In an effort to raise the standards for advanced-practice nurses — a select group who work as practitioners, midwives, specialists and anesthetists — the American Association of Colleges of Nursing has approved a policy that recommends nursing schools offer a doctorate in clinical nursing.
The recommendation comes amid concerns that advanced-practice nurses need training above and beyond the required master’s degree.
Many nursing institutions are already hard at work making sure that doctoral programs in clinical nursing are available by 2015. But several schools whose current doctoral programs focus more on research say they have no plans to follow AACN’s recommendation.
Advanced-practice nurses typically work with individuals who require long-term health care, such as heart or kidney transplant patients. Experts say the doctorate of nursing practice, or DNP, will eventually be a requirement for nurses who work within an advanced specialty field.
“There seems to be no end in sight for the need for highly educated nurses to take care of patients,” says AACN President Jeanette Lancaster. “Many people have enormously complex health conditions, and you need people who are highly prepared in the specialty they are working in.”
