524chapter TWENTY-THREE
Refl ective Response 2
Lisa A. Johnson
When asked to reflect on the preceding chapter, I was immediately impressed with the
breadth and profundity of Drs. DeNisco and Bellini’s effort and equally challenged by
what was being requested of me. Why should this be such an arduous undertaking
when I myself have completed a doctoral degree and chair students through the doc-
toral process? Perhaps my mêlée should be precisely what I write about and to do so I
will lend the reader insight into my worldview as it pertains to doctoral nursing practice.
My career has gone from the traditional bachelor of science in nursing (BSN) stu-
dent to the ranks of the tertiary care hospitals of various intensive and specialty care
units, onward through my master of science in nursing (MSN) as an acute care nurse
practitioner (NP). With a few years of NP practice under my belt, I made the decision
to progress through a doctoral program. In 2007, I entered into a DrNP program with
the intention of moving into the faculty role by the time I reached my mid-30s. During
my doctoral work, I had education, research, and leadership courses; passed my com-
prehensive examinations; gave a proposal defense, completed a dissertation; and felt
prepared to use the hybrid research degree in my academic endeavors. My DrNP, with
an education track focus, provided me the knowledge to evolve as an educator of MSN
Adult-Gerontology Acute Care Nurse Practitioner (A-GACNP) and DNP students.
With all the success and opportunities that have come my way since 2007, there has
also been equal frustration and disappointment with the nursing profession. From the
belief that a DrNP could not be considered for many tenured positions or research inten-
sive opportunities, to the realization that, to some, my degree was viewed exactly as a
DNP (yet it was not) was frustrating and likely equal to the thwarting of several DNP’s
I have interacted with. In addition to being the director of two acute care NP programs
at very distinct universities, I still maintain a clinical practice in a local hospital system.
Sadly, many practicing NP faculty would state the relevant clinical expertise that I bring
to my students is not viewed as being as significant as the non-practicing registered
nurse (RN) or NP who brings in research grants to their respective universities.
Not understanding me or my degrees, whether they be doctoral or master’s level
degrees, is not the issue. The issue is the profession itself, the profession I have embraced
for the past 20 years, not taking pause to understand each other and what is best for our
students. For me, the DNP was optimal. It may have fallen out of vogue, we have seen
this with the nursing profession over the course of time, but I cannot help but think it
might need to be reassessed from a curriculum standpoint. Simply stated, the authors
who so eloquently wrote of the need for educational electives in DNP programs would