American Sentinel University Launches DNP in Informatics Leadership Program

American Sentinel University, an accredited healthcare-focused online university, announces one of the industry’s first online Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) in Informatics Leadership program. This new program will prepare highly qualified master’s educated nurse leaders and educators to lead informatics in today’s healthcare systems.

Nursing informatics integrates nursing, computer science and emerging technology to manage knowledge in a healthcare setting and draw meaningful insights from collating and analyzing patient data. Nursing informaticists educated at the doctoral-level have become integral in healthcare to ensure safety, improve patient outcomes, and reduce costs.

Nurse Informaticists Critical to Integrating Technology
“Nursing informatics play a crucial role in healthcare and the need for doctoral-level nursing leaders in this rapidly growing field is overwhelming,” says Elaine Foster, Ph.D., MSN, BSN, RN, Dean of Nursing and Healthcare Programs at American Sentinel University. “Healthcare is driven by electronic health record technology, and these IT-related initiatives require skilled nurse leaders capable of leading teams and making meaningful contributions that ensure patients receive safe and efficient care.  A DNP with an informatics leadership specialization automatically puts a nurse in high demand at the top of their field.”

Data analytics now drives decision making at the organizational and clinical level. Nurses with doctoral-level informatics leadership experience and education serve as the clinical health IT advisor to the executive leadership team and educate them on application use for optimized patient care.

Nurse informaticists speak for bedside clinicians, implement and optimize the use of health IT, coordinate and educate about the strategic and organizational use of technology, and understand its impact on patients.

Practice Experience: A More Active Way to Learn
American Sentinel’s DNP Informatics Leadership online degree is an Accreditation Commission for Education in Nursing (ACEN)-approved program. It is one of a select few in the country and emphasizes critical thinking and advanced management and leadership skills. The curriculum is timely and relevant and provides nurses with the foundation and skills to lead their organizations and the next generation of nurses.

Students benefit from interactions with nursing leaders from top U.S. healthcare organizations from around the country, including Mayo Clinic, Johns Hopkins, Cleveland Clinic, Kaiser Permanente, Geisinger Health System, Spectrum Health Systems and more.

The DNP program includes practice experiences in the curricula that enable students to achieve the required educational experiences outlined in the AACN White Paper, Oct. 2012: DNP Essentials for Doctoral Educations Advanced Nursing Practice, 2006; ACEN 2013 Standards. DNP practice experiences are designed to provide students the opportunity to apply the concepts and knowledge they learn in nursing courses with active assignments.

Graduates of the DNP, Informatics Leadership Specialization program, will:

-Promote efficiencies within the healthcare system using electronic data analytics.

-Use nursing informatics concepts to improve evidence-based clinical practice.

-Evaluate health services and policies that impact the care of diverse populations using epidemiologic analytical techniques.

-Predict trends in healthcare data using various statistical modeling techniques.

-Lead information systems in health systems and clinical settings, while working with leadership peers in various departments

-Use clinical knowledge to impact systems management and patient outcomes positively.

“The need for DNP-educated nurses emerged due to the changing needs of our nation’s healthcare systems,” says Foster. “The increased complexity of patient care and growing concerns about quality and safety has led to increased enrollment in DNP programs. We’re seeing more professionals pursuing the DNP for leadership roles to coordinate better care across the continuum, improve patient safety and better document how care is delivered.”

Affordable, Flexible and Fast Program
The DNP Informatics Leadership program is only 28 months long with rolling admission. In year one, students have a four-day residency – American Sentinel pays for your stay. In year two, there is a two-day virtual residency.  Aside from the year-one residency, education is 100 percent online.

American Sentinel offers competitive tuition rates, various payments plans, and DNP Travel Assistance Programs to help most students earns their DNP debt free.

The 42-credit hour program is open to nurses with a Master’s degree of any kind and at least one year of experience in the informatics field. No GRE or other placement testing is required. The next cohort begins on February 20, 2017.

For information or to register for American Sentinel University’s Doctor of Nursing Practice Informatics Leadership program, please visit https://www.americansentinel.edu/nursing/dnp-informatics-leadership or call 866.922.5691.

About American Sentinel University

American Sentinel University delivers accredited online degree programs in nursing (BSN, MSN, and DNP) and healthcare management (MBA Healthcare, M.S. Information Systems Management, and M.S. Business Intelligence and Analytics). Its affordable, flexible bachelor’s and master’s nursing degree programs are accredited by the Commission for the Collegiate Nursing Education (CCNE), of One Dupont Circle, NW Suite 530, Washington, D.C., 20036. The DNP program is accredited by the Accreditation Commission for Education in Nursing (ACEN) of 3343 Peachtree Road NE, Suite 850, Atlanta, Ga., 30326. The University is accredited by the Distance Education Accrediting Commission, DEAC, 1101 17th Street NW, Suite 808, Washington, D.C. 20036, (202) 234-5100, www.deac.org

In June 2016, the Higher Education Commission Board of Trustees voted to grant American Sentinel University the status of candidate for accreditation. Institutions seeking accreditation by HLC are required to complete a period of candidacy before being evaluated for full accreditation. To earn and maintain candidacy, American Sentinel must fully meet the Commission’s Eligibility Requirements and Assumed Practices and demonstrate the capacity to meet all the Criteria for Accreditation within the candidacy period.

Please note, the MBA Healthcare Project-Based program is pending review for inclusion in the university’s programs covered by the Higher Learning Commission designation of candidate for accreditation.

For required student consumer information, please visit: www.americansentinel.edu/doe