NURS 824

NURS 824: Doctor of Nursing Practice Clinical Residency      

Prerequisites: Advanced nursing practice courses required in Family Nurse Practitioner (FNP), or Psychiatric Nurse Practitioner (PMHNP) Concentration; or permission of faculty.  

Credit Hours: (1-12)

This is the course work required for the DNP Clinical Residency. The DNP Clinical Residency is a clinical leadership experience focusing on nursing education, policy, practice, or research within an area of student interest.

Note(s): Variable credit hours; may be repeated for credit; must total 12 by end of program-clinical.

Detailed Description of Content of the Course

This course fulfills the DNP Clinical Residency requirement (1–12 credits). The residency is an immersion experience in clinical leadership focused on nursing education, policy, practice, or research within the student’s area of interest. In alignment with the AACN Essentials, it is required for all Radford University DNP degree‑seeking students.

During the residency, students engage in advanced clinical practice and collaborate with expert mentors across nursing and related disciplines. These experiences support the development of complex clinical judgment, leadership skills, and role competencies. The residency also provides the foundation for the DNP Final Project, in which students design, implement, and evaluate a clinically focused or research-based project culminating in a publishable product.

 

Detailed Description of Conduct of Course

The residency is delivered through a combination of precepted clinical experiences, faculty mentorship, and independent scholarly work. Students work closely with expert clinicians, administrators, educators, or researchers to deepen their practice competencies and refine leadership skills within their chosen area of focus—nursing education, policy, practice, or research. 

Clinical work may occur in a variety of advanced practice environments, consistent with Radford University’s DNP program emphasis on customized, immersive residency experiences tailored to students’ professional goals.

 

Goals and Objectives of this Course

Upon completion of the course, the student will be able to:

1. Demonstrate clinical judgment in complex clinical situations.
2. Employ evidenced-based practice to promote wellness, prevent illness, manage illness and maintain independent function at the highest possible levels for individuals, groups, and populations.
3. Participate in quality improvement and evaluations at varying levels of the health care system.
4. Demonstrate in-depth work with experts in nursing and other disciplines in the clinical area of specialization.
5. Examine and interpret trends in advanced practice nursing specific to the students’ specialty.  

 

Assessment Measures

Assessment measures will include but are not limited to faculty/preceptor evaluations, student self-evaluation, completion of course requirements and required executive leadership immersion hours, development of executive leadership competencies, demonstration of experiential competencies, oral presentations, student-directed online discussions, possible presentations at conferences, a class presentation, a paper of publishable quality, and written work  including logs, and journals.

 

Other Course Information

None

Review and Approval

Approved:  April 2010

December 9, 2019

March 26, 2026