[NPInfo] New Press Release dated yesterday

[David Mittman]

More confusing than ever.

I still have a problem. Please someone help me with this particular one.
The DNP is open to all APNs.
Anesthetists and midwives and CNSs are APN and can get a DNP.
The Columbia people want all DNPs to pass this NBME test and the test  
will have clinical questions similar to let's say heavy duty Im, Em,  
Derm, Card, Psych, etc.
How will a midwife, a CNM or any other APN except an NP be expected  
to pass it. Do these people treat depression? Do they manage  
diabetes? Do they treat thyroid disease or other IM dz's?
How can they pass if the test is on the full scope of clinical medicine?

Doctor of Nursing Degree Gets Go-Ahead

Copyright 2008 by Virgo Publishing.
http://www.surgicenteronline.com/
Posted on: 06/10/2008







Columbia University School of Nursing announced that its new program  
has been successfully registered by New York State. The Doctor of  
Nursing Practice (DNP) program received unanimous approval by  
Columbia University Academic Senate in February, and this was the  
final step in the review process for transitioning the DNSc program  
to the PhD in Nursing. The first class of PhD students will enter in  
Fall 2008.

The DNP program will offer a clinically focused curriculum to prepare  
expert practitioners. The degree represents the highest academic  
preparation in clinical nursing. Graduates of the DNP program will be  
advanced practice nurses with the knowledge and skills for fully  
accountable expert care to patients across all care settings. The  
clinical doctorate can be conferred in conjunction with any specialty  
in advanced nursing practice.

The PhD in Nursing program offers a research-intensive curriculum to  
prepare nurse-investigators who are ready to begin to conduct  
research on nursing problems, outcomes and health policy  
independently and as leaders of interdisciplinary teams. Graduates of  
the PhD program will have the investigative skills necessary to  
extend clinical nursing knowledge through innovation and discovery.

They will be trained in health policy principles to work  
collaboratively with other professionals and advocacy groups to  
improve the health care system. Specifically, nurse-scientist  
graduates will be prepared to begin to:

 >>Design, conduct, direct and report research studies that increase  
knowledge about the outcomes of nursing and other clinical practice.
 >>Translate the evidence accumulated through research into practice
 >>Develop and carry out innovative and informed health policies for  
improved organization and delivery of health services

The PhD courses are in three major clusters:
1)      theoretical foundations of nursing science
2)      analytical foundations of nursing science
3)      elective and application courses closely mentored by faculty  
through which the student develops specialized research expertise.

The school describes the difference between DNP and PhD by the  
following definitions:

The PhD degree is a research doctorate that requires a dissertation  
and that prepares graduates to function as beginning nurse- 
investigators and scholars, with the goal of building a program of  
research as independent nurse-scientists involved in the discovery  
and refinement of nursing knowledge.

The DNP degree is a clinical doctorate that prepares the graduate to  
practice independently with the most complex patients, in any  
setting, utilizing complicated informatics and evidence-based  
decision-making skills. The degree requires a DNP portfolio that is  
of equal detail and compelling evidence as a research dissertation.

The DNP is the highest degree for nurse-clinicians and prepares them  
to practice fully accountable care for patients across settings and  
over time.

According to an article written by Myrle Croasdale, an AMNews  
staffer, the American Medical Association and the American Academy of  
Family Physicians said they support advances in nursing education but  
emphasized that nurses should operate as part of a healthcare team  
under physician supervision. AMA Board of Trustees Secretary, William  
A. Hazel Jr., MD, said there are important distinctions between DNPs  
and physicians that the public should understand.

"I do not want to be construed as attacking nurses, but there are  
concerns," Hazel told the reporter. "There's a difference in training  
that should not be overlooked."

Richard Hawkins, MD, NBME, vice president for assessment programs,  
said the test will be based on Step 3 of the U.S. Medical Licensing  
Exam, the last level in the test series.

Also, the article reports that about 75 graduates qualify to take the  
DNP certification test. Once nursing schools finish their program  
expansions, she expects there will be at least 2,000 DNPs graduating  
each year. Candidates must first complete a master's-level nurse  
practitioner degree before they begin a DNP program.

For more information on the program, click here.

Source: Columbia University School of Nursing