When I saw the push for NPs to have a doctorate, I had a great fear this would happen. It seems like today every school of nursing wants a DNP program. Unfortunately, there are not enough skilled clinical NPs willing to move to academia to guide these programs.

If I were designing these programs, they would include advanced courses in interviewing that focus on taking a good history. These courses would also include an emphasis on differential diagnosis, the knowledge of which is needed to conduct a good history.

I guess, however, that faculty teach what faculty are comfortable with, and until we change that, we will have unprepared DNPs.

Linda Q. Thede, PhD, RN-BC

Aurora, OH