Nursing (DNP)

What is A Nursing (DNP) Degree?

Nurses treat the sick and injured.  In today’s world, using an evidence-based approach is widely accepted, with nurses being trained to use documented research results, best practices, and patient desires to decide on the best treatment strategies.

The Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) degree is the pinnacle of the nursing field designed for practicing nurses, who are already working at the Master’s level, to set themselves apart as the most knowledgeable nurses in the profession.  DNP degree holders are often still involved in direct patient care.  DNP nurses hold some of the highest-level positions in the health care field, managing large healthcare organizations and agencies, teams of nurses treating epidemic illness, or overseeing the instruction at universities and other training programs.

A DNP practitioner may be involved in research, but research is not likely to be a primary function.  DNPs are often more interested in changing the course of nursing care over the long haul—bringing about change through determining and establishing best practices in the field.  Most people who pursue a Doctor of Nursing Practice degree already have the BSN and the MSN, so the focus will probably be on a specialty field plus advanced topics across the whole field–units on information systems in patient care, analytical methods for best practices, advocacy in healthcare, preventing and treating diseases across nations and around the world–will be part of the program as well as advanced work in the chosen specialty (Nurse Anesthetist, Nurse Practitioner, etc.) and leadership and management skills.  This is a demanding program for nurses at the top of the field.