With the upcoming launch of three new BSN-DNP Nurse Practitioner (NP) track options at DeSales University, nurses with their bachelor’s degrees will be able to advance their careers and earn a Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) degree in just under four years.

The DNP program boasts three new BSN-DNP NP track options—more than any other higher education institution in the Lehigh Valley.

Students can choose from tracks in Family/Individual Across the Lifespan Nurse Practitioner, Adult-Gerontology Acute Care Nurse Practitioner, and Psychiatric-Mental Health Nurse Practitioner.

The four-year curriculum plans are based on full-time sequential completion of 23-26 courses in 15 semesters, and they allow students to continue working professionally.

“At DeSales, we appreciate the professional and personal demands faced by our adult students. Nurses, in particular, require flexibility, affordability, and online convenience to make a degree program work for them,” states Jacqueline Ochsenreither, DNP, RN, CRNP, PPCNP-BC, assistant professor and director of the DNP program.

“The DNP program’s BSN-DNP NP track options follow an executive educational model with intensive face-to-face introductions to select courses, in addition to collaborative synchronous, asynchronous, online, and hybrid delivery of other courses,” says Ochsenreither.

Classes start in the fall of 2022.

Students will learn from a team of highly experienced faculty with advanced practice experience across a multitude of specialties. For individuals who are MSN-prepared, the DNP program also offers post-MSN track options—both full-time and part-time—with concentrations available in Clinical Leadership and Executive Leadership, which advance nurses’ knowledge and career capabilities.

In addition, clinical leadership and executive leadership knowledge and competencies can be combined with business skills for a dual DNP/MBA option.

The DNP program’s BSN-DNP NP and post-MSN track options are affordable and flexible. BSN and MSN alumni also receive discounted tuition rates and one free 800-level course.

For more information on the new track options, visit DeSales University’s Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) page. 

Faculty Bio:

Dr. Jacqueline Ochsenreither is an Assistant Professor of Nursing and Director of the Doctor of Nursing Practice Program at DeSales University. She has been a pediatric critical-care nurse practitioner for more than 26 years.

She has cared for infants, children, and adolescents in a variety of pediatric nursing roles at St. Christopher’s Hospital for Children, including adolescent medicine, cardiac-intensive care, emergency medicine, transport team, and cardiac catheterization. 

Dr. Ochsenreither is a member of the American Association of Critical-Care Nurses (AACN), the Southeastern Pennsylvania Chapter of AACN (SEPA), the National Association of Pediatric Nurse Practitioners (NAPNAP), the National Organization of Nurse Practitioners (NONPF)-Special Interest Group/Program Directors, and the Pennsylvania League for Nursing (PLN). Dr. Ochsenreither is also a member of Sigma Theta Tau International, Mu Omicron Chapter, and serves as the faculty counselor for DeSales University.

Dr. Ochsenreither serves on the following DeSales University Committees: Institutional Review Board, Division of Nursing Graduate Admissions and Standards, Division of Nursing Outcomes, Distance Education Steering, and Faculty Steering.