Masters Vs DNP

As others have said, there is no requirement that NP's and other advanced practice nurses have doctorates (except for anesthesia). However, the trend is toward doctoral education for all nurses in advanced practice roles.

Therefore ... if you are planning for a long term career as an NP ... it would be wise to go ahead and get the additional education. That way, you'll have it if you need it and won't need to go back to school later to stay competitive in the job market. If you don't ever actually need it, well, the extra education won't hurt you. It will still give you an advantage and open up additional job possibilities for you down the road.

If you have the ability to get the DNP, it makes little sense not to get it now while you can.

For Nurse Practitioners the DNP is just a recommendation by the ANCC. It is no mandatory by any state including Nebraska. However if what you wish to study is anesthesia the AANA has made the doctorate degree a requirements by 2015 for all states. Hope this helps.

(The target date set by the CRNAs is actually 2025, not 2015. And that is a target; it remains to be seen whether it actually happens.)

For Nurse Practitioners the DNP is just a recommendation by the ANCC. It is no mandatory by any state including Nebraska. However if what you wish to study is anesthesia the AANA has made the doctorate degree a requirements by 2015 for all states. Hope this helps.

Not sure if ANCC is involved in this. I know AACN is. The letters do get confusing.

(The target date set by the CRNAs is actually 2025, not 2015. And that is a target; it remains to be seen whether it actually happens.)

2025 is the requirement date for new CRNAs, and that hasn't been questioned for a while now, with most CRNA schools making the switch to DNP/DNAP well before 2025. 28 out of 113 CRNA programs are already accredited to offer a Doctorate. CRNA School Search It takes about 2 years to complete the credentialing process with the COA before a NA school can start offering a DNP/DNAP.

It is 2015, here's the link:

http://www.aacn.nche.edu/dnp/faqs

So does anyone else think that this shift from Masters to DNP's is a little out of whack? Funny this should come up in the newsletter because I was just randomly looking at Univ. of Maryland's graduate programs and they've now moved all of their advanced practice degrees to DNP.

I'm just a lowly student starting RN clinicals this Spring, so I'm a long way off, but this doesn't make a lot of sense to me for a number of reasons. The argument being made is that nurses work with other professionals that require doctoral level education (i.e. physicians, pharmacists, physical therapists, etc.), and therefore nurses are not up-to-snuff. With the exception of physical therapists, however, nurse practitioners are not getting paid nearly the amount as the other professionals and those with doctorates will still get paid the same amount as those with Masters. There's no evidence that care provided by nurses with doctorates is any better than those with a Masters degree.

Also, it just seems to add confusion to an already confusing system. An NP with a DNP wants to be called 'doctor', but so does the physician.

Here is a good article calling some of this into question as well: http://www.nytimes.com/2011/10/02/health/policy/02docs.html?pagewanted=all

The move to a Doctorate level education isn't because of degree matching with other professions. It is often used as an example to show that other professions are moving in that same direction.

How is a nurse introducing themselves as, "I am Dr. X your Nurse" that confusing. Most the nurses I know with Doctorates, including myself, don't even use the title Doctor unless it is in formal correspondence or academia. A lot of nurses still prefer to use our first names when dealing with patients no matter our degree or APRN title. I think using our first name helps us quickly build a personal rapport with patients.

[h=4]"WHY MOVE TO THE DNP?[/h]

• The changing demands of this nation's complex healthcare environment require the highest level of scientific knowledge and practice expertise to assure quality patient outcomes. The Institute of Medicine, Joint Commission, Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, and other authorities have called for reconceptualizing educational programs that prepare today’s health professionals.
  
• Some of the many factors building momentum for change in nursing education at the graduate level include: the rapid expansion of knowledge underlying practice; increased complexity of patient care; national concerns about the quality of care and patient safety; shortages of nursing personnel which demands a higher level of preparation for leaders who can design and assess care; shortages of doctorally-prepared nursing faculty; and increasing educational expectations for the preparation of other members of the healthcare team.
  
• In a 2005 report titled Advancing the Nation's Health Needs: NIH Research Training Programs, the National Academy of Sciences called for nursing to develop a non-research clinical doctorate to prepare expert practitioners who can also serve as clinical faculty. AACN's work to advance the DNP is consistent with this call to action.
  
• Nursing is moving in the direction of other health professions in the transition to the DNP. Medicine (MD), Dentistry (DDS), Pharmacy (PharmD), Psychology (PsyD), Physical Therapy (DPT), and Audiology (AudD) all offer practice doctorates."
  
• http://www.aacn.nche.edu/media-relations/fact-sheets/dnp