Doctor of Nursing Practice

at University of Illinois Springfield

The Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) is designed to prepare nurse leaders for the highest level of professional nursing practice beyond the initial preparation in the discipline. Doctoral nursing practice encompasses advanced clinical practice that influences health care outcomes for individuals, families, and populations including the direct care of individual patients, management and care coordination for individuals and populations, administration of nursing and health care organizations, and the development and implementation of health policy. Graduates of DNP programs are prepared for direct care roles (e.g. nurse practitioners, clinical nurse specialists, nurse midwives) and systems-focused roles (e.g. administrative, public health, and policy roles) or a blend of these roles.