15年，348年护理医生毕业生改善医疗保健
德克萨斯大学健康科学中心Cizik护理学院的348校友（DNP）课程（DNP）课程（Uthealth Houston）担任首席护理官，信息学专家，护士从业人员，担任各种角色的护士从业人员，其他护理学校，以及从外围beplay床边到董事会的许多其他领导职务。自成立以来的15年中，该计划变得如此受欢迎，以至于毕业生的数量将在未来几年内翻一番。
This is good news for health care systems across Texas and the nation.
“教授Beth Ulrich[EdD, RN, FAAN] asked one of most recent classes to think about the number of patients whose care would be improved by their individual quality improvement projects. The number quickly added up to thousands,” said Assistant ProfessorKathleen Siders, DNP, FNP-C, who co-directs the DNP program with Associate Professor丽莎老板, PhD, RN, CNS, CEN, CNE.
DNP Pioneers
“I’m not a Texan by birth, but I know what is important to Texans. They like to be the first, and they like to be the biggest,” said Professor Emerita乔安妮·希基（Joanne Hickey）, PhD, ACNP, FAAN, the architect and founding director of Cizik School of Nursing’s DNP program.
然后迪恩Patricia L. Starck, DSN, RN, FAAN, had a vision for helping nurses reach the pinnacle of their practice potential. She had been part of a national working group promoting DNP degrees as an alternative to research-focused PhDs.
斯塔克说：“我们设想DNP是对最高临床实践的学术关注。”
而且，是的，她希望休斯顿的Uthealth计划成为德克萨斯州的第一个计划。希基（Hickey）将斯塔克（Starck）在谈判和说服力方面的技能描述为“令人难以置信的”，而迪恩·埃默里塔（Dean Emerita）本人承认，她可能比往常更多地挥舞着他们在护理学校教师和奥斯汀的DNP计划方面的支持。
希基说：“我们认为，护理作为一门学科具有一些在医疗保健领域独特的特征和能力。”“患者经常告诉护士的事情他们不告诉医生。”
She and Starck worked together with a team of expert faculty and staff to design a program that would capitalize on and enhance the skills and abilities inherent to nursing and create greater opportunities for nurses to work collaboratively as indispensable members of health care teams and improve patient outcomes. They also pressed the then-novel idea of delivering most of courses via distance learning.
老板说：“ 15年前在线的任何东西绝对是一件新事物。”“博士Starck以各种方式开创了它。后来出现的其他DNP节目真的看着她。”
The moment of truth came in April 2006, when Starck and Hickey presented their plan to the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board. Success was far from certain, but the board approved most aspects of the proposal, enabling UTHealth Houston to create the first DNP program in the state.
“我记得坐在Dean Starck旁边，” Hickey回忆道。“她说，‘现在乔安妮，我们什么时候开始这个？可能是明年，一月。’我说，‘我们今年秋天正在这样做！我们将在任何人改变主意之前做到这一点。’”
入门
Over the next few months, creating the DNP program became Hickey’s full-time job. Her unusual background as a faculty member with a PhD who also maintained a clinical practice made her well qualified for the role.
One of the first people who joined her team was Senior Administrative Coordinator Candiance Duplessis, now a 32-year veteran of UTHealth Houston. The self-described “mother hen” of the DNP program prides herself on maintaining professional and personal relationships with students and graduates.
“We set the bar high,” Duplessis said. “Our students graduate not just with a DNP in hand, but with an education. They know where home is – here,” she added, ticking off a list of at least a dozen DNP graduates who are now members of the Cizik School of Nursing faculty, including Siders andMyron Arnaud，DNP，CRNA，护士麻醉计划的主任。
Duplessis是学生的冠军和倡导者。她认为，如果RN成为护士时会收到别针，那么获得终端学位的护士也应该接受。因此，她为毕业生设计了DNP引脚。她说：“他们的顾问为他们提供了针脚，并自豪地佩戴它。”
最初，只有护士从业人员（NPS）被录取为为期三年的兼职计划，该计划是为工作专业人员而设计的，专注于护理领导。九个DNP的第一类毕业于2009年。几年后，临床护士专家获得了资格，并且随着时间的推移增加了几个浓度。
今天和明天的DNP
老板指出，对Cizik护理学院的DNP计划的需求已经飙升。
她说：“我们刚刚承认160名学生，现在我们总共有300名学生。”增加的入学率需要对计划和资源注入的重大更新 - 这是教师以奉献和承诺进行的巨大项目。
促进增长的是国家标准和NPS要求的变化。由于需要更多的临床时间才能成为NPS，因此许多学生选择BSN到DNP程序现在可以作为追求的替代方案硕士学位.
“NPs 20 years ago were taking care of easy things – cold, flu, coughs, blood pressure, etc.,” Siders said. “Today, we are taking care of complex diseases and complex patients. Our level of responsibility has risen, and with that, our education needed to as well.”
Cizik护理学院BSN-DNP护士麻醉program was established in 2014 and remains the only such program offered at a public university in Texas. It is accredited separately from the NP programs, which now offerBSN-DNP轨道对于家庭NP，成人/老年医学初级和急性护理以及精神病/心理健康护理。
Cizik护理学院reputation for excellence plays no small part in its popularity. For example, the number of students enrolling from the Dallas area has grown substantially as graduates there spread the word among their colleagues, Boss said. In the past two years, the greatest number of remote students hailed from the Panhandle and the Rio Grande Valley, Duplessis added.
大多数工作在网上完成的事实使护士有可能从该州的任何角落提高教育。但是，面对面的元素也是Cizik护理学院DNP计划的关键组成部分。通常，学生每学期都会前往休斯敦几天与教师会面，并与他们的同伙合作。Boss说，由于与Covid-19的相关，这些互动转向了视频会议，当我们从大流行中出来时，这可能仍然是遥远地区的学生的选择。
After all, underserved rural communities arguably need DNPs most, Siders noted. “We are trying to recruit from rural areas and encourage our graduates to go back there,” she said.
最终，这是对卓越的坚定承诺，将Cizik护理学院的DNP计划保持在全国前5％，这是由美国新闻与世界报道.
“I just see it continuing to grow in terms of student admissions, faculty involvement, and continuous quality improvement,” Boss said. “Our alumni are going to be in a really good position when they graduate because of our reputation for excellence.”
希基说：“我们总是专注于质量。”“我们非常关注高质量和高标准，这出现在通过该计划并毕业的校友中。他们继续以惊人的方式领导。”
