DNP Position Statements
The Doctoral Nursing Practice (DNP) has been with us since the 20th century. With undergraduate nurses enrolling in various nursing programs to ensure further development of their skills. The advancement in learning based on nursing is usually expected to increase proficiency and competence in dealing with patients and management of health care facilities. In addition, it is expected to cause positive impacts on personal career and help improve patients’ outcomes and overall quality of service offered by health care institutions (Beeber et al., 2019). However, my feeling is that advancing nurse’s profession to the doctoral level is a waste of time and resources, and instead, nurses should be trained to undergraduate levels. They should therefore proceed to the clinics where they get experience from directly interacting with their clients.
Arguing against DNP, various scholars have revealed some factual information. Starting with is Dols and colleagues (2017), whose, according to their research, the DNP movement was associated with great dissatisfaction. This was deemed as a strain on the available resources that was a result of the increased enrollment. Also, in the United States, the program had failed to align with the national recommendations. Additionally, according to Beeber et al. (2019), the role of DNP outside of academic settings has not been clearly articulated as it does not significantly count. Although awarded big positions and roles, their impacts on staff, patients, and organizational outcomes are relatively insignificant. This raises debate whether DNP is really an appropriate course that needs to be offered to the nurses. In response to this question, Fitzpatrick (2007) argues that this program will be sufficient for nurses who need advanced practice and those who wish to become clinical teachers and leaders.
Based on these resources, especially that of Fitzpatrick, I find DNP relevant to some degree. This is especially for individuals who want clinical teaching positions and leadership positions, such as information technology management, nurse entrepreneurs, and nurse administrators. However, enrolling all nurses into DNP programs will mean a lack of nurse practitioners, and thus patients suffer, due to insufficient caregivers.
References
Beeber, A. S., Palmer, C., Waldrop, J., Lynn, M. R., & Jones, C. B. (2019). The role of Doctor of Nursing Practice-prepared nurses in practice settings. Nursing outlook, 67(4), 354-364.
Dols, J. D., Hernández, C., & Miles, H. (2017). The DNP project: Quandaries for nursing scholars. Nursing Outlook, 65(1), 84-93.
Fitzpatrick, J. J. (2007). Is the Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) the Appropriate Doctoral Degree for Nurses?. MCN: The American Journal of Maternal/Child Nursing, 32(3), 138.
