Empowering Nurse Leaders: The Promise of the DNP/MBA Dual Degree

Main Article Content

Joyce E. Johnson, PhD, RN, NEA-BC, FAONL, FAAN Petra Goodman, PhD, WHNP-BC, FAANP

Abstract

Healthcare in the U.S. is the most expensive in the world, presenting a complex environment that demands nurse leaders possess consummate business skills. This article chronicles the 30-year journey of incorporating business acumen into nursing education, detailing the resistance and gradual acceptance within the nursing profession. Despite significant progress, a notable gap remains in financial literacy and business proficiency among nurse leaders, often limiting their engagement in financial management roles. The discussion extends to the challenges and opportunities the evolving healthcare landscape presents, where business and financial competencies are increasingly essential for effective leadership.


This article aims to underscore the critical need for nurse leaders to be equipped with advanced business skills to successfully navigate the complex healthcare environment. It also emphasizes the pivotal role of nursing academia in integrating business education into program curricula. The Doctor of Nursing Practice/Master of Business Administration dual degree is presented as an innovative educational pathway designed to bridge this gap by providing comprehensive business knowledge and skills. With this degree, the next generation of nurse executives will be well-prepared to become 'guardians at the gate' in the complex world of healthcare, driving meaningful change and improving healthcare outcomes.

Article Details

How to Cite
JOHNSON, Joyce E.; GOODMAN, Petra. Empowering Nurse Leaders: The Promise of the DNP/MBA Dual Degree. Medical Research Archives, [S.l.], v. 12, n. 8, aug. 2024. ISSN 2375-1924. Available at: <https://esmed.org/MRA/mra/article/view/5700>. Date accessed: 04 dec. 2024. doi: https://doi.org/10.18103/mra.v12i8.5700.
Section
Research Articles

