Innovation and Learning: Creating the DNP Nurse Leader

Abstract

The nurse educated in a doctorate of nursing practice (DNP) program has a particularly difficult challenge in today's healthcare environment because the degree is a relatively new educational pathway. With regard to its infancy and the growing numbers of DNP-prepared nurses comes the uncertainly of what this educational preparation will bring to practice and academia. DNP-prepared nurses are frequently asked about precisely what the degree has to offer and how this preparation is different from the traditional PhD. Many DNP-prepared nurses in academia are beginning to move through the traditional academic process of promotion and tenure. The nurse educated in a doctorate of nursing practice (DNP) program has a particularly difficult challenge in today's healthcare environment because the degree is a relatively new educational pathway. With regard to its infancy and the growing numbers of DNP-prepared nurses comes the uncertainly of what this educational preparation will bring to practice and academia. DNP-prepared nurses are frequently asked about precisely what the degree has to offer and how this preparation is different from the traditional PhD. Many DNP-prepared nurses in academia are beginning to move through the traditional academic process of promotion and tenure.