144 ■ II: ROLES FOR DOCTORAL ADVANCED NURSING PRACTICE
prefer a DNP-prepared graduate over an MS-prepared practitioner. Clearly, there is
work to be done in articulating and examining the contributions that DNP-prepared
nurses are making in health care and education, although reports in the literature are
scarce to date.
The curriculum in DNP programs, as described by the AACN, should focus on
advanced nursing practices and issues relevant to advanced nursing practice. In a
departure from previous guidance, the AACN supports the eligibility of DNP graduates
as nursing educators in the academic setting, because they possess a terminal degree in
nursing (AACN, 2015). The AACN (2015) continues to recommend that DNP programs
offer courses in educational pedagogy beyond the expected courses in the curriculum.
This recommendation is also mentioned in the 2006 AACN document for PhD gradu-
ates, whose doctoral education focuses on research rather than the process of education.
There has been support for the DNP-prepared graduate to enter academia on gradua-
tion and for the need of clinical practice and nursing education to work more closely
together to change the way we educate nurses (Benner, Sutphen, Leonard, & Day,
2010; Danzey et al., 2011). DNP-prepared educators who are active in clinical practice
and comfortable with collaboration can make a valuable contribution to bridging the
academic–practice gap.
Conversely, an alternative argument regarding academic preparation and qualifi-
cations for teaching various curriculum contents could be raised. Specifically, are DNP
graduates who are not APRNs qualified to teach APRN/DNP students? If so, what con-
tent is appropriate? What is not? A similar issue may arise in the years to come, as
more research-focused faculties obtain BSN–PhD degrees that do not include APRN
education. Are they qualified to teach APRN/DNP students? Suffice it to say that fac-
ulty composition and roles as we know them are likely to change and evolve over the
next several years and that diversity of preparation can enhance faculty roles (AACN,
2015). The allocation of teaching assignments will need to be based on subject matter
expertise and the needs of the students. In any event, coursework in the knowledge and
process of teaching could benefit all educators, regardless of their specific degree focus,
would undoubtedly benefit students, and should therefore be encouraged for all doc-
toral students.
■ THE ARRIVAL OF THE DOCTORALLY PREPARED NP: IS IT DIFFERENT
FROM THE MS-PREPARED NP?
Now that the first decade of DNP-prepared NPs have arrived in the workforce, who are
they, where are they, and what are they doing? Most importantly, are they practicing any
differently than their MS-prepared counterparts? Perhaps, it is too soon to adequately
answer this question in light of the limited numbers, but we can examine what evidence
is currently available.
In 2009, Dreher and Montgomery published an editorial focusing on a recent
new graduate of a DrNP program; simply defined as a DNP program encompassing a
research component beyond what is typical for DNP curricula. The graduate described
ways in which she saw herself as practicing differently than she had as an MS-prepared
NP with many years of experience. This “doctoral advanced practice nurse” articulated
a newfound confidence not only in investigating practice issues but also in the ability
to investigate, evaluate, and question the evidence on which much of clinical practice is
founded. Interpreted in another way, these anecdotes speak to larger concepts, such as
increased leadership ability and clinical scholarship—concepts articulated in the AACN