics course with a “B” or higher.

Note: Strong leadership experience is preferred.

Admission Process

  • Resume or curriculum vitae
  • Goal statement (2-3 pages)
  • Official transcript(s)
  • An interview may be required
  • Three reference letters. Recommendations should be from persons who can comment on the applicant’s professional or academic abilities.
  • Examples:
    • One Supervisory and two Academic (Nursing Professor/Nursing Preceptor)
    • Two Supervisory and one Academic (Nursing Professor/Nursing Preceptor)
    • Or three Supervisory if you have been out of school for more than five years
    • The supervisor reference letters must come from a direct supervisor who is responsible for your performance evaluation

Curriculum

View Course Descriptions
In many respects, the DNP degree is what makes nurses effective managers. DNP coursework trains advanced practice nurses in the skills needed to work as clinical healthcare leaders. The increasing complexities in the healthcare system — from the growing concerns about patient safety to the increase in chronic conditions — make practice expertise essential to population health.

The DNP, a practice-focused degree, prepares nurses for leadership in a clinical setting. While earning the degree, nurses study a wide variety of topics, including transcultural care and global health perspectives, social justice and vulnerable populations and analytical methods of evidence-based practice.
  • GPNS 948 Evidence Based Practice – Translation of Research to Practice (50 Hours) (3 credits)
  • GPNS 969: Analytical Methods for Evidence Based Practice (50 Hours) (3 credits)
  • GPNS 920: Health Care Policy (3 credits)
  • GPNS 979: Analytical Methods – Healthcare Program Evaluation and Analysis (50 Hours) (3 credits)
  • GPNS 977 Transcultural Health and Global Healthcare Delivery (3 credits)
  • GPNG 978: Social Justice and Preventing Vulnerable Populations (3 credits)
  • GPNS 908: Evidence Based Practice – Leading Change Management (50 Hours) (3 credits)
  • GPNS 906: Healthcare Informatics (50 Hours) (3 credits)
  • GPNS 980: Doctor of Nursing Practice Practicum I: Implementation (Up to 350 Hours) (4 credits)
  • GPNS 981: Doctor of Nursing Practice Practicum II: Evaluation (Up to 350 Hours) (4 credits)
  • GPNS 976: Ethical Leadership in Management and Healthcare (3 credits)

Ask a Question

Do you still have questions about the DNP in Clinical Leadership program?

Manny Bravo

Enrollment Counselor

School of Nursing

Learning Outcomes

  1. Demonstrate effective clinical judgement and innovation in nursing practice through the integration, translation, and application of distinct nursing knowledge utilizing shared multi-disciplinary theory and research-based knowledge.
  2. Develop person-centered plans of care that integrates holistic, compassionate, evidence-based, and developmentally appropriate knowledge, regardless of specialty or functional area, integrating assessment, evaluation, and diagnostic skills into care coordination.
  3. Engage in traditional and non-traditional public health partnerships that demonstrate advocacy and equitable policy strategies and consider the socioeconomic impact of health care delivery to ensure equitable population health outcomes and advanced preparedness during disasters and public health emergencies.
  4. Transform into practice evidence-based nursing knowledge based on scholarly ethical foundations that promote, integrate, and improve health care systems and patient outcomes.
  5. Formulate interprofessional quality improvement practice and safety initiatives within the healthcare system through performance, fiscal, and policy measures, and organizational processes.
  6. Model interprofessional collaboration through partnerships between various healthcare disciplines, patients, families, and communities, utilizing team dynamics to empower colleagues, patients, families, and communities to act on behalf of justice and improved healthcare outcomes.
  7. Implement safe, cost-effective, quality, interprofessional, and equitable care to diverse populations that utilize evidence-based practices and innovations to optimize care across healthcare systems.
  8. Review data obtained from the use of technology, communication, and informatics to create meaningful information to guide decision-making and support the expansion of knowledge and ethico-legally sound advanced nursing practice within health care delivery systems serving diverse populations.
  9. Create opportunities to teach, mentor, and facilitate professional and interprofessional development of nurses and other healthcare disciplines to promote a participatory approach to the delivery of healthcare across all diverse cultural and spiritual milieus.
  10. Integrate personal health and well-being practices while contributing to a resilient workplace environment fostering individual and professional growth while employing leadership skills that advance nursing practice that supports the role of the professional nurse in promoting social justice across the healthcare delivery systems.

Accreditation

The DNP in clinical Leadership program at Duquesne University School of Nursing is accredited by the Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education (CCNE).

Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education

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