With the healthcare sector projecting strong growth in the years to come, getting an advanced nursing degree can provide you with all sorts of benefits. For those who want to climb the career ladder in the nursing field, a DNP degree can equip you with an advanced skill set, knowledge base, and credentials to help you stand out from the crowd. If you’re interested in leadership and management positions within the nursing sector, here are some of the top reasons why you should obtain your DNP degree.

1. Advanced Skill Development

Studying for a DNP can help build upon the skills that you learned during your MSN degree. Also, the DNP’s sophisticated curriculum enables students to build their expertise further in career specialties or specific concentrations that they have pursued during a master’s program. Examples include:

• Pediatric nurse practitioner track
• Adult-geriatric nurse practitioner track

To ensure you have the advanced skills needed to succeed, pursuing a DNP will sharpen the skills you have already learned, as well as provide you with a more complex awareness of the healthcare business.

2. Leadership

Once you have completed your DNP degree, there are all sorts of high-level leadership roles that you can go into. There are various roles and responsibilities that will be required of you in such a position, such as:

• Overseeing nurses who deliver patient care
• Being involved in facility operations
• Identifying the strengths and weaknesses of the team

To succeed as a leader, it’s important that you have the right attributes in place, helping you to lead your team and be in control at all times. Strong leaders must also know how to motivate and inspire their team when carrying out healthcare strategies. 

3. Mentorship

If you would like to go into a leadership role in the nursing sector, teaching the next generation of nurses can be a highly rewarding and fulfilling job. After completing a DNP, you will have the skills and knowledge needed to effectively navigate through the industry, equipping you with the attributes that other nursing professionals can learn. There are key benefits that come with mentorship, such as:

• Enhancing job satisfaction
• Developing professional relationships
• Reflecting on own practice
• Widening your understanding of the nursing sector
• Practicing interpersonal skills

4. Assessment

A DNP degree can provide alumni with enhanced abilities and the skillset to break down complex health care situations. Once you’ve gained the right credentials, you will be able to make smart and informed decisions that can provide short and long-term benefits to the facility you are working in, as well as improve healthcare strategies already in place. Ultimately, having the ability to assess difficult scenarios efficiently, and finding the right solutions can be a tremendous help in making sure the healthcare facility is operating efficiently and according to plan.

5. Research

After completing your DNP program, you may be given the chance to use your expert clinical knowledge to your advantage in the form of carrying out research projects. Because most DNP-associated roles are of a practice-based nature, graduates may be in the position to use their research findings immediately, helping them to create their own healthcare strategies.

6. Career Opportunities

Understandably, one of the main reasons why nurses pursue a DNP degree is because of the extensive career opportunities available. There are several positions that you can apply for once completing your DNP, such as:

• Healthcare executive
• Nursing faculty
• Advanced practice registered nurse
• Healthcare lobbyist
• Clinical researcher

Before embarking on a DNP program, it’s important that you have an ultimate goal in mind. Having an idea of the field you wish to work in will help make sure you’re on the right course.

7. Increase in Salary

In the next decade, there is expected to be a significant job growth projected for nurse practitioners, meaning that DNP graduates are likely to have more opportunities to pursue advanced nursing roles. These kinds of positions are known to be both rewarding and lucrative too. When you take into account that the median pay for an advanced practice nurse stands at roughly $111,000, it’s easy to see why so many nurses decide to pursue a DNP.

8. Finding a DNP Degree

Once you’ve made your decision to pursue a DNP degree, it’s important that you pick a provider who can equip you with the key skills and attributes needed to succeed in leadership and management positions. Online institutions like Baylor University can provide nursing leadership courses that prepare you with competencies and executive knowledge in influential leadership, transformative care models, as well as a data-driven business strategy. There are various modules that you will undertake throughout your DNP, including:

• Resource attainment and allocation
• Strategic economic and financial concepts
• Creating excellence in professional practice environments

Before signing up for the course, it’s advised to read into what the program entails further, helping you to feel more confident when making your final decision. 

9. Study Online

If you’re currently a nurse, finding the time to commit yourself to education can be challenging. With long work hours that are spread out throughout the week, evenings and weekends, many nurses are choosing to study online for their DNP instead. There are tons of benefits that you can gain from online studying, such as:

• Having a flexible schedule
• Learning from the comfort of your own home
• Peer and tutor support 
• Learning at your own pace
• Access to course materials 24/7
• Avoiding the daily commute

Throughout your online DNP program, you will have access to experts within the nursing industry who can provide you with guidance and support. In addition to the benefits listed, online courses tend to be cheaper when compared to traditional colleges and universities, so before you make up your mind, it’s best to read into total course fees so you can be sure you’ve made the right choice.

While an increase in salary and more career opportunities are the main reasons why nurses pursue a DNP degree, the program can teach you valuable key skills that can take you into leadership and management roles within the nursing sector.