Newswise — With Governor Brown's signing of Assembly Bill 422 into law, the Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) becomes a permanent program offered at CSU campuses.

Along with the Doctor of Education (EdD) and the Doctor of Physical Therapy (DPT), the DNP is one of just three professional doctoral programs offered at CSU campuses.

The CSU DNP degree was first legislated as a pilot project offered at two consortiums via five campuses: NorCal Consortium (Fresno and San José) and SoCal Consortium (Fullerton, Long Beach and Los Angeles).

After five years and nearly 300 successful graduates now working throughout the state, the DNP program has earned recognition as a quality educational program offering the highest level of instruction in nursing practice.

Granting the CSU full authority to offer the DNP degree was highly supported by California Assembly and Senate representatives.

Increased need for advanced practice nurses

"The CSU is an avant-garde in the DNP movement," said Dr. Margaret Brady, Nurse Faculty and CSU Nurse Coordinator. "Advanced practice education is where the future of nursing is going. By offering a DNP degree, the CSU is a leader in producing tomorrow's nurses."

The need for advanced education for nurse specialists is on the rise. Aspiring nurse anesthetists, for example, will soon be required to have doctoral degrees, a change that will take effect across the U.S. starting in 2018.

Job availability for advanced practice nurses is expected to grow at a rapid rate of 31 percent through 2026, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. This job outlook is directly correlated to the persisting and troubling nursing shortage felt nationwide.

An ecosystem of faculty clinicians to address workforce shortage

In California alone, a shortage of 193,000 nurses is expected by 2030. As a major driver of the state's economy, the CSU's mission is to meet California's workforce demands and the DNP program is structured to bolster this goal.

Graduates of the DNP program are equipped with the knowledge and experience of working in hospitals and in the classroom. Brady says the doctoral program regulates a nursing ecosystem on campus, aiming to bring back graduates as nursing faculty.

"Many DNP grads will go on to teach in practice settings," explains Brady. "As a teaching-based institution, the CSU's DNP program is preparing students to become functional experts in clinical settings - shaping them to become advocates and leaders on top of being skilled clinicians."

To learn more about the CSU's Doctor of Nursing Practice program, visit http://www.calstate.edu/dnp/.