Change agents
Doctor of Nursing Practice degree develops graduates prepared to improve health care
By Tim Bannon
Photo by Erik Unger
In her 12th year as a registered nurse at Loyola University Medical Center, Erica Dixon Johnson decided to take her career to another level.
She started the Marcella Niehoff School of Nursing’s Doctor of Nursing Practice program to become a nurse practitioner while continuing her nursing work.
The DNP program, she said, added a “dimension and depth for really looking at how the health care system is structured at the policy level.”
“We’re leveraging that knowledge to help our patients,” she said, “focusing on the quality improvements through our DNP projects to take our knowledge as nurse practitioners and to utilize the evidence to affect change.”
Dixon-Johnson graduated and got her Advanced Practice Registered Nurse license this year. She is one of six inaugural graduates from Loyola’s DNP nurse practitioner program.
DNP develops graduates prepared to improve health care
Loyola began its post-masters DNP program in 2009 and in 2021 moved its nurse practitioner and clinical nurse specialist tracks to the DNP degree.
Its curriculum integrates advanced nursing practice, leadership, systems thinking, analytic and information management strategies, quality and safety, health policy, and health care economics and finance.
The goal is to prepare nurses to assume advanced roles in direct care and leadership at the highest level of nursing to improve health care outcomes through practice-based scholarship. This “systems-level” preparation extends from the individual patient to the health care facility to the political and economic environment.
The National Organization of Nurse Practitioner Faculties (NONPF) has led the vision of DNP-prepared nurse practitioners as a solution to an increasingly complex health care system.
“The master's degree is no longer adequate because of the complexity of health care,” said Dean Lorna Finnegan. “The graduates need to know not only what they see in each individual patient, but they also need to know systems-level thinking, quality, and safety.”
Finnegan, the past president of NONPF, gave an example of a nurse practitioner who sees several patients with diabetes.
“Rather than only thinking of them individually, you might ask if these people live in a neighborhood that’s underresourced and without access to good food, fresh fruits, and vegetables,” Finnegan said. “You can think about how you can make an impact on that neighborhood and work with the community to affect change.”
The DNP curriculum develops advanced practice nurses who are experts in systems-level thinking and are change agents for health care system improvements.
The number of DNP programs continues to grow rapidly. In 2013, there were 247 programs nationwide, a number that jumped to 421 in 2023, according to the American Association of Colleges of Nursing (AACN).
Since the AACN called for moving the level of preparation necessary for advanced nursing practice roles from the master's degree to the doctorate level, more than 73,000 students have graduated with a DNP degree, according to the organization.
Loyola's program grows at a healthy clip
“Loyola’s faculty and program track directors are what makes this program stand out,” said DNP graduate Melissa Burke. “They embody a clear sense of dedication for the advancement of the nursing profession and the growth of each individual student. From the very first day through graduation and beyond, it is evident that the faculty is there to support you and is invested in your success.”
What also sets Loyola’s program apart is how it incorporates Jesuit values.
“Nursing is a sacred honor and a spiritual endeavor,” Dixon-Johnson said. “A Loyola education underscores that. This degree allows me to make a greater impact on our patients’ lives.”
“Loyola's strength is that it focuses on caring for the whole person—cura personalis,” said DNP graduate Teresa Seymour. “Learning how to treat the human spirit was very evident in my coursework, and I am grateful for that.”
With her DNP degree, Dixon-Johnson plans to work with patients with advanced lung disease with a goal of eventually working in the Veterans Administration.
“Most of us take breathing for granted,” she said. “There are over 200 lung diseases. People experience them for all different kinds of reasons. Sometimes it’s related to smoking. Sometimes it’s related to occupational work.
“For some people, it’s genetic. Sometimes we don’t know the cause. And so we can help them navigate that to the best of our ability, to give them the best possible quality of life.”
On a systems level, she noted that access to supplemental oxygen remains a serious issue—as well as how much Medicare and Medicaid reimburse patients. “I want to take a leadership role to help make changes,” she said. “The education I received in the DNP program gave me tools and resources to do that.”
