Practice Doctorate Resource Center

NONPF Perspective

Clinical Doctorate Initiative

Lucy Marion, PhD, APRN, BC, FAAN

In conjunction with the annual meeting earlier this year, NONPF provided the opportunity for the membership to learn more about the national discussion of the clinical doctorate and NONPF’s response. A highly informative panel discussion in the closing session to the program highlighted different models of the clinical doctorate and laid out key issues for considering the future development of such a paradigm for nurse practitioner education. I also reported on the work of NONPF’s early task force in examining the impetus for this paradigm, including the Board’s initial support for the concept of clinical doctoral education for career mobility and the need for evidence-based inquiry to identify and validate additional competencies and content for new, advanced clinical programs.

Following the annual meeting, the Board continued its dialogue and identified a strategic initiative for the organization. Through a series of activities relative to the clinical doctorate issue, the organization will seek to maintain quality in advanced practice nursing by addressing multiple issues needing further study and resolution. The initial activities identified include (1) publishing the initial review conducted by NONPF, (2) broadening the NONPF clinical doctoral education task force for oversight of the initiative and identify sub-groups to address specific components, (3) participating in external task forces and committees addressing this issue, and (4) engaging the NP practice and larger APN communities in dialogue on the issue.

As chairperson of the NONPF task force charged with this initiative, I will head the NONPF initiative and represent the organization when possible in external dialogues. I look forward to serving as NONPF’s liaison to the task force formed by the American Association of Colleges of Nursing to study the clinical doctorate. As well, I will continue to represent NONPF in the discussions of the model under development by Columbia University. I have participated in the two latest invitational meetings in a series of 4 hosted by Columbia University to develop the program model and competencies for a highly flexible practitioner who would manage health problems with a high enough level of accountability to enable him/her to design and deliver health care within a nursing context. I will also work with the NONPF task force to identify opportunities to engage our partners in APN practice and education in shared dialogue about advancing clinical doctoral education in nursing. Towards that end, planning is under way for an open forum (e.g., Teleweb) on this topic in late fall to allow educators and clinicians to share thoughts with NONPF. Through the exchange of ideas between the NONPF membership and our organizational partners, we can collectively shape the future of nursing education.

It is clear that innovative, change agents have already and will continue to implement various models for the clinical doctorate. NONPF’s work will stay focused on a framework rather than a single model, and we will continue to offer our vast experience in identifying competencies that may help to define better this advanced level of preparation.

Originally published in The Mentor, Volume 13, Number 3, 2002.