Abstract
Objectives
The American Association of Colleges of Nursing recommends that nursing schools transition
their advanced practice registered nurse (APRN) programs to doctor of nursing practice
(DNP) programs by 2015. However, most schools have not yet made this full transition.
The purpose of this study was to understand schools' decisions regarding the full
transition to the DNP.
Methods
Key informant interviews and an online survey of nursing school deans and program
directors were performed.
Discussion
The vast majority of schools value the DNP in preparing APRNs for the future of the
health care system. However, other important factors influence many schools to fully
transition or not to the postbaccalaureate DNP, including perceived student and employer
demand, issues concerning accreditation and certification, and resource constraints.
Conclusion
Multiple pathways to becoming an APRN are likely to remain until various factors (e.g.,
student and employer demand, certification and accreditation issues, and resource
constraints) yield a more favorable environment for a full transition to the DNP.
Keywords
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Article info
Publication history
Published online: January 16, 2015
Accepted:
January 10,
2015
Received in revised form:
December 23,
2014
Received:
October 13,
2014
Identification
Copyright
© 2015 Elsevier Inc. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
ScienceDirect
Access this article on ScienceDirectLinked Article
- Is it time to re-examine the pipeline for advanced practice nursing practice?Nursing OutlookVol. 63Issue 4
- PreviewWe read with great interest and concern Dr. Broome's editorial “Collective Genius” (Broome, 2015) and the article by Martsolf, Auerbach, Spetz, Pearson, and Muchow (2015) in the same issue. As Dr. Broome so elegantly stated, we firmly believe that nursing is well positioned to address the multiple internal and external forces, such as clinical preceptor availability and optimal teaching/learning strategies for graduate clinical education, to ensure adequate production of advanced practice nurses (APNs) in the future.
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