Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP Degree)

The Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) is an advanced-level nursing degree. It is one of two terminal nursing degrees in the U.S. While the PhD in nursing focuses on research and academics, the DNP focuses on advanced practice, leadership, and application of clinical research. The intention of the DNP is to prepare registered nurses to pursue careers as advanced practice nurses, which include the nurse practitioner (NP), the certified RN anesthetist (CRNA), the certified nurse midwife (CNM), and the clinical nurse specialist (CNS).

By 2015, all advanced nursing programs are supposed to combine their doctoral programs into either the PhD in nursing or the DNP. The reason for this is that today’s health care environment has caused a demand for nurses to be prepared and educated at the highest possible level. The DNP meets the demand for highly-qualified, highly-educated nurses able to meet ever-increasing responsibilities and capabilities in the health care world.

Many DNP programs are flexible enough to allow students to continue working while earning their degree. Some even offer online programs with a minimum of face-to-face contact. DNP curriculum includes advanced coursework in leadership, research translation, and clinical knowledge and skills. Graduates should be able to use advanced knowledge from nursing and related outcomes that improve patients’ outcomes, provide leadership for change in systems of care, synthesize and translate research from nursing and other disciples to manage complex health problems, and work cross-culturally to address health disparities and societal needs.

Most DNP programs require a Bachelor’s degree in nursing or its equivalent, a Master’s degree in nursing or its equivalent, a minimal undergraduate or graduate GPA of 3.0 or higher, and satisfactory GRE or MAT scores.