Nursing is a lifelong commitment to your profession. Your educational endeavor doesn’t stop at MSN. Instead, you need to work your way to a terminal degree. However, choosing this degree is not easy. You have to choose between two incredibly robust career choices and complete the journey of your nursing career. You can go for a research-intensive Ph.D. or culminate your journey with a clinical-based DNP degree.
But the question arises: what makes these two degrees so different? While both are advanced degrees and offer you specific skills, they are not substitutes for each other. Therefore, before you choose, learn what’s in store for you. Here’s what you need to know:
- What Is DNP?
A Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) is one of the two terminal degrees you can pursue to build your career. A DNP transforms you into a leader in your field and allows you to focus on providing specific care. You can look towards administrative jobs like a healthcare executive with a DNP degree. At the same time, you can also become a nurse practitioner (NP).
A nurse practitioner is a specialization that helps you care for patients in a highly technical manner. For instance, as a Critical Care Nurse (CCN), you can work in NICUs and ICUs. So if you’re still wondering, what is a DNP think along the lines of providing your skills and knowledge to elevate patient care.
You can choose to get a DNP degree either by applying for the advanced degree after your master’s or going straight from a BSN to a DNP program. There are several DNP certifications that you can explore, including family, women’s health, adult-gerontology, and pediatrics. The coursework will walk you through clinical-based practice, evidence-based projects, and concepts like biostatistics, ethics, and a dive into leadership.
- What Is a Nursing Ph.D.?
A Ph.D. in nursing is a research-intensive degree. If you enjoy studying data, looking for ways to improve nursing outcomes and want more sophisticated methods of patient care, go for a Ph.D. This desk-based job will keep you away from hospitals where patients frequent. By publishing your work, you provide care to patients instead of being at their bedside.
As a researcher, you will have to propose a hypothesis, collect data, run tests, create graphs, apply for funding and submit your journal for peer review. You can also try your hand at teaching and become a research mentor for prospective Ph.D. nursing students. Your career will start as a research assistant before you have the liberty of publishing independently.
- What Is The Difference Between Both Degrees?
While you may know what the curriculum looks like for both these degrees, this information is not enough. You need a complete picture of what each degree holds for you. So here’s what you need to know:
- Program Duration
Time is a significant investment while pursuing a degree. You will need to put most of your aspirations on hold and focus on completing your education. Both the DNP and the Ph.D. programs have varying durations. The average length of a DNP program is about two to four years, even if you choose to do the degree part-time instead of going back to school altogether.
Most DNP programs also require about 72 credit hours before you are eligible to graduate. But, the time duration also depends on how you plan on obtaining your DNP degree. Going from an ADN to a DNP takes five to six years, moving from a BSN to a DNP takes about three to four years, while MSN to DNP takes about two years. The last two options are relatively common in the nursing body while working for terminal degree.
A Ph.D. program, on the other hand, may traditionally take you four to six years to complete by going back to school full time. But, like DNP, you have pathways that change the timeline. If you choose to go from a BSN to a Ph.D., it may take five to ten years to complete.
In contrast, an MSN to Ph.D. is three to seven years. Most nurses choose the last option. However, you don’t need to have credit hours to graduate, but you will need to present your thesis.
- The Paycheck
The average salary is upward of $100,000 per annum, while a Ph.D. nurse makes approximately $90,000 annually.
- Work Environment
As a DNP, you will work in hospitals, nursing homes, and retail clinics if you become a nurse practitioner. However, suppose you opt for the administrative side of your job. In that case, you will work in insurance companies, pharmaceuticals, and work with medical suppliers.
Your responsibilities can also include prescribing diagnostic tests, prescribing medicines, and working on new healthcare policies. You may also find yourself working in healthcare informatics and streamlining healthcare quality.
However, as a Ph.D. nurse, you can work in research facilities, analyze scientific data, and publish your research. If you take on more roles as an educator, you may need to develop nursing curricula, instruct nursing students in research methods or mentor them in their role as caregivers.
- Specialization Choices
Both of these degrees offer you different specialization choices. As a DNP, you can work as an executive leader, educational leader, or healthcare administration. If you choose to be a nurse practitioner, you can work as a neonatal nurse, emergency care nurse, or geriatric specialist. While as a Ph.D., you can look into community health, nursing education, and interdisciplinary health.
- Job Outlook
According to the BLS, DNP has a growth potential of over 40% through 2029, while Ph.D. fields in nursing may grow up to 7% until 2029. While the Ph.D. may look minimal in comparison to the DNP field, that’s not the case. A 7% growth rate is above average in a competitive field like nursing.
Final Thoughts
Choosing a terminal degree as a nurse is pivotal in your career. However, your options include the clinic-centered DNP degree or going with the research-oriented Ph.D. Both of these careers are prestigious, with different perks for you to offer. If you enjoy working with patients, whether treating them as a nurse practitioner or taking care of administrative work, go for a DNP. The average time to finish this degree is much shorter, with a high pay grade than a Ph.D. But, if you like working with clusters of data and arranging them into organized information and enjoy taking on more mentorship roles, go for a Ph.D. So when it comes to picking your forte, go with what beckons you,
