The American Association of Colleges of Nursing documents, the so-called Essentials, from 2006 to current competencies 2021, are similar in that they reflect a logical continuation of learning in practice. In the 2006 document, competencies are organized into primary sections, including scientific foundations, leadership, and clinical skills for conducting evidence-based practice, working with technologies and legal foundations of healthcare, interprofessional skills, and finally, meeting the goals of improving health outcomes at the national level (American Association of Colleges of Nursing, 2006). The 2021 document has a slightly different classification of competencies, including values such as systemic knowledge, professionalism, more detailed person-centered care, and population health (American Association of Colleges of Nursing, 2021). More detailed differences are discussed below.
Firstly, the scientific basis of DNP, over time, began to be presented with a more significant bias in practice, especially at an advanced level. While competencies used to focus on the necessary knowledge of relevant theories, behavioral patterns, and interactions in working with patients and the environment, now knowledge includes an interdisciplinary understanding with the mandatory practical application without an emphasis on specific theories, implying greater flexibility (American Association of Colleges of Nursing, 2021 ). Differences in leadership include only the increased importance of empathy and emotional intelligence in patient communication skills, which is not mentioned in the 2006 paper (American Association of Colleges of Nursing, 2006). The person-centered care competency combines many professional skills that accompany the care and treatment of a patient at all stages, from diagnosis to building a plan to evaluating results and introspection (American Association of Colleges of Nursing, 2021). Such a strong emphasis on working with one’s results is highlighted as one of the main differences between the two documents.
Knowledge of related disciplines, as a rule, necessary for correct management decisions, came under the auspices of population health, differentiating tasks for common goals: thus, many sections of the classification of the 2006 document were combined. Population health outcomes, in turn, were translated into ethics, quality, and safety in the 2021 document, which was expanded with appropriate terms and concepts to understand better the specialist’s tasks (American Association of Colleges of Nursing, 2021). The sustainability of the development of practice is now not only focused on the environment but is also a mandatory competence of a systematic approach that allows optimizing various processes under the responsibility of the DNP. Often, various technologies are used as tools for this, the section on which has been significantly expanded due to progress. Technology integration occurs in many aspects of DNP work, from operational to managerial, where the application should be dictated by the respective goals and ethics of behavior.
A significantly greater emphasis on ethics is evident in the professionalism section of the 2021 paper. Modern trends in emphasizing the importance of the human personality have required corresponding changes in competencies, describing in more detail the aspects that should be considered when communicating with a person, including, for example, culture (American Association of Colleges of Nursing, 2021). The possibility of development is also a different distinction that was not explicitly highlighted in the classification of the 2006 document. Creating the conditions for such an opportunity is a crucial DNP skill involving the application of leadership and professional qualities. The rest of the competencies have undergone minimal changes, supplemented, or differentiated under the new classification.
References
American Association of Colleges of Nursing. (2006). The Essentials of doctoral education for advanced nursing practice. Jones and Bartlett.
American Association of Colleges of Nursing. (2021). Core competencies for professional nursing education. Jones and Bartlett.