The Doctor in Nursing Practice (DNP) project

Sosa,

The Doctor in Nursing Practice (DNP) project is the culmination of a terminal degree. Unlike other professions, a doctoral degree for nurses has evolved into a more standardized curriculum and rigor in the past 20 years. According to the American Association of Colleges of Nursing, DNP projects should be an assignment that impacts health care changes (Tsai et al., 2017).  Measuring the success of the practicum project needs to be directly connected to the probability of improving patient outcomes. A sustainable set of interventions that can be implemented in the practicum site after completing the project, with buying from the stakeholders, will be another measure of success.
A defined schedule with timeframes and deadlines is a great way to ensure meeting set goals. Staying on track could be challenging, and it is one of the ways faculty can support the students.  Keeping the original scope in mind will allow the project to succeed. Collaboration with other students could potentially help to accomplish better results (Eaton et al., 2017)
Creating a policy is a legal way to hold team members accountable for the continuation of the work started by the DNP scholar. An essential factor discussed in a publication this year 2021 stresses the need to create a strong relationship between the faculty supporting the capstone and the DNP student (Morris et al., 2021).

-Danay Sosa

References:

Eaton, L., Gordon, D., & Doorenbos, A. (2017). Innovation in Learning: PhD and DNP Student Collaborations. Journal Of Nursing Education, 56(9), 556-559. https://doi.org/10.3928/01484834-20170817-08

Morris, K., Reese, C., Hale, R., & Wendler, M. (2021). Journeying through the DNP project: A qualitative, descriptive study. Journal Of Professional Nursing, 37(5), 1004-1010. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.profnurs.2021.07.017

Tsai, J., O’Toole, T., & Kearney, L. (2017). Homelessness as a public mental health and social problem: New knowledge and solutions. Psychological Services, 14(2), 113-117. https://doi.org/10.1037/ser0000164