A Doctor of Philosophy-prepared Family Nurse Practitioner (DNP-FNP) is an advanced practice nurse practitioner (APRN) who has completed a Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) degree. The APRN role of a Family Nurse Practitioner (FNP) requires completing a master’s education level in nursing and gaining specialized competencies to provide care services to people of all ages. Therefore, FNPs can be found in primary care settings and provide care services to individuals and members of the entire family. MSN-prepared FNPs, due to their education and experience, can work independently or collaboratively with physicians, nurses, and specialists. They also have an expanded scope of practice that allows them to diagnose patients, treat and manage conditions independently, prescribe and administer medications, provide care plans and advice to patients, and work collaboratively, not under the supervision of physicians and specialists (Deering, 2023). A DNP-prepared FNP has more advanced competencies and skills in advanced clinical practice as well as in nursing leadership. The DNP as a terminal nursing degree equips the FNP with skills to develop and implement evidence-based practice with a focus on delivering holistic and patient-focused care (Beeber et al., 2019). DNP-prepared FNPs, compared to MSN-prepared FNPs, have a more advanced understanding of health policies, the policy development process, health systems leadership, and nursing education. They are leaders of entire health systems and work in collaboration with other healthcare professionals and policymakers to develop the right policies that guard the rights of healthcare workers and patients. They also help develop and guide the application of evidence in practice in research. DNP-prepared NPs, other than being in nursing practice, contribute to the nursing faculty, play an essential role in nursing education, and contribute to the development of future nursing professionals.
American Association of Colleges of Nursing (AACN) affiliated nursing schools voted on October 25, 2004, in favor of endorsing the Position Statement on the Practice Doctorate in Nursing. The Position Statement on the Practice Doctorate in Nursing aimed to move the current requirements for advancing nursing practice from the master’s degree to the doctorate level (American Association of Colleges of Nursing (AACN), 2023). The National Organization of Nurse Practitioner Faculties (NONPF), on April 20, 2018, also committed to moving all entry-level NP education to the DNP degree by 2025 (National Organization of Nurse Practitioner Faculties (NONPF), 2023). Since then, the AACN (2023) reports that the DNP NP program has been on an upward growth trend and that the last 18 years since its inception has seen the graduation of 72,000 nurses with a DNP degree. DNP NP programs continue to grow rapidly. The NONPF (2023) reports that there were only 125 DNP programs, while in 2021 alone, the DNP NP programs expanded to 254. Additionally, in 2015, there were 934 BSN to DNP graduates and 3327 in 2021 (National Organization of Nurse Practitioner Faculties (NONPF), 2023). Similar trends have been observed in MSN to DNP NP programs. There are 426 DNP programs nationwide, with 70 new DNP programs planned for all states. Between 2021 and 2022 alone, DNP entries grew from 40,834 to 41,021, and graduates increased from 10,086 to 11,149 (American Association of Colleges of Nursing (AACN), 2023).
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