Should I Get a Doctorate of Nursing Practice Degree?

Doctorate of Nursing Practice at a Glance…

The Purpose of a Degree
Why You Should Get a DNP
Why You Should NOT Get a DNP
DNP vs. DNAP
Components of the Doctorate of Nursing Practice degree
Resources

What is the Purpose of a Degree?

As with everything else in life, there are differing schools of thought regarding the purpose of a degree.

There are certain communities and cultures that value education, not for a utilitarian purpose, but for a purpose of pride; a rite of passage. The more letters after your name, the better (regardless of cost).

Then, there are others who are of a more practical nature. This group sees a degree as a means to an end – a requisite to a specific career. I fall into this camp.

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Reasons to get a Doctorate of Nursing Practice Degree: Pros for getting the DNP

To say it bluntly, the DNP is not for everyone. In fact, it’s not for most people who want to become a CRNA.

However, if you fit in one of the following five categories, you should get a terminal nursing degree:

You want to become an educator
You want to become an administrator
You feel that the title of “doctor” is worth at least $100,000 (the cost of lost income + tuition)
You won’t have the good fortune of being grandfathered in before 2025
An advanced degree is important to you for emotional reasons, and you are able to complete the doctorate portion of the CRNA curriculum while working as a CRNA full time

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Why You Should NOT Get a Doctorate of Nursing Practice Degree: Cons for getting the DNP

The DNP will not make you a better CRNA
With practice degrees (as opposed to research degrees), experience in the field (or on the floor) is way more valuable than classroom training. Obviously, without a certain level of classroom training, you wouldn’t be competent enough to begin your practice, but the training you’ll gain in your masters CRNA program is sufficient. There is no evidence that a doctorate degree will improve your competence as a CRNA.

I’m not saying that you won’t become more knowledgeable as a result of your extra training, I’m saying that the knowledge you gain won’t make a significant difference in your daily practice as a nurse anesthetist.

The DNP will not earn you a significant pay raise
At most hospitals, the pay difference between an RN with an Associate’s degree and a one with a Bachelor’s degree is marginal; it’s usually no more than 50 cents or a dollar per hour. Those who get their Bachelor’s degree in nursing generally don’t do it for the pay raise, but for the potential of advancement (they want to become an advanced practice nurse or go into management).

The same is true with the terminal degree. Because the Master’s level CRNA and the Doctorate level CRNA are both capable of completing the same tasks, they will both be paid a very similar wage.

The DNP will not drastically affect your chances of getting hired, at least not for the next 20 years
If you’re worried that some “newbie” who has a Doctorate of Nursing Practice will take your job 15 years from now when the DNP is required, consider the following points:

Experience trumps a degree in the medical field. If you were a hospital, who would you hire first: the new graduate nurse with a Bachelor’s degree, or the Associate degree nurse with 15 years of quality experience on the floor? They’ll also hire the experienced Master’s degree before they hire the DNAP who’s still wet behind the ears.

With the dramatic shortage of nurses (CRNAs included) projected over the next 20+ years (as the Baby Boomers age), you’ll have no problems getting hired, regardless of your degree.

The Doctorate of Nursing Practice degree is a fairly rare degree. By rare, I mean that you can go through many hospitals and meet maybe one or two. When you do, you’ll find that they are generally educators or maintain a leadership role. This means that there are currently very few CRNAs who are trained at the doctorate level who you’d be competing for your job.

It will take many years for the DNP to become the “standard” CRNA degree. There are currently over 40,000 practicing CRNAs in the US (estimate based on current AANA membership). The vast majority of those have been trained at the Masters level. It will take at least 30 years from 2025 before the DNP trained nurse anesthetists replace the Masters level CRNAs in the work place.

The DNP may take time away from your career, costing you lost income as well as tuition. I say it may take time away from your career, because some will chose to work full time as a CRNA while completing the DNP part time.

Many students, however, find it difficult to balance work, school and family responsibilities and would rather hold off on entering the work force until they have all their degrees completed.

Also important to note: there are some CRNA programs that will have a part-time option while others will not.

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DNP vs. DNAP

If I haven’t dissuaded you from pursuing the Doctorate of Nursing Practice degree, great! For the five types of people listed above, it’s a great degree to pursue.

Now that you know you want to pursue a terminal nursing degree, you’ll need to know which degree (specifically) to get.

So, what is the difference between the Doctorate of Nursing Practice (DNP)and the Doctorate of Nursing Anesthesia Practice (DNAP)degrees?

Essentially, they are the same degree with a different title.

Every student in a Doctorate of Nursing Practice program is required to choose a specialty. According to the DNP Essentials, (page 17) published by the AACN (American Association of Colleges of Nursing), you can choose to specialize on the care of individuals (CRNA is an example of this), or practice at an aggregate, systems, or organizational level.

If you choose the DNAP, you have already chosen to specialize in Anesthesia, the care of individuals.

If you choose the DNP, you have the choice to specialize in Anesthesia or on a leadership role.

The only other notable difference between the two degrees is public recognition. The title of “Doctorate of Nursing Practice” will be more easily recognized and identified by the public, as it will be the standard degree title given to all advanced practice nurses who graduate after 2025.

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Components of the Doctorate of Nursing Practice degree

Program Length
After your bachelor’s degree, it will be a minimum of three calendar years, or 36 months of full-time study including summers or four years on a traditional academic calendar.

If you enter a post-master’s degree program it will be a minimum of 12 months full time study to complete your DNP.

Practice Experiences in the curriculum
Minimum of 1,000 hours of practice post-baccalaureate as part of a supervised academic program.

Final DNP Project
Rather than requiring that you write a dissertation, as you would with a research oriented doctoral program, the DNP final project could take many forms. The final DNP project is a tangible and deliverable academic product that uses evidence to improve either practice or patient outcomes.

This section (components of the DNP) is a summary of pages 18 and 19 of the DNP Essentials (see below)

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Resources

DNP Essentials The Essentials of Doctoral Education for Advanced Nursing Practice, October 2006.

It’s a 20 page PDF, published by the AACN (American Association of Colleges of Nursing), describing the 8 essential components of the DNP program.

All-Nurses.com forum discussion on the pros and cons of getting the DNAP

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Are you a current CRNA student or a recent graduate? If so, please share your experience with other visitors to help them choose the CRNA school that’s right for them!

*This page was updated November 15th, 2010.*