This reflective essay discusses the implications of the Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) degree for nurses, including its role in clinical practice and the growth of DNP programs. It explores the benefits of the DNP program and its potential impact on career development.
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Running head: REFLECTIVE ESSAY ON DOCTOR OF NURSING PRACTICE Reflective Essay on Doctor of Nursing Practice Name of the student: Name of the university: Author note:
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1 REFLECTIVE ESSAY ON DOCTOR OF NURSING PRACTICE Introduction: The profession of nursing is expanding rapidly and along with the innovative infrastructuralimprovements,theacademicdegreesforqualificationforthenursesis expanding rapidly as well. There are various educational advancements occurring in the nursing curriculum, with each of the degrees having specific roles and attributes in the clinical practice. In this reflective essay, I would attempt to discuss the implications for Doctor of Nursing Practice for the nurses taking the assistance of 5 high quality research evidences. Discussion: As discussed by Newland (2015), DNP refers to the Doctor of Nursing practice degree, designed specifically to prepare the nurses to become experts in the nursing practice. It has to be mentioned that the DNP is considered as the pinnacle of clinical practice as an extremely focussed nursing degree that builds upon the master’s program in nursing. The authors describe DNP to be a curriculum that provides the nurses with educational foundation which focuses intricately on the quality improvement, evidence based practice, systems thinking and effective leadership. With respect to the history of the degree, as discussed by Carollo and Mason (2017), in the year of 2004, the American Association of Colleges of Nursing (AACN), declared and endorsed “Position Statement on the Practice Doctorate in Nursing”. This had been the first step towards the establishment of this degree, and gradually, all the related nursing education authorities and organizations voted for the educational level to transition from a master’s degree to a doctor of nursing practice. Within the year of 2015, the DNP became the terminal degree in the USA for nursing education for all advanced practice registered nurses. The current state of the academic degree is growing rapidly; as discussed by Redman et al. (2015), the number of nursing schools and institutions that are providing DNP
2 REFLECTIVE ESSAY ON DOCTOR OF NURSING PRACTICE graduation opportunities is growing with each passing day. In the year of 2016, the total number of DNP programs all across the nation had been 289, which estimates the total number of probable DNP graduates to be 22000. Hence, it can be stated that at the current state,thedegreeisgrowingrapidlyandwithAACNguidingthecompetenciesand curriculumforthedegree,itissettoholdthepositionoftheterminaleducational qualification for nurses in the nursing field, providing ultimate scope of practice. The value of the degree is optimal in clinical practice, as discussed by Nichols, O’Connor and Dunn (2014), unlike the PhD, DNP is clinical practice focused rather than being completely research focused. DNP prepares nurses to be highest level of advanced practitioner, so that along with providing optimal clinical assistance, the DNP nurses can also become clinical leaders as well. As discussed by Tyczkowski and Reilly (2017), the DNP prepared advanced practice nurses can lead transformation across all sectors of public health, including policy development, financial astuteness, informatics, patient-centered care, quality improvement, safety, and inter-professional teamwork and collaboration. Reflection and conclusion: Lastly, reflecting on the position of the DNP, there are major benefits of the DNP program, including Scholarship in the practice setting Innovation and testing of care delivery models, Practice improvement, Examination of healthcare outcomes, and Proficiency in establishing clinical excellence. It has to be mentioned that the DNPs earn higher salaries and have much broader scope of practice for the nurses having DNP. As I attempt to have the practice scope for having the terminal qualification and become a clinical leader myself, in the future, I believe that the degree would be of extreme importance to my career path and my professional development.
3 REFLECTIVE ESSAY ON DOCTOR OF NURSING PRACTICE References: Carollo, S., PhD, FNP-BC, & Mason, A., DNP, PMHNP-BC. (2017). Doctor of nursing practice curricula redesign: Challenge, change andcollaboration.The Journal for Nurse Practitioners,13(4), 183. Newland, J. (2015). The doctor of nursing practice: A focus on clinical leadership.The Nurse Practitioner,40(4), 13-13. Nichols, C., O’Connor, N., & Dunn, D. (2014). Exploring early and future use of DNP prepared nurses within healthcare organizations.Journal of Nursing Administration,44(2), 74-78. Redman, R. W., Pressler, S. J., Furspan, P., & Potempa, K. (2015). Nurses in the United States with a practice doctorate: Implications for leading in the current context of health care.Nursing outlook,63(2), 124-129. Tyczkowski, B. L., & Reilly, J. (2017). DNP-prepared nurse leaders: part of the solution to the growing faculty shortage.Journal of Nursing Administration,47(7/8), 359-360.