Simmons University Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) online

A DNP degree prepares board-certified nurse practitioners (NPs), who have previously earned their MSN degree, to reach the highest level of professional nursing practice. DNP-educated nurses have the advanced skills needed to assume leadership roles in a variety of health settings, to improve patient outcomes, and to enhance healthcare delivery systems.

No. A nurse practitioner (NP) is a job title that refers to a nursing professional with graduate-level training. A DNP — or a Doctor of Nursing — is a terminal academic degree awarded to a nursing professional who has completed the highest level of training in nursing practice.

A DNP degree does not grant authority to write prescriptions. To write prescriptions in any of the 50 U.S. states, nurse practitioners (NPs) — some of whom hold an MSN alone, while others also hold a DNP — must be board-certified. (Note that in certain states, NPs must be supervised by a physician to write prescriptions.)

A DNP degree allows you to add the academic title of “doctor” to your name. However, it does not give you the professional title of “doctor,” which is reserved to physicians/medical doctors. Some states have strict legislation about where and when a nurse can be referred to as a “doctor.”

This depends on your current experience level. Different DNP programs offer different paths of study — which can take anywhere between two to four years to complete — based on a candidate’s current credentials, such as an RN license, a BSN, or a Master of Science in Nursing (MSN).

No. Nurse practitioners (NPs) undergo a distinct nursing-focused training, averaging six to eight years of postsecondary education to obtain licensure and begin practicing. Medical doctors/physicians (MDs) undergo four years of medical school, which is followed by an accredited residency training program; their postsecondary education averages 11 years.^{Footnote 2}