Practice Doctorate Resource Center

NONPF Perspective

NEW! Statement from the NONPF Board of Directors (Nov 2004)

Practice Doctorate in Nursing:  Models, Competencies, and the NONPF Perspective

NONPF Board of Directors

November 2004

NONPF has been a resource to faculty as educational programs have evolved to accommodate the expansion of the nurse practitioner (NP) role.  Over the past 25 years, NONPF has developed the curriculum framework, graduate competencies, and the program standards that have guided the educational preparation of all NPs, regardless of program type or degree level.  The work within NONPF to support the Practice Doctorate movement reflects an ongoing commitment to advancing quality NP education.

Historical Perspective

 Nurse practitioner educational programs emerged at first in the mid-1960s as non-degree certificate programs of varying length.  The increase in these post-basic certificate programs in the 1970s led to the development and release of NP educational guidelines by 1980.  The continued evolution of the role and the availability of curricular guidelines led to the increase of Master’s degree granting programs and the sharp decline of certificate programs over the next decade.  Within the 1990 Advanced Nursing Practice: Nurse Practitioner Curriculum Guidelines, NONPF identified that “advanced nursing practice as a nurse practitioner is grounded in graduate level preparation (master’s, post-master’s, or doctoral study).”  The big boom of educational programs during the 1990s reflected the shift to Master’s level preparation or higher with less than 1% of all NP clinical tracks remaining at the post-basic certificate level in 2004. 

 Today, NONPF remains dedicated to all NPs and their faculty, recognizing that their credentials may have been obtained initially through CE programs (and they were later grandfathered), through post-master’s programs, or through a traditional master’s or higher graduate degree program.   

NONPF Practice Doctorate Task Force

Knowing that a practice doctorate would have important implications for NP education, NONPF formed a Practice Doctorate Task Force in 2001 to be actively engaged in the discussion and decisions related to the Practice Doctorate in Nursing.  This Task Force has seen as its mission to guide policy development related to the practice doctorate, to keep the NONPF membership and other nursing groups informed and engaged in the dialogue, and to provide advanced practice nursing faculty with materials to support their efforts in creating these new programs. In 2002, the NONPF Board of Directors issued a statement indicating support for clinical doctoral preparation of nurses and career mobility through advanced clinical education.  The Board further delineated activities to support an organizational strategic initiative relative to the clinical (practice) doctorate in nursing.  In 2003, the Board approved recommendations brought forward by the Task Force and further modified these recommendations in November 2004.  The NONPF Web-based Practice Doctorate Resource Center has posted these Board statements - http://www.nonpf.org/cdhome.htm - and the work of the Task Force.

The Task Force members have supported the strategic initiative for the organization through a series of activities:  Conducted national Teleweb discussions with instantaneous voting on issues; published Internet articles; held membership discussions; polled members and others; served as consultants to other practice doctorate groups; and provided consultation to numerous nursing programs.   The Task Force includes the following members: Lucy Marion (Chair), Medical College of Georgia; M. Katherine Crabtree, Oregon Health & Sciences University; Susan Fontana, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee; Ann L. O'Sullivan, University of Pennsylvania; Marva Price, Duke University; and Diane Viens, Yale University.

Educational Models

In April 2004, the NONPF Practice Doctorate Task Force chair presented to the membership sample educational models for the practice doctorate.  Following further refinement of these models, NONPF has recently posted the educational models on the Web site to show various paths available to the practice doctorate. These models have been used or considered for use by various groups from educational institutions or professional organizations. They do not prescribe curricula or content but serve as guides.  Refer to http://www.nonpf.org/cdhome.htm to view the models.

Competencies

The next endeavor within NONPF will be to identify and validate the practice doctorate competencies for nurse practitioners. The Practice Doctorate Task Force will provide the leadership but will involve others with experience in developing competencies.  A presentation in April 2005 will provide the membership an update on the status of this work.