A doctoral degree carries a certain set of expectations associated with the completion of advanced educational attainment. Earning a DNP degree is no exception. What are the expectations associated with a DNP-prepared nurse? How might these expectations differ among nursing staff without a DNP degree?
The role of a DNP-prepared nurse is multifaceted; they can serve as nurse educators, policy and legislation advocates, direct nursing care supervisors, or advanced practice nurses responsible for tracking, installing, and monitoring initiatives aimed at improving nursing and healthcare delivery. Regardless of the expectations associated with a DNP-prepared nurse, throughout your program of study, you will hone the skills necessary to enact each of these roles. Consider which role you are most excited about. What do you hope to accomplish in the realm of professional nursing practice with your DNP degree?
For this Discussion, reflect on your personal motivations to pursue a DNP degree. Consider the expectations associated with the DNP-prepared nurse, including how these may differ with a PhD-prepared nurse. Reflect on the DNP degree requirements, including your practicum/field experience and completion of your Doctoral Project. Then, think about how you will demonstrate the alignment of the AACN DNP Essentials to the completion of these program-of-study milestones.
To prepare:
Review the Learning Resources and reflect on the reasons you have chosen to pursue a DNP degree. How do you anticipate that earning this degree will support your professional goals?
Reflect on the differences between DNP and PhD degrees. How may this relate to your decision to pursue the DNP degree?
Review the degree requirements for completing your DNP at Walden. Specifically, consider the focus of the Doctoral Project and practicum experiences as discussed in the DNP Essentials document. Keep in mind that you will be required to identify a site or sites for completion of your DNP project and your practicum hours required for the degree. Review the Field Experience requirements for submitting documents for practicum approval https://academicguides.waldenu.edu/fieldexperience/son
DNP programs require 1000 practicum hours post baccalaureate degree. 400 of those hours are earned while in the DNP program. 600 or more hours are earned in the MSN or in NURS 8601 during the DNP program. If you have not obtained the verification of hours form and sent it to your MSN institution, contact your student success advisor for assistance at studentsuccess@mail.waldenu.edu
Photo Credit: Creativa Images / Adobe Stock
After reviewing the DNP Essentials document and the DNP Project Process Guide for the DNP project, reflect on what it means to address an organization’s needs to attend to a gap in practice or implement a practice change. What is the difference between a gap in practice and a practice change? How does your role as the DNP-prepared nurse contribute to meeting a stakeholder need?
By Day 3 of Week 4
Post a brief explanation of the role of the nurse with a practice doctorate. Be specific. Explain the expectations associated with obtaining this degree, including how these expectations might be different for a nurse who holds a different degree. Then, explain how these considerations relate to your motivation to pursue a DNP, including a brief description of how your role as a DNP-prepared nurse will meet a potential organization’s need to address a gap in practice or implement a practice change. Discuss any experiences you have had in addressing a gap in practice or a practice change within an organization. Be specific.
By Day 6 of Week 4
Read a selection of your colleagues’ responses and respond to at least two of your colleagues on two different days by suggesting an additional perspective on what it means to be a nurse with a practice doctorate, offer support to the expectations with obtaining the degree that your colleague posted, or expand upon your colleague’s post.
Student’s Name
Institutional Affiliations
DNP Roles
Numerous factors influence nurses who have completed their Master of Science in Nursing (MSN) degrees to pursue the Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) program. The roles of a nurse with a practice doctorate differ in a number of ways from those of other nurses (American Association of Colleges of Nursing, 2006). For example, nurses with a practice doctorate play a key role in leading reforms that are aimed at strengthening the healthcare system. They lead the development and implementation of policies that generate positive impacts for both patients and healthcare organizations (Rivaz et al., 2021). Nurses with a practice doctorate have the capacity to direct the implementation of reforms aimed at improving patient outcomes.
The expectations associated with obtaining a DNP degree differ from those that one might have when pursuing a baccalaureate degree or an MSN program. For example, by obtaining a DNP degree, one expects to engage in advanced forms of clinical scholarships to discover evidence-based interventions that can be applied to solve complex health problems (Rivaz et al., 2021). These expectations might be different for other nurses in that, a nurse who obtains an MSN degree would expect to engage in less advanced forms of research when compared with those of a DNP graduate (Chau et al., 2022). Such explorations usually lead to the discovery of new knowledge to inform basic practice concepts.
These considerations relate to my motivation to pursue a DNP degree. For example, the advanced leadership roles and attractive benefits available for nurses who complete a DNP program serve as my personal motivations to pursue the DNP degree. My advanced leadership role as a DNP-prepared nurse will meet the needs of a healthcare organization to implement a practice change. For instance, after completing the DNP program, I will be able to engage in system thinking to support the implementation of quality improvement initiatives to improve patient outcomes (Rivaz et al., 2021). An example of an experience that I have had in addressing a gap in practice or a practice change within an organization was when I performed organizational-level leadership functions to reduce rates of patient falls.
References
American Association of Colleges of Nursing. (2006). The Essentials of Doctoral Education for Advanced Nursing Practice. Author.
Chau, J., Lo, S., Lam, S., Saran, R., & Thompson, D. R. (2022). Critical elements in nursing graduates’ transition to advanced practice roles and their perceived impact on patient care: an exploratory, descriptive study of graduates’ and their managers’ perceptions. BMC Nursing, 21(1), 122. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12912-022-00907-0
Rivaz, M., Shokrollahi, P., Setoodegan, E., & Sharif, F. (2021). Exploring the necessity of establishing a doctor of nursing practice program from experts’ views: a qualitative study. BMC Medical Education, 21(1), 328. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12909-021-02758-w