Advanced Education Nursing Traineeship

Program enrollees are registered nurses pursuing a graduate degree in the University of Kentucky College of Nursing and/or the Graduate School. The College of Nursing offers two graduate degree programs (master's or MSN and doctoral or PhD) through the Graduate School. The College offers a professional doctoral degree program, the Doctorate of Nursing Practice (DNP), through the College of Nursing. The MSN program prepares clinical nurse specialists, nurse practitioners and nurse managers. The programs of study within the MSN program meet all applicable Federal guidelines and guidelines from relevant professional nursing organizations. The PhD program prepares nurse scientists to conduct clinically relevant nursing research as nurse educators, nurse researchers, and nurse administrators. Most PhD graduates assume faculty positions. The DNP program prepares nurses as top clinical leaders for direct care clinical organizations or clinical faculty teaching positions. The College has 52 full-time, 12 part-time, and 3 adjunct faculty. All graduate faculty (n = 24) hold a terminal degree (doctorate). The practitioner tracks of the MSN program are directed by faculty who are fully qualified to provide graduate education. Faculty in the nurse practitioner tracks include individuals certified in their respective clinical specialties. The ratio of students to faculty in these tracks is approximately 1 :6-8. Under the guidance of faculty, advanced practice nurses and physicians serve as preceptors for students. All preceptorships are under the direction and supervision of the faculty. Graduate faculty in the College of Nursing actively participate in recruitment activities for the graduate programs Classes are conducted at the University of Kentucky College of Nursing and an outreach site in Morehead, Kentucky, in the rural Appalachian portion of Kentucky. Within the College are classrooms with compressed video for interactive teaching/learning with the outreach site. Technical assistance is available and faculty members are trained in teaching techniques for distributed learning. Graduate students have access to computers, technical assistance, and training in the College and on campus. Many graduate courses include Webenhanced and technology-enriched learning strategies. In addition to the University Hospital, numerous hospitals (federal, state, and community), health departments, school-based clinics, nursing homes, primary care facilities, and physician offices in Lexington and throughout the Commonwealth are utilized for clinical practica. The College has over 600 clinical affiliation agreements in place with a wide range of agencies. These include a large number of clinical agencies located in medically underserved areas. Many of these are in community health centers, primary care clinics, and rural health facilities. Faculty evaluate clinical agencies prior to the initiation of affiliation agreements for the underserved areas. Many of these are in community health centers, primary care clinics, and rural health facilities. The College has a large and active faculty practice program, providing students with opportunities to work directly with faculty at their clinical sites and providing care to underserved populations. The College's faculty practice program includes two nurse-managed clinics for the hOlheless men and women, five nurse-managed school health clinics, an interdisciplinary family health program, a rural outreach clinic, several free clinics for underserved populations, and interdisciplinary practices within the Medical Center in acute care, women's health, student health, family practice and psychiatry. MSN students have clinical rotations in these sites. Doctoral students may collect clinical data or conduct research utilization projects in these faculty practice sites. The Master of Science in Nursing degree program includes seven specialty tracks and twelve subspecialties. These are (with the number of trainees enrolled as of Oct. 15,2004): Acute Care Nurse Practitioner (20), Adult Nursing Clinical Specialist (20),Psychiatric-Mental Health Nursing (Adult Psychiatric Nurse Practitioner (10) , Adult Psychiatric Clinical Nurse Specialist (1)), Parent-Child Nursing (Neonatal/Perinatal Clinical Specialist (0) and Pediatric Clinical Specialist (3), and Pediatric Nurse Practitioner (20)), Primary Care Nurse Practitioner (Family Nurse Practitioner (40), Adult Nurse Practitioner (2), Geriatric Nurse Practitioner (0) and Women's Health Nurse Practitioner (5)), Public Health Nursing (Public Health Clinical Nurse Specialist (8), Public Health Nurse Manager (1) and Nurse Case Manager (0)) and Nursing Management (0). Required courses contain content consistent with the Statement of Functions in the ANCC Certification Guidelines for Educational Preparation of the various specialties. The Public Health Nursing track prepares students for core public health competencies with populations. The three specialty courses for this track focus on the core functions of public health. The students also take an interdisciplinary public health sCience course. The curricula prepare students for the competencies required by relevant professional nursing