Dr. David Mulkey, an associate professor at Grand Canyon University (GCU) and a Denver-based educator, is working to revise the university’s doctor of nursing practice (DNP) program. Mulkey teaches in GCU’s College of Nursing and Health Care Professions and believes that nursing goes beyond being a career or calling.
“It is a unique position that we are in as nurses to care for patients at their most vulnerable state – when they need health care. … It’s a really vulnerable time for (the patients). And so, teaching nursing as a ministry and calling really impacts how we care for our patients,” Mulkey said.
Mulkey has led the effort to update the college’s online DNP program, which began in 2014. The program aims to train students to apply research in clinical settings and improve patient outcomes. He noted that nationally, fewer than 2% of nurses pursue this advanced degree, which prepares them for top-level roles in healthcare management, academia, policy-making, or research.
The number of DNP students has steadily increased over the past two decades. According to data from the American Association of Colleges of Nursing, enrollment rose by 2%—or 936 students—in 2024 alone, reaching a total of 42,767 learners after growing from just 70 students in 2003.
While overseeing these changes at GCU, Mulkey also continues his academic work by publishing articles in peer-reviewed journals such as the Journal of Christian Nursing and the Journal for Nurses in Professional Development. He has contributed book chapters as well.
“That scholarship goes into the awards with the program revision work,” he said about recognition received from GCU leaders for his efforts with the DNP program.
Helping students earn their terminal nursing degree is central to Mulkey’s role. He explained that earning a DNP empowers graduates to take on responsibilities beyond those of nurse practitioners. With this degree, nurses can move into clinical practice, administration, or academics; they are trained in advanced patient care and can prescribe medication in most states.
“We can impact patient outcomes,” Mulkey said. “The degree is clinically focused. It’s for nurses wanting to go back to school to learn (more about) practice and organizational change.”
He encourages his students to become agents of change within healthcare: “Change is going to start with them,” he said. “They can use their knowledge. They can use their skills to make those changes and improve the health care that we are delivering to patients and making sure that it’s the most evidence-based.”
Mulkey often works closely with students on their doctoral projects—the equivalent of dissertations—which must be evidence-based and sustainable after completion.
“It has to be based on evidence, well researched and well written,” he said. “They have to develop a plan to implement (their discovery) to sustain it once they’re done.”
One student nominated him for a Daisy Award due to his support outside class—a gesture that moved him deeply.
“I think the best thing that I like about teaching is just the different students that come through the program. They’re all at different walks of life,” Mulkey said. “They’re adult learners. They each bring different strengths to our program and the nursing community. Just getting to know each and every one of them, I get to meet so many different people.”
He values interacting with students nationwide: “Just because we’re all over the United States, I’m able to interact with these students and teach them and learn from them,” he said. “I think that’s another thing that I like about teaching is that I am learning, as well, and I’m learning from my students, and they’re learning from me.”
Mulkey credits his mentor early in his career with inspiring him toward education through simulation training experiences at colleges.
His faith shapes both his teaching philosophy and approach toward others: “That’s one of the great things about working at GCU is that we get to teach from a Christian worldview,” he said. “I think that that aligns, really, with the philosophy I mentioned earlier that nursing is a ministry.”
As a member of Nurses Christian Fellowship and contributing editor for Journal of Christian Nursing, Mulkey remains active professionally while balancing family life near Colorado’s Rocky Mountains.
“(That value) shapes how we treat one another, again, patients or students,” Mulkey said. “As a teacher, I try to have high expectations of my students but also to teach with grace as well.”
