Interest In Doctoral Nursing Programs Exploding

More and more nurses are heeding the call to advanced degrees

. In fact, the doctor of nursing practice (DNP) degree is one of the fastest growing nursing degrees in the country.

Awareness among Americans that a nursing education is a great way to a terrific and much-needed career also rose in 2009, as did the number of qualified applicants who were turned away from undergraduate and graduate nursing programs due to a lack of faculty members to instruct them, a dearth of classrooms and clinical sites, among other reasons.

The American Association of College of Nursing (AACN) reported in March 2010 that the number of nursing doctoral programs in the U.S. rose by more than 20 percent over the past year.

Enrollment in bachelor's and master's nursing degree programs also increased in 2009, the AACN reported. Yet more than 54,000 applicants who were qualified for the graduate and undergraduate programs were turned away in '09, including 9,500 applicants for masters and nursing doctoral programs.

Yet nursing educators are hopeful because the number of new DNP degree programs, programs which can train an extremely high level nursing faculty member, rose by 28 in 2009. In addition, the AACN reported that more than 160 additional DNP programs were in the planning stages across the country.

Why Doctor of Nursing Practice Nurses Are Needed

The AACN's report on the increase in doctor of nursing practice degree programs says it bests: "Given the need for more nurses to serve as Advanced Practice Registered Nurses (APRNs), assume faculty roles, and embark on careers as research scientists, the growth in the number of students entering both practice-focused and research-focused doctoral programs last year is particularly gratifying to nursing's academic leaders."

In other words, the greater the number of nurses who go on to pursue advanced practice degrees such as the master of science in nursing (MSN) and the DNP, the more the number of nursing faculty will grow to meet the demand great, and growing greater each day, need for nursing faculty.

The AACN reported that more than 5,000 nurses were enrolled in practice-focused doctoral programs (the DNP programs) in 2009. More than 4,000 students are enrolled in nursing doctoral programs that are more research-focused programs.

These findings are based on a survey conducted in fall 2009 by the AACN with responses from 683 nursing schools (87.7 percent) in the U.S. and its territories that grant bachelor's and/or graduate nursing degrees.

by: Jean Henshaw

POST COMMENT

Memory Loss And Improving Intelligence Naturally With These Tips What causes your laptop batteries to overheat? Priority custom elements for custom poster printing Tips to Take Away the Difficulty in Poster Printing Rethinking The Laptop Fitness e-Books - Muscle Building Training Programs Glucose Monitors If You Are A Diabet You Ned This! Top 5 Best Dvd To Ipod Converter Reviews The Real Benefits Of Wholesale Surveillance Baby Monitors Car DVD Players from All-promising Satellite Tv On My Computer Software Oak Computer Desk Watch Satellite TV on my Computer