PhD vs DNP

rachaelofcourse · Aug 7, 2016

I recently finished a Masters in Nsg. Education and I am struggling with moving forward as I am not sure which is the best path. PhD in Education. or DNP , while there are DNP programs for those that are not FNP's its difficult to see how that is useful to me if I just want to teach. While I like being a nurse and my practice, I really have no interest at present in becoming an FNP and working. Some people seem to think you need both the PhD and DNP, very confusing.. Any thoughts?

My "Professional Issues in Nursing" book states that DNP is more for those who want to practice. If you want to teach, I would go PhD

HouTx, BSN, MSN, EdD · Aug 8, 2016

There's a third choice..... EdD. After investigating outcomes & curricula, I discovered that continuing in a nursing-centric degree was not the best choice for me. Nursing programs tend to maintain tight boundaries that give very little time/exposure to all of the vast amounts of information & research in the pure discipline of education. Some of it's pretty blatant - like continuously promoting Benner without attribution to Dreyfus & Dreyfus (underlying theory and model).

I found a doctoral program in "Allied Health Education Admin" - actually a joint program between a Med School & University (college of Education) that was more eclectic and had a major focus on the development of clinical reasoning/competency. It was focused upon the discipline of education, rather than research (PhD) or clinical practice (DNP). Learned a LOT... had great exposure to all aspects of healthcare education & a wonderful residency experience.

Take your time investigating... you're going to spend a lot more time on this degree than your MSN.

Hoyasaxa96 · Aug 11, 2016

Thank you for your response so I thought EdD was the PhD in Education? Thats really my dillema because I talked to someone in the EdD program at Univ of Phoenix and the focus was education and he was the only nurse class all the rest were teachers. I found 2 DNP programs with focus Nsg Education and my friend kallie said she invesigated them and was steered away from them since MSN eas in Nsg Ed. ? Just very confusing.

meanmaryjean, DNP, RN · Aug 13, 2016

My DNP is from Touro University Nevada. It's focus is Nursing Education Leadership- and it is tailored for nurses wanting to teach in academic (as opposed to staff development) roles. It does not require an advance practice role as a pre-requisite, and most of my cohort held an MSN in Education prior to enrollment. It is 100% online, and affordable.