Transition to the DNP: Cultural Conflict of the Clinical Doctorate in America

For novice nurse practitioner faculty, the cultural dissonance between the clinical and faculty role is fostered by scant formal education in effective teaching pedagogies. The Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP), a clinical doctorate in translational nursing science, prepares nurses to assume leadership in clinical practice, teaching and health policy. As DNPs assume positions in the academic arena, there are unanswered questions regarding their preparation to assume tenured faculty roles. At issue remains the difference between the varied preparation and academic requirements of both the clinical and research doctorates in nursing. This paper examines the cultural conflict inherent in the preparation of both research and clinical doctorates for post-graduate academic education roles. It proposes the use of Boyer’s model of scholarship to reduce cultural dissonance and to create tenure parity between PhD and DNP nurse faculty.