Doctor of Nursing Practice

• Current unencumbered Tennessee or compact state RN licensure at the time of the application deadline.
• Completion of a Bachelor of Science in Nursing from an accredited program.
• Last 60 hours GPA of at least 3.0 on a 4.0 scale.
• Science GPA of 3.0 on 4.0 scale; defined as Anatomy and Physiology 1 and 2, and statistics
• CCRN required
• Shadowing hours required (minimum 40 hours)
• Experience as a preceptor and/or charge nurse preferred.
• Leadership within the ICU or place of employment with professional or clinical development projects preferred, such as: policy development, practice change initiatives, evidence-based practice initiatives, instructor in BLS/ACLS/PALS.
• Interview with the Nursing Graduate Admissions Selection Committee
• International students must complete TOEFL with WES evaluations of transcripts
• Statement of past clinical and/or work experiences, scholarly activities, and community service that supports future goals in obtaining a practice doctorate
• One year of critical care experience (ICU experience must be within the last 3 years)
• Students dismissed from a nurse anesthesia or other advanced practice nursing program for academic, clinical or behavioral reasons will not be admitted to Union University's Nurse Anesthesia BSN-DNP track. Students who have been enrolled in another program and withdrew in good standing or are still enrolled in good standing, must have a letter from their director stating that they are in good standing or withdrew when they were in good standing in order to be considered for admission to Union University's Nurse Anesthesia BSN-DNP track.

Nursing Admissions:
Amy Joyner
Graduate & Adult Admissions
ajoyner@uu.edu
731-661-5028

1. Application: All non-traditional and graduate nursing students must complete the NursingCAS application. Union University requires a Supplemental Application and a non-refundable fee of $50. After submitting your application in NursingCAS, you'll receive an email within 24 hours containing instructions to access your Union Enrollment Status Page. This page will have a link to the Supplemental Application and will provide updates throughout the enrollment process. It's important to submit your NursingCAS application at least 3 - 4 weeks before the deadline to ensure that your application is verified by NursingCAS on time. Unverified or incomplete applications received after the deadline will not be reviewed. Union University College of Nursing participates in the Nursing Centralized Application Service (NursingCAS). NursingCAS partners with many colleges and schools of nursing to provide an online application to students, collect and process application documents, and verify transcripts on the school's behalf. The school receives information from NursingCAS and is solely responsible for all admission decisions. If you should have questions about your NursingCAS application please feel free to contact them: (Phone: 617-612-2880 Email: nursingcasinfo@nursingcas.org)
   
   • *We strongly recommend checking your personal application page on the NursingCAS application portal to monitor the successful transmission of your transcripts and recommendations. Our admissions staff will also be working with you to ensure application completion.
2. Read and sign the Community Values Statement and Standards of Admissions. Both signed pages must be received by the Graduate and Adult Admissions. (part of Supplemental Application Packet)
3. Application Fee: The Union University application fee is $50 and is non-refundable. You have the option to pay online by credit card. You may also pay by check or money order with your supplemental application. The NursingCAS application fee is $85 and is non-refundable. You have the option to pay online via the NursingCAS website.
4. Transcripts: Official transcripts from all post-secondary institutions must be submitted directly through NursingCAS. Please do not send transcripts for non-traditional nursing programs to Undergraduate Admissions. Transcripts must be received by NursingCAS in a sealed envelope from all previous academic institutions attended. Official transcripts from all post-secondary institutions must be sent to:
   • NursingCAS
     P.O. Box 9201
     Watertown, MA 02471
5. Letters of Recommendation: Three letters of professional/academic reference specifying the applicant's capabilities for graduate study to include one letter of reference from the current supervisor. Letter of Recommendation forms are a part of the NursingCAS Application.
6. Personal Statement: Please provide a statement of professional goals. Topics to be included are:
   • Your reason for pursuing the Certified Registered Nurse Anesthesia DNP degree
   • How you plan to use the DNP degree to transform the future practice and the profession
   • How you have prepared for success in this program
7. Please upload these required documents to your NursingCAS application:
   • Official current unencumbered Tennessee or Compact State RN Licensure
   • Official CCRN Certification valid until school starts in the Fall
   • Proof of Shadowing Experience
   • Curriculum Vitae/Resume
   • Personal Statement of Professional Goals
8. Shadowing Hours and Critical Care Experience will both be documented in the Supporting Information section on the NursingCAS application. Specific instructions will be provided on NursingCAS for each.
9. Due to U.S. Federal regulations, international students on an F-1 visa are not eligible for this program:
   • If you are permanent resident of United States of America, an international application must be completed.
   • All international transcripts must be evaluated by an accredited evaluating agency found at the National Association of Credential Evaluation Services' website: naces.org
10. Applications that are incomplete, unverified, and/or not submitted by the application deadline will not be considered for admission.

