After the BSN should I pursue a DNP? Are DNP worth it?

If you want to practice in a setting with MD supervision, or to practice self-directed medicine, unsupervised, in states that allow NPs to do so, you need a nurse practitioner degree. If you want to work as a pharmacy rep, even an RN will be good enough - it’s more a question of sales ability, and honestly, from what I saw, appearance was a very important part of the job. If you want to become a nurse manager/instructor, an MSN is what you need. If you want to become the head of a school of nursing, you need a PhD in nursing, a true academic degree.

Truthfully, the main reason that the doctor of nursing practice certification exists is that it is a certification with the word doctor - thus enabling nurses to call themselves “doctor so and so”. In a clinical setting where medical doctors work, the title “doctor” implies that one is a medical doctor, has an MD, so co-opting the title “doctor” for a nursing certification for nurses working in a clinical setting is sure to mislead patients. There are many, many online programs for DNP advertising themselves all over the internet. Reminds me of those for-profit trade schools, subsisting on federal student loans, for which the taxpayers are now footing the bill.

Consider what you want to do, and choose your targeted degree according to your goals.

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