CONFUSED about the DNP! Help!

OneNJen:

The 300+ graduate nursing programs in the US are examining this issue at their own campuses and at their own pace. You've heard the analogy about herding cats --- now imagine herding cats in 300+ corrals at the same time!

At my own institution with state-mandated budget cuts for the past 2 years (and likelihood of more cuts in 2010 and 2011), our faculty are not rushing into expanding program offerings. We've put one specialty MSN program on hiatus because of low enrollments. We're not in a position to launch a 10 new BSN-DNP program options while budgets are shrinking. As an indication of budget cutbacks, the local ADN program has eliminated 20 spaces in this year's class because of budget cuts from the Commonwealth.

I realize that this makes it tough for you and other BSN-prepared RNs to plan for what the post-2015 landscape in nursing education will look like. But I feel that Schools of Nursing across the country are now focusing on next semester and next year right now. There are 'bigger fish to fry' right now than the 2015 deadline.