Professional Opportunities for Doctorally Prepared Nurses
Welcome to the first week of Foundations and Essentials of Doctoral Study in Nursing. The work you complete in this course provides a strong foundation for graduate study at Walden University. Following successful completion of your program, you will be prepared to address the challenges and opportunities that doctorally prepared nurses are likely to encounter in the coming years.
Your journey begins with an exploration of the DNP and PhD degrees. This week, you examine the history and evolution of the DNP and PhD credentials, as well as the significance that your chosen degree holds for you, personally and professionally. You consider how the DNP and PhD degrees are distinguished from each other and from other graduate-level nursing degrees, and gain an appreciation for the unique value and relevance of each one.
Learning Objectives
Students will:
- Differentiate doctoral degrees (DNP, PhD)
- Appraise the value of a doctoral degree for professional nurses
Learning Resources
Note: To access this week’s required library resources, please click on the link to the Course Readings List, found in the Course Materials section of your Syllabus.
Required Readings
Zaccagnini, M. & Pechacek, J. M. (2021). The doctor of nursing practice essentials: A new model for advanced practice nursing (4th ed.). Jones & Bartlett.
[For DNP students ONLY]
- “Imagining the DNP Role” (pp. xv–xxiii)
This reading introduces and defines the DNP degree, with a particular emphasis on the aim to provide high-level preparation for the advanced practice of nursing.
Houser, J. (2018). Nursing research: Reading, using, and creating evidence (4th ed.). Burlington, MA: Jones & Bartlett.
[For PhD students ONLY]
- Chapter 1, “The Importance of Research as Evidence in Nursing”
This chapter describes nursing research, its evolution, and its application in nursing practice.
This article speaks to the importance of nurse scientists and practitioners working together to accelerate the transformation of evidence into practice.
[For DNP students ONLY]
This article provides background on the development of the DNP degree, illustrates its necessary competencies, and evaluates the value of a DNP degree as well as challenges to its validity.
Required Media
Note: The approximate length of this media piece is 2 minutes.
Laureate Education (Producer). (2011b). Introduction: The doctor of nursing practice [Video file]. Retrieved from https://class.waldenu.edu
Note: The approximate length of this media piece is 15 minutes.
In this media presentation, Dr. Joan Stanley discusses how the DNP degree evolved. In addition, Dr. Linda Beechinor and Dr. Susan Stefan share their experiences completing the DNP degree and explain how it has influenced their nursing careers.
Discussion: The Doctoral Degree and Professional Nursing Practice
In response to the continuous changes in health care today, nurses are charged with staying well informed on many rapidly evolving aspects of patient care. They are also expected to contribute to the improvement of health care quality. Engaging in doctoral education is an admirable way to position oneself for accomplishing this goal, and it can lead to new professional opportunities.
Why did you decide to enroll in graduate school? What informed your decision to pursue your chosen degree? How will earning this degree influence your career?
This week, you consider the characteristics of various programs, including the DNP and the PhD. The focus of the DNP degree is on clinical practice, whereas the focus of the PhD is on research. In conjunction with other professional colleagues, DNP- and PhD-prepared nurses often collaborate to analyze critical issues and find appropriate ways to address them.
This first Discussion provides an opportunity for you to examine what it means to earn a doctorate and how your selected degree program relates to your professional goals.
To prepare:
- Consider the reasons you have chosen to pursue an advanced degree. How do you anticipate that earning this degree will support your professional goals?
- Reflect on the comments shared by the experts in this week’s media regarding the value of a DNP degree and the various roles available to DNP-prepared nurses, as well as the characteristics of the PhD program and opportunities for PhD-prepared nurses.
- Based on the information presented this week, have you developed any new ideas or goals for your future? If so, what are they?
By Day 3
Post a cohesive response that addresses the following:
- What does it mean to be a nurse with a practice or research doctorate? What are the expectations associated with this degree? How might this be different for a nurse who holds a different degree?
- How do these considerations relate to your motivation to pursue a doctoral degree right now?
Read a selection of your colleagues’ postings.
By Day 6
Respond to at least two of your colleagues in one or more of the following ways:
- Share an insight from having read your colleagues’ postings, synthesizing the information to provide new perspectives.
- Validate an idea with your own experience and additional research.
- Make a suggestion based on additional evidence drawn from readings or after synthesizing multiple postings.
- Expand on your colleagues’ postings by providing additional insights or contrasting perspectives based on readings and evidence.
Note: There is no Assignment this week.
Submission and Grading Information
Grading Criteria
To access your rubric:
Week 1 Discussion Rubric
Post by Day 3 and Respond by Day 6
To participate in this Discussion:
Week 1 Discussion
Week in Review
This week, you differentiated differences in doctoral degrees, specifically DNP and PhD and appraised the value of each for professional nurses.
Next week, you will consider what it takes to become a successful online doctoral student while fulfilling a myriad of personal and professional responsibilities.
Margaret Harvey Walden Instructor Manager
RE: Discussion – Week 1
Top of Form
Class,
I normally do not start off a discussion, but because this is the first week, I decided to do so this time.
I do think that both DNP and PhD educated nurses are “leaders” in their own right, but that the DNP leader is much more focused on clinical issues and outcomes, compared to the PhD leader who primarily focuses on research and adding to the body of literature that guides our profession. What I find most admirable is the mutual respect that is shown to the two doctorates (DNP and PhD) professionally. There is a recognition that working together, we are making a real difference to the nursing profession, and ultimately to healthcare in a more global way.
When I obtained my PhD, the DNP was just starting to gain recognition and many colleges and universities balked at calling it a terminal degree or allowing the graduates to teach at that level. Things have really changed now, as colleges and universities now realize that DNP graduates are wonderful clinical instructors and many also teach theory courses. The PhD has always been respected and, because it is a research based degree, schools that tend to put a lot of emphasis on having their faculty publish, do research, and gain national recognition for innovative educational techniques, etc., prefer to hire them.
Both degrees are now highly respected and the cross-over in what they do is sometimes difficult to distinguish. I do not think any student can go wrong choosing either degree. It is really personal preference and the decision one makes in deciding what they want to do once they graduate from a doctoral program.
I believe the expectations you have for this reward certainly demonstrate that you have chosen the correct degree!
Hope this is helpful!
