518 ■ III: ROLE FUNCTIONS OF DOCTORAL ADVANCED NURSING PRACTICE
Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Executive Nurse Fellows Program ( http://www.rwjfleaders
.org/programs/robert-wood-johnson-foundation-executive-nurse-fellows-program ),
among others. Perhaps the most desirable set of qualifications for a future DNP-
program academic administrator would be equal academic preparation in areas of: edu-
cation, leadership and practice, and scholarship. In the meantime, further educational
preparation and professional development for new academic administrators appear to
be dependent on a mix of mentoring programs, specific coursework available that best
augments an administrator’s current repertoire, and on-the-job training.
■ SUMMARY
It is an exciting time in nursing education. In the past 5 years the DNP degree is proving
to be the most sought after terminal degree in nursing, which will undoubtedly meet
societal needs for preparing a highly educated workforce, including more nurse educa-
tors and academic administrators. Nursing is the original practice discipline and for the
nurse who wants to maintain relevance in the clinical arena, attain leadership skills to
drive change in our health care delivery system, and develop business savvy, there is
no question that this degree has much to offer. Of course, it would be desirable for the
DNP graduate to have additional course work in nursing education but in reality most
nursing educators including our colleagues prepared as researchers have not had these
courses and have “learned on the job.” Moreover, master of science in nursing (MSN)-
prepared nurse practitioners have been teaching didactic and clinical content for years
without curriculum development courses and have prepared thousands of competent
clinicians. One can argue that who is a better role model for the student—the research-
oriented faculty member who does not practice or the expert clinician who maintains an
active clinical practice? Universities, schools of nursing, and academic administrators
must consider formal and transparent succession planning models to retain their most
talented and skilled faculty and promote them to leadership positions. Both the “gray-
ing” of the workforce and skill mismatches continue to be of great concern for schools of
nursing across the country. Over the next decade, nursing education faces severe talent
deficits due to what will be the demographic tidal wave of nursing faculty and deans.
The nurse with a terminal clinical doctoral degree who is clinically expert, has a keen
grasp of systems, understands translational research and data mining, and is grounded
in the “practice discipline of nursing” are the nurse educators of today and the future.
■ CRITICAL THINKING QUESTIONS
- What competencies listed in the The Essentials of Doctoral Education for Advanced
Nursing Practice prepare the doctor of nursing graduate for a career in academia? Give spe-
cific examples. - As a staff development nurse or a clinical preceptor you are faced with educating nurses for
a variety of clinical roles. How were you prepared for those roles as an MSN graduate? How
do you think your course work will prepare you in the DNP program? - How can a nursing faculty member with a DNP degree influence curriculum development?
Give examples. - When applying for a faculty position how will you answer the following question: “Give an
example of how you would handle a nursing student who was not meeting his or her clinical
objectives.”