40 ■ I: HISTORICAL AND THEORETICAL FOUNDATIONS FOR ROLE DELINEATION
The AACN Essentials of Doctoral Education for Advanced Nursing Practice (2006) docu-
ment makes it clear that “translational research” is not what it is referring to when it states:
The scholar applies knowledge to solve a problem via the scholarship of ap-
plication (referred to as the scholarship of practice in nursing). This appli-
cation involves the translation of research [italics mine] into practice and the
dissemination and integration of new knowledge, which are key activities of
DNP graduates. (p. 11)
The nuance is nevertheless very clear. Translational research involves very formal
traditional methods of scientific inquiry (Rubio et al., 2010). Supporting this in their
description of practice inquiry, Magyary and colleagues (2006) indicate, “Practice inquiry
entails a wide spectrum of designs, methods and statistical approaches. Emerging con-
ceptual and technological advances in clinical epidemiology and informatics provide
APNs the instruments to identify and monitor clinical patterns over time” (p. 145). To
this author at least, the skill set of the DNP graduate described here is different from the
more narrow focus of the scholarship of application. Therefore, until there is more clarity
about the direction of the scholarship focus of the DNP degree, we are likely to see indi-
vidual DNP programs undertaking very different forms of scientific and practice inquiry.
■ INTERNATIONAL IMPLICATIONS FOR THE DNP DEGREE
Finally, this chapter concludes with some thoughts about the DNP degree in the larger
professional doctorate and larger universal doctoral nursing community.^17 With the ex-
ception of medicine, dentistry, and veterinary medicine, there are no doctoral programs
outside of the United States that do not include the conduct of research. Indeed, the
European Union (EU) in their Bologna Third Doctoral Cycle deliberations are trying to
establish some uniformity among EU nations to better standardize both the PhD and
the professional doctorate so that the transferability of scholars’ credentials across bor-
ders is not an issue (Bologna Process, 2010; Davies, 2008). First, it may not be com-
mon knowledge, but professional nursing doctorates have existed globally, particularly
in Australia, Northern Ireland, and Great Britain, since the 1990s (Ellis & Lee, 2005;
McKenna & Cutcliffe, 2001). What is common among them (and professional doctor-
ates in all other disciplines aside from those disciplines identified previously) is that the
conduct of research is an integral part of their core competencies. Stew (2009), author of
Chapter 19, and his colleagues from the University of Brighton indicate the difference
between the PhD and the professional doctorate is that the PhD prepares the “profes-
sional researcher” and the professional doctorate prepares the “researching profession-
al.” But does the DNP degree fit into this international professional nursing doctorate
degree model? The answer is that some do, but that most do not. However, what the
DNP and other U.S.- based professional doctorates do that the international profession-
al doctorates largely do not^18 is to emphasize and actually require additional practice
hours beyond the MSN or other health professions master’s degree. Even as I attended
the first Professional and Practice- Focused Doctoral Research Special Interest Group
meeting in London in July 2010 as the only U.S. attendee, I queried a fellow colleague
who indicated that their professional doctorate graduates do gain advanced practice
hours at their work site, although absolute hours are not required. I argued that it would
be controversial (even open the university to liability, which I understand is less prev-
alent in the British legal system) to award credit in the United States for actual work
the student completed as the agent of the employer (hospital) and not primarily as the