1. How is my last 60 hours GPA Calculated?
   Calculation of GPA for the last 60 hours will occur as follows:
   • The grades used to calculate the 60 hours GPA will be the most recent, and exactly 60 hours will be included in the calculation. If a partial semester must be utilized, the course with the highest grade will be chosen, and the number of hours needed will be multiplied by the grade. For example, if 2 hours are needed to complete the 60, and the applicant has a 3 hour course in which they earned an A, 8 points will be added (2 x 4 = 8).
   • If an applicant re-took a course, the higher grade will be used in the calculation; the lower grade will not count in the calculation at all.
   • Plus and minus grades will be considered as standard A, B, C, etc. For example, an A+ and an A- will both be assigned 4 quality points per credit hour.
2. Is the GRE required for admission?
   The GRE is not required for admission into the Nurse Anesthesia Track.
3. What can I do to improve my competitiveness?
   In addition to meeting the admission criteria, the following is a list of suggestions to improve an applicant's competitiveness for the Nurse Anesthesia Program:
   • Repeat any Science course in which you have a grade less than B, especially A&P, Chemistry, Microbiology, Pathophysiology, and Statistics.
   • If an applicant does not need to repeat any courses, it is suggested that applicants take Advanced Pathophysiology or graduate-level Statistics to demonstrate the ability to complete graduate-level work.
   • It is recommended that applicants could also take undergraduate Inorganic and Organic Chemistry courses and should achieve a grade of B or better.
   • Although the GRE is not required, it can only help an applicant demonstrate their ability for Graduate level work.
   • Obtain CCRN certification (required by program admissions) and a sub-specialty certification: Cardiac Surgery (CSC), CMC, etc.
   • Obtain a minimum of 1 year ICU experience (excluding orientation time) — must be in a unit that has high acuity patients (e.g. ventilators, invasive monitoring, vasoactive drips). These units usually have a 1:2 nurse to patient ratio at the most. Critical Care experience needs to be in the United States.
   • Minimum 40 hours of job shadowing is required. It is recommended to shadow in multiple different practice environment including CRNA independent practice sites.
4. Transfer credits:
   Nine credit hours can be transferred into the program. On the curriculum model, all courses with an * can be transferred except for Faith and Science. Pharmacology can be transferred if approved, however the student will have to take the course as an audit. Unfortunately, courses taken at a different institution cannot be 'pre-approved' according to projected content of the course. Approval will only be given upon request of transfer credit once you are accepted in the program. Regardless of where you take a course, it still has to go through the approval process.
5. Can I take courses as a non-degree seeking student at Union?
   Students must meet all admission criteria before we will consider allowing them to take a core course as a non-degree seeking student. Students are limited to taking 6 hours prior to being admitted to the program. Without a MSN, the courses available are the MSN core courses, not DNP. For applicants who wish to take curriculum courses prior to matriculation, you have the opportunity to take these courses at a different institution and transfer the courses into the program. All courses, no matter the university/college, must be approved for transfer after the applicant has been admitted to the program.
6. Does Union University offer an option for non-degree seeking students to take graduate level classes such as Advanced Pathophysiology and Advanced Pharmacology?
   Yes, both Adv. Patho and Adv. Pharm can be taken prior to matriculation; however, we do not recommend taking these courses as a non-degree seeking student at Union University due to the priority given to current College of Nursing students. However, feel free to take these courses at another institution. Once the courses have been completed, you may submit for a Transfer Course Credit Request (with supporting documentation) for approval by the dean. Please be aware that if accepted into the program and the course is approved for Transfer Credit, both Advanced Pharmacology and Advanced Pathophysiology must be audited in the NAT program due to its Anesthesia focus.
7. When does NursingCAS close the application cycle?
   NursingCAS close the application cycle at 11:49pm, Eastern Standard Time, on January 15 each year and will only open up the new application cycle in August of the following year.
8. If I have not attained a leadership role, will this count against me? I am a travel nurse.
   Being a travel nurse will not make your application less competitive. However, travel nurses must also make sure they have gained the required "at least one year of ICU experience."