Rant: DNP is a joke

I will open by saying, this is something that has been on my mind for a long time, and I just need to vent.

I'll keep it as concise as possible:

For those that don't know, a DNP project is not original research, its basically a project where you synthesize existing literature to create a recommendation in a niche area. It includes the actual research part, a dissemination, and a defense.

Are there benefits to learning how to sort through literature, evaluate it, and make a judgment call based on the merits of your research? Sure.

Should it take you six months to learn how to do this, and should it cost $30k?? I do not think so.

Do I think it benefits you as a clinician? Maybe.

Is the time vested worth the investment? I do not think so.

How do I think this time should be allocated in CRNA programs? I think there are major deficiencies in our clinical education. Here is how I would rather see us spend that time:

(1): MORE REGIONAL ANESTHESIA!!!!!! Send us to off-sites where we can actually learn how to do these procedures on people, not just work-shops.

(2): Give us pre-op clinic screening experience!!! I want to spend time out of the OR learning how to evaluate patients, and optimizing them for surgery.

(3): I want to learn how to manage patients in the PACU!!!

Here is my biggest issue, there is such a push for this "D" - NP, which means more reading, more writing, more research, and less time learning actual anesthesia. I think its great that our profession wants us to be involved in clinical policy, national policy, etc. etc. However, we need to be clinicians first, and I hate the idea of spending hundreds of hours on research at the expense clinical experience.

Screw the DNP if it means I have to lose out on clinical experience to learn how to write a paper. Give me a certificate and let me focus on becoming the best clinician I can be.

Rant over.