1: THE HISTORICAL AND POLITICAL PATH OF DOCTORAL NURSING EDUCATION ■ 37
UNRESOLVED ISSUES
The chief unresolved issues surrounding the DNP degree can be summarized as follows:
- Continuing controversy over the domain of knowledge development
within the DNP degree and whether empirical research should be generally
acceptable or not - Disagreement over the required number of clinical hours necessary for the
degree, particularly for post-master’s students - Controversy over the mandate, at least by the CCNE, that the “accredited”
DNP degree may not formally prepare educators - An ongoing discussion over whether PhD and DNP students should share
any common coursework.
Some of these issues, particularly the first and third, will be discussed at length
in this text by various authors, and because this chapter has addressed these to some
degree already, only a few summary points will be made here.
The issue over the role of research in the DNP degree is likely to continue despite
the recent white paper that offered a little clarity (AACN, 2015). Our inclination is to
predict that ultimately the DNP degree may look different at research- extensive and
research- intensive universities where knowledge generation and scholarship are central
to the mission. DNP programs that reside in colleges where the teaching mission and
scholarship are emphasized, however, may be less inclined to design curricula that gen-
erate practice knowledge. However, these generalizations need not be used indiscrimi-
nately to prevent practice inquiry or even formal empirical inquiry by any DNP student
anywhere. If we are honest, the same reality is present in PhD nursing/ nursing science
programs all across the country. Although some PhD programs emphasize the nurse sci-
entist model (with a focus on generating nursing science), other PhD programs empha-
size teaching and education research, and are less focused on producing graduates for
research careers. The DNP degree should be no different. It will continue to evolve, and
it will evolve best when both doctoral advanced nursing practitioners who simply want
to practice and those who want to practice and generate practice knowledge (e.g., gen-
erate primary care, clinical, or organizational nursing knowledge) are both seated at the
table and can respect the role each wants to play as stewards of the discipline. Medicine
is actually no different as many practicing physicians are not involved in research or
have no interest in it. They simply want to practice the art of medicine. Other physi-
cians, however, see problems in their practice and are interested in initiating or partici-
pating in research related to these problems.
The other previously discussed issue— the role of the DNP degree in the prepara-
tion of nurse educator— will be discussed further by Wittman- Price, Waite, and Woda
in Chapter 7. As mentioned earlier, there are unfortunately no aggressive strategic plans
by nursing’s current leadership to adequately replenish the supply of retiring nursing
professors and nurse scientists. This is most unfortunate, because without nursing fac-
ulty, we cannot admit more nursing students and help alleviate the long- term nurs-
ing shortage. It seems highly unlikely, however, that we can increase the number of
PhD students and graduates in the critical mass that is needed. The only solution that
seems plausible is to reengineer the DNP graduate, especially those interested in teach-
ing in MSN and DNP programs, for pathways that include a specific curriculum focus
on teaching doctoral advanced practice. But as the leader of accrediting graduate nurs-
ing programs, the CCNE is unlikely to support this modification in the near future.
This author has come to an alternate conclusion to address the nursing faculty shortage