Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP): My Personal Pro’s and Con’s - Page 3

By the way, now there are not only combined MD/MPH programs. Now there are also combined MD/MBA programs.

I'm a new NP, received my Master's 3 months ago. I have no complaints about the clinical portion of my MSN program. But we would have been well-served with MORE than 700 clinical hours. I would love, and willingly pay for, a doctoral program that would provide me with additional didactic and clinical training in psychotherapy, neuroscience, and psychopharmacology. You know, USEFUL stuff that we're supposed to know.

Would the DNP provide those experiences? Absolutely not, because this clinical/practice doctorate is neither clinical nor practical.

I've looked at curricula from schools all across the U.S. I can't help but see the DNP, quite frankly, as an inferiority complex-driven grab for money and power that embodies everything that is WRONG with nursing education.

Forgive me if I'm overly cynical, but these wounds are too fresh. I've already yawned my way through more hours of health policy, systems, and research than I care to count. I've already witnessed the most egregious and childish stereotyping of minorities in the name of a semester of "cultural competency." I've already written far too many forty page papers on the history of dryer lint and the ethical concerns surrounding Florence Nightingale's lighting farts on fire with a match, formatted in APA format and referenced.

And they're telling me I have to do it AGAIN? NO. THANKS.

When AACN gets its act together, it can find me over here... actually taking care of patients. (Now there's a concept they've never heard of.)

I wish the lie of the DNP requirement would cease. This panic of being done with NP school by 2015 in order to avoid a change, is simply an unnecessary panic of something that, so far, isn't happening, and probably won't happen for years to come.

With all of the changes set to take place with the new healthcare laws being in place, and doctors threatening to leave private practice because of it, the need for APN's is going to grow exponentially, and currently supply will not be able to keep up with demand.

Where exactly are programs offering a doctoral level PA programs? The last I heard the PA profession has publically commented (through there national association) that they are strongly against a doctoral PA program. There are some bridge programs that give PAs some credit to a MD program. Just curious if they changed there stance.Also, most clinicians do not actually know how to read and critique research articles. Their skills end at reading the conclusion section and skipping the methods all together. Not disparaging clinicians, but most programs do not teach true evidence based practices. It isnt enough to just read a review article or take someone elses word. How many clinicians could truly critique research studies or even explain the appropriate uses of ANOVA, logistic regression, or chi square?

The army offers a DSc in PA studies that coincides with a EM or Ortho residency. Other branches have the residencies in place and are working to implement the DSc. This was done mainly to allow for promotion as you can get stuck in a rut if you only have a masters degree. The AAPA is still against a doctorate. There is only one bridge which is for PA to DO at LECOM that is 3 years. Not even much of a bridge and is equivalent to other 3 year programs direct towards primary care where they just cut out the summer off and a couple of electives.

As far as evidence based practice goes, both my NP and CRNA program went into plenty of detail on this. Problem is, no one cares or uses it so it becomes lost after graduation.

PA Doctorate Degree Resources on ADVANCE for NPs & PAs

All these differences in the levels of nursing just confuses me. Ugh! I thought the DNP was the "terminal degree" in nursing. What's the difference between the PhD and DNP? They aren't the same?

And why is it so complicated? An MD is either an MD or DO, not this and this and this.....why isn't nursing the same?

Well, of course they oppose it! They see that as a threat to their title of "Doctor." The person with the MD behind their name thinks that they are the only ones who have earned the right to be called "Doctor."

In some states, the NP does not need MD oversite. They can practice independantly, as well as have prescriptive authority. This has been a huge fight here where I live. The NP's have fought hard to be independant practitioners. The governor just signed a bill saying CRNA's finally do not need MD supervision. I know, of course, that the NP isn't the DNP, but the general idea of autonomy for APN's.

In fact, Epperly added, a DNP candidate completes only about 500 hours of additional training after receiving his or her master's degree. "That compares to about 9,000 to 15,000 hours of work that it takes a physician to become a primary care physician and a true doctor," he said.

This is incorrect. Only 500 hours after completion of the master's degree? Not according to Baylor's curiculum for their FNP:

Post MS Advanced Practice Nurse NM-DNP

And, granted, this is just an example of one program, it's probably similar to others.

I would consider the DNP if I could learn what I really feel I need to improve my practice: Extra courses in becoming proficient in reading x-rays, ultrasounds, CT scans, and MRIs, and additional work in subtleties of reading EKGs, etc. I DO NOT need any more theorist nonsense - I am aware of what I need. If there was a place where I could design my own doctorate program, I would probably do it.