7 Reasons to Advance Your Nursing Career With a DNP
One of the most in-demand careers at the moment would be literally any aspect of healthcare. However, in greatest demand would be nurses and physicians. Prior to SARS-CoV-2, coronavirus, there was already a critical shortage not only at home in the United States but around the globe as well. This raging pandemic has driven the world to a crisis level shortage. It may have you wondering, is now is the time to even think about advancing your career within nursing? Actually, now is exactly the time you might want to think about taking that next step moving you up the ladder from being an RN to that much-coveted DNP, Doctor of Nursing Practice. Here are just seven reasons to advance your career in nursing, especially at this time.
1. Filling a Void in Practicing Physicians
Just a few short years ago there was a growing concern over an ever-widening divide between the number of practicing physicians needed and the number of patients requiring care. There just weren’t enough doctors to meet the demand. This is when more and more states began granting autonomy to Nurse Practitioners and Physician Assistants.
More than half the states now offer autonomy to NPs and Pas. That helps, but is insufficient even in ‘normal’ times let alone during a global pandemic. If you choose this route with your Doctor of Nursing Practice degree, you will most assuredly be filling a void.
Bear in mind that many doctors are already staying long past their expected retirement. Many others are suffering exhaustion and illness due to long hours brought about by this most recent crisis. It takes much longer to bring a graduate student through more than eight years of med school and residency than it takes to bring a registered nurse with a BS or MS in nursing to that much-needed doctor’s degree.
2. Specializing in Evidence-based Practice
Perhaps this is one of the aspects of healthcare that is most sorely needed at this point in time. While much is being learned about new diseases and illnesses that seem to crop up by the day, much is yet to be learned. When studying within a Doctor of Nursing program such as that offered by Walsh University you will learn about the way in which an evidence-based diagnosis and treatment can improve your patient’s outcome.
Actually, this is not a new theory practice. It was pioneered by none other than Florence Nightingale, the founder of modern nursing. She literally authored the book on evidence-based practice. She began gathering statistical data to support her theories on patient care. One of the most famous of her early evidence-based practices was gathering statistical proof that cleanliness was of prime importance in saving lives. Because of this, she is often credited with also being the founder of epidemiology.
She set policy for such things as how and when to wash hands when working with patients and ventilation in patient wards. Her outcomes improved radically and this is evidence-based practice in its most basic form. It’s the foundation for what DNPs are learning today.
3. Gaining the Ability to Share Recent Developments in Science
Over the past couple of years, you have probably been aware of just how divided the world has become in terms of just how to treat this horrendous pandemic. From the controversy over the efficacy and safety of vaccines to the treatments available for patients suffering from SARS-CoV-2, the entire globe seems to be in a tailspin. Actually, the answer may be at hand if more attention can be placed on evidence-based practice as mentioned above.
One of the things you will learn in a DNP program with a focus on evidence-based practice is to rule out the guessing game. Early on in the pandemic, it seemed like few scientists, epidemiologists, and doctors were able to agree on everything from prevention to treatments. What seemed to be lacking was evidence to support anyone’s theories, except perhaps leading experts like those who have spent the past decades researching the previous SARS pandemic.
Once you become proficient in gathering and assessing data based on clinical research and provider experience, you can begin to show others in the field how to assess and treat based on an evidence-based model of practice. In other words, your aim is to help others improve patient outcomes based on evidence, ruling out much of the guesswork.
4. Achieving a Level of Autonomy
There are many reasons why an RN would want to advance to being licensed as a Doctor of Nursing Practice. But one of the most common motivating factors is achieving a certain level of autonomy. Most doctors rely on input from nurses who deal with patient care. RNs are often frustrated at the inability to act until communicating with the patient’s provider.
Most often doctors will act on a nurse’s recommendation. But there are often delays and there are also times when a doctor will choose an alternate path. In either case, many RNs understand how important it is to act quickly and decisively. Who better to plan the way forward than the person who has worked with the patient for hours each day and is basing treatment on evidence-based observation?
However, with that level of autonomy, a NP can literally choose his or her own path forward. They may want to work under a physician within an office or clinic. Or they may choose to open their own practice with the newly gained autonomy. Here again, there are states that don’t grant that level of autonomous practice to nurse practitioners. So this may not be an option for everyone in every state.
5. Moving Forward as an Educator
One of the benefits of achieving that coveted DNP degree is that it offers the level of education and experience needed to teach in leading universities and colleges. It also provides a vehicle through which you can bring the latest in science and technology to budding nurses in the course of their studies.
Take, for example, that emphasis on evidence-based treatment. This is something that was probably only mentioned in a single unit early on in nursing studies as it relates to how Florence Nightingale almost singlehandedly advanced the nursing practice. If you choose to use that degree as an educator, you can spend more time within graduate work to bring real issues forward so that students learn to back treatments and patient care on real-time statistics and historical data.
6. Entering the World of Administration
As a nurse who has ever worked in a hospital setting, you probably know that the Director of Nursing makes decisions for the entire nursing staff. That person will also work with the Board of Directors to set policy while negotiating wages and working conditions for the nursing staff.
If you have ever wanted to have your voice heard, this would be the position to hold. A DNP along with experience in the field will qualify you for that position if one becomes available. With a DNP the sky is the limit within your profession. And if you are a natural leader, working in administration would satisfy your professional needs.
7. The Ability to Set Your Own Pace
Along with having a certain level of autonomy, a DNP is often able to set their own pace. Some NPs prefer to work fewer long days as opposed to the traditional 40 hour week. Others prefer to see patients more than would be required or allowed in a clinic or hospital.
This element of holding a DNP degree is one of the aspects many RNs claim drove them forward. Some have families they need to care for and spend time with so being able to make their own schedules is highly appealing. Others are adamant about being available to a larger patient load and having the ability to prescribe treatment and medications. Autonomous DNP providers can structure their own practice as it suits their personal needs.
Is This Degree Right for You?
The above-mentioned seven reasons to advance your nursing career with a DNP are just the beginning.. You want to focus more on an evidence-based treatment plan. Perhaps you are seeking to move up the professional ladder for the inherent perks an advanced degree has to offer.
The one constant in all this is that there is a real need for nurses on any level. But an even greater need for those with a Doctor of Nursing Practice degree. Having the ability to literally move into any healthcare setting can lead you in directions you never expected. Are you ready to elevate your career and radically increase your earning power? Would you choose to treat patients based on statistical data as it’s collected rather than age-old methods of treatment? If so, it’s time to take that leap forward into your own future. It’s up to you to take the first step and just maybe today is the day.