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

[Jennifer]

Hi Avery,
I have experienced various reactions from people when they find out that I am in a DNP program. First of all, I usually just say I’m in a psych NP grad school and I only mention the DNP portion when they ask me why my program is so long. I’m careful not to disclose everything at once because I have noticed that people either try to defend their decision to do a master’s route to become an NP or be impressed by the fact. To be frank, I enrolled in a DNP program because I wanted to earn my terminal degree instead of getting my master’s and going back to school later. While going through the DNP program I am realizing the potential of this study and how this will shape me as a provider. Yes, I have heard many times that master’s prepared NPs can do the same things that DNP prepared NPs can. This may be true as we know BSN nurses don’t always make better nurses than ADN nurses. We also know that when we are better educated, we receive more respect. An example is the power of nurses in Magnet-designated hospitals. On a larger scale, our field needs more nurses who break out of their designated space and apply EBP, leadership, and improve quality outcomes of clinical practices. You will be one of the DNP-prepared nurse leaders who will change people’s negative outlook DNP programs.