Doctor of Nursing Practice degree develops graduates prepared to improve health care
By Tim Bannon
Photo by Erik Unger
In her 12th year as a registered nurse at Loyola University Medical Center, Erica Dixon Johnson decided to take her career to another level.
She started the Marcella Niehoff School of Nursing’s Doctor of Nursing Practice program to become a nurse practitioner while continuing her nursing work.
The DNP program, she said, added a “dimension and depth for really looking at how the health care system is structured at the policy level.”
“We’re leveraging that knowledge to help our patients,” she said, “focusing on the quality improvements through our DNP projects to take our knowledge as nurse practitioners and to utilize the evidence to affect change.”
Dixon-Johnson graduated and got her Advanced Practice Registered Nurse license this year. She is one of six inaugural graduates from Loyola’s DNP nurse practitioner program.
DNP develops graduates prepared to improve health care
Loyola began its post-masters DNP program in 2009 and in 2021 moved its nurse practitioner and clinical nurse specialist tracks to the DNP degree.
Its curriculum integrates advanced nursing practice, leadership, systems thinking, analytic and information management strategies, quality and safety, health policy, and health care economics and finance.
The goal is to prepare nurses to assume advanced roles in direct care and leadership at the highest level of nursing to improve health care outcomes through practice-based scholarship. This “systems-level” preparation extends from the individual patient to the health care facility to the political and economic environment.
The National Organization of Nurse Practitioner Faculties (NONPF) has led the vision of DNP-prepared nurse practitioners as a solution to an increasingly complex health care system.
“The master's degree is no longer adequate because of the complexity of health care,” said Dean Lorna Finnegan. “The graduates need to know not only what they see in each individual patient, but they also need to know systems-level thinking, quality, and safety.”
Finnegan, the past president of NONPF, gave an example of a nurse practitioner who sees several patients with diabetes.
“Rather than only thinking of them individually, you might ask if these people live in a neighborhood that’s underresourced and without access to good food, fresh fruits, and vegetables,” Finnegan said. “You can think about how you can make an impact on that neighborhood and work with the community to affect change.”
The DNP curriculum develops advanced practice nurses who are experts in systems-level thinking and are change agents for health care system improvements.
The number of DNP programs continues to grow rapidly. In 2013, there were 247 programs nationwide, a number that jumped to 421 in 2023, according to the American Association of Colleges of Nursing (AACN).
Since the AACN called for moving the level of preparation necessary for advanced nursing practice roles from the master's degree to the doctorate level, more than 73,000 students have graduated with a DNP degree, according to the organization.
Loyola's program grows at a healthy clip
“Loyola’s faculty and program track directors are what makes this program stand out,” said DNP graduate Melissa Burke. “They embody a clear sense of dedication for the advancement of the nursing profession and the growth of each individual student. From the very first day through graduation and beyond, it is evident that the faculty is there to support you and is invested in your success.”
What also sets Loyola’s program apart is how it incorporates Jesuit values.
“Nursing is a sacred honor and a spiritual endeavor,” Dixon-Johnson said. “A Loyola education underscores that. This degree allows me to make a greater impact on our patients’ lives.”
“Loyola's strength is that it focuses on caring for the whole person—cura personalis,” said DNP graduate Teresa Seymour. “Learning how to treat the human spirit was very evident in my coursework, and I am grateful for that.”
With her DNP degree, Dixon-Johnson plans to work with patients with advanced lung disease with a goal of eventually working in the Veterans Administration.
“Most of us take breathing for granted,” she said. “There are over 200 lung diseases. People experience them for all different kinds of reasons. Sometimes it’s related to smoking. Sometimes it’s related to occupational work.
“For some people, it’s genetic. Sometimes we don’t know the cause. And so we can help them navigate that to the best of our ability, to give them the best possible quality of life.”
On a systems level, she noted that access to supplemental oxygen remains a serious issue—as well as how much Medicare and Medicaid reimburse patients. “I want to take a leadership role to help make changes,” she said. “The education I received in the DNP program gave me tools and resources to do that.”