142nd APHA Annual Meeting and Exposition

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Converging competencies: Structuring a DNP/MPH dual degree

142nd APHA Annual Meeting and Exposition (November 15 - November 19, 2014): http://www.apha.org/events-and-meetings/annual
Monday, November 17, 2014 : 3:15 PM - 3:30 PM

Marilyn L. Stember, PhD, RN, FAAN , College of Nursing, University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus, Aurora, CO
Marilyn J. Krajicek, EdD, RN, FAAN , College of Nursing, University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus, Aurora, CO
Scott Harpin, PhD, MPH, RN, PHCNS-BC , College of Nursing, University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus, Aurora, CO
Kathy Shaw, DNP, RN, CDE , College of Nursing, University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus, Aurora, CO
Gerri Steinke, PhD , College of Nursing, University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus, Aurora, CO
Alison Pilsner, MPH, CPH, CHES , College of Nursing, University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus, Aurora, CO
  
Audio (mp3) recording Recorded Presentation (mp4)
Background/Issue. IOM’s Future of Nursing recommends nurses have doctoral preparation to be full partners with other comparably educated health professionals. AACN voted to move advanced nursing practice education from master’s to DNP by 2015. Implementation of ACA will require PHN leaders of the future to have the highest level of interprofessional public health knowledge/skills to best serve complex population health needs. Congruent with these imperatives, the University of Colorado is now offering a DNP/MPH dual degree.

Description. Unable to identify another DNP/MPH program in the nation, faculty were challenged to develop a curriculum that delivers these competency sets: 1) DNP Essentials, 2) Advanced PHN, 3) MPH Outcomes, and 4) Interprofessional Education. Dual degree coursework and requirements were negotiated with the Colorado School of Public Health. Both degrees are concurrently earned in a 61 semester credit online program which culminates in an integrating capstone project. Faculty used a crosswalk approach to address each set of competencies, noting convergence across sets. Syllabi will be submitted to a national panel of experts to assess competency coverage. Progress on establishing curricular validity will be reported.

Lessons Learned. The dual degree offers substantial efficiency over earning two separate degrees. Having an initial MOU between the two schools was critical amid academic leadership changes.

Implications/Recommendations. The DNP/MPH dual degree offers advanced coursework for interprofessional PHN education of the future. These graduates will be uniquely positioned to advance public health nursing practice and lead evolving public health systems. After external review/refinement, this model dual degree curriculum will be shared.

Learning Areas:

Public health or related education
Public health or related nursing

Learning Objectives:
List four competency sets that must be included in a DNP/MPH dual degree. Identify three professional imperatives encouraging development of DNP/MPH programs. Describe two advantages of the DNP/MPH dual degree over earning the two degrees independently.

Keyword(s): Public Health Curricula & Competencies, Nursing Education

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Qualified on the content I am responsible for because: I have been PI or Co-PI on multiple federally funded grants focusing on public health nursing education and workforce development. I have been a professor at the University of Colorado for 40 years, teaching in the master's public health nursing, PhD, and ND programs. I was instrumental in developing the DNP-Public Health Nursing program and collaborated with the Colorado School of Public Health in developing the DNP/MPH dual degree that is described in this presentation.
Any relevant financial relationships? No

I agree to comply with the American Public Health Association Conflict of Interest and Commercial Support Guidelines, and to disclose to the participants any off-label or experimental uses of a commercial product or service discussed in my presentation.

Back to: 3395.0: PHN Education Bridging the Divide