Nursing Graduate Programs Student Services

Program Profile

Handbook

Sample Plans of Study

DNP Program:

Nurse Faculty Loan Program (NFLP)

The Nurse Faculty Loan Program (NFLP) is a loan forgiveness program that prepares and trains qualified nurse educators to fill faculty vacancies and increase the number of trained nurses entering the workforce. Each year, the UMSL College of Nursing must apply for and receive NFLP funding.

NFLP Information

Graduate Advising

The UMSL College of Nursing utilizes both professional staff academic advisors and faculty advisors to assist students in their academic and professional development. Each student is assigned to an academic advisor and a faculty advisor. The academic advisor helps with program application and admission, degree planning, enrollment and interpretation of policy and procedure. The faculty advisor provides research, capstone, and practice guidance and monitors academic performance and progress. Download Graduation/Conferral Letter Request Form

Tamala Stallings
Academic Advisor
Nursing Administration Building, Rm. 11
tysgd7@umsl.edu
314-516-6023

Characteristics of DNP versus PhD in Nursing - Terminal Degree Options in Nursing

Characteristic	Doctor of Nursing Practice	PhD in Nursing
Focus	Nursing practice	Nursing research
Degree Objective	Prepare nurse leaders to improve patient care outcomes Engage in advanced nursing practice Provide leadership in innovations in health care delivery and development of health policy	Prepare nurse scientists who will contribute to development of new knowledge, theory generations, and hypothesis testing to advance the science and theoretical and philosophical foundations of nursing Dissemination of research discoveries by nurse scientists develops the evidence base that improves health care and guides health policy
Curriculum Focus	Promote change in advanced clinical practice Health promotion, health care quality improvement, and evidence-based practice Information systems and technology Organization and system leadership	Communicate research findings to the scientific and social policy communities Steward discipline Integrate the components of scholarship: research, teaching, mentoring, and services to profession Educating the next generation contributing to the formal and informal education of future nurses through discovery, application, and integration
Core Course Work	Scientific writing Epidemiology Evaluating research evidence Applied informatics Advanced clinical practice	Scientific writing Grant writing techniques Interpreting research evidence Theory construction Formal designing and testing interventions and innovations Quantitative and qualitative research methodologies
Employment Opportunities	Advanced Nurse Practitioner Clinical Nurse Faculty Leadership positions in health care organizations, industry, government Policy and change agent	Academic faculty Clinical researcher Principal research investigator Research scientist/policy maker Leadership positions in health care organizations, industry, government Director of Research

DNP Immersive Learning Experiences

	Term	Program Year	Term Week	Date	Course Correlation
Intensive I	Spring	Year 2	15th week of term	April 29-May 1, 2025	Advanced Health Assesment
Intensive II	Fall	Year 3	9th week of term	October 20-22, 2025	Diagnostic Reasoning
Intensive III	Summer	Year 3	1st week of term	May 20-22, 2025	Practicum I
Intensive IV	Fall	Year 4	10th week of term	October 28-30, 2025	Practicum II
Intensive V	Spring	Year 4	4th week of term	February 11-13, 2025	Practicum III

Advanced Health Assessment (N6524) associated Intensive (15th Week):

Comprehensive Assessment
- Script(s) and Rubric(s)  
  1. Simulated Patient Actor Information
  2. NP Faculty Information
  3. NP Student Information

Complete Genitourinary Teaching Assistant (GTA) and Male Urogenital Teaching Assistant (MUTA) Immersive experience

Diagnostic Reasoning (N6530) associated Intensive (9th Week):  

Faculty principal discussions for knowledge base enhancement.  
- Population-specific  
- Some shared content discussions
Complete Objective Structured Clinical Examination (OSCE) (1) and Oral Diagnostic Readiness Test (DRT) (1)
Track Coordinators to submit Focused (5) and Comprehensive (5) diagnoses for tests for the Competency Workbook. 
- Each diagnosis will need an H&P developed by the track lead.  
- One (1) Focused and One (1) Comprehensive script for each Intensive Experience.

OSCEs (Focused)

Students complete a OSCE (Focused) 
1. Students receive HPI and Demographics  
2. Students ask appropriate ROS questions based on HPI.  
3. Student Completes a Focused Assessment
4. Students organize differentials (5) with rationale. With Faculty Assistance   
5. Recommends appropriate diagnostics.  
6. Issues Prescribed Treatment and Management Plan 
Students complete Oral DRTs (Comprehensive)  
1. Students receive HPI and Demographics 
2. Students ask appropriate ROS questions based on HPI.  
3. Student completes an appropriate Comprehensive Assessment
4. Students organize differentials (5) with rationale.  
5. Students recommend appropriate diagnostics with rationale.  
  1. Challenged by Faculty on Utility and Rationale for EACH diagnostic. 
6. Student issues Prescribed Treatment and Management Plan  
  1. Challenged by Faculty on EACH element of Prescribed treatment plan.  
7. Faculty issue Final/Actual Diagnosis  
8. Faculty notes rationale supporting final Dx. 
9. Student issued opportunity to change or alter Prescribed Treatment Plan

Practicums I, II, & III associated Intensives

Population-Specific Skill Attainment | Directed-Practice Model (from NONPF)  
1. OSCEs as outlined above.  
2. Oral DRTs as outlined above.

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