NP and new requirements

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Has anyone else heard that as of 2015 you need a Phd to get your NP? I was planning on getting a masters because it could allow me to teach as well as give me the option of NP. Now that's no longer an option as I would not have my masters before 2015. The student loan debt to get a Phd not to mention the idea of a dissertation :/ makes me think its not worth it. How many others are turned off the idea of becoming an NP because of the new PhD requirements? I do like the idea of managing a patients care though from assisting with diagnosis to plan of care.

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Hello, I have heard of talk as far as changes for NP practice. But as far as I know these are recommendations for schools and for the future of nursing. If you are interested in making a change to practice as an NP I would still suggest you move forward. Also check with local nursing schools in your area. I have checked with Texas Tech, UTEP, and other universities as this was a major concern for me in applying to NP school. The recommendations were that schools prepare for the transition and look to offering doctoral degrees but it doesn't currently stop schools from having a masters program nor does it stop students from pursuing a masters degree to practice as an NP. If I successfully complete either of the programs above my graduation date won't be until after Fall of 2015 at the earliest and Summer 2016 at the latest. Both programs have assured me that it will not be a problem to practice as an NP after graduation. Sadly, I don't think the scope of practice for NP's is changing with the doctoral degree, so that will remain the same at this time. But I don't want to be the source of misinformation so you could also check with nursing organizations like TNA or ANA to clarify this information. Either way I think you would be safe to practice and pursue the education that you want.

I don't think that rule is set in stone as far as a complete shut down of masters NP's as of 2015. Otherwise you wouldn't have nursing schools admitting students now into a masters NP program knowing that they could not graduate and practice . Good luck

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Specializes in Internal Medicine.

Even the most basic of searches on this site will show you this question has been asked a bajillion times, and in all cases results in the asker of the question being told that this is a recommendation and not a requirement. The recommending party has no jurisdiction over each individual state nursing board, so even though there is a shift in making NP nurses DNP trained (not PhD), they have no way of actually enforcing their recommendation.

In fact, there has been some backlash lately since one of the benefits of NP's is it allows cost effective primary care providers in significantly less time then it takes to become an MD. By requiring a longer education and more cost put into school for the same scope of practice, you remove some of that benefit.

Either way, there is no requirement. The End.

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Im sorry I didn't search for the question on the site. I'm new to the site sorry. I didn't realize it was taboo to ask a previously asked question sorry for wasting your time in future if I ask a ? Already asked feel free to not reply thanks. There is very little Tolerance in this web page I'm finding :/

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Hello I have heard of talk as far as changes for NP practice. But as far as I know these are recommendations for schools and for the future of nursing. If you are interested in making a change to practice as an NP I would still suggest you move forward. Also check with local nursing schools in your area. I have checked with Texas Tech, UTEP, and other universities as this was a major concern for me in applying to NP school. The recommendations were that schools prepare for the transition and look to offering doctoral degrees but it doesn't currently stop schools from having a masters program nor does it stop students from pursuing a masters degree to practice as an NP. If I successfully complete either of the programs above my graduation date won't be until after Fall of 2015 at the earliest and Summer 2016 at the latest. Both programs have assured me that it will not be a problem to practice as an NP after graduation. Sadly, I don't think the scope of practice for NP's is changing with the doctoral degree, so that will remain the same at this time. But I don't want to be the source of misinformation so you could also check with nursing organizations like TNA or ANA to clarify this information. Either way I think you would be safe to practice and pursue the education that you want. I don't think that rule is set in stone as far as a complete shut down of masters NP's as of 2015. Otherwise you wouldn't have nursing schools admitting students now into a masters NP program knowing that they could not graduate and practice . Good luck[/quote'] Thank you that makes sense when I was in school it was our instructors saying that by 2015 u needed the doctoral degree because of insurance and billing reasons. I didn't fully understand it then either thank you.
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Specializes in critical care.
Im sorry I didn't search for the question on the site. I'm new to the site sorry. I didn't realize it was taboo to ask a previously asked question sorry for wasting your time in future if I ask a ? Already asked feel free to not reply thanks. There is very little Tolerance in this web page I'm finding :/

Wow - this person you are responding to simply made a suggestion to see what others are saying about it since it has been discussed in many other contexts. You might not have considered looking it up, and their suggestion was encouraging you to do that. They also took the time to explain the politics of it, since that is the driving force behind the "rumor" of DNP in 2015. Not only was their response tolerant, it was insightful. Please take a moment to reread it.

