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Frequently Asked Questions
What is a DNP degree?
DNP stands for Doctor of Nursing Practice. This is a clinical doctorate in keeping with the clinical doctorates offered in other health related fields such as medicine, dentistry, physical therapy, psychology, audiology, and occupational therapy.
Why seek a DNP degree?
The American Association of Colleges of Nursing (AACN) is a major voice in the establishment of quality standards for nursing in the United States. They have allied themselves with other national organizations (for example, the Institute of Medicine and National Academy of Sciences) who call for restructuring health professions education. These organizations see great benefit from educating advanced practice nurses for key clinical and leadership positions by developing a clinical doctorate in nursing. AACN has advocated the movement of education for advanced nursing practice into a clinical doctorate degree by 2015. Currently, AACN indicates that their nursing program accrediting body may no longer accredit master’s level advanced nursing practice programs beyond 2015.
What were the reasons for determining a need for a clinical doctorate in nursing as the basis for advanced nursing preparation rather than the master’s level?
There are a number of well documented stresses on both the health care systems in this country as well as stresses on the education of health care providers. Job expectations for nurses continue to increase as the population ages, in-patient acuity climbs, and the demand for quality community-based care escalates. Technology has dramatically changed information systems related to health care. Advanced nursing practice requires nurses who are savvy within extremely complex systems and who function well in an interdisciplinary, collaborative environment. As well, the nursing work force is expected to shrink over the next five to ten years as many of our most experienced nurses and educators retire resulting in a complex mixture of loss of talent with enticing possibilities for change by our up-and-coming leaders. Increased content in leadership, program planning, outcomes evaluation, collaboration, and systems design is needed in the preparation of our future leaders. Master’s degree programs in advanced nursing have continued to add courses to prepare nurses for these challenges. However, there is a limit to the number of courses appropriate to a master’s degree program. Nursing has begun to overstep that limit making a doctoral degree more educationally equivalent to the courses taken.
What is the expected impact on health care delivery?
Studies have clearly documented that health related outcomes improve as nurses’ educational qualifications increase. With the introduction of widely available DNP programs, the potential benefits to society include improved patient outcomes, an enhanced knowledge base, enhanced leadership potential, educational parity with other health related professionals, improved professional image, and an enhanced faculty pool.
Why are WSU and UT proposing to offer this degree?
Both WSU and UT have a long history of providing quality nursing education. Our current master’s level programs have outstanding reputations. However, we recognize that nursing is on the brink of a paradigm shift within this country. We wish to continue our tradition of being on the cutting edge of nursing education by providing our constituents with a well-planned, up-to-date program that meets the needs of our local communities as well as the needs of the nursing profession and of the health care delivery systems.
In order to examine the needs of our constituents, WSU and UT surveyed our alumni regarding interest in the DNP degree. Of those familiar with the DNP degree, 64% indicated interest in furthering their education. The great majority of those interested in the DNP degree indicated an interest in an on-line program with a part-time program design.
Why not obtain a PhD in nursing?
PhD programs in nursing serve a critical purpose in terms of preparing nurses to be researchers. Innovative research studies expand and provide the basis for our nursing knowledge. Nurse scientists are extremely necessary to provide leadership in innovative areas of research. However, many nurses have a strong clinical focus that tempers their desire to spend time creating, managing, and analyzing new areas of nursing knowledge. These nurses are more apt to want to apply the knowledge discovered by nurse scientists in innovative ways in the clinical setting. For these nurses, a clinically focused doctorate will assist them to directly impact practice by analyzing, designing, implementing, and evaluating a vast variety of evidence-based programs. Rather than examining a limited number of research variables, these nurses will examine the system to see how multiple variables impact the functioning of the system and the quality of the outcomes. Those who seek a DNP seek to be leaders in practice.
Contact Us
For additional information about the proposed DNP degree as it become available, please contact:
Bobbe Ann Gray, PhD, RNC
Associate Professor
Wright State University College of Nursing and Health
bobbe.gray@wright.edu
Jeri A. Milstead, PhD, RN, FAAN
Dean, College of Nursing
University of Toledo
jeri.milstead@utoledo.edu
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