UR School of Nursing Advancing National Dialogue on DNP Impact
The University of Rochester School of Nursing, an early proponent of the practice doctorate, continues to lead the national dialogue about how nurses can help transform health care.
The school will host its fourth annual Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) Summit on Friday, Nov. 1, bringing together advanced practice nurses, nurse leaders, policymakers, and scholars for an all-day conversation about the impact of DNP-prepared nurses on clinical practice, care delivery, and health policy. The theme for the 2019 summit is “Progress, Promise, and Possibilities.”
Ruth Kleinpell, PhD, FAAN, FAANP, FCCM, assistant dean for clinical scholarship and Independence Foundation Professor of Nursing Education at Vanderbilt University, will be the summit’s keynote speaker. A well-known expert on assessing outcomes of advanced practice nurses, she will present her research showing the multitude of ways that DNP-prepared nurses are contributing to better access and higher quality of care across numerous health care settings. She will be joined by other dynamic speakers with a broad range of expertise in quality and safety, health policy, and executive leadership.
“I’m thrilled that we have assembled such prominent and accomplished speakers for this year’s summit,” said Lydia Rotondo, DNP, RN, CNS, associate dean of education and student affairs and director of the DNP program at the UR School of Nursing. “As health care changes continue to intensify, it’s vital that we take the time for events like this which bring together the leading voices in nursing education and practice to explore the evolving roles and exciting opportunities facing today’s nurses.”
The UR School of Nursing enrolled its first DNP students in 2007, one of only two institutions in New York State to offer the degree at that time. In the decade that followed, there has been significant growth in DNP programs. By 2018, nearly 350 DNP programs had enrolled more than 32,000 students at nursing schools across the nation, producing more than 7,000 graduates, according to research by the American Association of Colleges of Nursing (AACN).
The UR School of Nursing began hosting the DNP Summit in 2016 to help facilitate the national conversation about the direction and impact of DNP-prepared nurses. Each year, it has provided a highly regarded forum for more than 100 health care professionals to learn more about DNP practice and contributions to health care delivery and outcomes.
In addition to Kleinpell’s keynote address and a poster session, this year’s summit will feature opening and closing remarks from Rotondo and presentations byJoanne Phillips, DNP, RN, CNS, CPPS, director of clinical practice, Virtua Health System, Mount Laurel, New Jersey; Laura Black, DNP, FNP-C, senior vice president of care management and clinical services, Commonwealth Care Alliance, Boston, Massachusetts; and Deb Zimmerman, DNP, RN, NEA-BC, chief nursing officer and vice president of patient care services, Virginia Commonwealth University Health System Authority, Richmond, Virginia.
Contact hours are available for attendees, and an early-bird discount registration rate runs through Oct. 1. For more information, or to register for the event, visit the DNP Summit page: urson.us/dnp-19.
