DNP Public Health Nursing Online

Degree Information for an Online DNP in Public Health Nursing

A Doctor of Nursing Practice is the top degree in the nursing profession. Applicants must have a master's degree in nursing, a registered nurse license, and a grade point average of at least 3.0 in their master's degree coursework. This 4- to 5-year online program prepares graduates for careers as advanced practice nurses, public health policy advisors, and postsecondary nurse educators.

Biostatistics

Doctor of Nursing Practice students must become experts in conducting research and investigating public health and biomedical issues. To this end, they must learn how to use biostatistical methods early on in their degree program. In this course students learn how to incorporate descriptive statistics, probability distributions, sampling distributions, inferences, hypothesis testing, analysis of variance, and linear regression analysis in their research projects. Each analysis tool is applied back to a nursing setting, so that students can get used to using the best research practices to advance their profession.

Epidemiology

Advanced practice public health nurses must understand the basics of how epidemiologists analyze big data to develop public health solutions/policy. In this course, students apply data analysis and statistics techniques to better understand public health issues like the spread of disease. The syllabus may include modules on health risks, death causality, and strategies to reduce negative health outcomes in distinct populations.

Advanced Research Methods

Doctors of nursing practice are not only nurses, they are researchers and leaders. This course builds on the biostatistics and epidemiology courses and helps students apply medical research tools to their own projects. By the end of the course students should have chosen a research question/capstone project idea that they will pursue independently for the duration of their program.

Healthcare Policy

Public health professionals work to improve the overall health system for populations, rather than working with individual patients. To this end, they must develop policy solutions and/or lobby for laws and government action. This class prepares students to become effective healthcare policy advocates by providing them with an introduction to public healthcare policy and the US healthcare system. The syllabus includes modules on the interactions between the most important institutions that affect public health, like private insurance companies and federal programs (Medicare and Medicaid).

Healthcare Finance

Because graduates of this DNP program often go on to administrative and leadership roles, it is important for them to understand the flow of money within the healthcare system. This class introduces students to the economics of medical practice. Students may take modules in reimbursement, cost/benefit analysis, and how financial restraints affect healthcare outcomes for various populations.

Public Health Ethics

Advanced practice nurses make life changing emergency decisions for their patients on a regular basis. To best serve their patients and avoid litigation, they must have a strong understanding of healthcare laws and ethics. The field of public health, with its population-based approach, runs based on its own ethics paradigm. Students become familiar with the most important rules of the discipline by contrasting, debating, and discussing ethical issues with classmates and professors.

Evidence-Based Nursing

One objective of advanced nursing professionals is to close the gap between medical research and nursing practice. In the past, it may have taken over a decade for academic research to feed into hospital policy. Advanced practice nurses learn evidence-based practice (EBP) techniques to ensure that their nursing practice stays current. They learn how to stay on top of the latest medical knowledge and then apply that knowledge in their own day-to-day practice.

Public Health Practicum

Before graduating students must complete at least 1000 clinical hours in a public/community health setting. Students work with professional nurses and public health researchers in their home community, honing their skills and applying their academic knowledge. This course provides online students with the opportunity to log practical experience hours, connect with supervisors in the field, and demonstrate their skills through hands-on work.

A Doctor of Nursing Practice with a concentration in public health is a great program if you are interested in rising to the top of the nursing profession and establishing institutional changes that can help improve health outcomes for population groups. The program lasts 4-5 years and includes academic study, independent research, and hands-on practicums in clinical settings.