FYI: The article was so long i just pasted some of it?

 I guess i will stick to being a BSN. No point in doing MSN NP if i wont be as qualified as a DNP would.  Plus I cant afford DNP.

practitioners.advanceweb.com/Article/DNP-Coming-Into-Focus-2.aspx">http://nurse-practitioners.advanceweb.com/Article/DNP-Coming-Into-Focus-2.aspx

Posted January 6, 2009

 

In 2004, the American Association of Colleges of Nursing (AACN) recommended that all nurses seeking to be credentialed as nurse practitioners earn a DNP degree.2The phase-in date is 2015. The National Organization of Nurse Practitioner Faculties (NONPF) endorsed this recommendation, and other nursing organizations agreed that it should be an option. This degree requirement has caused much concern, discussion and even conflict within the NP community.

Many of these programs are conducted online, with visits to the campus for symposia at certain times in each semester. Each program requires a project for graduation that is focused on system-level health care improvement. In the future, nurses will prepare for the NP profession by entering a 3-year doctoral program (part-time status may require more than 3 years of study). Each DNP program will contain a minimum of 1,000 clinical hours, and graduates will complete a 1-year residency to become NPs. The DNP will also be the educational requirement for certification in the three other advanced practice nursing roles: nurse midwife, nurse anesthetist and clinical nurse specialist.

Challenges Blur the Edges
The DNP picture is not yet clear; the degree raises many questions that remain to be answered. There are also controversies and wide variations in opinion (see sidebar and practitioners.advanceweb.com/SharedResources/Downloads/2008/122908/...">Table 2). For example, NPs certified before the proposed 2015 deadline will not have to earn a doctorate degree to continue to practice, but many NPs with an MSN fear that their expertise will be devalued in comparison with NPs who have earned the DNP.

Many NPs worry that, based on education alone, employers will be more likely to hire a DNP graduate than an MSN-prepared NP, and that NPs with a DNP will earn higher salaries.

practitioners.advanceweb.com/editorial/content/editorial.aspx?cc=19...">http://nurse-practitioners.advanceweb.com/editorial/content/editorial.aspx?cc=19... 
The DNP
Will It Create a Second-Class NP?

Posted January 6, 2009

It looks like the doctorate of nursing practice (DNP) will be part of our professional futures. By 2015, all new advanced practice nurses will need to have a DNP for certification. Those of us in practice before that date will not be required to get the degree; we will be grandfathered in.

Will the DNP make master's-prepared NPs appear unqualified to provide the services they have been competently providing for years? As NPs, we need to know how this will affect our lives. The push for the DNP has far-reaching consequences.

Expert Status
A master's degree has long been considered the terminal degree for nursing specialists to enter advanced practice. With master's degrees, NPs are highly educated specialists. We seek new and updated knowledge to serve our patients' best interests. We consult or refer to gain the input of others when faced with a particularly difficult case.

Our current system of certification and recertification demonstrates our commitment to stay current with knowledge. We attend conferences, seminars and other continuing education activities that have been accepted as credits toward recertification.

Most master's-prepared NPs have pursued patient-centered careers. Ongoing continuing education, as well as collegial discussions, are manifestations of our efforts to be the best we can be. I fear that the DNP will invalidate master's-level providers as experts and that only those with a DNP will be viewed as experts.

Financial Concerns
Several studies have proven that master's-prepared nurse practitioners provide safe and effective care equal to that of their physician counterparts. We sweat the details and immerse ourselves in the real world of health care, with its long hours and agonizing decisions. Will a DNP improve our income? Or will it send a message to insurance companies that master's-prepared NPs are no longer qualified? Will it reduce the opportunity to gain provider status on insurance panels?

Job Opportunities
As we gain experience, we get better at what we do as professionals. We also begin to think of our future - our retirement. Many of us will not have the resources to support a full-time retirement. Some of us just won't want to stop practicing completely. What we think about is a less stressed working life as we continue serving our communities. We think about relocating to a warmer or less busy environment.

Will I be qualified to get a job in another state? Will my qualifications be considered insufficient? Will I become an anachronism? As the DNP becomes the norm, will older, master's-level NPs be able to compete for jobs?

So, basically, if I am currently looking into applying for an accelerated RN-MSN program for 2012, I won't have to worry about the current issue of requiring the DNP program to become a licensed NP?

Some clarification would be helpful.  I know someone doing the same thing as me because we realized after we're getting our B.S. degrees this May that we want to do Nursing, and she mentioned that we would be "grandfathered" in because we'd be in the program prior to 2015.   Is this true?

Thanks!

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