Reply To: The Discouragement Received From Nurse Colleagues When Pursuing DNP

[Wichanee Borisuthirattana]

Avery, I am very sorry you had to encounter people with negative comments against your personal and professional growth. Sadly, I had received somewhat negative comments about pursuing a DNP degree as well. However, it might not be as opposing as yours. Regardless of the comments, I do not hesitate to tell as many people as I can that I am pursuing a higher degree and a more advanced practice in order to improve patient outcome and our healthcare system. Becoming any type of advanced practice nurse with a DNP degree does not only improve patient care, but it also advances our nursing profession. As nurse practitioners, we can reduce the workload of the primary care doctors as well as allowing more access to healthcare to different patient population. As clinical nurse specialists, we can improve the nursing workflow and the healthcare system by using evidence-based practice. As DNPs in education, we can produce more effective and reliable nurses in the future. As DNPs in administrative and executives, we can collaborate with different organizations and government sectors to improve public health and healthcare policy at a state, federal, and international level. As you can see, Avery, some people may not understand the potential of the DNPs and what impact we can make in the near future, and that may be the reason why they opposed the idea of earning a DNP. Your decision to continue your education and pursue a DNP degree is something to be proud of. And what we can do as DNP candidates is to educate our colleagues about the impact we can make in the future as DNP graduates. I wish you the best of luck in your journey to earn a DNP.