186 ■ II: ROLES FOR DOCTORAL ADVANCED NURSING PRACTICE
require supplementary education to be adept in fulfilling an academic role (Agger et al.,
2014). More progressive DNP programs that comprise primary concentrations or lead-
ership edification focused on education provide nurses with formal foundational work
including educational theory, testing, evaluation, curriculum development, and a cap-
stone educational practicum. As such, graduates of these programs are competent to
develop, execute, and evaluate nursing curriculum, in addition to being involved in the
scholarship of teaching.
Several schools that offer a DNP have clearly advertised nurse educator cog-
nates as a secondary focus or subspecialty; however, all require the applicant to have
earned an MSN. To examine how they are addressing the matter of having additional
pedagogical and experiential competencies to teach, a search was conducted through
Google using the terms “DNP” and “nurse educator focus.” A review of courses offered
was assessed for the following schools: George Washington University, University
of Southern Alabama, Samford University, University of St. Francis, University of
Wisconsin- Madison, University of Massachusetts, and Saint Louis University. Table 7.1
highlights the number and content of courses that educational institutions provide at
these schools.
When assessing a sampling of six schools of nursing specifically looking at a post-
master’s certificate for nurse educators, Table 7.2 provides detailed information on the
required coursework for each program. Also, each program required a BSN and MSN
to enroll. Interestingly, to sit for the certified nurse educator exam, individuals must
have successfully completed nine or more credit hours of graduate- level education
courses.
During the search, American Sentinel University was the sole academic institution
that had a primary track in education (i.e., educational leadership focus). To success-
fully complete this online program of study, 14 courses must be successfully completed
including two onsite residencies, which typically take just over 2 years to complete.
Auerbach et al. (2015) argue that solely implementing the traditional DNP approach
without incorporating other strategies will not help to resolve our faculty crisis in the
nursing profession. They found that many schools are “growing their own faculty” who
have successfully completed a DNP by supporting their enrollment in post- master’s
nurse educator programs. Taking into account the major faculty shortage, the role of
DNP educators must be underscored and given equitable attention as other roles in
these programs. Policies guiding credentialing require educators to intentionally exam-
ine ways to support DNP students who want and need pedagogical skills to enhance
their ability to teach the science of the profession they practice. Academic institutions
struggle with providing DNP degrees within the guidelines of the AACN’s Essentials of
Doctoral Education for Advanced Nursing Practice and preparing doctoral learners for the
nurse educator role that so many of them assume. To date, the best resolution has been
assisting students to complete additional coursework in preparation for the teaching
role.
Taken together, the nursing profession remains challenged given the conundrum
set before us, with having a credentialing agency dictate what is deemed appropriate for
educating our students. Consequently, regulatory structures have the power to usurp
control over one’s profession, its own operations, and even its own destiny. As leaders,
we must work toward providing exemplary academic experiences to prepare the next
generation of educators, practitioners, and executives that will move our profession into
the next century.