[Doctors of Nursing Practice, Inc.]

This is a great question, Ama Alyssa. I’m looking forward to seeing responses from colleagues.

[Doctors of Nursing Practice, Inc.]

Your situation looks to be a cause for insomnia if not a peptic ulcer, Christine. I hope all of this comes together. One thing I’ve noticed in doctoral education, and DNP education in particular, is the urgency to rush students through in a short amount of time. Most doctorate degrees require at least 3 years (or longer) yet the DNP degree expectation has been compressed. We all try to accommodate, but sometimes it is nearly impossible to make this work. I hope it comes together for you.

[Doctors of Nursing Practice, Inc.]

Laura, I see that others have not responded to your note so thought I would jump in and share some thoughts. I can speak from the point of view of faculty and former DNP student. The challenges I’ve seen many DNP students go through when selecting, developing, and completing a project surrounds an appreciation of the big picture.

Here’s something that I’ve seen in the past. DNP students develop a great intervention based on evidence, and then go looking for a problem to solve. That will not work. First, identifying a problem to address will lay the foundation for success. Identifying this problem is dependent on the system or organization. Where you work or complete your project is where your work begins. Asking leaders and stakeholders to identify problems that need to be addressed is the first step. Building these relationships will make the difference in how you start – build – implement – and analyze your project.

How does this look to you? Thoughts?

[Doctors of Nursing Practice, Inc.]

Hello! Thank you for your post and question. I see that others have not yet responded so I thought I would add a couple of thoughts to reply to your question.
The question of the the caliber and skills offered by doctoral-prepared nurses compared to master’s-prepared nurses has been a source of discussion for many years. Text books have been written about this, and many folks challenge the type of skills that a doctoral degree brings to our nursing practice.

I won’t speak for all in our nursing discipline, but believe that the courses and experiences of doctoral programs (DNP, PhD, EdD, or any doctorate degree) heighten the actions and contributions of the colleague that acquires these skills. For example, as a nurse practitioner before earning the DNP degree, I thought I was pretty savvy about most aspects of this role. After earning the DNP degree, my understanding and appreciation of how to approach patients conceptually and in the context of population health has changed.

So, the difference between these degrees is what we make of it, don’t you think? I’m curious to learn more about your thoughts.

[Doctors of Nursing Practice, Inc.]

Hello, Marvelous. I see that others have not yet replied so I thought I would jump in and share a thought or two. Finding a balance with all of the demands of a family and career, not to mention being a student, is a tremendous challenge. I think you will agree that it boils down to setting priorities and then scheduling the important things in life, and then sticking to it.
I use a time-management system that helps keep me out of trouble with all that I have going on in my life. I carve out time for family, and hold sacred my time for personal growth (self-care, quiet time, reflection, etc.).
It’s not easy. What have you planned so far for yourself?

[Doctors of Nursing Practice, Inc.]

You ask a great question, Gabriela. Several social media sites offer support to DNP students – some even support those that are struggling academically.
I’ll share a thought from having seen many years of DNP students’ efforts: Start your chosen DNP program when all elements for success are in place. Jumping in when family, home, financial, or career dynamics are up in the air will not place the nursing colleague in a place to be successful.
What do you think of this thought about preparing before signing up?

[Doctors of Nursing Practice, Inc.]

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?

[Doctors of Nursing Practice, Inc.]

You ask a great question – one that I will ask of you and others. What contributions have DNP prepared colleagues made as a result of the pandemic? Thats a tough question to answer. A bigger question is what contributions and changes to health care delivery can we attribute to DNP prepared nurses? There are many that are difficult to quantify and list.
We are contributing – we are making changes – yet can we list them and highlight them adequately?

[Doctors of Nursing Practice, Inc.]

Wendy – thank you for your post. I’m curious about the dynamics surround the patient that did not like the nurse due to an accent. Was this the one that was accommodated by changing the nurses’ assignment? Does your facility have a policy that documents that all patients will receive equitable services by a diverse group of professionals? It seems to me that if a patient cannot abide by these rules the next step for the hospital would be to help arrange for the patient to be transferred to a different facility – at the patient’s expense. Is this approach I offer too harsh?

[Doctors of Nursing Practice, Inc.]

I’m slow to respond to your post but salute you for your thoughts and how well you articulated the challenges of securing and completing clinical or practicum hours. I’ve seen some venomous posts on FaceBook by groups that want to do away with programs for this reason yet this seems counterproductive to me. The idea of an organization that could manage NP residencies or fellowships sounds good, but honestly, it may be out of the scope or buy-in from most universities and regions. I know from past experiences that BSN programs struggled to secure their clinical experiences even with a county-wide or regional application that helped to promote this process. So – we continue to struggle and push through. Again, thank you for sharing your thoughts and insights.

[Doctors of Nursing Practice, Inc.]

Thank you for your post and question, Avery. The challenge of securing a clinical site (for NP or DNP education) is tremendous. The discussions I see seem to mandate that schools provide the clinical sites yet in reality there are not enough for the number of students. It’s refreshing seeing that you are encouraging the investment of time to build opportunities. This is a good discussion to have.

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