Program Overview

Program Overview

The University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) School of Nursing offers a Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) program with a specialty in Pediatric Acute Care Nurse Practitioner. This program is designed to prepare advanced nursing practitioners to provide high-quality care to infants, children, and adolescents with complex health problems.

Admission Requirements

To be eligible for admission to the DNP program, prospective students must meet the following requirements:

• A Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN) degree from a regionally accredited institution
• An unencumbered/unrestricted license to practice nursing in the state where coursework will be completed
• An undergraduate grade point average (GPA) of at least 3.0 on a 4.0 scale
• Completion of a descriptive statistics course, equivalent to UAB's MA-180, before starting the program
• Three letters of professional reference
• A resume or curriculum vitae (CV)
• Official transcripts from every college or university attended

Program Curriculum

The DNP program is offered via a part-time program of study delivered through a distance-accessible format that combines synchronous online classes with on-campus intensives. The curriculum is accomplished through 79 credit hours of coursework, with 59 credit hours of didactic coursework and 20 credit hours of clinical practica, completed in nine or ten successive semesters.

Sample Program of Study

The program of study includes the following courses:

• NUR 737Q: Interprofessional Leadership Roles and Financial Consideration for Professional Practice
• NUR 745Q: Foundations of Nursing Theory & Scholarly Writing
• NUR 729Q: Evidence-Based Practice for Advanced Level Nursing
• NUR 740Q: Politics and Contemporary Issues in Health Policy
• NUR 733Q: Health Information Technology for Advanced Level Nursing
• NUR 742Q: Improvement and Program Evaluation Strategies
• NUR 700Q: Clinical Data Management and Analysis
• NUR 735Q: Population Health for Advanced Level Nursing
• NUR 612Q: Advanced Pathology
• NQI 702Q: Clinical Data Management and Application for Improvement
• NUR 614Q: Advanced Health Assessment and Introduction to Diagnostic Reasoning
• NUR 743Q: Project Design and Management
• NUR 613Q: Pharmacology and Therapeutics
• NCC 618QL: Focus on Practice Specialization
• NUR 738Q: DNP Project Planning
• NCC 721Q: Advanced Pediatric Nursing I - Acute Care
• NCC 785QL: Practicum I: Advanced Pediatric Nursing- Acute Care
• NUR 739Q: DNP Project Seminar
• NCC 722Q: Advanced Pediatric Nursing II - Acute Care
• NCC 786QL: Practicum II: Advanced Pediatric Nursing Acute Care
• NCC 723Q: Advanced Pediatric Nursing III - Acute Care
• NCC 792QL: Practicum III: Advanced Pediatric Nursing Acute Care
• NUR 701QL: Writing for Publication

Program Outcomes

Upon completion of the DNP program, students will be able to:

• Design care delivery models to guide entry-level and advanced nursing practice based on the translation of scientific evidence
• Translate scientific, theoretical, and ethical principles into healthcare for individuals, families, and populations
• Assume complex leadership roles to advance clinical practice and healthcare delivery at the organizational and systems level and to improve health outcomes of individuals and populations
• Disseminate evidence and outcomes to support high-quality healthcare delivery and ongoing scholarly nursing practice
• Contribute to a culture of patient and provider quality and safety within the healthcare environment
• Assume complex leadership roles including social and financial responsibilities within interprofessional teams to advance nursing practice and healthcare delivery
• Demonstrate social and financial responsibilities within health-related organizational systems
• Appraise informatics and emerging technologies to improve healthcare delivery
• Demonstrate an evolving professional identity that maximizes contributions to the advancement of the nursing profession and organizational systems
• Develop continuous self-assessment behaviors that enhance personal and professional growth and capacity for leadership

Tuition and Fees

The tuition and fees for the DNP program are subject to change annually based on approval from the University of Alabama System Board of Trustees and/or university. The estimates below are based on the costs listed at the UAB Office of Planning and Analysis website.

• DNP Coursework (in classroom per semester hour): $628 (resident), $1,550 (non-resident)
• DNP Coursework (distance-accessible format per semester hour): $723
• Fees - UAB School of Nursing: Educational Support and Technology Fee (per course): $235
• Other Related Expenses (Estimated):
  • Travel/Lodging for Attending Annual On-Campus DNP Intensive (annual estimate): $800
  • Books and supplies (estimate per term): $600
  • Student Hospitalization Insurance Fee (estimate per month): $270
  • Background Check (annual estimate): $92

Funding Your Education

Information on Financial Aid, University Scholarships, and other funding opportunities are available on UAB's Cost & Aid website. The UAB School of Nursing offers many scholarships, both need and merit-based, to support nursing students across all programs. Scholarships are awarded twice a year, during the spring and fall semesters, and require just one application to be considered for all undergraduate or graduate scholarships.

Information for International Students

Prospective International students must first contact UAB International Admissions to determine eligibility to study in the U.S. and/or submit an application for admission to UAB. International applicants must have a bachelor's degree in nursing equivalent to that offered by a U.S. regionally accredited educational institution, be licensed as a registered nurse in the U.S., and meet English language requirements.