An Invitation to Apply: Simmons College School of Nursing and Health Sciences: Department of Nursing Director of the Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) Program THE SEARCH Simmons College School of Nursing invites applications, inquiries and nominations for the position of Director of the Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) Program in the Department of Nursing within the School of Nursing and Health Sciences. The Director of the DNP Program will have administrative, teaching and advisement responsibilities. Rank and compensation for this position will be commensurate with accomplishments and experience. The Director reports directly to the Dean of the School of Nursing and Health Sciences and secondarily to the Chair of Graduate Nursing. ESSENTIAL DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES Program Duties and Responsibilities: Administrative Direct the DNP Program: o Oversee curriculum development and evaluation o Hire, oversee, and evaluate DNP faculty o Conduct monthly DNP faculty meetings o Oversee the advisement of capstone projects o Direct the 2015 re-accreditation process including preparing the self study report o Lead the ongoing continuous quality improvement of the DNP curriculum o Develop and direct the DNP Advisory Board o Develop the BSN-DNP program for 2015 o Participate in the national dialogue on DNP education; present at national conferences Attend monthly SNHS meetings and SNHS leadership team meetings and participate in decision-making. 1
Participate in scholarly programs on issues of concern to nursing. Participate in the standing committees of the School and College Teaching Assume responsibility for course planning, implementation and evaluation in the DNP program. Assume responsibility for classroom teaching in the DNP Program for the equivalent of 2 courses per semester. Participate in the selection of instructional materials, library resources, and equipment for learning resource center. Assume responsibility for the clinical supervision of clinical adjunct faculty Select appropriate clinical experiences to meet the stated course objectives. Maintain evaluative records of student performance and conference with students regarding their progress at appropriate intervals. Prepare summary evaluations of student performance at termination of course and file. Advisement Participate in the advisement of DNP students. Serve as first and second reader on 3-5 capstone projects per year. College Duties and Responsibilities Participate in SNHS and college committees as elected or appointed. Represent Nursing Department and SNHS at College Functions as designated by the Dean. QUALIFICATIONS Candidates for the DNP Directorship as an Associate Professor of Practice or Professor of Practice must have: An earned DNP with MS in Nursing A minimum of 5 years of clinical experience as an advanced practice nurse Evidence of continued and progressive professional development in the academic and professional communities. A minimum of 2 years of teaching in a nursing program (masters and above preferred), preferred. Ongoing scholarly activity that includes research and publication, preferred. Skill in hybrid and online course design and delivery as well as an interest in the adult learner, preferred. TO APPLY: The Search Committee for the position of Director of the Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) Program at the Simmons College Department of Nursing will review applications beginning immediately, and will continue to do so until the position is filled. Please send CV with cover letter, via email, in strict confidence to: Sharon M. Flynn Hollander or Dr. Clifford R. Hollander The Hollander Group 2
Email: info@thehollandergroup.net Phone: 202-270-8772 Fax: 877-334-0626 SIMMONS COLLEGE Located in Boston's historic Fenway area along the Emerald Necklace designed by Frederick Law Olmsted, Simmons College is a small, private university that has educated students for enriching careers and useful, independent lives since 1899. Simmons College has a four-year, undergraduate women's college and five coeducational graduate schools. Simmons College enrolls approximately 2,000 undergraduate women and over 3,000 graduate women and men. The five graduate schools at Simmons College provide postgraduate awards at certificate, master s and doctoral levels in library and information science, social work, nursing and health sciences, management, and arts and sciences. Their accredited awards are highly regarded by the professions they serve, and the schools are highly ranked nationally. Simmons College is accredited by the New England Association of Schools and Colleges (NEASC) and by national and regional discipline-specific agencies in the health care field. THE SCHOOL OF NURSING AND HEALTH SCIENCES 1 The Simmons College nursing faculty members believe that professional nursing is practiced according to the nursing meta-paradigm, which includes beliefs about person, health, nursing, and environment. Each person is unique. Human beings are holistic in nature, yet they have interacting biophysical, cognitive, social, spiritual, and developmental dimensions. Persons have their own perceptions, values, beliefs, and goals and have the ability to be self-directive, to adapt to change, to achieve their potential, and to ascribe personal meaning in their lives. Psychosocial concepts, research, leadership, management, health assessment skills, nutrition, pharmacology, growth, and development are integrated into all content. The educational process exists to help students become self-directed, creative, socially responsive, and lifelong learners. Academic Programs Undergraduate Nursing Programs RN-BS Program This program is for the student who has graduated from an accredited nursing program, is a registered nurse, and has a diploma in nursing or an associate degree in nursing. The program offers registered nurses the opportunity to earn a Bachelor of Science degree on a part- or full-time basis. Five-Year BS-MSN Program The School offers an accelerated five-year BS-MSN program for students who wish to become registered nurses and then nurse practitioners through a single continuous process. The length of the program is shortened by one year by taking summer courses. A highlight of the program is an RN 1 For more information about Simmons School of Nursing and Health Sciences, please go to: http://www.simmons.edu/snhs/programs/nursing 3
