Reply To: The Discouragement Received From Nurse Colleagues When Pursuing DNP

[Kevin Kim]

Hello Avery,
When mentioning the pursuit of a DNP degree I have been met with both positive and negative comments from my fellow nursing peers. More often than not it tends to be positive but I feel the role of APRNs and the idea of nurse obtaining their DNP is still fairly new within the nursing community. Nursing is consistently evolving, there are many avenues that can be taken within this one profession and I feel that as it grows the attitudes towards the different careers will change as well. I have often noticed many of the nurses who discourage the pursuit of higher education, tend to lack knowledge on what opportunities are available now. The scope of practice and amount of jobs available is also increasing for many APRN roles within institutions and even those not within the healthcare field are becoming more knowledgeable on the role of the Nurse Practitioner and other APRNs. I feel as these newer positions become more prominent the attitudes will also change. I have often noticed many of the nurses who discourage the pursuit of higher education, tend to lack knowledge on what opportunities are available now. Hopefully those negative comments do not discourage you from the important role you will be able to play as a provider. APRNs play an important role in closing gaps within the healthcare system and dedicating the time and resources to help fill these inequalities should be encouraged.