“The past decade has seen a growing interest in practice-focused doctoral programs in nursing to complement the research-focused PhD,” says Dean Nena Peragallo, DrPH, RN, FAAN, in announcing the new program. “National trends are driving the demand for professionals in many fields to hold practice doctorates. Our program will educate advance-practice nurses who are capable of implementing the science developed by PhD-prepared nurses and teaching safe, clinically-current practice to the next genera-tion of nursing students.”
“Nurses offer real solutions to the health care crisis,” says University of Miami President Donna E. Shalala, our nation’s longest-serving Secretary of Health and Human Services. “While others continue to debate how to solve today's health care challenges, nurses are finding solutions, on a daily basis, to ensure access to quality care. In addition to meeting the needs of the profession, the University of Miami’s DNP program will prepare advance-practice nurses to create effective health care systems, facilitate better patient care, and improve patient outcomes.”
Educating more doctorally-prepared nurses is central to the school’s mission, for without increasing the number of clinical faculty, the University of Miami cannot do its part to address the critical nursing shortage. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (2005) projects a shortage of 1 million nurses nationwide by the year 2010. The state of Flori-da alone faces an estimated shortage of 18,000 nurses by 2010 and over 60,000 by 2020, according to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. More than 32,000 qualified applicants to baccalaureate and graduate nursing programs were turned away nationwide last year due to insufficient faculty and resource constraints, according to the American Association of Colleges of Nursing (AACN) (2007). This total included almost 3,000 students who could potentially have assumed clinical faculty roles.
“Building on the school’s strong tradition of community service, cultural competency, and evidence-based research, our DNP will offer three tracks: clinical, administration, and education,” notes JoAnn Trybulski, PhD, RN, the Associate Dean at the School of Nursing and Health Studies who will oversee the program. “The three-semester curriculum, developed in accordance with the guidelines of the AACN’s “Essentials of Doctoral Education for Advanced Nursing Practice,” will be offered in a flexible, ex-ecutive-education format. Our clinical partners, including the University of Miami Hospital, Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center, Anne Bates Leach Eye Hospital, and Jackson Memorial Hospital, offer unique opportunities for highly specialized, cut-ting-edge clinical practica.”
As another unique feature, students will take selected courses with faculty at the Uni-versity of Miami’s School of Business Administration and School of Education. “Our DNP program is truly interdisciplinary,” notes Trybulski. “Partnering with other schools at the University of Miami will provide our DNP graduates with a broad base of knowledge and a competitive edge.” For more information, visit http://www.miami.edu/sonhs/dnp
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About the School of Nursing and Health Studies
Established in 1948 as South Florida’s first collegiate nursing program, the School of Nursing and Health Studies at the University of Miami has a distinguished tradition of preparing nurses to provide compassio-nate, quality care to local, national and international communities. Nursing students at the undergraduate and graduate levels are educated by renowned scholars and exposed to a broad range of clinical expe-riences and cutting-edge research. In February 2005, the School expanded its program offerings to include the University of Miami’s Health Science program and changed its name to the School of Nursing and Health Studies. The expanded curriculum includes programs leading to the BSN, MSN, and PhD degrees as well as the BS in Health Science degree.
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About the University of Miami:
The University of Miami’s mission is to educate and nurture students, to create knowledge, and to provide service to our community and beyond. Committed to excellence and proud of the diversity of our University family, we strive to develop future leaders of our nation and the world.
http://www.miami.edu