internship for two semesters during which students practice as licensed registered nurses prior to learning the advanced practice role. Graduate Nursing Programs Master of Science: R.N. to M.S. Program The R.N. to M.S. in Nursing Program is a unique curriculum designed for diploma and associate degree registered nurses who wish to obtain a graduate degree in nursing within a family nurse practitioner focus. The program is individually designed and paced to allow the student to complete the program in three to four years once the prerequisite courses are met. Specifics will vary depending upon experience and previous education. Master of Science: B.S.N. to M.S. Program with Family Nurse Practitioner (FNP) Specialty Concentration This Master's Degree Program is designed for nurses with a B.S.N. or B.A. /B.S. in a related field. This program is designed for registered nurses who have a baccalaureate degree in nursing or a related field who wish to obtain a graduate degree in nursing within a family nurse practitioner specialty concentration. This is one of the oldest nurse practitioner programs in the country. Objectives for the FNP curriculum include: Critique, evaluate, synthesize and utilize theoretical, scientific and clinical knowledge as applied to the assessment and management of primary and acute health and illness states. Demonstrate a personal, collegial and collaborative approach as an advanced practice nurse while emphasizing health promotion, disease prevention and identification of environmental factors that impact health status across the lifespan. Develop an understanding and appreciation of human diversity as an advanced practice professional to assure the delivery of appropriate and individualized health care across the curriculum. Demonstrate sound critical thinking and clinical decision making reflected in effective written and verbal communication skills utilized by the advanced practice nurse in a complex delivery system. Demonstrate personal qualities and professional behaviors that are assertive and engage in advanced practice activities that advocate for on-going change and leadership within nursing and in the health care system. Apply critical thinking skills within a multidisciplinary approach to care which fosters strategies and assembles multifaceted resources to empower patients, families and communities to attain and maintain maximal functional wellness. Demonstrate nursing judgments and interventions that provide culturally sensitive care for diverse populations. Demonstrate nursing practices that address human differences. Design and implement evidence-based primary health care practices in varied health care systems. Assume a leadership role in the management of patients, communities and larger systems. Initiate changes in patient care and in the health care system through negotiation with other health care professionals. 4
Evaluate the efficacy of health promotion, health protection, disease prevention, and treatment interventions through the application of knowledge of health care systems, economics, policy, ethics and politics. Conduct clinical nursing research designed to advance the science of nursing. Advance professional growth through continued acquisition of theoretical knowledge and clinical experience, and through participation and/or leadership in professional and community consultation and collaboration, continuing education, certification, and lifelong learning. Doctor of Nursing Practice (D.N.P.) Program The focus of the Simmons College Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) Program is Professional Practice Leadership. The program develops nursing leaders who will improve health care outcomes in clinical practice, research and management. Graduates have the clinical, organizational and leadership skills to meet the changing demands of the present and future health care system. The DNP differs from the PhD in its emphasis on practice and practice-related research. The DNP program is offered in a "blended" format. Courses are taught online and students are required to attend two on-campus residencies per semester. Courses are designed to expand practice and to prepare students as leaders in nursing and the health care system. Students are required to complete a practice-based capstone project, as well as document DNP-related practice and policy experience in a comprehensive DNP portfolio. The Post-Master's DNP program builds on students' clinical experience and educational preparation by enabling graduates to assume leadership roles in professional practice. Specifically, the objectives of the DNP are adapted from the AACN Doctoral Essentials (2006) and prepare students to: Integrate nursing science with knowledge from ethics, the biophysical, psychosocial, analytical and organizational sciences. Demonstrate leadership in organizations and health care systems to promote safe and efficient care delivery to both individuals and populations. Conduct practice-based research. Utilize technology and informatics to improve health care and to implement change in health care systems. Design, influence and implement health care policies that affect health care financing, practice regulation, access to care, safety, quality, and efficacy of care. Collaborate with interdisciplinary professionals and teams to improve patient and population health outcomes. Assume a leadership role in the design of evidence-based interventions that enhance clinical prevention and population health. Dual Degree Program with Harvard School of Public Health: M.S. Nursing; M.S. Society, Human Development & Health Simmons College and the Harvard School of Public Health (HSPH) offer a two-year, dual-degree option offering a Master of Science in Primary Health Care Nursing from Simmons College and a Master of Science in Society, Human Development and Health from the Harvard School of Public Health. This program is designed to prepare nurse practitioners for leadership roles in public and private institutions serving children and their families. 5
Direct Entry Program for those with a B.A./B.S. in another academic discipline: M.S. in Nursing The Direct Entry Program in Advanced Nursing Practice is designed to prepare individuals with a baccalaureate degree but without nursing backgrounds for the advanced practice nursing role with the focus on family nurse practitioner (FNP). The program begins each year in September and incorporates an innovative curriculum with clinical experience especially designed for this group of students. The first 18 months of the program require full-time enrollment and the remainder of the program offers full or part-time enrollment based on work clinical placement availability and scheduling. Students are eligible to take the nursing licensure examination (NCLEX) at the end of the second fall semester after 18 months of full-time enrollment in courses. They must pass the exam for the designation of R.N. (registered nurse) before beginning the graduate primary care clinical sequence. Upon successful completion of the program, students will be awarded the M.S. degree but not a B.S.N. degree. Graduates of this program will be prepared to take the Family Nurse Practitioner certification exam offered by the professional credentialing organization. Nursing Program Accreditation The academic programs of the Simmons College School of Nursing and Health Sciences are accredited through 2019 by the Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education (CCNE). Nursing Faculty Profile There are 34 full time faculty in the School of Nursing and Health Sciences. 10 faculty are tenured and 4 are tenure track. Nursing Student Profile There are approximately 1,200 students in the School of Nursing and Health Sciences. Of these, 800 are nursing students: 660 are undergraduate students and 140 are graduate students. The DNP program currently has 17 students. 6