Community Health Program
The University of Utah’s Community Health Nursing program now offers a joint degree with the Public Health Program out of the School of Medicine. This dual degree opens up opportunities for graduates as there is an additional emphasis on pure public health in addition to the opportunities gained by earning the doctorate in nursing practice.
This joint degree, the MPH/DNP degree, has emerged from an ongoing awareness of the need for nurses in the community arena to have more of a public health background in order to meet the growing needs of communities. The trend to provide health care where people live, work, play and go to school demands that community health nurses be experts in assessing, planning, implementing and evaluating care among a wide range of groups. This care must also reflect an ongoing understanding of epidemiology of diseases, both chronic and infectious, to provide appropriate care.
Graduates are prepared to engage in leadership roles in population-based health care. They direct and supervise the work of others while developing policies and procedures that guide the work of a variety of agencies and programs. Our graduates can be found in public health departments, home health care agencies, programs that serve specific populations as culturally diverse community centers, homeless centers, primary care clinics, and schools. Our graduates can also be found working in acute care hospitals, where they engage in developing programs for special populations as these individuals move back into the community at some point in time. Regardless of their setting, our graduates remain at the forefront of community-focused care working with clients, other professionals, legislators and local, state and national government officials.
Clinical opportunities are available in urban, rural or frontier areas throughout the Intermountain West, as well as international opportunities. Students gain experience at local, county, state or regional levels, depending on clinical interests. Students wishing to sit for the ACCN credentialing will be able to do so upon program completion.
Students wishing to take advantage of this unique opportunity must apply to both programs and be accepted by both. Planning ahead is essential as the MPH program does require that the GRE be taken, although the College of Nursing does not require it for most applicants.
A part time program of study is available.
Program contact:
Diana Thurston, PhD, APRN, Program Director
Diana.Thurston@nurs.utah.edu or dthurston@slco.org
801.585.9537 or 801.534.4599