References

1. American Nurses Association (ANA). Scope and Standards of Practice. 2nd ed. American Nurses Association; 2010.
2. Institute of Medicine. Report brief: The future of nursing. Leading change advancing health; 2010. Accessed July 13, 2024. https://www.nap.edu/resource/12956/Future-of-Nursing-2010-Report-Brief.pdf.
3. Olivo T, Jiloty J. Making the cut in healthcare leadership today: The RN manager dilemma. Becker’s Hospital Review. July 28, 2015. Accessed July 13, 2024. https://www.beckershospitalreview.com/hospital-management-administration/making-the-cut-in-healthcare-leadership-today-the-rn-manager-dilemma.html.
4. Seifert PC. The business of nurses is business. AORN J. 2012;95(2):181-183. doi:10.1016/j.aorn.2011.11.013.
5. Sherman RO. The dilemma with the nurse manager role. Emerging RN Leader. September 15, 2015. Accessed July 13, 2024. https://www.emergingrnleader.com/the-dilemma-with-the-nurse-manager-role/.
6. Bean M, Carbajal E, Gleeson C. Is it time for more nurse CEOs? Becker’s Hospital Review. March 31, 2022. Accessed July 13, 2024. https://www.beckershospitalreview.com/nursing/is-it-time-for-more-nurse-ceos.html.
7. Darbyshire P, Thompson DR, Watson R. Nursing schools: Dumbing down or reaching up? J Nurs Manag. 2019;27(1):1-3. doi:10.1111/jonm.12730.
8. Davis C. Why nurse leaders need to become financially savvy. Health Leaders. 2021. Accessed July 13, 2024. https://www.healthleadersmedia.com/nursing/why-nurse-leaders-need-become-financially-savvy.
9. Hughes V. What are the barriers to effective nurse leadership? Athens J Health. 2018;5(1):7-20. doi:10.30958/ajh.5-1-1.
10. LaFevers D, Ward-Smith P, Wright W. Essential nurse practitioner business knowledge: An interprofessional perspective. J Am Assoc Nurse Pract. 2015;27(4):181-184.
doi:10.1002/2327-6924.12204.
11. Seasholtz SI. Financial literacy – no nurse left behind. Am Nurse J. 2006;38(3):9.
12. Stichler JF. The bottom line: financial management skills for nurse leaders. Womens Health Nurs. 2008;12(2):157-162. doi:10.1111/j.1751-486X.2008.00309.x.
13. Talley LB, Thorgrimson DH, Robinson NC. Financial literacy as an essential element in nursing management practice. Nurs Econ. 2013;31(2):77-82.
14. Welton JM, Harper EM. Nursing care value-based financial models. Nurs Econ. 2015;33(1):14-18, 25.
15. Dieleman JL, Squires E, Bui AL, et al. Factors associated with increases in United States healthcare spending, 1996-2013. JAMA. 2017;318(17):1668-1678. doi:10.1001/jama.2017.15927.
16. The Commonwealth Fund. Mirror, Mirror 2021: Reflecting poorly: Health care in the United States compared to other high-income countries. August 14, 2021. Accessed July 13, 2024. https://doi.org/10.26099/01dv-h208.
17. Kearney A, Hamel L, Stokes M, Brodie M. Americans’ challenges with healthcare costs. Kaiser Family Foundation. December 14, 2021. Accessed July 13, 2024. https://www.kff.org/health-costs/issue-brief/americans-challenges-with-health-care-costs/.
18. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. National health expenditure fact sheet. 2020. Accessed July 13, 2024. https://www.cms.gov/Research-Statistics-Data-and-Systems/Statistics-Trends-and-Reports/NationalHealthExpendData/NHE-Fact-Sheet.
19. Commerce Healthcare. Healthcare Financial Trends for 2022. April 5, 2022. Accessed July 13, 2024. https://www.commercehealthcare.com/trends-insights/2021/2022-healthcare-financial-trends.
20. Cutler D. The World’s Costliest Healthcare…and what America might do about it. Harv Mag. 2020;122(5):32-39. Accessed July 13, 2024. https://www.harvardmagazine.com/2020/05/feature-forum-costliest-health-care.
21. Tomlin R. Four ways to reduce healthcare costs. Med Econ; February 11, 2020. Accessed July 13, 2024. https://www.medicaleconomics.com/view/four-ways-reduce-healthcare-costs.
22. National Academies. The Future of Nursing 2020-2030: Charting a Path to Achieve Health Equity. National Academy Press; 2021. Accessed July 13, 2024. https://nam.edu/publications/the-future-of-nursing-2020-2030/.
23. Infermedica. How symptom checkers and triage tools can help solve more than 17 healthcare challenges. Becker’s Hospital Review. October 2021. Accessed July 13, 2024. https://assets.asccommunications.com/whitepapers/infermedica-wp-february-2022.pdf.
24. Caputo N, Akpinar E. Digital maps and patient apps – real world insights from UC Health’s patient journey transformation. Becker’s Hospital Review. April 14, 2022. Accessed July 13, 2024. https://go.beckershospitalreview.com/digital-maps-and-patient-apps-real-world-insights-from-uchealths-patient-journey-transformation.
25. InVita. How missing data undermines your tissue and implant supply chain decisions. Becker’s Hospital Review. February 2022. Accessed July 13, 2024. https://go.beckershospitalreview.com/how-is-missing-data-undermining-your-tissue-implant-supply-chain-decisions.
