Doctor of Nursing Practice

Doctor of Nursing Practice

The Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) at PLU is the perfect program for professionals seeking to advance their career with a doctorate in nursing. The DNP nursing degree prepares graduates in one of the following advanced practice specialty areas:

• Family Nurse Practitioner (FNP)
• Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioner (PMHNP)

The PLU Nursing difference

• PLU is known for its high quality nursing education.
• Cohort sizes are small to ensure a high quality, personable PLU experience.
• All clinical placements are arranged by the PLU faculty.
• There are full-time and part-time options

DNP graduates are able to develop and evaluate quality within a health system, collaborate with inter-professional teams to improve health outcomes, and be leaders in the nursing profession.

BSN to DNP

• Nurses with a BSN complete the DNP FNP program in three years full-time or in four or five years part-time.
• Successful completion of the program prepares students to take the national certifying exam for Family Nurse Practitioner or Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioner, making them eligible to apply under Washington State law for Advanced Registered Nurse Practitioner (ARNP) licensure.

MSN to DNP

• The post-Master’s DNP FNP and PMHNP program is designed to prepare expert level clinicians.
• Nurses with a master’s degree in nursing complete a Gap Analysis with the Nursing Graduate Program Director to determine what courses from their master’s degree can be applied to the DNP program, and an individualized program of study is developed.
• Two to three years of full-time study is required to complete the DNP FNP or DNP PMHNP.

MSN-APRN to DNP

• The post-master’s DNP program for nurses who are already advanced practice nurses is designed for the APRN to complete their doctorate in two years of part-time study.
• Post-master’s APRN students retain their specialty and earn their doctoral degree, program length depends on gap analysis.

The DNP program educates nurse practitioners for lives of leadership. Learn about how graduates improved patient outcomes through partnerships with major health care organizations: Shaping Health Care

Molly Martin, earned her BSN, MSN, and DNP at PLU. Watch the video to hear about her experience.

Looking towards the future

Nursing jobs in Washington state are increasingly in demand. A growing health sector is ready for PLU graduates to fill much-needed positions in our communities.