title: The practice doctorate: perspectives of early adopters.
abstract: The emergence of the Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) degree is being described as a disruptive innovation that is altering the landscape of nursing and health care and creating a great deal of controversy within and beyond the profession of nursing. This article proposes that the DNP is actually the natural evolution of a larger disruptive innovation begun in the late 1960s with the advent of nurse practitioner programs. As expected with disruptive innovations, many challenges face those who are early adopters and who forge ahead during the early phase of innovation and later during the upmarketing phase. As faculty and administrators of one of the early, second-generation DNP programs, the authors are fully aware of ongoing discussion and issues related to the practice doctorate. This article shares the experiences of this group of early adopters and their insights into controversies surrounding the DNP movement.
authors.affiliation: Boling Center for Developmental Disabilities, College of Nursing, University of Tennessee Health Science Center, Memphis, 38163, USA. dhathaway@utmem.edu
authors.forename: Donna
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Hathaway
authors.forename: Susan
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Jacob
authors.forename: Cheryl
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Stegbauer
authors.forename: Carol
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Thompson
authors.forename: Carolyn
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Graff
mesh_terms: D003479:Curriculum; D004511:Education, Nursing, Graduate / Q000458:organization & administration; D005181:Faculty, Nursing; D006801:Humans; D024802:Nurse's Role; D009729:Nursing / Q000458:organization & administration; D009936:Organizational Innovation; D011364:Professional Practice; D014481:United States; D000078329:Workforce