Also, I recommend contacting your state's BON. This will be the most direct route to get answers as they are the ones who ultimately make this decision. I did that in Maryland over the summer, since the University of Maryland system has converted most, if not all, of their nursing programs to DNP and I wanted to know how much time I had left before those of us who will be between degrees would be forced to pooh or get off the pot. As of that time, they hadn't even begun to consider requiring a DNP for entry level of practice. Gives me peace of mind that I don't have to immediately go for my masters when I graduate in May. I'd love to go straight through to DNP, but with kids, I need to do baby steps with breaks in between. Four more years of school just isn't practical for my circumstances.

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Specializes in Internal Medicine.
Im sorry I didn't search for the question on the site. I'm new to the site sorry. I didn't realize it was taboo to ask a previously asked question sorry for wasting your time in future if I ask a ? Already asked feel free to not reply thanks. There is very little Tolerance in this web page I'm finding :/

I apologize if I offended you but that was not my intent. There is a large search engine at the top of the site, and in many cases, most topics, especially the one you started, have been discussed on numerous occasions at incredible length. The only lack of tolerance is yours, with your attitude towards those that are trying to be helpful. Not only did I explain that you could conduct your own research on this very site, I still took the time to answer your question. Please grow up.

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I apologize if I offended you but that was not my intent. There is a large search engine at the top of the site and in many cases, most topics, especially the one you started, have been discussed on numerous occasions at incredible length. The only lack of tolerance is yours, with your attitude towards those that are trying to be helpful. Not only did I explain that you could conduct your own research on this very site, I still took the time to answer your question. Please grow up.[/quote'] I immediately felt the vibe of annoyance from your post as well. I understand exactly why the OP felt you were giving her an attitude with your reply. If you weren't, I think you can explain that without telling someone to grow up. This site is getting out of control with the rude, intolerant posts. Maybe your words such as a SIMPLE search that has been discussed a BAJILLION times contributed to the OP interpreting it this way, implying that she must be idiotic to not have been able to come across this question on her own.
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Thank you that makes sense when I was in school it was our instructors saying that by 2015 u needed the doctoral degree because of insurance and billing reasons. I didn't fully understand it then either thank you.
welcome to the site, NurseNanci. As far as I'm aware, this is simply a recommendation that NPs be prepared at the doctoral level by 2015. This is not set in stone and many Master's programs have not even transitioned over to offering DNPs yet. Hard to say if it will actually happen in the future.
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Specializes in Internal Medicine.

I humbly apologize and my intent was never to insult. That said, the search function is very simple and dead smack at the top of the site. Using it does reveal that on numerous occasions this topic has been disccused from many aspects and all points of view for the last couple of years. Before I ask a question, to ensure that it isn't redundant, I do my research. If I were annoyed or even intolerant I wouldn't have taken the time to answer and explain the growing views on the DNP recommendation. I told the OP to grow up because they responded to my reply with an immature post that added nothing to the topic. Even if my post was perceived as rude to them, or you, or anyone else, it still added useful information to her original post and directly answered the questions.

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I was concerned as well because current and future students ARE still being told that the DNP is a requirement in 2015. I called an advisor with the ANCC (the organization that made the recommendation) last week and was told it's the wave of the future but at this point it's only a rec, not a req. If for some reason I would let my NNP lapse or move to another state after being grandfathered in, then, yes, I would need the DNP to reapply. But I don't plan on doing that so onward and upward - I'm still applying and will (hopefully!) complete my MSN-NNP. Plus - they've been wanting a BSN to be the basic standard for years and that's going nowhere so I don't know how PhD programs could even find enough teachers for this requirement.

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Specializes in Internal Medicine.

Exactly rnkaytree. In order to make this a requirement they would have to get all 50 boards of nursing plus DC to sign off on it. As it is right now with the growing shortage in primary care and the ACA taking effect, the last thing a state wants to do is create another barrier for care providers.

Your observations about the BSN standard are also spot on. While I imagine at some point within the next 20 years most NP/CRNA programs will be DNP programs, it won't be because they were legally forced to, it will be because it has already been the emerging trend.

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