Breaking Barriers: Advancing Your Nursing Career With a Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP)

The Doctor of Nursing Practice, or DNP degree, is the highest-level degree that a nurse can attain, and graduates from this program can pursue leadership positions in their nursing careers. Compared to other terminal degree programs in nursing, the DNP provides nurses with an alternative option to a research-focused doctoral program and allows nurses to continue breaking the barrier as they put their advanced skills into practice

Breaking the Barrier: Advantages of Pursuing a DNP

The American Association of Colleges of Nursing describes the DNP as the premier terminal degree program for nurses who want to continue working with patients and are interested in leadership positions in nursing. According to NurseJournal.org, the top advantages of pursuing a DNP degree include:

• Developing an advanced skill set that allows you to pursue specialized positions in nursing, including advanced practice registered nurse positions.
• Expanding your knowledge and improving leadership skills, allowing you to pursue leadership positions in nursing.
• Allowing you to increase your earning potential, as many of the positions that require a DNP offer higher salaries and better benefits packages.
• Providing you with an opportunity to work collaboratively as part of the healthcare team and take on a more prominent role in complex cases.

Enhanced Clinical Expertise and Leadership Skills

The healthcare system in the United States is one of the most complex and dynamic healthcare systems in the world, which has forced healthcare professionals — particularly nurses — to develop advanced skills to rise to the occasion and address the challenges of our time. The DNP degree program curriculum is designed to enhance your overall clinical expertise and hone your leadership skills, allowing you to pursue some of the highest-level positions in nursing.

Creating Strong Healthcare Teams

Nurses who earn a DNP can participate more fully as part of the healthcare team, ensuring that each patient receives a team of providers willing to think critically and creatively to ensure that they receive the best possible care. DNP graduates help create strong healthcare teams by:

• Improving the quality of care that an individual patient receives.
• Improving the nature of treatment plans, ensuring that patient-centered care is a top priority.
• Increasing the educational standards expected of leaders within the healthcare team.

Resolving and Managing Conflict

Due to the fast-paced, stressful nature of working directly with patients and collaborating with other healthcare providers, nurses are often faced with conflict in the workplace. Nurses who earn a DNP are uniquely prepared to help resolve and manage conflict in the workplace, whether it’s between nurses and their patients or nurses and the rest of the healthcare team.

Some of the best conflict resolution techniques in nursing include:

• Accommodating both parties to prevent the situation from escalating further. Accommodation is best when the risk of escalation would result in a significant disruption in the workplace setting.
• Collaborating with all parties to reach common ground. Nurses with a DNP have often worked to hone their leadership skills, which makes them expert collaborators.
• Avoiding the situation until cooler heads prevail. This strategy is only advised when one or both parties are quite angry, and it is only recommended as a short-term solution.

Leading Group Discussions for Improving Patient Outcomes

Unfortunately, egos can get in the way of providing patients with the personalized care that they deserve. Nurses who have earned a DNP have significant experience collaborating, which allows them to lead group discussions with all providers on the care team and maintain the focus on the patient. By facilitating these discussions, nurses with a DNP degree can create a more positive workplace culture and improve patient outcomes.

Expanded Career Opportunities and Advancement Potential

One of the most significant benefits of earning a DNP degree is that it opens the door to many of the best nursing career paths, including work-from-home nursing jobs. These are some of the career opportunities that you may consider when you earn a DNP:

• Administrative Roles, such as Program Director or Research Manager
• Chief Nursing Officer
• Chief Nursing Executive
• Nurse Manager
• Advanced Practice Registered Nurse
• Nurse Practitioner

Increased Autonomy and Influence in Healthcare Decision-Making

Registered nurses who have an ADN or BSN can work directly with patients, and they are responsible for implementing the individual treatment plan. However, nurses without an advanced degree do not have as much freedom or autonomy to direct the course of a patient’s treatment. By earning a DNP degree, you may have the opportunity to prescribe medication, and you may be considered a valued part of the healthcare leadership team, giving you a chance to play a pivotal role in the decision-making process. Many nurses with a DNP find this aspect to be particularly rewarding, as they feel that they are having an impact on the daily lives of their patients.

Increase Competence in Practice

Due to the rigorous coursework required by the DNP degree program, nurses who earn this terminal degree in nursing can improve their overall competence in their practice. Some of the course topics covered in the curriculum include:

• Biostatistics and Epidemiology
• Scholarship in Nursing
• Quality and Safety Practices in Healthcare
• Healthcare Transformation Through Technology

Encourage Participative Decision Making

Leadership training is an integral part of the DNP degree program, which allows nurses to be effective leaders in the workplace environment. Nurses who have earned a DNP are more likely to encourage participative decision making, which means that all members of the healthcare team, as well as the patients, can contribute to the final course of the treatment plan.

Addressing Healthcare Disparities Through Advanced Nursing Practice

Health equity is a trending topic in the healthcare industry, as more and more providers work to address the disparities that exist in the field and provide all patients with the expert-level care that they deserve. Many leaders in the healthcare sector believe that advanced nursing practice is the key to addressing health disparities, which are defined by the U.S. Office of Disease Prevention and Health Promotion as differences that exist as a result of an individual’s race, socioeconomic status, gender, religion, sexual orientation, age, or geographic location.

Organizational Level: Patient-Centered

At the organizational level, nurses with a DNP can take a hands-on approach to patient-centered care. By working as a leader on the healthcare team, nurses can offer a unique perspective and ensure that all patients are being prioritized effectively and given the comprehensive care that they deserve. Nurses with a DNP are more likely to have a better understanding of the personalized needs of patients, and they also are more likely to be culturally competent in their practice.

Policy Level: Advocate

Until health equity is achieved, the playing field is not level for all patients who need care within the healthcare system. Nurses who have a DNP degree have not only developed advanced nursing skills, but they also have significant experience that allows them to better understand the health disparities that exist and the impact that those disparities have on the lives of their patients. Compared to other doctoral degree programs, the DNP degree allows nurses to continue working in clinical settings, which gives them an opportunity to work directly with patients and advocate for improved health equity within the healthcare system.

Earn Your DNP at Carson-Newman University

Ready to take your nursing career to the next level? Pursue a Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) with Carson-Newman and learn how to be a servant leader in advanced clinical practice, leadership and healthcare advocacy. Don’t wait any longer— transform your impact in healthcare today!

Request more information about our online degree programs today.