Back to Annual Meeting Page		American Public Health Association 133rd Annual Meeting & Exposition December 10-14, 2005 Philadelphia, PA

Abstract #114218

Kathleen A. Baldwin, PhD, RN¹, Patricia R. Lewis, PhD, RN², Lorna Finnegan, PhD, APN³, L. Michele Issel, PhD, RN⁴, Judy Lloyd Storfjell, PhD, RN³, and John W. Smith, MA¹. (1) College of Nursing, University of Illinois at Chicago, Peoria Campus, One Illini Drive, Peoria, IL 61656-1649, 309-671-8467, kbaldwin@uic.edu, (2) Rockford Regional Program, College of Nursing, University of Illinois at Chicago, Highcrest Dr., Rockford, IL 61102, (3) College of Nursing, University of Illinois at Chicago, 845 South Damen, MC 802, Chicago, IL 60612, (4) School of Public Health, University of Illinois at Chicago, 2035 West Taylor Street, Chicago, IL 60612

In the past two years a national conversation has arisen around the need for practice doctorates in nursing. Many nursing leaders believe that the new doctorate of nursing practice (DNP) degree will increase the quality of nursing practice and also help alleviate the current shortage of nursing faculty (AACN, 2004). The University of Illinois Chicago (UIC) College of Nursing (CON) is developing a public health nursing Doctorate of Nursing Practice (DNP) in response to the need for clinical doctoral education that focuses on evidence-based practice, leadership, and management within a interdisciplinary population-focused framework. Based on the Quad Council public health nursing competencies, input from Practice Education across the state, and AACN's essential areas of practice doctorate content, the DNP curriculum includes five major content areas or threads: practice, education, research, policy/legal/ethics, and leadership/management, which will be taught across individual, family, system, and community levels of practice. A synthesis project and residency hours to replace the traditional PhD dissertation are being debated. The foundational program is envisioned as an approximately 80 hour seamless 4 year post baccalaureate practice doctorate program with multiple entry and exit points. Graduates are expected to raise the level of evidence-based public health nursing practice and to impact the current shortage of public health through new nursing faculty.

Learning Objectives:

• Creating faculty buy in when creating a practice doctorate.
• Overcoming institutional barriers
• Creating a state wide task force for feedback and direction.
• Developing a synthesis project and residency to fit the needs of PHN.
• Producing evidence-based PHN that are able to be leaders and educators in the community and practice.

Keywords: Evidence Based Practice, Population

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

I wish to disclose that I have NO financial interests or other relationship with the manufactures of commercial products, suppliers of commercial services or commercial supporters.

Recorded presentation