Pluralising Scholarship: Repositioning Doctor of Nursing Practice Faculty Through Boyer's Framework: A Discursive...

To critically examine the structural exclusion of Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP)-prepared faculty from academic advancement and promotion pathways and to propose reforms grounded in Boyer's model of scholarship.

The DNP is a practice-focused doctorate established in the United States, distinct from the research-oriented PhD. Similar professional doctorates in the United Kingdom and Australia share the goal of integrating clinical expertise with scholarly inquiry. Despite the rapid growth of DNP programs and the increasing recognition of applied scholarship, many universities continue to privilege traditional research metrics in academic tenure and promotion. This narrow focus on discovery-based outputs marginalises the contributions of DNP faculty in implementation science, systems leadership, and education.

Discursive position paper.

Analysis of policy reports, faculty promotion guidelines, AACN Essentials, and peer-reviewed literature on doctoral education, professional doctorates, and academic equity, 2000-2025.

Current academic evaluation systems sustain hierarchical norms that undervalue practice-based scholarship. This misalignment restricts the career trajectories of DNP-prepared faculty and constrains nursing's leadership in applied innovation. Reframing scholarly legitimacy through Boyer's model of discovery, integration, application, and teaching enables recognition of diverse expertise without compromising academic rigour.

Fully integrating professional doctorates into academic structures requires deliberate reforms in evaluation frameworks, mentorship programs, and institutional policies. Such changes would advance equity, reflect the realities of modern nursing, and align doctoral education with the evolving needs of healthcare systems.

This paper contributes to the international discourse on the future of doctoral education by offering a practical model for inclusive faculty advancement. It also advocates adopting pluralistic definitions of scholarship to support diverse academic career paths in nursing.

No patients, service users, caregivers, or members of the public were involved in the development of this discursive paper. The analysis synthesises existing scholarship, policy documents, and theoretical frameworks and does not draw on primary data requiring patient or public involvement.