Touro’s School of Nursing Embarks on a New Doctorate Program this January
Michael Modrich, a senior clinic nurse at Solano County Family Health Services, wants to help spark change in the area’s healthcare.
The recent Master of Science graduate from the School of Nursing program at Touro University California (TUC) wishes to interact with patients on a deeper level. Listening to patients in a different way and learning the intricacies of research, for example, help greatly in the process of providing better patient care.
For this reason, Modrich will be returning to the School of Nursing on Mare Island this January to pursue his Doctorate of Nursing Practice (DNP), a new program that will help nurses leverage the same level of health care as other medical professionals.
“It’s interesting and a challenge,” Modrich said. “The doctorate program will open up a practical application of research knowledge that will help me to change my practice in a different way.”
The role of the nurse practitioner has been expanding in the United States—and even more so in California—due to the increased demand for care. Within our local Solano County community, primary care providers face increasing difficulty in meeting the needs of the general population as more patients seek health care.
“The program will be incredibly beneficial for the county. It gives us more depth on the medical side in addition to adding family practitioners to a system that needs it,” Modrich said. It’s also considerate of his schedule. That is, Modrich will be able to work full time and attend classes.
The DNP program will be with a Family Nurse Practitioner (FNP) track to address the need of primary care locally and has an emphasis on diabetes management and education. It is designed for working students who have demanding timelines. Its non-traditional classes will meet one evening a week and one Sunday a month at the campus on Mare Island. The remainder of the coursework is available online.
Julian Gallegos, Assistant Professor and the program’s coordinator, said, “We’ve chosen the Family Nurse Practitioner track to coincide with the mission of Touro, which is to fill the gap in primary health care. Our goal is to prepare practitioners who not only serve well in primary care, but also can help manage diabetes, which has many implications in other disease processes.”
The FNP/DNP is a 19-month accelerated program. Clinical placements will be established through local clinics and health care providers. The School of Nursing is accepting applicants for the FNP/DNP that begins January 2017. Applicants must be registered nurses who have an MSN.
The School of Nursing, part of the TUC College of Education and Health Sciences, was launched in August of 2014. For the past two years, the post-licensure master’s degree program has built on the knowledge and skills that have been gained in entry level nursing programs to help registered nurses achieve their Master’s Degree in Nursing and Clinical Nurse Leader Certification. Now the program will offer the final step in nursing education with the FNP/DNP.
“Being a part of the Master’s program at Touro was an incredible experience,” Modrich beamed. “The clinical nurse leader program taught us skills that gave a much wider and deeper understanding of how to treat both patients and the system that we use. And it’s the faculty’s wealth of background knowledge that is bringing me back to take the final step in my education.”
For more information regarding the FNP/DNP program, please go online to: http://cehs.tu.edu/nursing/ or call 707-638-5846.
Nicholas Crawford, Publications and Projects Coordinator at Touro University California.
