Episode 5: Why the DNP Degree?
Episode 5 of the Frontier Nursing University (FNU) All-Access Podcast takes a close look at Frontier’s Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) Program. Dr. Khara’ Jefferson, FNU’s DNP program director, and DNP clinical faculty Dr. Diana Jolles join the podcast to explain what makes FNU’s DNP program so unique and successful. The DNP is the highest degree for clinical nursing practice. Frontier Nursing University’s DNP program, which began in 2008, focuses on preparing students to make a change that better serves the people in their community.
Drs. Jefferson and Jolles also discuss the DNP projects which students complete as part of their curriculum. These projects teach students to implement change in clinical settings. The students partner with clinical sites and customize their projects based on the needs of their own communities and clinical settings.
As it has in virtually all aspects of daily life, the pandemic has impacted the DNP program and the DNP projects. Drs. Jefferson and Jolles explain how FNU faculty and staff managed to adjust quickly and ensure that students could stay on course and complete their DNP projects.
Drs. Jefferson and Jolles also discuss the unique affordability of the DNP program and the many ways earning a DNP can positively impact students’ careers and lives by building them into leaders in their communities and professions. They describe, too, how students are able to build life-long friendships through FNU’s Frontier and Clinical Bounds during which students come to campus and are able to meet their classmates in person.
What You’ll Learn From This Episode:
- The structure and purpose of the DNP Program
- How the students’ DNP projects are guided by the needs of the clinical site and customized for their communities
- How the DNP program builds leadership skills and advances careers
- How the pandemic has impacted the DNP program
- The many ways in which FNU’s DNP program is unique and different from all others
- How Drs. Jefferson and Jolles came to Frontier and the leadership roles they have assumed
Listen to the Full Episode:
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Dr. Tia Brown McNair is the Vice President in the Office of Diversity, Equity, and Student Success and Executive Director for the Truth, Racial Healing, and Transformation (TRHT) Campus Centers at the American Association of Colleges and Universities (AAC&U) in Washington, DC. She oversees both funded projects and AAC&U’s continuing programs on equity, inclusive excellence, high-impact practices, and student success. McNair directs AAC&U’s Summer Institutes on High-Impact Practices and Student Success, and TRHT Campus Centers and serves as the project director for several AAC&U initiatives, including the development of a TRHT-focused campus climate toolkit. She is the lead author of From Equity Talk to Equity Walk: Expanding Practitioner Knowledge for Racial Justice in Higher Education (January 2020) and Becoming a Student-Ready College: A New Culture of Leadership for Student Success (July 2016 and August 2022 Second edition).