Grandfather clause for DNP?

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I was reading an article about the U of Utah starting a DNP program here and it stated that: "Current nurse practitioners, nurse anesthetists, clinical nurse specialists and nurse midwives, who all hold advanced nurse-practice degrees, would be grandfathered in."

Is this correct? What is the state of the union with regard to grandfathering current APNs into a DNP?

Thanks to all those who respond...

The thing that I find frustrating about these DNP programs is that there seems to be very little or no acknowledgement of prior NP experience as an MSN if one were to return to get their DNP. What I mean is, why would an MSN-NP who has been practicing full-time for two or more years (just an example) have to accrue the same required amount of clinical hours as the DNP students who entered as BSNs? To me, that is not very encouraging to the experienced MSN grads who would be very willing to go back and get the DNP degree if the required clinical hours were waived or if actual on-the-job "paid" hours were viewed as an acceptable alternate.

Until the schools start recognizing NP work experience as acceptable clinical hour requirements, it would be very difficult for me personally to return for the DNP.

I guess I don't understand who makes this mandatory. Is it the American Nurse's Association or the individual states? I know that a NP must have a minimum of a MSN before becoming licensed to practice advanced nursing in my state. If someone from out of state with less than a MSN, but certified as a NP moves here, they're unable to get licensed as an advanced practice nurse.

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Specializes in Emergency, Cardiac, PAT/SPU, Urgent Care.
I guess I don't understand who makes this mandatory. Is it the American Nurse's Association or the individual states? I know that a NP must have a minimum of a MSN before becoming licensed to practice advanced nursing in my state. If someone from out of state with less than a MSN, but certified as a NP moves here, they're unable to get licensed as an advanced practice nurse.

Yeah, I really don't know. I believe it's at the state level, also, because I do believe (though I'm not positive) there are still some states that don't even require you to sit for a certification exam in order to become an NP (I know mine made it mandatory within the last decade). I imagine it would be the individual state boards that would decide what the minimum degree requirement should be, so you might get some states that keep the MSN as the minimum requirement for a while because there are only one or two local programs in the state that offer the DNP; while others are completely saturated even now with dnp programs.

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Specializes in Emergency, Cardiac, PAT/SPU, Urgent Care.

I think what is going to wind up being the deciding factor will be the certifying agencies such as ANCC or AANP who will set the minimum educational requirement in order to sit for certification like they do now with the MSN requirement. Then, if the state requires a national NP certification, the candidate will have to have the DNP in order to apply.

Here's an interesting article on the topic:

http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/589229

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Specializes in Emergency, Cardiac, PAT/SPU, Urgent Care.

Interestingly enough, and maybe I missed it because I just skimmed through it, the article did not state that eventually the DNP will be the degree required in order to become an NP or to sit for certification.

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one of my teachers was on the national committee to get dnp as entry level and my impression was that it is for ego, money, and prestige. she said nps would have more credibility, would hold more management positions, and would eventually get pay equal to that of mds. of note: she made no mention of better care for pts.

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I seriously doubt that dnp's will be reimbursed at any higher rate than msn prepared np's. DNPs don't have the same level of knowledge or understanding as that of a physician's. I also couldn't see them getting paid anymore either because they're not capable of doing anything that a msn prepared np can do with regard to patient care. The dnp may know more theory, research and statistics but there's nothing in the programs that clinically separate them from the msn's already practicing.

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Specializes in Consultation Liaison Psychiatry.

DNP's don't even have more direct care experience than do MSN/NP's. I cannot imagine why they would expect to receive salaries equal or similar to those of physicians.

I am proud of the work that I do as an NP, but I do not pretend that my knowledge is equal to a physician's.

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Question for all you well-informed nurses!

I currently hold a BSN and am accepted into an MSN program in Ohio that I could start anytime however for personal reasons I want to move to Colorado and was hoping to get into an MSN program in Denver that probably wouldnt start til 2012. I'm afraid this might be cutting it close for this possible/probable 2015 DNP change and I reeeeally want to get the MSN done before this change. Should I stay in boring Ohio and start the program here ASAP or do you think the timing would still be OK if I wait and start school in Denver in 2012. Ugh! Decisions, decisions.

Bunches of thanks!

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Specializes in ACNP-BC, Adult Critical Care, Cardiology.
Question for all you well-informed nurses!

I currently hold a BSN and am accepted into an MSN program in Ohio that I could start anytime however for personal reasons I want to move to Colorado and was hoping to get into an MSN program in Denver that probably wouldnt start til 2012. I'm afraid this might be cutting it close for this possible/probable 2015 DNP change and I reeeeally want to get the MSN done before this change. Should I stay in boring Ohio and start the program here ASAP or do you think the timing would still be OK if I wait and start school in Denver in 2012. Ugh! Decisions, decisions.

Bunches of thanks!

First off, there is still no formal mandate that all NP programs switch to DNP in 2015.

However, the present reality is dnp programs have been established across a significant number of nursing schools in the US and there are also many programs that are in the development phase at the time of this writing. Currently, DNP programs come in 2 categories: those that admit students both as post-MSN and post-BSN, and those that only admit students as post-MSN. The former type is gaining ground in some parts of the US but still not enough to constitute a majority. While the 2015 deadline may note be carved in stone at the present, things could change in the future to a point when many schools who have already established a DNP program would switch to an all DNP program instead of keeping both MSN and DNP. But this is a completely hypthetical situation at the present.

With that said, I would say that regardless of whether a formal mandate for the DNP is announced between now and the months preceding the year 2015, you still have to live in the present and make a decision on whether you can afford to wait and be in a situation wherein the probability of having very few to no remaining MSN programs are available could happen...or you could get your MSN now and forget about what could happen in the future. It's a risk and a gamble only you can figure out.

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