Advanced practice nurses are in high demand as a predicted shortage of primary care providers looms on the horizon. This field is projected to grow significantly over the next few years, with the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) predicting the need for advanced practice nurses will grow 38% by 2032.
Nurses who wish to pursue advanced practice roles have many options for pursuing an advanced degree, including a family nurse practitioner and a doctor of nursing practice. Here, we will look at the differences between these two roles to help you decide which is the right path for you.
Table of Contents
Major Differences Between FNP and DNP
The most significant differences between an FNP and a DNP are the level of education and how they put their knowledge into practice.
An FNP is a master-level degree for graduates who want to work in clinical settings. Some FNP programs focus on acute or primary care, but they all prepare students to assess, diagnose, and treat patients of all ages, from infants to senior citizens. Education typically involves hundreds of hours of hands-on clinical work, labs, and simulations.
A DNP is a doctoral-level degree or terminal degree that prepares students for advanced clinical and leadership roles. It differs from a PhD in nursing in that a PhD focuses on research, and a DNP focuses on nursing practice. While someone with a PhD in nursing may conduct nursing research or teach at a university, someone with a DNP might provide direct patient care, oversee clinical students, sit on a hospital board or the board of a nursing school, work on policies, or create clinical curriculum for training nurses.
Let’s take a close look at the specific roles of both of these nursing specialties.
What Does A Family Nurse Practitioner Do?
FNPs work with patients across the lifespan, from infants to senior citizens. FNPs can work in clinics, hospitals, or offices. This role is one of four advanced practice roles, the others being certified registered nurse anesthetist, certified nurse-midwife, and clinical nurse specialist.
Job duties vary depending on where and in what specialty the FNP works, but their responsibilities can include diagnosing and treating illness, providing preventative care, doing routine checkups, administering immunizations, and educating about maintaining a healthy lifestyle.
Most FNP programs prepare students to take the American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC) Family Nurse Practitioner exam or the American Association of Nurse Practitioners Certification Program (AANPCP) exam. Once students pass the exam, they can apply for a FNP license in their state.
Those interested in becoming an FNP should learn more about the scope of practice for nurse practitioners in their state. States generally fall into one of three categories: full practice, reduced practice, or restricted practice.
In full practice states, FNPs can assess and diagnose patients, order and interpret diagnostic tests, initiate and manage treatment, and prescribe medication, including controlled substances. They also have the freedom to work independently, which gives them many career options, including opening private practices.
These opportunities are somewhat limited in reduced-practice states. Generally, reduced-practice states require all nurse practitioners (NPs) to enter into collaborative agreements with physicians to prescribe medications, though they can diagnose and treat patients somewhat independently.
In restricted-practice states, all NPs need physician oversight to prescribe medications and diagnose and treat patients. The law requires career-long supervision, management, or delegation by another healthcare provider for the NP to provide care.
What Does a Doctor of Nursing Practice Do?
A DNP degree builds on a master’s degree to allow nurses to prepare for more in-depth roles. A DNP is a practice-focused degree that prepares nurses to work in leadership, clinical work, policy, and healthcare delivery systems. Generally, those wishing to pursue a DNP must already have an MSN, though some universities offer programs that allow nurses to enter a program as an RN or BSN and continue straight through to receive an MSN and a DNP.
DNPs generally take on either clinical or leadership roles. Many may continue to practice as NPs, but they can also work as clinical nurse specialists. Those who take the leadership route may work as clinical managers, clinical educators, administrators, or health information managers.
The American Association of Colleges of Nursing (AACN) requires DNP programs to meet certain standards. Programs generally focus on the scientific background of nursing theories, organizational skills, healthcare system improvements, leadership, technology skills, healthcare policy analysis, advocacy and social justice, communication, organization, leadership, and strong clinical judgment skills.
A DNP is the highest professional nursing degree, and many believe it may be the profession’s future. In 2018, the leading organization for nurse practitioner education, the National Organization of Nurse Practitioner Facilities, called for making a DNP degree the entry-level degree for all nurse practitioners by 2025.
FNP and DNP Similarities
- Scope of practice: Both an FNP and a DNP can work as family nurse practitioners, abiding by the rules for their state’s scope of practice. Having a DNP does not allow FNPs to practice independently in reduced or restricted-practice states.
- Place of employment: Both FNPs and DNPs can work in hospitals, clinics, or primary care settings.
- Job prospects: The BLS predicts the need for advanced practice nurses will grow 38% by 2032, so both FNPs and DNPs are in high demand.
FNP and DNP Differences
- Type of degree: To work as an FNP, a nurse needs a minimum of an MSN or post-master’s certificate. DNPs can also work as nurse practitioners, but their doctorate degree can also open up many other career paths.
- Length of schooling: How long it takes to complete each degree very much depends on the program, but generally, a DNP will take a year or two longer to complete than an FNP
- Patient population: FNPs are trained to provide care for patients across the lifespan, from infants to seniors, while DNPs can focus on any nursing specialty, including midwifery, women’s health, pediatrics, psychiatry, or anesthesia.
- Place of employment: DNPs can work directly with patients in many of the same facilities as FNPs, but they can also take on leadership or administrative roles in universities, agencies, hospitals, and government offices.
- Average salary: According to Payscale.com, the average salary for a master’s-prepared FNP is $102,000 per year. For a DNP, it’s $112,000 a year.
- Job duties: FNPs provide direct patient care. DNPs can also provide direct patient care but can also work in leadership or administrative roles.
Which Role Is Right for You?
Whether you should pursue an FNP or a DNP largely depends on where you want your career to go. Those who prefer to stay in direct patient care may find that an FNP degree allows them to do everything they want in their careers, especially those who live in full-practice states where they can work independently and even open their own practices. However, if you aspire to work in administration, take on a leadership role, affect policy, or make larger systemic changes, a DNP might be the right option.