every NP I’ve spoken with who went back to get their DNP has said that it made no major impact on their career (ie pay..scope of practice.. the latter i’m not surprised about..the former..well) but that it did give them more info about research and ability to participate in research more than before…and teach..in some cases

so now i’m critically re-evaluating

teaching.. well many of my professors are master’s level NPs…some are obtaining their DNP or PhD though. and some universities require PhD to teach.. others allow DNP or will only allow them in a clinical setting. but really i’m not so sure i want to teach in a classroom setting as much as i want to have access to the minds of a small clinical group that i can help mentor. for me, those professors have been the most effective. so ok

and then there’s pay.. yea no real difference there…at least not one to account for the amount of debt i’d be in (in addition to that which i’m in now)

and then there’s the idea of enhanced clinical skills…but looking at the curriculae of multiple programs…it’s all research and theory. which is great…in theory (no pun intended) but i believe i learn best hands on so getting the credits to say i studied it doesn’t mean that i know it really

i wonder if that will evolve with time..

and i also wonder if it makes a difference when it comes to reimbursement for practitioners (from insurance companies, medicare, medicaid, etc)

hmm.. opinions?

i know for me, personally, it has a lot to do with earning one of the highest degrees available in nursing and having that doctor in front of my name

superficial i know…I KNOW!!

ijs.

but i do recognize that i can be a very useful NP with or without a DNP because i do focus on cultural competence, keeping up w/ research (and knowing how to evaluate it), etc etc

hmm ok if you have an opinion please share =)