Doctor of Philosophy and Doctor of Nursing Practice as Complementary Degrees

The introduction of the doctor of nursing practice (DNP) has raised serious concerns about the discipline's continuing ability to build its body of knowledge at an appropriate rate. After noting the various concerns that have been raised that the DNP siphons off prospective doctor of philosophy (PhD) students and compromises the standing of schools of nursing in universities, the distinct but complementary roles of nurses with the two preparations are described. Rather than worry about the DNP distracting from the PhD, the argument is made that these two degrees support one another and together can help to advance the creation and translation of knowledge into the practice of the discipline. Similar discussions about the distinction between practice and research in the field of education are noted.

Index words: DNP degree, Comparison to PhD, Purpose of degrees