The Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP)

Fact Sheet:
The Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP)
On October 25, 2004, the member schools affiliated with the American Association of Colleges
of Nursing (AACN) voted to endorse the Position Statement on the Practice Doctorate in
Nursing. This decision called for moving the current level of preparation necessary for advanced
nursing practice from the master’s degree to the doctorate-level. This endorsement was
preceded by almost four years of research and consensus-building by an AACN task force
charged with examining the need for the practice doctorate with a variety of stakeholder groups.
Introducing the Doctor of Nursing Practice
• In many institutions, advanced practice registered nurses (APRNs), including Nurse
Practitioners, Clinical Nurse Specialists, Certified Nurse-Midwives, and Certified
Registered 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 other nurses seeking top
leadership/organizational roles in DNP programs.
• DNP curricula build on traditional master’s programs by providing content in evidencebased 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 wellequipped to fully implement the science developed by nurse researchers prepared in
PhD, DNS, and other research-focused nursing doctorates.
Why Move to the DNP?
• The changing demands of this nation’s complex healthcare environment require the
highest level of scientific knowledge and practice expertise to assure quality patient
outcomes. The Institute of Medicine, Joint Commission, Robert Wood Johnson
Foundation, and other authorities have called for reconceptualizing educational programs
that prepare today’s health professionals.
• Some of the many factors building momentum for change in nursing education at the
graduate level include: the rapid expansion of knowledge underlying practice; increased
complexity of patient care; national concerns about the quality of care and patient safety;
shortages of nursing personnel which demands a higher level of preparation for leaders
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who can design and assess care; shortages of doctorally-prepared nursing faculty; and
increasing educational expectations for the preparation of other members of the
healthcare team.
• In a 2005 report titled Advancing the Nation’s Health Needs: NIH Research Training
Programs, the National Academy of Sciences called for nursing to develop a non-research
clinical doctorate to prepare expert practitioners who can also serve as clinical faculty.
AACN’s work to advance the DNP is consistent with this call to action.
• Nursing is moving in the direction of other health professions in the transition to the
DNP. Medicine (MD), Dentistry (DDS), Pharmacy (PharmD), Psychology (PsyD), Physical
Therapy (DPT), and Audiology (AudD) all require or offer practice doctorates.
Sustaining Momentum for the DNP
• After a two-year consensus-building process, AACN member institutions voted to
endorse the Essentials of Doctoral Education for Advanced Nursing Practice on October
30, 2006. Schools developing a DNP are encouraged to use this document, which defines
the curricular elements and competencies that must be present in a practice doctorate in
nursing.
• In July 2006, the AACN Board of Directors endorsed the final report of the Task Force on
the Roadmap to the DNP, which was developed to assist schools navigating the DNP
program approval process. This report includes recommendations for securing
institutional approval to transition an MSN into a DNP program; preparing faculty to
teach in DNP programs; addressing regulatory, licensure, accreditation, and certification
issues; and collecting evaluation data. A DNP Tool Kit was developed using information
and resources contained in the Roadmap report.
• In 2014, the AACN Board of Directors commissioned the RAND Corporation to conduct
a national study to examine the progress made by nursing schools in transitioning to the
practice doctorate. The report, titled The DNP by 2015: A Study of the Institutional,
Political, and Professional Issues that Facilitate or Impede Establishing a PostBaccalaureate Doctor of Nursing Practice Program, found near universal agreement
among nurse educators about the value of the DNP in preparing individuals for advanced
nursing practice.
• Schools nationwide that have initiated the DNP are reporting sizable and competitive
student enrollment. Employers are quickly recognizing the unique contribution these
expert nurses are making in the practice arena, and the demand for DNP-prepared nurses
continues to grow.
• The Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education (CCNE), the leading accrediting agency
for baccalaureate- and graduate-degree nursing programs in the U.S., began accrediting
DNP programs in Fall 2008. To date, 321DNP programs have been accredited by CCNE.
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Current DNP Program Statistics
• 357 DNP programs are currently enrolling students at schools of nursing nationwide, and
an additional 106 new DNP programs are in the planning stages (60 post-baccalaureate
and 46 post-master’s programs).
• DNP programs are now available in all 50 states plus the District of Columbia. States with
the most programs (10 or more programs) include California, Florida, Illinois,
Massachusetts, Minnesota, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Texas.
• From 2018 to 2019, the number of students enrolled in DNP programs increased from
32,678 to 36,069. During that same period, the number of DNP graduates increased
from 7,039 to 7,944.
Growth in Practice- and Research-Focused Doctoral Programs: 2007-2019
Last Update: October 2020