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For more information, contact:

The University of Tennessee Health Science Center

Communications and Marketing

Anne W. Manning – (901) 448-4072

Sheila Champlin – (901) 448-4957

 

UTHSC Leading Edge Nursing Program Launches Website

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Memphis, Tenn. (March 23, 2007) — The University of Tennessee Health Science Center (UTHSC) College of Nursing is proud to announce the launch of a new Website for individuals interested in obtaining a Doctor of Nursing (DNP) degree.  Several current UTHSC DNP students formed their own corporation and created the new Website, www.apn-dnp.com, for individuals interested in the growth of advanced practice nursing and the promotion of the Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) degree. 

The goal of this independent corporation, Doctors of Nursing Practice, LLC, is to create a communication vehicle that can be accessed by anyone interested in this advanced practice degree, regardless of their credentials or discipline.  The Website is a resource for information and dialogue about issues pertinent to nursing practice as a DNP.  Plans for the future include creating an online journal as part of the site.

“The College of Nursing faculty challenged us to contribute to the growth of our profession,” said David G. O’Dell, one of the corporation’s co-founders and a student in the UTHSC program.  “The organization and Website are a natural outgrowth of our College’s long tradition of innovative nursing education.  Additionally, the DNP program has encouraged a great degree of creativity, in part because of its online structure.”

“We were among the first in the country to graduate people with a practice doctorate in 1999,” explained College of Nursing Dean Donna Hathaway.  “Today we’ve graduated more students (90 graduates) than any other school.”

Only eight universities offered the DNP degree in 2005, and by mid-2006, 24 universities had plans to implement their program within 12 months.  According to the American Association of Colleges of Nursing, more than 190 additional programs are now under development at nursing schools nationwide.

As the flagship statewide academic health system, the University of Tennessee Health Science Center is focused on a four-tier mission of education, research, clinical care and public service, all in support of a single goal: to improve the health of Tennesseans.  Offering a broad range of postgraduate training opportunities, the main campus, with its six colleges, is in Memphis.  UTHSC has additional College of Medicine campus locations in Knoxville and Chattanooga.  For more information, visit www.uthsc.edu.

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