I must reply to your note and question this approach. After someone graduates with a DNP degree, they will have earned an academic degree. This degree does not in-and-of-itself authorize advanced practice nursing. Are you working to earn your Nurse Practitioner designation also?

A second concern I have with your statement is that you will be practicing medicine. This is not true. You may be in advanced practice nursing and have an NP credential but that is not practicing medicine – it is advanced practice nursing.

To say you or any nurse if practicing medicine is a falsehood. I put this out there as soon as I saw your note to help assure that all nursing colleagues are working toward a common goal: Improving health care outcomes in the context of our skills, education, license, and certification.

What do you think?