Anyone Going for DNP now or Later??

i finished my ms course in the medical surgical nursing about 7 years ago. i am very interested to dnp but in my country (iran) there is only phd of nursing. for this reason, i wait 7 year and maybe some years later for coming dnp to iran. as i heard about dnp, it is more clinical than phd which is completely theoritical (as doctors says: phd of nursing is a person with disk that have some paper on the disk).
because of lack of dnp in iran, i have not complete vision on it. however i hope that, this topic let me know more about dnp.
dear nicolein , thank you for your great post.

I have my MSN (nurse practitioner) and had the option of attending a school that offered an MSN or going to a school where I could get a DNP. I chose to do it in two steps because I wanted to limit the time it took to complete the NP and begin practicing. I will get a DNP or PhD sometime in the near future, but when I decided which path to take my entry to practice was shorter with an MSN followed by a DNP. For me, it will be less expensive, as well.

I plan on starting a blended FNP to DNP next fall, 2013. I am so excited. I will be able to practice after I complete my 2 years of FNP full time schooling and of course pass the licensing exam, then continue on to the DNP, I believe it's an additional 1-2 years more. I have an appointment to speak with someone in charge of the program at a local University. I'm both excited and nervous at the same time. When do you plan on going back to school?

I recently graduated with my MSN-Neuro and intend to begin my DNP program next spring(fingers crossed). I feel you can never be prepared for what employers may begin requesting in the near future. Not to mention, to have autonomy in New York you must have a PhD(DNP), MSNs do not hold the same weight as in other parts of the country. Welcome to the world of the overly educated and under paid( my opinion).

Right now I would say No. I can't speak for the future though. I always wanted my MSN, however I never thought of a doctorate degree. I am the kind of person that will take one day at a time and baby steps. I want to complete my MSN and enjoy having a life again. Then in another couple of years I may be ready and willing to go back. I want to begin my career as a CNS and get comfortable with the APN role before stepping a foot further into academics . However I need to have a plan. What would I do with a DNP? Better yet, "What would my project be about?" Maybe when I can answer myself some of these questions I may go back.

You are correct. I have been thinking of moving out of Neurology(staff nursing still). But, it seems the only jobs that are hiring NP-MSNs around here are Public/employee health. I would prefer to maintain my position in neurology, but it's looking grim right now. But, if you are planning on moving back to NY, emergency medicine is the way to go.

I plan to get a DNP too in the future. I am not interested in receiving an MSN-NP alone. However, I am waiting for two things to occur: 1.) To have enough money to care for my family while attending a program and 2.) The job market to improve so I do not educate myself out of a good paying nursing job. At this time, where I live there are plenty of out-of-work Doctorate prepared individuals with work experience and sadly nursing is no exception.

Besides improving your nursing skills/knowledge and making you look better when getting jobs etc are there any other additional benefits to getting a DNP? Would it make much difference from just having a masters?