Say that 3 times fast!After sending survey monkey out to my soon-to-be students for psych/mental health, I nearly pulled my hair out after reading some of the results to the question "If you plan to attend graduate school, what field of graduate study?" A number of people said "DNP" without naming an area and others answered things like "either CRNA or DNP" as though they had nothing to do with one another.
I had a talk with some of my current students in my clinical group for leadership, and received the same uncertainty when I asked them what the DNP was. My on-going explanation has been something like this:
The DNP is a clinical doctorate much like the MD, PharmD, DPT, DDS, etc - nursing is just the last one to the party. Instead of having a masters degree as the entry to advanced practice nursing, they are expanding the education and clinical experience to a doctoral level to be on par with our peers in other healthcare disciplines. Much as the MD signifies a type and level of education, it is useless without residency in specialization. Likewise, the DNP does not stand alone, but rather uses a core curriculum integrated with one of the four APRN foci: CNS, CNP, CNS, and/or CRNA. We are currently in transition as universities phase out the advanced practice MSN, states start creating grandfather clauses, and certification bodies start amending their requirements, but the goal is to have this streamlined and uniform by 2015.
Sounds good in my head, but I am not sure I am communicating the message. Thankfully, there are a host of people specialized in this sort of explanation and interpretive dance.
Understanding the Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP): Evolution, Perceived Benefits and Challenges
From the National Association of Neonatal Nurses - an excellent review of the why, what, where, and when of the DNP.
AACN Fact Sheet
Updated March 2010, this provides the current state of affairs on the profession. There is also a powerpoint presentation with greater detail.
APRN Consensus Model FAQ Sheet
This may be a bit off the point, but for folks who are trying to get into an MSN program and graduate before the 2015 deadline, the language used in here should give you pause. We here at OneDNP to take exception to item 5 on the grounds that multiple sets of initials makes one appear like they are trying to compensate for something
Sincerely,
Jaclyn Engelsher APRN, CPN, FNP-BC, PMHNP-BC, DNP (my anticipated 2012 credentials minus BSN, RN-BC, MSOM, CAc, DOM . . . hard to take that seriously, isn't it?)
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