I have read many articles about this and all the controversy froms MDs and from nurses.( MD's not wanting nurses to get to that level- its threatening...nurses not wanting a career path that extends that far- bc there will be less nurses on the floor doing nursing work- and making the nursing shortage even worse!)

My nursing school just started one...

I am interested in it- but at the same time-thats a lot of work!

What do you think?

From what I understand, and from the 2 or 3 DNP recipients I have met, it is being used more for nurses working in higher administrative roles and university faculty positions. There's no more advanced license for nurses right now than the APN license - the DNP is a degree that confers no more clincial rights than getting your APN license. It does not allow a DNP to practice independantly as an MD does, the individual states would need to change those laws.

Nurses are getting to that level already with the PhD degree - and I forsee the DNP being used in the same manner - by nurses wanting to do higher-level research, those wanting to teach at the university level (most colleges require a Doctoral degree to teach at the Master's level - and both the PhD and DNP are doctoral degrees), and those in higher-level administration.

Here's some pretty good FAQ/info about the DNP role and education: https://www.aacn.nche.edu/DNP/DNPFAQ.htm

This explains the role pretty well too (from AACN):

Introducing the Doctor of Nursing Practice

• In many institutions, advanced practice registered nurses (APRNs), including Nurse Practitioners, Clinical Nurse Specialists, Certified Nurse Mid-Wives, and Certified Nurse Anesthetists, are prepared in master's-degree programs that often carry a credit load equivalent to doctoral degrees in the other health professions. AACN's position statement calls for educating APRNs and nurses seeking top systems/organizational roles in DNP programs.
  

• DNP curricula build on traditional master's programs by providing education in evidence-based practice, quality improvement, and systems leadership, among other key areas.

• The DNP is designed for nurses seeking a terminal degree in nursing practice and offers an alternative to research-focused doctoral programs. DNP-prepared nurses are well-equipped to fully implement the science developed by nurse researchers prepared in PhD, DNSc, and other research-focused nursing doctorates.

AACN recognizes the DNP as an academic degree that prepares nurses for a variety of

advanced specialty nursing roles, including the four legally recognized Advanced Practice

Registered Nursing (APRN) roles: Certified Nurse-Midwives, Certified Registered Nurse

Anesthetists, Clinical Nurse Specialists, and Certified Nurse Practitioners. A variety of

specialty and role certification examinations are currently available for nurses who have

graduated from an accredited graduate program and are prepared to practice as an APRN.

Interesting topic.  I didn't know about this.  Thanks for all the info!

FMIL is a Neonatal DNP, and from what I understand the master's level of nursing is going to be phased out into the doctorate program because the physicians do not like that master's prepared nurses are allowed prescriptive liscences. They are allowed to practice under the direction of an MD, but in a lot of facilities are seen as a part of the medical staff instead of the nursing staff and are considered almost equal to MD's in sharing on call positions, etc. but are still just below an MD.

Yeah, I keep hearing that they are thinking about making entry-level APN practice require a Doctoral degree - I'll believe it when it happens ;)

I say that because the DNP degree is so new and because they have been saying for about 10 years now that they want to make entry-level RNs hold a Bachelor's degree and that's not even close to happening country-wide. I think there are 1 or 2 states that require a BSN for entry-level nursing!