Columbia University School of Nursing Receives Macy Grant

June 1, 2005 The Josiah Macy, Jr. Foundation has awarded Columbia University School of Nursing $948,000 to develop national standards for the clinical doctorate in nursing. "We believe that the Macy Foundation, with a sustaining legacy of support for innovative interdisciplinary health care education, is an ideal partner for this endeavor," said Mary O'Neil Mundinger, DrPH, Dean and Centennial Professor of Health Policy at Columbia University School of Nursing. Columbia 's Doctor of Nursing Practice degree is the first clinical doctoral program in the country preparing nurses for complex advanced practice. Built on evidence derived from over ten years of independent practice and scientific inquiry, including a randomized trial published in The Journal of the American Medical Association , School of Nursing faculty developed the degree to educate nurses for the highest level of clinical expertise, including sophisticated diagnostic and treatment competencies. The next challenge establishing standards for Doctor of Nursing Practice competencies nationwide is fundamental to the safe and successful expansion of this new degree. Patients, payers and policy makers will demand reliable high-quality standards. It is crucial to assure that common standards for graduate competencies are adopted by all nursing schools that award this degree, explained Dr. Mundinger.

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