549chapter TWENTY- FOUR
Refl ective Response
Joy Elwell
Practicing across the settings of health policy, primary health care, and academia, I
find the authors’ perspectives on the 2006 Essentials of Doctoral Education for Advanced
Nursing Practice provocative. The authors outline the eight essentials and in their discus-
sions, imply the question, “Do Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP)- prepared nurses know
their place?” Although this question may offend, it should be asked. Another question
implied is, “Why is anyone trying to narrowly define what a DNP- prepared nurse can
do after graduation?” Further, the chapter suggests that the essentials may, unintention-
ally, or otherwise, seek to exclude DNP- prepared nurses from certain specialties for
example, research, academia.
■ DISCUSSION
Is practice for the DNP- prepared nurse based on the essentials? Should it be? The au-
thors ask, and we must ask ourselves, why make any attempt to constrain the practice
of any doctoral nurse? There is no good reason for this. Doing so is an example of turf-
protection and protectionism within nursing and broadens the divide that already exists
between the different types of doctoral nurses.
The authors discuss the evolution of DNP programs with regard to standardiza-
tion and quality. In discussing Essential III : Clinical Scholarship and Analytical Methods for
Evidence- Based Practice , they present the perspective that time will take care of normal-
ization and standardization. The essentials, as the authors indicate, should guide, and
provide a framework for the student, and new graduate, but they should not define,
or limit the graduate’s practice. Take, for example, research. The authors point out that
DNP graduates are discouraged, and perhaps prevented from engaging in research.
According to Vincent, Johnson, Velasquez, and Rigney (2010):
The amount of scientific knowledge is seemingly growing exponentially, and
the need for translating this knowledge into clinical practice has never been
greater. DNP graduates must be prepared in rigorous doctoral curricula to
address this need. As practitioner- researchers, DNP graduates are context
experts who will be key to closing the research- to- practice gap and improv-
ing health outcomes in the United States. (p. 33)