26. North America Partners in Anesthesia. NAPA helps launch the first U.S. ERAS cardiac program producing outstanding clinical and operational outcomes. Becker’s Hospital Review. May 2022. Accessed July 13, 2024. https://go.beckershospitalreview.com/how-the-nations-1st-eras-cardiac-program-transformed-outcomes-at-wakemed-health.
27. IDC Research Inc. Data excellence in healthcare: The role of connected content. January 2022. Accessed July 13, 2024. https://go.beckershospitalreview.com/gaining-control-over-healthcare-data-the-role-of-connected-content.
28. American Association of Colleges of Nursing (AACN). Highlights from AACN’s 2021 annual survey. April 5, 2022. Accessed July 13, 2024. https://www.aacnnursing.org/Portals/42/Data/Survey-Data-Highlights-2021.pdf.
29. Campaign for Action. Number of people receiving nursing doctoral degrees annually. September 15, 2021. Accessed July 13, 2024. https://campaignforaction.org/resource/number-people-receiving-nursing-doctoral-degrees-annually/.
30. Arnaert A, Mills J, Sol F, Ponzoni N. The educational gaps of nurses in entrepreneurial roles: An integrated review. J Prof Nurs. 2018;34(6):494-501. doi:10.1016/j.profnurs.2018.03.004.
31. Lim JY, Noh W. Key components of financial-analysis education for clinical nurses. Nurs Health Sci. 2015;17(3):293-298. doi:10.1111/nhs.12186.
32. Babigumira JB. Types of economic evaluation in healthcare. Active Learning Network for Accountability and Performance. 2018. Accessed July 13, 2024. https://www.alnap.org/help-library/types-of-economic-evaluation-in-healthcare..
33. Drummond MF, Sculpher MJ, Claxton K, Stoddart GL, Torrance GW. Methods for the Economic Evaluation of Healthcare Programmes. 4th ed. Oxford University Press; 2015.
34. Bhattacharya K, Hyde T, Tu P. Health Economics. Palgrave Macmillan; 2014.
35. Naranjee N, Ngxongo TS, Sibiya MN. Financial management roles of nurse managers in selected public hospitals in KwaZulu-Natal Province, South Africa. Afr J Prim Health Care Fam Med. 2019;11(1):1-6. doi:10.4102/phcfm.v11i1.1981.
36. Rome B, Nickitas DM, Lawrence DA. The financial landscape and the implications for nursing. Nurse Leader. 2016;14(1):33-37.
37. Welton JM, Harper EM. Nursing care value-based financial models. Nurs Econ. 2015;33(1):14-18, 25.
38. Westra BL, Clancy TR, Sensmeier J, Warren JJ, Weaver C, Delaney CW. Nursing knowledge: Big data science implications for nurse leaders. Nurs Adm Q. 2015;39(4):304-310. doi:10.1097/NAQ.0000000000000130.
39. Topaz M, Pruinelli L. Big data and nursing: Implications for the future. Stud Health Technol Inform. 2017;232:165-171.
40. Jones C, Finkler SA, Kovner C. Financial Management for Nurse Managers and Executives. 4th ed. Elsevier Health Publications; 2012.
41. Johnson JE, Costa L, eds. The DNP Nurse in Executive Leadership Roles. DEStech Publications; 2019.
42. Leger JM. Financial Management for Nurse Managers: Managing the Heart with a Dollar. 5th ed. Jones & Bartlett Learning; 2023. Accessed July 13, 2024. http://samples.jblearning.com/9781284230932/9781284564785_FMxx_Leger5e_SECURE.pdf.
43. Penner S. Economics and Financial Management for Nurses and Nurse Leaders. 3rd ed. Springer Publishing Company; 2017.
44. Strickler J, Bohling T, Kneis T, O’Conner N, Yee S. Preparing nurses for leadership roles. Nurs Econ. 2016;34(6):271-279.
45. Johnson JE. The C-Suite business case: The critical role of business planning. In: Johnson JE, Costa L, eds. The DNP Nurse in Executive Leadership Roles. DEStech Publications; 2019:241-286.
46. Potrich AC, Vieira KM, Kirch G. Determinants of financial literacy: Analysis of the influence of socioeconomic and demographic variables. Revista Contabilidade & Financas. 2015;26(69):362-377. doi:10.1590/1808-057x201501040.
47. DeSales University. DNP + MBA: Doctor of Nursing Practice – Executive Leadership w/MBA. Accessed July 13, 2024. https://www.desales.edu/academics/academic-programs/detail/DNP/MBA-executive-leadership.
48. Johns Hopkins University. Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) executive track/MBA dual degree. Accessed July 13, 2024. https://nursing.jhu.edu/academics/programs/mba/DNP/MBA/index.html.
49. Union University. MBA dual degree option with post-Master’s DNP. Accessed July 13, 2024. https://www.uu.edu/programs/nursing/graduate/dnp/mba/.
50. University of Michigan-Flint. Nursing Practice/Business Administration (Dual DNP/MBA). Accessed July 13, 2024. https://catalog.umflint.edu/preview_program.php?catoid=32&poid=13325&returnto=3638.
51. American Association of Colleges of Nursing (AACN). The Essentials: Core Competencies for Nursing Education. Accessed July 13, 2024. https://www.aacnnursing.org/Education-Resources/AACN-Essentials.
52. Barry J, White J. Health system chief nurse executive: Is a DNP the degree of choice? J Nurs Adm. 2015;45(7/8):527-528.