Letters to the Editor

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Dear Editor 

I am completely offended by Melissa Joy Roberts' comments regarding DNP status (“Should Master's NP Programs be Replaced by DNP NP Programs?” March 2009). She is insin uating that masters-prepared NPs are unprofessional. The definition of professional I read states “engaged in a profession or engaging in as a profession or means of livelihood.” Being a “professional” does not say anything about “competency,” and as a certified NP, not only am I a professional, but I am a competent professional being certified by ANCC.

Maybe law schools should have a PhD program so “they” can become professionals. I am certainly glad Melissa isn't representing NPs; she may know the law, but she knows nothing of the nursing profession. Enough said.

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Author's Response 

Dear Ms. Jones,

Thank you for your comments. In your comment, you said I insinuated that master's-prepared NPs are unprofessional. As a master's-prepared FNP of 18 years myself, I can assure you that I was not impugning the professionalism of master's-prepared NPs. The statement I made was this: “If nurse practitioners wish to be recognized as professionals providing high quality health care, they are going to have to start by getting a professional education—a doctoral degree. Only by holding a terminal degree and a license to practice will NPs be able to legitimately claim professional status.”

The main features of a profession are the requirement of a course of advanced education, autonomy of practice, and a resistance to interference in the profession by outside groups. Rght now, nurse practitioners have some, but not all, of these. How can we claim to be a highly educated, autonomously functioning profession when we are unable to even agree upon the educational requirements for entry to advanced practice?

For years, physicians and pharmacists have dismissed NPs by claiming we are insufficiently educated. If NPs want to be key players in the health care system, as physicians and pharmacists are, we are going to have to move to the same playing field. That field is the professional doctorate.