Advocating for the health and wellness of women
Our Women’s Health Clinical Nurse Specialist (WHCNS) track within the DNP degree program prepares you as a direct and indirect care expert for individuals across childbearing continuum, with emphasis on quality and safety initiatives, education, and system level leadership. WHCNS practice focuses on providing care to families during the childbearing continuum: from preconception through the prenatal and birth processes and into the postpartum and early infancy periods. You will learn to work with adolescents through older adults and within broader health systems.
#2 ranking
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Of public schools offering a Doctor of Nursing Practice.
$3.8M in funding
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147 DNP scholarships funded in 2023-24, totaling $3.8 million.
Pre-arranged clinicals
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We manage your clinicals, setting us apart from most other DNP programs.
Women’s Health CNS graduates are prepared to explore and analyze:
- Normal physiologic changes and psychosocial events during the childbearing cycle
- Pathophysiologic events and chronic health conditions affecting the mother
- Fetus and/or neonate in at-risk situations
- Family adaptations
Women’s Health CNSs most often work in a hospital or institutional setting, providing leadership, consultation, and education support to maternity units, and providing expert direct nursing care. Graduates from our program have taken positions as:
- Maternity clinical nurse specialist
- Nurse manager
- Outreach educator
- Staff developer
The DNP curriculum starts with a shared first-year core, offering a strong foundation in advanced practice and leadership, before transitioning into specialized coursework tailored to each track, allowing students to develop targeted expertise and drive advancements in healthcare.
At this time, there is no certification exam for the Women’s Health CNS offered by national certification organizations.
Our Women’s Health CNS curriculum follows the Women’s Health CNS Competencies published by the Association of Women’s Health Obstetric & Neonatal Nurses (AWHONN) in 2014.
What makes our program unique?
Graduate certificates
The University of Washington School of Nursing offers graduate certificates to those looking to to expand their scope of practice as APRNs and are currently clinical nurse specialists, nurse practitioners, or nurse anesthetists. The certificates we offer provide currently practicing or soon-to-be certified MN and DNP graduates with additional knowledge and experience to provide the most optimal, culturally relevant care to pregnant capable people and their families. Relevant graduate certificate programs include:
- Graduate Certificate in Nurse Midwifery
- Graduate Certificate in Women’s Health Clinical Nurse Specialist
- Graduate Certificate in Sexual and Reproductive Health
Interested in learning more? Join us for an upcoming online information session, or contact us at asknursing@uw.edu to find out if this program would be a great fit and how to create a quality application.
Alumni spotlight
Melissa Mitchell DNP ’22 shares her experiences in rural health as a fellow with the UW Premera Rural Nursing Health Initiative (RNHI) Fellowship.