Vision

The Division of Nursing provides a rigorous education founded upon the liberal arts, which prepares professional nurse graduates who holistically serve individuals, families, and
communities, in a caring capacity in a complex global society.

Mission

As an integral part of our parent institutions, the UMFK/UMPI nursing faculty members deliver a transformative nursing education to prepare graduates who serve as nurse clinicians, scholars, and educators to meet the health needs of the people of Maine and beyond. Program Description: The Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) program is a terminal degree in nursing and represents the highest level of clinical nursing education. The UMFK DNP program prepares practicing nurses to gain advanced practice and leadership skills to manage the healthcare team, effectively utilize evidence-based practice, improve healthcare outcomes, and influence healthcare policy. The DNP program credit and practice hours exceed what is expected of master’s level preparation.

Program Goals

In fulfillment of its mission, the Division of Nursing will:

1. Prepare nursing leaders who will shape the future of healthcare;
2. Promote the development of nursing science through research and evidence-based practice;
3. Develop clinical partnerships that foster student and program growth;
4. Increase diversity and inclusiveness within our community
5. Be the destination for outstanding, talented faculty and students.

Program Outcomes*

1. Knowledge for Nursing Practice: Integration, translation, and application of established and evolving disciplinary nursing knowledge and ways of knowing, as well as knowledge from other disciplines, including a foundation in liberal arts and natural and social sciences. This distinguishes the practice of professional nursing and forms the basis for clinical judgment and innovation in nursing practice.
2. Person-Centered Care: Person-centered care focuses on the individual within multiple complicated contexts, including family and/or important others. Person-centered care is holistic, individualized, just, respectful, compassionate, coordinated, evidence-based, and developmentally appropriate. Person-centered care builds on a scientific body of knowledge that guides nursing practice regardless of specialty or functional area.
3. Population Health: Population health spans the healthcare delivery continuum from public health prevention to disease management of populations and describes collaborative activities with both traditional and non-traditional partnerships from the affected communities, public health, industry, academia, health care, local government entities, and others for the improvement of equitable population health outcomes.
4. Scholarship for Nursing Discipline: The generation, synthesis, translation, application , and dissemination of nursing knowledge to improve health and transform health care. © 2021 American Association of Colleges of Nursing. All rights reserved.
5. Quality and Safety: Employment of established and emerging principles of safety and improvement science. Quality and safety, as core values of nursing practice, enhance quality and minimize risk of harm to patients and providers through both system effectiveness and individual performance.
6. Interprofessional Partnerships: Intentional collaboration across professions and with care team members, patients, families, communities, and other stakeholders to optimize care, enhance the healthcare experience, and strengthen outcomes.
7. Systems-Based Practice: Responding to and leading within complex systems of health care. Nurses effectively and proactively coordinate resources to provide safe, quality, equitable care to diverse populations.
8. Informatics and Healthcare Technologies: Information and communication technologies and informatics processes are used to provide care, gather data, form information to drive decision making, and support professionals as they expand knowledge and wisdom for practice. Informatics processes and technologies are used to manage and improve the delivery of safe, high-quality, and efficient healthcare services in accordance with best practice and professional and regulatory standards.
9. Professionalism: Formation and cultivation of a sustainable professional nursing identity, accountability, perspective, collaborative disposition, and comportment that reflects nursing’s characteristics and values.
10. Personal, Professional, and Leadership Development: Participation in activities and self-reflection that foster personal health, resilience, and well-being, lifelong learning, and support the acquisition of nursing expertise and assertion of leadership.

*Adopted from the American Association of Colleges of Nursing (2021), The Essentials: Core Competencies for Professional Nursing Education. The domains (outcomes) and descriptors used in the Essentials are adopted and serve as the DNP Program Outcomes.

Graduation Requirements

1. Complete a minimum of 39-42 credits in the DNP program;
2. Maintain a cumulative grade point average (GPA) of 3.0 or higher;
3. Complete all courses with a grade of B- or higher.

Assessment Techniques

Assessment of student progress toward achieving program outcomes is completed in a variety
of ways. Students written work, course examinations, hands on experiences, and student,
preceptor, and employer surveys are all utilized for formative and summative evaluation. A
cumulative, professional portfolio is also submitted for evaluation.

Grading Scale

A grade of “B-” or higher required for all courses.

Grade	Percent	GPA
A	93-100%	4.00
A-	90-92%	3.67
B+	87-89%	3.33
B	83-86%	3.00
B-	80-82	2.67
C+	78-79%  (unsatisfactory for progression)	2.33
C	73-77%  (unsatisfactory for progression)	2.00
C-	70-72%  (unsatisfactory for progression)	1.67
D+	67-69%  (unsatisfactory for progression)	1.33
D	63-66%  (unsatisfactory for progression)	1.00
D-	60-62%  (unsatisfactory for progression)	0.67
F	≤ 59%    (unsatisfactory for progression)	0.00

Admission Criteria

1. Master’s degree in nursing from a regionally accredited college or university;
2. College level statistics course with a grade of C or higher;
3. Cumulative GPA of 3.0 or higher on a 4.0 scale;
4. Current, unencumbered RN license in a U.S. state;
5. Nurse Practitioner DNP students must be board certified in their population focused area;
6. Resume

Total Credits

45 credits

Time to Completion

In as little as 18 months (12 credits per semester; 6 credits every 7 weeks)

Transfer Credits

Transfer credits from other colleges and universities are reviewed upon request. A grade of B- or higher must be earned to request credit transfer.

Transfer Students

Acceptance into the DNP program as a transfer student is contingent upon the student meeting all entrance requirements, as well as availability of class and clinical space. Depending on the course credits being transferred, prospective transfer students may be required to demonstrate satisfactory validation of knowledge and skills, which may require registration for direct study credits, through successful completion of
standardized examinations, evaluation of clinical skills, or through completion of the prior learning assessment (PLA) process, such as creation of a portfolio.

Program Accreditation

The Doctor of Nursing Practice program and post-graduate APRN certificate program at UMFK is pursuing initial accreditation by the Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education (http://www.ccneaccreditation.org). Applying for accreditation does not guarantee that accreditation will be granted.