Requirments for graduate nursing increasing?

mjvarno · Jan 13, 2009

Yes, actually in my state (WA) The public universities are only offering a Masters in Public Health and Psych nursing. Everything else you need a PhD to be a NP. They also said that the rest of the country was going to follow suit by 2012. So if you can find a Masters NP program go for it now.

OC85 · Jan 13, 2009

...that makes me kind of sad. NP is something I was seriously considering as a final goal, but there's no way I'm going to make it by 2012. Almost every single person I know who has a Doctorate tells me the same thing: "If you can get by with a Masters, then consider yourself lucky. Getting my Doctorate was an absolute nightmare, and I'm not even sure if it was really worth it. Worst. years. of my life."

Not to mention the cost..... :crying2:

Skeletor · Jan 13, 2009

AACN Proposes Doctorate Degrees for Nurse Practitioners

By Debra Wood, RN, contributor

In a bold move, the American Association of Colleges of Nursing plans to reshape advanced practice nursing by advocating a doctorate as an educational entry requirement for nurse practitioners, clinical nurse specialists, nurse midwives and nurse anesthetists.

“This position statement is a major step towards fulfilling a future vision for nursing education with a goal of enhancing the capacity for professional nurses to provide high-quality, patient-centered care,” said Geraldine Bednash, RN, FAAN, Ph.D., executive director of the American Association of Colleges of Nursing (AACN). “This is all about patient care and the complexities of today’s and the future’s health care system.”

AACN will lead in the development of a road map to achieve its goal to increase the educational requirement from a master’s degree to a doctor of nursing practice degree by 2015.

“What their thinking of is, it creates a better playing field for nurse practitioners to be doctors, just like physicians, pharmacists, podiatrists and optometrists,” said Jan Towers, NP-C, CRNP, FAANP, Ph.D.,a family nurse practitioner and director of health policy for the American Academy of Nurse Practitioners (AANP), which has not adopted a formal academy position on the plan.

Towers thinks the proposed practice doctorate requirement has merit, because many nurses seeking master’s degrees are completing doctoral-level work, yet not graduating with the terminal degree. AACN research found that many NP programs now exceed 60 credits and take more than three years to complete.

“They’re packing so much into these programs, they might as well be doctoral programs,” Towers said. “What is expected of our master’s students is essentially the same as a lot of doctoral programs.”

Karen Peddicord, RN-C, Ph.D., director of research, education and publications for the Association of Women’s Health, Obstetric and Neonatal Nurses (AWHONN), agreed.

“The knowledge base required for these positions continues to expand, so the credit allocation continues to expand beyond what you would typically see in a master’s program,” Peddicord said. “I think that was one of the primary reasons they moved to propose this practice doctorate.”

AWHONN has not established a formal position on the plan. Peddicord said one of the factors AWHONN will grapple with is the additional expense associated with a doctoral degree.

“I think it could deter some people on the basis of cost,” Peddicord said. “On the other hand, there may be others more motivated, because it’s a better allocation of credits and workload.”

Patricia Starck, DSN, RN, FAAN, dean of the University of Texas School of Nursing at Houston, has noted much early interest in practice-doctorate programs from potential students and physicians ready to add graduates to their practices. She thinks the practice doctorate is a good idea, with health care becoming more complex and a pending physician shortage.

“We are going to need more advanced practice nurses to do various things in this health care system that will require higher level skills and require them to go from one setting to another setting,” said Starck, who envisions doctorally prepared nurses will follow patients across the continuum of care.

The practice doctorate would differ from a research-focused doctor of philosophy degree in that it would emphasize clinical practice, leadership and health policy. It would likely include a residency requirement.

A few universities currently offer practice-focused doctorates, and several more have expressed interest. The Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education has agreed to initiate a process for accrediting practice doctorate programs.

Gwen Sherwood, Ph.D., RN, FAAN, professor and executive associate dean at the University of Texas School of Nursing at Houston, added that the international community has become quite excited about the plan.

