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Alverno offers new Doctorate of Nursing Practice degree

In response to market demand and the increasingly complex healthcare landscape, Alverno College now offers a post-master’s Doctorate of Nursing Practice degree for nurses who are looking to increase their career prospects and maximize their potential for professional growth.

It’s the college’s first doctoral offering, and it is open to women and men.

“Employers tell me all the time that they can always spot the Alverno graduates, and now we are poised to deliver another level of nursing leadership to our community,” says JoAnn McGrath School of Nursing Dean, Ms. Peg Rauschenberger.

The program offers two tracks: Leadership and Direct Care, with 12 courses offered in a flexible format that blends online and classroom education. The cohort model offers year-round courses in eight-week blocks. Students can attend full or part time and complete the program in 18 months with full-time attendance.

The American Association of Colleges of Nursing reported substantial growth in DNP programs between 2006 and 2014, and the number of programs increased from 20 to 264 during that time.

Nurses with a DNP will be able to assume leadership roles in complex clinical environments, lead the development of health care policy, and serve as expert clinicians in health care.

The U.S. Health Resources and Services Administration expects a shortage of more than 20,000 medical doctors by 2020.

“Alverno has always been responsive to the needs of the community, particularly the sick, the poor, and the outcast; this newest program carries on that tradition,” Ms. Rauschenberger says.

Educating nurses for more than 80 years, Alverno’s JoAnn McGrath School of Nursing is fully accredited and widely recognized as one of the top nursing programs in Wisconsin.