Knowledge and skills required for Doctor of Nursing Practice graduates

¶ … knowledge and skills the DNP needs to apply new knowledge, manage individual and aggregate patient information, and assess efficacy and outcomes of patient care.

• How will you as a DNP graduate use information systems technology and patient care technology to support and enhance patient outcomes as well as shape health policy in these areas?

The DNP is a unique degree. It was created to respond to the needs of the modern healthcare environment in a more effective way and to give nurses additional skill sets beyond that of master's level preparation that would still be useful in clinical practice. "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" while still functioning in a clinical setting ("DNP," 2014). As the technical aspects of healthcare grow increasingly more complex and nurse leaders assume more and more decision-making capabilities, demand for DNPs will grow. "According to the 2011 salary survey conducted by ADVANCE for Nurse Practitioners magazine, DNP-prepared NPs earned $8,576 more than master's-prepared NPs" ("DNP," 2014). The DNP, rather than research, focuses on practice competencies in a variety of areas, including "education, informatics, public policy, public health, or administration" ("What does a "Doctor of Nursing Practice" mean to you," 2014). It places a specific emphasis on nursing leadership.

Given it is a clinically-focused degree, DNP graduates "receive additional preparation in evaluation and implementation of evidence-based practice" which involves searching for the optimal "current best evidence relative to each question, and taking the appropriate action that is guided by the evidence" (Chism 2009). The additional knowledge conveyed by the degree allows the DNP to evaluate evidence-based research more critically and make decisions that can impact a healthcare institution. Even though it is not a research degree, the DNP gives practitioners the necessary intellectual tools to evaluate research in a manner above and beyond master's-level preparation. DNPs also receive additional training in IT, an increasingly important part of modern healthcare. "Doctor of nursing practice graduates also receive additional preparation in information technologies…Utilizing these skills will improve patient care through the use of technologies such as electronic medical records, data mining, PDAs, and other communication resources" (Chism 2009). DNPs must be able to understand the technical aspects of research yet also understand how that research will play out in the lived realities of their patients' lives and the lives of fellow practitioners.