“I think it will catch on around the world, particularly in countries like England and Australia,” Sherwood said. “Traditional nurse practitioner preparation, which is only now catching on globally, will quickly transition to the doctorate of nursing practice model. I do expect to see a lot of movement globally.”

Many advanced practice nursing organizations in the United States have not adopted formal positions about the practice doctorate, including the National Association of Pediatric Nurse Practitioners (NAPNAP), which will fully evaluate the proposal’s affect on its members and children’s health.

“NAPNAP continues to monitor developments regarding the practice doctorate and is working to inform and engage our membership about these developments,” said Ric Ricciardi, MSN, RN, CPNP, president of NAPNAP.

Susan Wysocki, RNC, NP, president and chief executive officer of the National Association of Nurse Practitioners in Women's Health (NPWH), has some reservations about the plan and questions what problems switching to a practice doctorate will remedy.

“I don’t see in the document anything that suggests the current expertise among nurse practitioners if somehow deficient,” Wysocki said.

Wysocki said another issue AACN will need to address is employability and whether employers truly want doctorate-prepared nurses. The AACN position statement said a market analysis by the University of Kentucky College of Nursing showed that acute-care, long-term care and public-health employers in that state were interested in hiring nurses with a doctoral preparation.

NPWH also will formally ask AACN if it foresees a doctorate leading to greater practice independence and increased reimbursement rates. Wysocki wonders if the additional investment, in time and money, will offer an appropriate payback.

AACN created two task forces with members from large and small nursing schools to assist with the transition and consider such concerns. It charged one task force with developing an outline of basic competencies essential for practice doctorate programs.

The second task force will address issues related to implementing the switch from master’s to doctorate preparation. It will consider how to provide bridge programs for nurses with master’s degrees to continue their education and obtain a practice doctorate. It also will examine licensure, certification and reimbursement issues.

“One thing we will have to do is protect all of the people who have master’s degrees,” Towers said.

Wysocki also expressed concern about master’s prepared nurses already in practice. Nurse practitioner education began as a certificate program. Wysocki said certificate-prepared nurse practitioners who did not upgrade their education experienced reimbursement difficulties that led to their losing their jobs or an inability to practice in the same positions.

AACN President Jean E. Bartels acknowledges that transiting to the new educational level will require careful planning and a collaborative effort, something the association is prepared to facilitate.

“Nursing education has a unique opportunity here to rally around a shared vision for the future and work together to move the profession forward,” Bartels concluded in a written statement.

Skeletor · Jan 13, 2009

AACN will lead in the development of a road map to achieve its goal to increase the educational requirement from a master’s degree to a doctor of nursing practice degree by 2015.......

czyja, MSN, RN · Jan 13, 2009

Yes, actually in my state (WA) The public universities are only offering a Masters in Public Health and Psych nursing. Everything else you need a PhD to be a NP.

Errr, not exactly.

According to their website (and a friend who goes there) the U Washington SON offers both a Master of Nursing (MN) and Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) at this time (along with the combined MN/MPH you mentioned above). In 2011 the Nurse Practitioner and Nurse Midwife specialties will be DNP programs only.

A DNP is rather different than a PhD. The DNP is a professional degree, whereas the PhD is an academic degree. DNP curricula at UW and other universities focus on coursework and practica, whereas PhD programs center around research. Basically one might think of the DNP as a "taught" degree like a JD (law), DSW (social work), DEd (education) or MD (medicine) that prepares a person for a profession. A PhD is a "research" degree that prepares a person for academic work. No one is suggesting that Nurse Practitioners be required to have a PhD.

These changes should cause not one to fret, not reconsider going into advance practice nursing. Current NPs will not need to go back to school, and folks in Masters programs at this time (eg yours truly) will still be able to get their license. Increasing the educational requirements for entry will only increase the prestige of the profession.

