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

[Derek]

Hi Avery,

I have indeed received criticism and discouragement, albeit mild, when explaining I was pursuing my DNP instead of a Masters. The individual that I heard this from stated similar points to what you have said- namely that it is a longer program than an MSN, and will cost multiple times what they were paying for their program. I would say that those who respond in such a negative manner have not researched what a DNP program is actually trying to achieve, and instead they are only thinking about the end goal of the job title you get after passing your certification exam. Thus, their minds are closed off to even the idea of what a DNP can bring to the table, so-to-speak, before educating themselves on it.

I try my best to use these interactions as a teaching opportunity and a way to spread truthful, positive information about the DNP degree as a whole, so that hopefully that individual will be able to speak to its benefits and when they next talk about it, they will state more pros than cons. This is to say though, it only will be able to win over the hearts and minds of those that are still on the fence. I have also heard of criticism from other professions that think the DNP degree is nursing’s way of trying to find parity with medical degrees (MD/DO) and its wrong to even do that. With these individuals, I simply respectfully disagree and move on, as in the long run, you’ll have the knowledge and satisfaction of your education when you’re on the job, and once you’re treating patients none of the negative talk will have any bearing on how you practice.