When you have a nursing degree and want to take on a leadership role, a Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) degree can help. This type of doctoral degree provides you with an opportunity to accept a leadership position within a healthcare organization or facility. Being a leader in the healthcare field offers a challenging yet highly fulfilling career. Knowing more about this kind of degree and the benefits it provides can help you decide if you want to take your nursing career in this direction.
What Is a DNP Degree?
A DNP degree is a doctoral degree that nurses can earn in order to pursue leadership positions in a hospital, doctor’s office, or other healthcare organizations. This degree is considered a practical degree rather than one that focuses mainly on research. With this type of degree, nurses can continue practicing medicine while also handling greater responsibilities in a leadership role.
Is a DNP Worth It?
Earning your DNP often means going back to school while working, which can be challenging. Although you will need to put in the time to earn this advanced nursing degree, your efforts will be well worth it. A DNP can provide you with more fulfilling job opportunities and many other advantages.
Having a DNP degree provides several important benefits that can help you advance your nursing career and even boost your quality of life. When you dedicate time to earning a DNP degree, these are some of the benefits you can enjoy.
Advance Your Nursing Career
When you have a DNP, you can plan on advancing your career. Depending on your personal and professional goals, this can result in a more rewarding and fulfilling career path. A DNP can help you pursue job opportunities that require leadership skills and other specialized skills. With this type of degree, you might consider roles such as director of nursing, chief nursing officer, or hospital chief executive officer. These kinds of positions might involve managing or supervising nursing staff, ensuring that healthcare organizations comply with government regulations, or overseeing a facility or organization’s administrative operations.
Nurses with a DNP degree can also pursue other positions in a healthcare facility, such as nurse practitioner or nurse practitioner educator. Other careers for DNPs involve handling the technological aspects of healthcare facilities, such as managing health informatics systems.
Several Specialization Options
When you earn a DNP degree, you can choose from several specialization options. These specializations can help you achieve your career objectives by focusing on a particular area of study. With a specialization, you will be better prepared to pursue a leadership position aligned with your career goals. Depending on your professional aspirations, you might focus on technological or IT leadership, educational leadership, professional leadership, or executive leadership.
IT or informatics leadership provides you with the skills for taking on a tech leadership role in a healthcare organization or facility, such as managing medical records. A DNP in nursing education specialization allows you to focus on nursing education, preparing you for a position teaching other nurses. An executive leadership specialization helps you develop the skills needed for executive leadership positions at healthcare organizations or facilities. With a professional leadership specialization, you can expect to learn the skills required for effectively managing or leading in healthcare settings.
“I love doing the clinical nurse specialist work, but I’d love to find ways to help my facility positively affect patient outcomes. I learned how to do that sort of impactful work as a student at American Sentinel. It’s probably been the biggest benefit of the program.”
Kristi Fabel
DNP – Executive Leadership Specialization student
“This program is perfect for people like me who know patient care but can also help IT design and implement applications that work for nurses. I highly recommend it.”
John Delaney
DNP in Informatics Leadership Specialization graduate
“I really enjoyed the experience, and would definitely recommend the DNP Educational Leadership. It worked for my life and my schedule and I came away a better nurse and professor because of it.”
Debbie D’Arcy
DNP – Educational Leadership Specialization
“The DNP Professional Leadership Track at Post University has exceeded all of my expectations. The program gives the student the autonomy to build their own program by selecting from a variety of DNP classes. This program is flexible, affordable, and is preparing me for the next step in my nursing career.”
Jamie Clemons MSN, RN, CEN
DNP Professional Leadership Student
You’ll Achieve the Highest Credential in Nursing
Having a DNP means you will have earned the highest credential in nursing. A DNP degree is the highest available degree for a practice-based nursing education. This type of degree program helps you achieve the highest level of knowledge and expertise in the nursing field in clinical settings. With the skills and education you will learn in your DNP degree program, you will be prepared to create and implement health policies, oversee patient care, provide organizational leadership, and take on other responsibilities needed for managing a healthcare facility or organization.
Flexible Degree Options
Working as a nurse while earning a DNP can be a challenge, which makes flexible degree options important. Attending classes in person might not always fit with your work schedule. When you decide to work on earning your DNP degree, you might need to look for a flexible degree program that fits your nursing schedule. Online DNP degree programs can provide you with the flexibility you need to continue working while studying, taking exams, and completing projects and assignments.
With an online DNP program, you can get a high-quality education, as well as practical experience that prepares you for leadership positions. This flexible degree program option allows you to do online classes at times that work best for you and from any location. An online DNP program also saves you from having to factor in commuting time, which provides you with more time to focus on your studies.
How to Earn a DNP
In order to earn a DNP, you will need to meet the requirements for admission to this type of degree program. While this can vary from school to school, programs typically require an active R.N. license and a Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN) or a Master of Science in Nursing (MSN). You might also need to be employed in a healthcare setting in order to complete assignments. Depending on whether you choose a specialization, you might also have additional requirements to meet.
During your degree program, you can expect to complete practice experience hours either in a virtual setting or a clinical setting. The number of practice experience hours you will need to complete varies based on how much experience you already have that meets this requirement. This doctoral degree program typically includes classes to help you learn how to evaluate a healthcare organization or facility’s needs, improve healthcare delivery, create health policies, understand the financial health of healthcare organizations, and more. The length of time a DNP degree program takes can also vary by school. Some DNP degree programs take a few years or more to complete, while others can be completed in a shorter amount of time.
If you are considering earning your DNP degree, please contact American Sentinel College of Nursing and Health Science at Post University for more information. Our DNP program offers monthly start dates, four specializations to choose from, affordable tuition costs, and practice-focused curriculum.
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Please note jobs and/or career outcomes highlighted in this blog do not reflect jobs or career outcomes expected from any Post program. To learn more about Post’s programs and their outcomes, please fill out a form to speak with an admissions advisor.