Why is the DNP degree important and necessary?
The rapid expansion of knowledge underpinning practice, the complexity of patient care, national concerns about the quality of care and patient safety, and shortages of nursing personnel and faculty have necessitated a higher level of preparation for leaders who can design and provide care for diverse populations. Several reports from the Institute of Medicine (IOM) underscore the need for an appropriately trained health care workforce to meet these challenges of the 21st Century. Given the dynamic nature of the science and evidence base in health care, innovative educational approaches are needed to teach students how to manage knowledge, use effective tools to support clinical decision making and apply methodological rules to evaluate the evidence. Likewise, the American Association of Colleges of Nursing (AACN) has recognized the need to change nursing education to meet the demands of an increasingly complex health care system and recommended adoption of the DNP by 2015 as the termi
