FNP to DNP, really?

zmansc, ASN, RN · Apr 30, 2014

Most post grad programs I'm familiar with seem to require a DNP or PhD to teach in them. I have seen some faculty who are still working on their doctoral level degrees, but they are being used as adjunct until they complete that degree.

The ADN programs I've seen are requiring at minimum a MSN degree. Again they have a select few faculty who have a BSN and are almost done with their MSN degrees that they allow to teach in the program, but the goal seems to be at a minimum a MSN degree to teach.

I'm not particularly familiar with BSN programs, so I don't have first hand knowledge of what they want for their faculty, but I would presume it would also be a minimum of a MSN and preferably a doctoral level education.

So, I would guess if the program that asked you to teach doesn't already require the advanced degree, you might be asked to start working on it once you join the faculty. The good thing about that is many schools will pay your costs for the advanced degree so they can have a faculty that is all doctoral prepared!

newFNP2015 · May 21, 2014

I think it depends on the institution and the degree of which you would like to teach. I was under the impression that you generally have to obtain one degree higher than what you want to teach (i.e. BSN to teach ADN, MSN to teach BSN, etc.) for most non-tenured positions.

Many adjunct or clinical faculty in my FNP program are MSNs that have working experience and are therefore teaching, but not course coordinators. For tenured positions, they are required to obtain their DNP or at least be in progress with a certain amount of hours already completed.

eRiNn88 · Jul 21, 2014

An FNP is a masters prepared nurse and I have been taught at my BSN program by a variety of degree prepared nurses. Although many of them were adjunct professors working towards their doctorate or masters. Many programs allow BSNs or ADNs to rotate with clinical groups after having two years experience as a registered nurse. You can also gauge degree requirements by checking out faculty credentials at a particular institution. I'm in my Masters with a focus on nursing education and all my instructors are doctorate prepared. The only legitimate education certificate that I know of is the CNE (certified nurse educator) that is available to Masters level prepared nurses.

Riburn3, BSN, MSN, APRN, NP · Jul 21, 2014

At this point the DNP seems to be a path for those who simply want a terminal degree, or for those with long term academia aspirations. I personally wouldn't mind having one, but it would largely be for personal satisfaction.

One issue is there isn't any research that indicates that a DNP improves clinical outcomes. Even if they can prove it does improve outcomes, are they good enough improvements to justify the increased cost and delay of providers to the market?

One argument in favor of NPs is we provide quality care equal to that of a physician, we cost less to train, and we enter the market sooner. The DNP delays those benefits.

The DNP is fairly new, so I'm sure in the coming years we will see more research directed at the quality of the degree compared to both MSN-NPs and physicians.

PG2018 · Jul 22, 2014

I am becoming incresingly interested in academic careers, sans clinical precepting, and the DNP seems to be the right flavor of doctorate for me to go there. Unfortunately, I'm not that jazzed up about the classes that would be required beyond the MSN.

NerdDoc · Jul 23, 2014

I'm about to head into my last didactic semester of my BSN-to-DNP program and I have to agree with a lot of the comments here. I've found that my program is trying to create a really well-rounded FNP AND an expert in dissemination of evidence all in 8 semesters (2 of which are summer semesters). I feel like the skill set of my cohort is all over the board. Some tend to be really good with nursing theory, but are very weak clinically. Others are strong clinically and very weak when it comes to the theory side. I agree that the DNP might be useful for someone who's an NP and wants to either teach or transition into more of a leadership role, but it's been my experience that it doesn't really add much to clinical expertise - if anything, I think we've been prepared poorly in relation to our "3 P's" at the expense of delving into evidence-based practice too heavily too soon.

I'll also add that it sounds like there's still a debate about tenure with the DNP, since tenure (at least at my university) pertains to research contribution. The whole point of the DNP, I feel, is to stay out of research and focus more on incorporating new evidence into existing practice. Until that debate's done, tenure may not be an option for DNP faculty.