Radford DNP nursing program earns prestigious accreditation

Radford Universitys Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) program has earned re-accreditation by the Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education (CCNE).

The program earned a ten-year accreditation, the maximum duration, and is one of nine CCNE-accredited DNP programs in the Commonwealth of Virginia. The Radford program earned its first accreditation in 2011.

As a voluntary, self-regulatory process, CCNE accreditation supports and encourages continuing self-assessment by nursing programs and improvement of collegiate professional education and post-baccalaureate nurse residency programs. Officially recognized by the U.S. Secretary of Education as a national accreditation agency, the CCNE is an autonomous accrediting agency that improves public health and ensures the quality and integrity of baccalaureate, graduate and residency programs in nursing.

"The accreditation tells the public that our program demonstrates excellence in teaching and student outcomes," said School of Nursing Director Tony Ramsey. "Long-term CCNE accreditation demonstrates our faculty’s dedication to delivering optimum education to the program’s strong students who complete the program and pass the nurse practitioner exams successfully. We’re very proud to have earned the gold standard."

The DNP program, with a 14-member graduate faculty, prepares registered nurses with bachelors or masters degrees in nursing for advanced nursing practice and health care leadership.

The program provides a rigorous practice-oriented terminal degree for working nurses with between 30 and 81 credit hours of online instruction. It further requires up to 1,080 clinical practice hours and a final project of original research. Graduates of the program then take one of two national board certification tests on which Radford graduates have a 100 percent pass rate.

Upon completion of the DNP program, graduates are eligible for certification as Family Nurse Practitioner or Psychiatric Nurse Practitioner.

Nine DNP candidates were hooded at the Radford’s May ceremonies joining more than 60 Radford-trained advanced nursing practitioners since the program enrolled its first class in 2010.