DNP in Nursing vs. a PhD in Nursing
Doctorate in Nursing Practice (DNP) and Ph.D. in Nursing are both doctoral courses in the field of nursing. Both DNP and Ph.D. are terminal degrees in nursing as they mark the end of further studies in nursing education (Trautman et al., 2018). The field requires both degrees in order to foster better evaluation, formulation, implementation; while DNP focuses on clinical practice, Ph.D. draws more attention to nursing research rather than patient care. The curriculum, criteria, and career path are different for each of the courses. DNP takes about 1-4 years to complete, while a Ph.D. requires approximately 5-7 years (Neal-Boylan, 2020). The DNP emphasizes clinical and practicals while Ph.D. emphasizes on conducting research and dissertation writing. DNP in Nursing vs. a PhD in Nursing
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Nurses take up the DNP to prepare for implementing evidence-based approaches in nursing care and nurse leadership. Ph.D. prepared nurses, however, take up the course in preparation for roles in clinical research and nursing education. DNP-prepared nurses look forward to transforming nursing care and developing inter-professional teams (Neal-Boylan, 2020). The nurses also focus on evaluating health systems and working towards enhancing patient outcomes. Ph.D. graduates, on the other hand, work towards evaluating nursing care and trajectories in the health system. The course emphasizes developing clinical protocols and advancing leadership competencies for complicated roles, including statistics and data analysis (Trautman et al., 2018). Ph.D. certification is one-off, while DNP graduates are expected to renew their certifications after five years.
If I choose to further my studies to the doctoral level, I would prefer to pursue a DNP in nursing. I would love to center my nursing career in patient care since I have committed to improving patients’ quality of life in the US. I look forward to driving better patient outcomes and patient satisfaction as I interact with patients during nursing practice.
References
Neal-Boylan, L. (2020). PhD or DNP? That Is the Question. The Journal for Nurse Practitioners, 16(2), A5-A6.
Trautman, D. E., Idzik, S., Hammersla, M., & Rosseter, R. (2018). Advancing scholarship through translational research: The role of PhD and DNP prepared nurses. Online Journal of Issues in Nursing, 23(2). DNP in Nursing vs. a PhD in Nursing