| By Mary Jean Schumann  A day in the life of a DNP student at Johns Hopkins is like living in triplicate. There is the work day that can begin as early as 7:00 a.m. and can go as late as 9:00 p.m. There is the family life, which can include children, spouse, frail parents, pets, and home responsibilities. And then there are the academic requirements of the doctorate of nursing practice program, which take several hours each day, often tucked into a 5:00 a.m. or 10:00 p.m. time slot. As adult students--many of us not being exactly fit and under forty--this leads to a certain level of sleep deprivation, reduced exercise, and random acts of eating.
I am one of 25 students in the first DNP cohort at Hopkins. I chose this program to learn aspects of nursing theory and practice that may be additionally useful in my career as Chief Programs Officer at the American Nurses Association (ANA). Despite the hectic schedule, I know I am developing a new knowledge base and expanding a skill set that I have not had previous opportunity to develop. The full-time program is taught in an executive fashion, with a full week of on-campus classes (that means 40 hours of class) twice during each of the first two semesters. We also have online lectures and presentations, writing assignments, and interactive class discussions using web based discussion boards and chat rooms. Our capstone project, which runs through all four semesters of the program, requires that we plan and execute a research question, discover an answer designed to lead to best practice evidence about the topic, and write a literature review and publishable manuscripts. Who is crazy enough to take such a course load, work full time, and try to pretend to have some semblance of family life? Apparently, many of us working nurses! While there are 25 in my class, there is another group of DNP students who started one semester after us. We all have a master's degree in nursing, and several students have MBAs as well. The class includes nurse practitioners, clinical nurse specialists, a nurse anesthetist, nurse managers and executives, nurses who are IT professionals, and policy developers. At the end of the DNP program, each of us anticipates being able to improve outcomes for patients, regardless of our individualized focus and setting. We expect to exert a broader reach in improving care for one or more patient populations we serve, and to have learned and demonstrated that we can gather and apply evidence of best practice in the care we deliver and for the profession as a whole. It is what keeps us challenged to stay with the arduous pace of both working and learning. It's how we explain to our bosses, family, and friends that we have a goal to accomplish and we won't be free tonight, this weekend, or even next week--not until we have earned a DNP.
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