[NPInfo] Forbes-DNP-not written by an NP

[stephanie2u at optonline.net]

Hopefully, the DNP will go the way of the DNS, the ND etc.--to oblivion.  It surely adds very little to what we know/do and will not increase our incomes. 

>From what I understand it is being totally driven by colleges of nursing because they can't find people with Ph.D's for faculty. 

The fact that some other professions award themselves a "D" as a first professional degree seems irrelevant. No one outside our profession will understand that a NP with a Master's and experience is far more knowledgeable than a brand-new DNP. 

Primary care is very difficult. A lot of primary care docs are struggling to get reimbursed from insco's, keep up with overhead & stay afloat. There's a lot of responsibility for managing a broad array of health problems and coordinating care, with little appreciation for the role (sound like anything familiar? like hospital nursing for instance?). Specialists get paid much more and don't have to work as hard. I can't imagine NP's really thriving in this market. Are they going to compete by offering the same services for lower fees? 

But academia has never been in touch with economic realities. They just want to keep enrolling students.

Stephanie Walker, FNP


----- Original Message -----
From: David Mittman 
Date: Wednesday, November 28, 2007 11:19 am
Subject: [NPInfo] Forbes-DNP-not written by an NP
To: ACC Listserv , NPinfo 

> This article will be tacked up on every doctor¹s lounge 
> billboard. I am not
> sure this needed to be said in the way it was said. Am not even 
> sure 50% of
> the NPs in the country would say those words. And what if you 
> don¹t have a
> doctorate? Are you now an inferior NP? Comparing training at 
> this point is
> also not a wise move. Saying that the training is high quality 
> and allows
> one to diagnose and treat most illness is the way to go.
> 
> 
> Commentary
> Who Will Be Your Doctor?
> Mary O' Neil Mundinger 11.28.07, 6:00 AM ET
> 
> 
> A quietly emerging trend in health care is likely to have a 
> major effect on
> who will diagnose and treat your illness in the coming years. 
> Rather than a
> physician, that comprehensive-care provider may very well be a 
> nurse--who
> also happens to be a doctor.
> As more physicians move toward specialties and away from general 
> care, there
> is a troubling lack of providers in this critical health-care 
> sector. The
> need is even more urgent in light of the growing number of 
> Americans who are
> suffering from chronic illnesses such as asthma, diabetes and 
> hypertensionand require long-term disease treatment and 
> coordination of care. Many
> others who survive extraordinary medical interventions or trauma need
> sustaining care for the rest of their lives.
> The doctor of nursing practice (DNP) is a new level of clinical 
> practicethat is attracting a rapidly growing number of nursing 
> professionals. This
> doctoral degree enables advanced-practice nurses to gain the 
> knowledge and
> skills necessary to practice independently in every clinical setting.
> In Pictures: Innovative Health-Care Solutions
> DNPs are the ideal candidates to fill the primary-care void and 
> deliver a
> new, more comprehensive brand of care that starts with but goes 
> well beyond
> conventional medical practice. In addition to expert diagnosis and
> treatment, DNP training places an emphasis on preventive care, risk
> reduction and promoting good health practices. These clinicians 
> are peerless
> prevention specialists and coordinators of complex care. In 
> other words, as
> a patient, you get the medical knowledge of a physician, with 
> the added
> skills of a nursing professional.
> Truly comprehensive care requires both medical and nursing 
> skills, and
> nurses with a clinical doctorate have that complement of 
> abilities. Skilled
> at identifying nuanced changes of condition, and intervening 
> early in a
> patient's illness, these clinicians are also expert at utilizing 
> communityand family resources, and incorporating patient values 
> into a
> family-centered model of care.
> Once patients move beyond the common bias that only doctors of 
> medicine can
> provide top-flight care, they typically come to appreciate these added
> benefits. Most important, research has demonstrated that DNPs, 
> with their
> eight years of education and extensive clinical experience, can 
> achieveclinical outcomes comparable to those of primary-care 
> physicians.As more advanced-practice nurses pursue this new 
> level of clinical training,
> we are working to create a board certification to establish a 
> consistentstandard of competence. To that end, we are working to 
> enable DNPs to take
> standardized exams similar in content and format to the test 
> that physicians
> must pass to earn their M.D. degrees. By allowing DNPs to take 
> this test,
> the medical establishment will give patients definitive evidence 
> that these
> skilled clinicians have the ability to provide comprehensive care
> indistinguishable from physicians.
> Along with a doctorate and the title of "doctor," the fact that 
> a nurse
> practitioner has fulfilled this certification requirement will instill
> confidence in patients that DNPs have the expertise to serve as their
> health-care provider of choice.
> Nurse practitioners are reimbursed by Medicare and Medicaid in 
> every state,
> but only variably by commercial insurance carriers. That is 
> certain to
> change soon, as these DNP graduates prove they are the logical 
> choice to
> become the new comprehensive-care clinicians.
> As this valuable new resource grows and becomes fully 
> established, the
> health-care system's ability to meet the nation's desire for 
> accessible,high-quality care will be greatly improved, yielding 
> better health for all.
> Medical specialists are in short supply; patients increasingly 
> need their
> care. With the advent of the DNP clinicians, we can have both 
> dedicated,brilliant specialists and effective health management. 
> It is the future we
> all need and want.
> In Pictures: Innovative Health-Care Solutions
> Mary O' Neil Mundinger, Dr.P.H., is the Dean of the Columbia 
> UniversitySchool of Nursing, which was the first to pioneer the 
> DNP concept.
> 
> 
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