In 2012, the CSU debuted its Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) degree program. Successful applicants will participate in a rigorous applied doctoral program of study.
The Doctor of Nursing Practice programs are offered through Fresno State, CSU Bakersfield, CSU Fullerton, CSU Long Beach, San Diego State University, and at San José State University.
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To get started, explore the program you're interested in to learn about specific admission requirements. Then, when you're ready to apply, visit Cal State Apply.
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The project for Lisa Baughman’s Doctor of Nursing Practice degree focused on improving the rates of dental care for foster youth in Los Angeles. Dental caries (cavities) is a leading pediatric health problem associated with other health issues. Through a series of focus groups with social workers and fellow public health nurses, Dr. Baughman, a Spring 2019 graduate of the Southern California CSU DNP Consortium, revised policy and improved processes to bring about improvement in the rate of proper dental care for foster children at her workplace.
Frances Akubuilo, DNP, RN is the Director of Patient Care Services at GFK Home Health Agency located in Cypress, California and an active member of the American Holistic Nurses Association. Her DNP project focused on the Healthy Nurse, Healthy Nation grand challenge. She completed a cross-sectional designed research study that focused on evidence-based education contributing to the Healthy Nurse Healthy Nation (HNHN) campaign by the American Nurses Association (ANA). The goal of her project was to uncover barriers to physical activity for nurses, disseminate gap analysis results, and contribute nurse directed educational interventions. In addition, Dr. Akubuilo developed a self-care video as part of her DNP project, which is featured on the Healthy Nurse, Healthy Nation website.
In May 2014, graduates of the first CSU Doctor of Nursing Practice Program cohorts participated in the DNP Poster Presentation Day at the CSU Chancellor’s Office in Long Beach. Dr. Sharon Castellanos presented the findings from her doctoral project to the Board of Trustees, campus presidents and Chancellor Timothy P. White.
Dr. Castellanos conducted a “Save a Life” campaign to increase organ and tissue donation among Hispanic high schoolers and studied the outcomes of this campaign for Division of Motor Vehicles tissue donor card completion rates.
Dr. Gayatri Subedi, a board-certified Family Nurse Practitioner, has worked in an outpatient gastroenterology clinic for the past nine years providing care to patients with gastrointestinal (e.g., Crohn’s, Ulcerative Colitis, Irritable Bowel Syndrome, etc.) and liver diseases, such as hepatitis B and hepatitis C viral (HCV) infections. Her evidence-based research project during her course of studies at the CSU DNP Southern California Consortium provided her with an opportunity to develop, implement, and evaluate an evidence-based practice (EBP) guideline for the management of HCV infection tailored to the population served at her practice setting. The leadership skills she acquired during the DNP program had a positive impact in her clinic empowering both providers and staff members. Dr. Subedi’s HCV clinical practice guideline was adopted and is now used by clinic staff to effectively screen, treat, and manage HCV positive and at-risk patients, thereby preventing disease transmissions and complications, such as liver cirrhosis and liver cancer.
As a board-certified psychiatric mental health nurse practitioner working with veterans suffering from post-traumatic stress syndrome (PTSD), William Glasser saw caregivers and spouses of veterans developing similar PTSD symptoms and suffering from “compassion fatigue.” It was, in fact, his concern about how to identify and best help these caregivers that drove his decision to complete a doctorate. “The CSU DNP program strongly stresses research, with very practical applications that are important to patient care,” explains Glasser, a May 2019 graduate of the Southern California CSU DNP Consortium. He developed a screening tool for spouses and hopes to have the tool reviewed by experts and then validated in a trial.
In her May 2019 commencement address to her CSU Southern California DNP classmates, Dr. Hall spoke these words: "As DNP students, we have not only grown and evolved as nurses, but we have also honed our skills as agents of change and innovation within our profession. Gone are the days of waiting for others to fix the glaring problems we see in our practice - we own that work now ... Whether for one patient or a global population, our ability to influence nursing practice is limited only by our imaginations. Seeing what we have accomplished through our DNP projects, and how empowered we have become to drive change to improve care for patients, gives me incredibly high hopes for the future of our profession."
Three Spring 2016 graduates of the Southern California Consortium CSU DNP program were recipients of scholarships from the Jonas Foundation. Now, the DNP projects of these dynamic women are changing nursing practice at the Veterans Administration Hospital in Long Beach. The success of these alumni also enabled the Southern California DNP program to receive Jonas Foundation scholarship funds for three more students enrolled in the fall 2016 cohort.
Dr. Cunningham, a 2022 graduate of the Southern California CSU Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) Consortium. serves on the boards of Sigma Theta Tau International Honor Society of Nursing, Upsilon Beta Chapter, Leadership Succession Committee and the California Association for Nurse Practitioners Health Policy and Practice Committee, reviews manuscripts for the Advanced Emergency Nursing Journal, and is a member of the American Academy of Nurse Practitioners, the American Academy of Emergency Nurse Practitioners, and the National Association of Pediatric Nurse Practitioners. She works as an FNP in the Department of Pediatric Orthopedic Surgery at Memorial Care Miller Children’s & Women’s Hospital in Long Beach and is a lecturer and assistant clinical faculty at UCLA School of Nursing APRN program. Her DNP project on the effect of virtual reality distraction on children’s anxiety and pain perceptions during cast and pin removal was featured in the Long Beach Local News
If you have questions about a Doctor of Nursing Practice program, the DNP cordinators at our campuses are your best source of information.
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Want to explore other degrees? The CSU offers myriad nursing programs, including ADN-to-BSN, BSN, MSN, and extended education options.
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