The Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) is a terminal professional degree in nursing. The DNP is one of two doctorate degrees in nursing, the other being the PhD (Doctor of Philosophy in Nursing). The curriculum for the DNP degree builds on traditional master's programs by providing education in evidence-based practice, quality improvement, and systems leadership. Furthermore, the DNP is intended to be a parity degree with other health care doctorates such as medicine, dentistry, psychology, etc. Advanced practice registered nurses (APRNs) include the nurse practitioner (NP), certified registered nurse anesthetist (CRNA), certified nurse midwife (CNM), and the clinical nurse specialist (CNS) and are prepared in master's-degree programs. Although approximately 52% of nurse anesthetist programs will award the DNP, the remaining 48% may use the title Doctor of Nurse Anesthesia Practice (DNAP).
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Education requirements in the United States
According to the American Association of Colleges of Nursing (AACN), transitioning advance practice registered nursing programs from the graduate level to the doctoral level is a "...response to changes in health care delivery and emerging health care needs, additional knowledge or content areas have been identified by practicing nurses. In addition, the knowledge required to provide leadership in the discipline of nursing is so complex and rapidly changing that additional or doctoral level education is needed." According to the AACN, "...benefits of practice-focused doctoral programs include:
Transitioning toward the doctorate
The AACN recommends that all entry-level nurse practitioner educational programs be transitioned from the Master of Science in Nursing (MSN) degree to the DNP degree by the year 2015. The American Association of Nurse Anesthetists has followed suit, requiring the DNP (or DNAP-Doctor of Nurse Anesthesia Practice) degree for entry-level nurse anesthetist programs by the year 2025. Meanwhile, the National Association of Clinical Nurse Specialists (NACNS) announced in July 2015 its endorsement of the Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) as the required degree for CNS entry into practice by 2030. Nurse practitioners and nurse anesthetists currently practicing with either an MSN or certificate will not be required to obtain the DNP for continued practice.
In the United States there are two terminal doctorate degrees in the field of nursing: The Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP), and the Doctor of Philosophy (PhD). Previous doctorate level degrees have been, or are in the process of being, phased out and converted to one of the two terminal degrees. The Doctor of Nursing (ND, not to be confused with Naturopathic Doctor ND) and the (DrNP) have transitioned into the DNP whereas the Doctor of Nursing Science (DNSc, DNS or DSN) has transitioned into the PhD. The PhD in nursing is generally considered the academic and research-oriented degree, whereas the DNP is the practice-oriented or professional terminal degree.