DNP by 2015- official retraction?

elkpark · Jun 19, 2015

My immediate thought is that there is no official "retraction" because it was never a real thing. There's nothing to retract. It is still the AACN's position that they are recommending this, and they do word their position statements in a way that suggest to people who don't read v. critically and aren't familiar with how nursing "works" that what they say, goes. I would suggest that your students go to the state BON website and the websites of the professional organizations of the three APRN groups and look for documentation that any of them are going to be requiring a DNP (they won't find it).

SHGR, MSN, RN, CNS · Jun 19, 2015

Hi Elkpark, I see your point, but because there is so much information about this thing that was supposed to happen, and no official "well, I guess this never happened" from the AACN, that it seems to them that it did happen. Couple that with another faculty member who told them that DNP by 2015 IS true, and they are justifiably looking for proof from these official bodies, which I believe that we all, as a profession, deserve.

elkpark · Jun 19, 2015

I hear what you're saying, but what your students don't get is that the AACN has no control over the requirements for certification or licensure. The organizations that really matter (a lot more than the AACN) are the state BONs and the certifying organizations. Even if the AACN convinces (and "convince" is all they can do -- the AACN can't make anyone do anything; they can't even make their own members do things), every nursing program in the country to convert its MSN advanced programs into DNP programs, it's still not a requirement until the BON and certifying organizations require a DNP for licensure and certification. What counts are the BONs and certifying organizations, and their requirements. Can you make this into a "teachable moment" for your students about research and critical thinking? This is all important information about how nursing "works," and the relationships among all the various organizations within nursing, that they need to know. If the DNP were actually going to become a requirement in 2015, the BONs and certifying organizations would have been publicizing that heavily for several years now, and, yet, the silence is deafening.

meanmaryjean, DNP, RN · Jun 19, 2015

Great posts elkpark!

scottaprn · Jun 19, 2015

From the ANCC

25. Will the DNP be an eligibility requirement for advanced practice exams? (Updated 7-2012)
ANCC currently requires candidates to complete graduate work, which may include a master's, postgraduate certificate, or doctorate. While certification eligibility can change, ANCC has no plans to require a DNP at this time.

FAQ: Consensus Model for APRN Regulation

From the AANP:

Q. Will I be required to have a Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) degree by 2015 to be eligible to sit for the AANPCP National Certification Exam?
A:The current entry-level preparation for NP practice is a graduate degree in nursing. AANPCP will continue to offer certification as long as you have a master's degree, post-graduate (post-master's) certificate, or doctoral degree from an accredited NP program. Changing the entry-level terminal degree for advance practice nurses from a MSN to the DNP by the year 2015 has been under discussion for more than a decade. It is a recommendation, and not yet a mandate.

Bad Request

Killing this rumor is harder than killing off a zombie from a 1970s horror flick.

elkpark · Jun 19, 2015

Killing this rumor is harder than killing off a zombie from a 1970s horror flick.

Especially when, as we keep hearing on this board, there are misguided or misinformed faculty members"out there" telling students that it's true ...

NurseGirl525, ASN, RN · Jun 19, 2015

It's a complete rumor. Just like the rumor that it was going to be "law" nurses must have their BSN by 2016, now it's 2020. You know who starts these rumors? Schools. They make up these stories, inform their advisors, who give this misinformation to students, who spread it around as true.

schools do this for more money. There was never mandate, so there was nothing to retract. They may make recommendations, but that is probably as far as it will ever go.

Editorial Team / Admin · Jun 19, 2015

I equate this with the whole requirement for BSN by 2020- organizations can make all the recommendations they want, but the bottom line is it's the BON who regulates licensure. Sure, the job market may mean one degree makes it easier to find a job, but until the regulations change, there is nothing to officially state, let alone retract.

roser13, ASN, RN · Jun 19, 2015

It's impossible to disprove that which never existed.

Jules A, MSN · Jun 19, 2015

And I have been hearing that LPNs would be phased out back in the early 80s! I also know an undergraduate faculty member who was misinformed and told students the requirement would be DNP.

Jory, MSN, APRN, CNM · Jun 19, 2015

Hi all,
As we all know, there is no mandate for APRN's to have a DNP by 2015 (only the CRNA's even have an official date to transition to the DNP by 2025).
I am trying to find an official "proof" that there is no such mandate for the other three groups of APRN's. However, all the online material from the AACN on the matter is quite outdated. They don't seem to have posted a "whoops, this didn't really happen" unless I am missing it.
I have prelicensure students who are asking for an "official" word on the matter and the fact that MSN grads are still able to sit for NP and CNS certifications this year-- and be hired and legally working-- is unsufficient to counter their belief that this "mandate" actually happened.
Is there any official retraction?
sincerely,
SHGR

It was never a requirement it was a recommendation. The problem is the state boards of nursing have to require it and to my knowledge, none of them have made this change.

As long as your students are seeing MSN-NP programs at schools, that is an official of a word that your students need for now.

All educational programs are warned, far in advance, of any major changes like that because it doesn't mean much if they don't have a NP program that follows to state requirements.

I think the goal has now been pushed off to 2020, but I don't think this is anything your students need to stress over right now because the vast majority of the programs are still at the MSN level for initial licensure as an NP.