What Does a Doctor of Nursing Practice Mean to You?
Meet Samona Drexler, a 2016 graduate of the UL Lafayette Doctor of Nursing Practice program. She is now the manager and clinical nurse practitioner in the Pre-Anesthesia Clearance and Evaluation (PACE) Clinic at Lafayette General Medical Center.
Let her tell you, in her own words, why she chose UL Lafayette for her Doctor of Nursing Practice degree and how it helped to advance her nursing career. 
Why did you choose to earn your DNP?
I chose to pursue and obtain my DNP because I wanted to be at the top of my field. I want to bring about change and make an impact in the American healthcare system. Earning my DNP puts me in a better position to make that impact and change.
Additionally, I believe DNP-prepared nurses are an elite group of nursing professionals and my desire was also to be among that elite group of nurses.
Why UL Lafayette?
The UL Lafayette nursing program has an outstanding reputation. I received my bachelor鈥檚 degree from UL Lafayette, so when I decided to pursue my doctoral degree, I could not imagine obtaining it from any other university or program.
Since earning your DNP, what roles are you prepared to take on? What are your career aspirations?
The program has prepared me to assume any nursing leadership roles. In the future, I aspire to operate several rural health clinics, where I can provide preventive care and health education to individuals who do not have a primary care provider (PCP), are unable to see their PCP on a routine basis, or cannot afford to see a PCP.
Tell us about your synthesis project and how it can be applied in health care systems.
My synthesis project is titled 鈥淨uality Improvement Project: Cardiac Risk Stratification Prior to Non-Cardiac Surgery.鈥 My project encompassed evaluating the functional capacity of adult patients prior to non-cardiac surgery. Therefore, my project may be applied to any and all preoperative settings, as well as surgical settings and health care systems.
What did you learn in the DNP program that had the biggest impact on your career?
When implementing a practice change, be sure that the change is evidence-based and produces positive health outcomes for patients.