Newswise — The Johns Hopkins School of Nursing (JHSON) has received three Nurse Support Program (NSP) II grants to fund new educational opportunities including a DNP/PhD dual degree program, acute care pediatric nurse practitioner program, and expanded curricula in palliative care. The grants total more than $3 million and are funded by the Health Services Cost Review Commission of the Maryland Higher Education Commission.

The DNP/PhD Dual Degree Program

With $1.5 million in funding, JHSON has launched a new Doctor of Nursing Practice/Doctor of Philosophy (DNP/PhD) dual degree program—led by Jason Farley, PhD, MPH, ANP-BC, AACRN, FAAN—to combine the competencies of the DNP degree with the scientific rigor of the PhD. Through the five-year curriculum, students will learn to teach, mentor, conduct and implement clinical research, apply strategies for illness prevention and health promotion, and easily transition into leadership roles in nursing and the broader national and international health care arenas. They will graduate with both the terminal degrees for practice and research.

Acute Care Pediatric Nurse Practitioner Certificate Program

Shawna Mudd, DNP, CPNP-AC, PNP-BC, expert clinician in pediatrics, has developed a certificate program to prepare pediatric nurse practitioners to treat patients with acute and chronic conditions across a variety of settings and throughout the continuum of care. The 13-credit, three-semester program will incorporate hands-on clinical experiences, online classes, an accelerated format, and opportunities to diagnose, evaluate, and manage health problems of acutely ill children. The nearly $1 million grant will also help fund collaborative experiences within Johns Hopkins and partners within and external to the Johns Hopkins Health System.

Advanced Practice Palliative Care Competencies and Practice Partnerships

The need for more nurses trained in providing palliative care, symptom control, and support for patients and families has driven the proposed development of an advanced practice curricula that can accelerate palliative care competencies among Advanced Practice—Doctor of Nursing Practice graduates. Cheryl Dennison Himmelfarb, PhD, RN, ANP, FAAN, FAHA, FPCNA, will lead the more than $1 million grant to increase the pool of preceptors with palliative care capacity by delivering continuing professional education. It will encompass collaboration with Johns Hopkins Palliative Care Services, Spiritual Care and Chaplaincy Service, Medical Residency, the Berman Institute of Bioethics, and other practice partners. 

“Our mission to improve the health of individuals and communities across the world starts with excellence in education,” says Patricia Davidson, PhD, MEd, RN, FAAN, dean of JHSON. “With these new grants, we will continue to strengthen our already robust curriculums to promote and advance knowledge, leadership, quality and safety, and academic progression that equates to value for patients and our health care system.”

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Located in Baltimore, the Johns Hopkins School of Nursing is a globally-recognized leader in nursing education, research and practice and ranks No. 2 nationally among graduate schools of nursing and No. 2 for DNP programs in the U.S. News & World Report 2018 rankings. In addition, the school is ranked by QS World University as the No. 2 nursing school in the world and is No.1 by College Choice for its master’s program. The school is No. 1 among nursing schools for total Federal Research Grants and National Institutes of Health (NIH) funding. For more information, visit www.nursing.jhu.edu.