organizations. The DNP program builds on the MSN and aims to prepare advanced practice nurses to assume higher levels of clinical leadership. Students may select either a clinical nurse expert track or a nurse executive track. The PhD Program has a strong interdisciplinary component in addition to a strong set of core nursing courses. The core nursing courses cover mid-range theory and knowledge development, qualitative and quantitative research methods, measurement/psychometrics, health policy, grant writing, and scientific integrity. The DNP program is consistent with the AACN Position Statement on the Practice Doctorate in Nursing (2004). The PhD program is consistent with the AACN Indicators of Quality in Research-Focused Doctoral Programs in Nursing (2001). B. Number of Students and Graduates (full-time, part-time) NEEDS ASSESSMENT: As of October 15, 2004, 99 MSN students, 30 RN-MSN students, 7 Post-Masters, 55 PhD and 32 DNP students were enrolled in graduate programs in the College of Nursing. This is a total of 170.22 FTE graduate students, using the University's formula for calculation (9 hrs = 1 FTE). A total of39 MSN students, 1 Post-MSN students, and 8 PhD students graduated in 2003-04. Further demographic data are contained in Tables 1, 2,&3. ORGANIZATIONAL INFORMATION: The mission of the University of Kentucky, in Lexington, KY, is to serve as a public, research-extensive, land grant university dedicated to enriching people's lives through excellence in teachin , research and service. It is the rinci al raduate de ee- antin institution in Kentucky's system of higher education and is the principle institution for statewide instruction, research, and service in all fields without geographic limitation. The mission of the College of Nursing is to foster health and well-being among the people of Kentucky, the region and the world through excellence in nursing education, research, service and practice in an ever-changing health care environment. The scope of the College's programming includes educational, research and clinical programs. The Dean of the College reports to the Provost for academic affairs and to the Executive Vice President for Health Affairs (EVPHA) for clinical affairs. Both the Provost and the EVPHA report directly to the University President. Each of the four major degree programs in the College of Nursing has an Assistant Dean who works with faculty in the respective program to provide courses and clinical content. The Assistant Deans for Undergraduate Education, Advanced Practice Nursing (MSN and Post-MSN), and Research and PhD Studies oversee the curricula of the respective programs and supervise progress toward total program goals. Together the Associate Dean and the Assistant Dean for Advanced Practice Nursing co-direct the DNP program. The Assistant Deans and the Associate Dean work closely with the undergraduate course and master's track coordinators and the Dean through the Dean's Council. The College's organizational structure is graphically represented in the chart in Appendix A. The College's mission, structure, scope and organizational arrangements make it possible to implement the requirements of these educational programs and meet program expectations. For example, the University's commitment to graduate education, research and clinical practice through its land grant status and its research-extensive mission contribute to building a faculty complement with the appropriate credentials for graduate education. The College's scope and structure includes strong advanced practice educational, clinical and research programs that work together to foster effective advanced nursing education at the MSN, PhD and DNP levels. C. Program Accreditation(s) . Both the BSN and MSN degree programs are fully accredited by the Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education from 2002-2012. The University of Kentucky is fully accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools for ten years, from 2002-2012. D. National Organization Certification Eligibility of Graduates Graduates of the MSN program are eligible to take advanced practice nursing certification examinations administered by the American Nurses Credentialing Center, the American College of Nurse Practitioners, the National Association of Pediatric Nurse Practitioners, and the National Certification Corporation. The relevant exams are: Family Nurse Practitioner, Adult Nurse Practitioner, Acute Care Nurse Practitioner, Pediatric Nurse Practitioner, Geriatric Nurse Practitioner, Medical-Surgical Clinical Nurse Specialist, Critical Care Clinical Nurse Specialist, Community Health Clinical Nurse Specialist, Adult Psychiatric Nurse Practitioner, Family Psychiatric Nurse Practitioner, Adult and Child! Adolescent Psychiatric Clinical Nurse Specialist, Women's Health Nurse Practitioner (NCC), Nursing Administration (ANCC) and the Nurse Case Manager modular exam (ANCC). DNP students in the nurse executive track will be eligible to sit for the Nursing Administration, Advanced certification exam when they meet ANCC's clinical experience requirements. Students in the clinical nurse expert track of the DNP program are likely to hold certification as advanced practice nurses upon entry into the program.