Getting a job may be another matter. As time goes on I reckon it will be harder to get a nurse practitioner position without a DNP. But Masters prepared nurse practioners can and do go on to get their DNP degree without too much pain.

nurse32 · Jan 13, 2009

The requirements to be hired as an RN is changing very fast. When I started nursing school in 2005 I was told how bad the nursing shortage is and how much I will be needed. Does not matter that my GPA is 3.76 or that I received an award from a major hospital "For excellence in the theory and practice of nursing". The problem is that I graduated with an A.S. in nursing. NOT GOOD ANYMORE! :banghead:

Yes, I was told that it will take a few years for nurses to HAVE to have bachelors to graduate, but hospitals want to get ahead of the times.

To sum it all up:

Those of you that plan to attend a masters nursing program should rethink it. True, you might graduate as a nurse practitioner and work VERY hard, but getting hired will be a different story!

:confused:

Skeletor · Jan 13, 2009

The requirements to be hired as an RN is changing very fast.
Yes, I was told that it will take a few years for nurses to HAVE to have bachelors to graduate, but hospitals want to get ahead of the times.

Very true in my region as well. :scrying: Initial entry for R.N. is either BSN-preferred or BSN-required in the majority of area hospitals.

fiveofpeep · Jan 13, 2009

I used to want to be a CRNA until I realized how much I love love love bedside nursing, but during my research on Allnurses, I noticed this topic alot and many people posed the argument that with such a huge shortage of CRNAs and aging population of CRNAs combined with their cost effectiveness in this economy, tacking an extra 2 years onto their education is hard to bring to fruition. [this was the longest sentence ever]

I have heard the same argument for BSN only RN programs and also the difficulty of transitioning the mostly ADN schools to BSN.

FLmomof5 · Jan 13, 2009

OK....take a deep breath....inhale....exhale....feel better?

When my sister was in her BSN program in 1980 (yes, nearly 30 years ago!), the hoopla was all about how RN training schools (3yr programs) were going to be phased out and all RNs were going to be required to have BSNs. My mother became so concerned that she went back to school to finish her bachelors....and she had been in nursing since 1957!

So it is 2009....and an ASN will STILL get you an RN.

Honestly, this kinda hoopla comes and goes in so many fields.... at one point folks tried to make Paralegal a Masters. (You can still get this with a couple of years of schooling.) The whole point is really NOT the "need for training" to perform....but the higher the requirements....the fewer that will have completed the degree....the more money that will be paid to those WITH the higher degrees.

I would not freak out about this kind of stuff....deal with it ONLY IF it ever actually happens.

nurse32 · Jan 13, 2009

OK....take a deep breath....inhale....exhale....feel better?
When my sister was in her BSN program in 1980 (yes, nearly 30 years ago!), the hoopla was all about how RN training schools (3yr programs) were going to be phased out and all RNs were going to be required to have BSNs. My mother became so concerned that she went back to school to finish her bachelors....and she had been in nursing since 1957!
So it is 2009....and an ASN will STILL get you an RN.
Honestly, this kinda hoopla comes and goes in so many fields.... at one point folks tried to make Paralegal a Masters. (You can still get this with a couple of years of schooling.) The whole point is really NOT the "need for training" to perform....but the higher the requirements....the fewer that will have completed the degree....the more money that will be paid to those WITH the higher degrees.
I would not freak out about this kind of stuff....deal with it ONLY IF it ever actually happens.

Well, it IS already happening as I still have trouble finding a position after earning my license in September. I have applied to EVERY hospital in my region (NY) within 1 1/2 hour commute and every nursing home within 1/2 hour commute (there are many) and the response is always that I need a bachelors or at least a full year of experience in a hospital!

Skeletor · Jan 13, 2009

the response is always that I need a bachelors or at least a full year of experience in a hospital!

I am experiencing the same situation with many hospitals in 2 states. Many are BSN-preferred and when speaking with a nurse recruiter on the phone, their message to me is not a chance here. :chuckle

:banghead: another battle to win lol