PROGRAM DESCRIPTION
The GSN ONLY accepts commissioned officers or service sponsored civilians in the U.S. Army, Air Force, Navy, or Public Health Service with a Bachelor's or Master's Degree with a concentration in Nursing.
The DNP-FNP Program prepares advanced practice nurses for evidence-based clinical practice and leadership roles across healthcare systems. The curriculum stresses primary care of individuals and families across the lifespan with a unique focus on operational readiness.
Created to answer the Air Force’s need for advanced practice nurses in women's health, The Women’s Healthcare Nurse Practitioner track, emphasizes the care of women from a primary care, lifespan approach. It follows an identical curriculum and requires clinical experiences in year three that are unique to women's health. While the program was created for the Air Force, DNP-FNP students are eligible to apply for a dual-specialty as FNP & WHNP.
CURRICULUM
The DNP-FNP program is a two-phase, 36 month, full-time program with didactic, simulation and clinical experiences tightly and deliberately integrated using a life-span approach that supports the development of critical thinking skills. Across the 3 year program, each graduate will acquire over 1700 direct practice hours, create and implement a DNP project, and create a personal portfolio demonstrating achievement of the 8 DNP Essentials. During the Phase I (1st 24 months) students complete 83 semester credits and over 800 hours of direct patient care experiences managed and coordinated by full-time, USU-based GSN faculty. During Phase II (final 12 months), students complete 20 semester credits, a DNP Project, and over 800 additional direct patient care hours coordinated by doctorally-prepared GSN faculty assigned to the Phase II site.
REQUIRED NURSING CORE COURSES (23 CREDITS)
GSN 706 Healthcare Informatics 3
GSN 750A Global Perspectives Seminar in Complex Healthcare Systems I 3
GSN 750B Global Perspectives Seminar in Complex Healthcare Systems II 3
GSN 9XX Evidenced Based Practice and Scholarship 5
GSN 903 Translating Evidence into Practice 3
GSN 906 Doctor of Nursing Practice Project 6
REQUIRED ADVANCED PRACTICE CORE COURSES (21 CREDITS)
GSN 601 Advanced Anatomy 3
GSN 602 Advanced Health Assessment 3
GSN 603 Advanced Physiology 3
GSN 610 Advanced Pharmacology 4
GSN 611 Advanced Pathophysiology 4
GSN 710 Bedside Ultrasonography 1
GSN 711 Integrative Medicine Methodologies 1
GSN 809 Concepts in Operational Leadership & Readiness 2
GSN XXX Trauma & Combat Casualty Care X
REQUIRED SPECIALTY SPECIFIC COURSES CREDITS (38 CREDITS)
GSN707 Integration and Application of Family Theory in Primary Care 2
GSN708 Advanced Diagnosis and Management in Adult Primary Care 5
GSN709 Advanced Diagnosis and Management in Geriatric Primary Care 1
GSN712 Primary Care of the Military Member 3
GSN713 Advanced Diagnosis and Management in Gynecology 2
GSN714 Advanced Diagnosis and Management in Pediatric Primary Care 5
GSN715 Advanced Diagnosis and Management in Embryology/Obstetrics 4
GSN717 Drugs in Pregnancy and Lactation 1
GSN718 Foundations of Independent Practice 4
GSN719 Advanced Concepts in Independent Practice 4
GSN720 Diagnostic & Therapeutic Approaches in Adv. Care of Women 1
MM04001 Military Contingency Medicine / Bushmaster 6
REQUIRED PRACTICUM COURSES (12 CREDITS)
GSN801 DNP Practicum for Nurse Practitioner Practice I 4
GSN802 DNP Practicum for Nurse Practitioner Practice II 4
GSN803 DNP Practicum for Nurse Practitioner Practice III 4
ELECTIVE OPPORTUNITIES
GSN810 Operational Readiness Directed Study 3
GSN721 Interdisciplinary Health Policy 2
PDR4127 Media Communication in Health Care 2
DNP PROJECT (6 CREDITS)
GSN906 Doctor of Nursing Practice Project 6
The project translates research into practice in the form of a practice or system improvement. Students identify inconsistencies, inefficiencies, or other issues within the clinical setting and propose a solution based on existing research.
OPERATIONAL READINESS CURRICULA/EXPERIENCES
The GSNs Operational Curriculum is integrated throughout the FNP and WHNP programs to develop military providers capable of provide care in both traditional and operational settings. All the APRN students receive “core” operational content during the first year of the program to include Tactical Combat Casualty Care, Advanced Trauma Life Support, Behavioral Health First Aid and battlefield principles taught through an immersive experience at the Antietam Battlefield. During the 2nd year of the program, FNP and WHNP students learn alongside the rising 4th year medical students in a operational medicine course called Military Contingency Medicine (MCM) which provides the content for the 5 day Bushmaster field exercise.
In addition to these specific courses, operational content is woven throughout the FNP and WHNP curriculum, and students are offered the opportunity to complete an operational elective such as Dive Medicine, Military Mountain Medicine and the Cold Weather Medicine which are conducted in austere settings.
CLINICAL ROTATIONS
Clinical rotations are integrated into all FNP specialty courses. The National Capital Area Simulation Center (SIM Center) resources are used extensively throughout the DNP-FNP program to evaluate clinical competency. Each DNP-FNP student obtains ~68 hours of simulation across the curriculum.
Direct care clinical experiences vary by term with 2 week student rotations in the 1st year and 9 week rotations in the 2nd year. During these rotations, students spend 5 days per week demonstrating achievement of course clinical competencies.
The DNP-FNP program takes advantage of the extensive, global network of federal and military clinical sites to provide students with the best clinical experience possible. The GSN has agreements for Phase I clinical training with over 90 different clinical sites including a few in the National Capital Area, for example: Malcolm Grow, Andrews Air Force Base, MD; Walter Reed National Military Medical Center, Bethesda, MD; Fort Belvoir Community Hospital, Alexandria, VA. Multiple TDY/TAD sites outside of the Washington, DC area are routinely used to meet the clinical requirements for students. Students PCS to one of 10 Phase II clinical locations to complete the 3rd year clinical immersion portion of the program. Phase I sites are located across the Continental U.S.
The WHNP track requires clinical experiences that are unique to women's health.
ADMISSION
The GSN ONLY accepts commissioned Nurse Corps officers or service sponsored civilians in the U.S. Army, Air Force, Navy, or Public Health Service. Applicants must have a Master's Degree in nursing or related field and hold a current unrestricted nursing license in any of the US states and territories.
For General Admission Requirements, read the Apply page
DEGREE SPECIFIC ADMISSION REQUIREMENTS
- Undergraduate GPA of 2.7 or higher on a 4.0 scale
- Combined science GPA of 2.7 or higher on a 4.0 scale (chemistry, biochemistry, anatomy, physiology, etc.).
- Shadow an FNP for a minimum of 20 hours.
- Recent direct patient care recommended
FINANCIALS
TUITION AND FEES
Tuition: $0
Fees: $0
Books: $0
Equipment: $0
Tuition and fees are waived for all students.
Students retain active duty benefits.
SERVICE OBLIGATION
Active-duty Uniformed Services personnel may incur an obligation for additional service in accordance with the applicable regulations governing sponsored graduate education.