Alaska News

UAA proposes new doctorate in nursing

The University of Alaska Anchorage hopes to add a new doctoral program in nursing practice to its offerings.

The UA Board of Regents is considering the proposal at its board meeting in Fairbanks this week.

The Doctor in Nursing Practice would replace a master's degree in nursing currently offered through UAA's College of Health, the university said.

Health workforce demand studies undertaken in 2006 and 2011 pointed to the need for more nurses with the advanced training a doctorate in nursing practice offers, officials said.

The program was developed in recognition of "the need for advanced nursing practice education programs in the state of Alaska to meet changing and increasing demands within an increasingly complex healthcare environment and delivery system," UAA officials wrote in a letter to the Statewide Academic Council, which must approve the curriculum.

Nurses trained as advanced practitioners could be especially useful in serving rural and isolated populations, the officials wrote.

Approximately 50 graduate students would eventually be enrolled in the program each year, UAA said.

The Board of Regents will vote on the proposal Thursday, said UA spokeswoman Kate Ripley.

Michelle Theriault Boots

Michelle Theriault Boots is a longtime reporter for the Anchorage Daily News. She focuses on in-depth stories about the intersection of public policy and Alaskans' lives. Before joining the ADN in 2012, she worked at daily newspapers up and down the West Coast and earned a master's degree from the University of Oregon.

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