The DNP Scholarly Project is a hallmark of the Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) education. According to the American Association of Colleges of Nursing (AACN) and the National Organization of Nurse Practitioner Faculties (NONPF), DNP students must complete a scholarly project that has its foundation in evidence-based practice (EBP) and includes planning, implementation, evaluation, and dissemination of new practice knowledge.
Goals of the DNP project include to improve outcomes by addressing identified issues within healthcare, build EBP skills and create a foundation for future practice scholarship. Research supports that when an evidence-based practice approach is utilized for decision-making, quality, safety and improved outcomes are realized. DNPs are charged with becoming EBP experts, meaning EBP skill development is imperative. When well done, the DNP scholarly project provides such an opportunity to develop skills around executing, mentoring and leading evidence-based practice changes within organizations. The last purpose of the DNP scholarly project is to develop a foundation for ongoing practice scholarship.
Despite the national guidelines outlined above, variation exists in the format, quality, and consistency of the DNP project. Once possible cause for this variation is the rapid evolution of DNP programs and the DNP scholarly project. Since the arrival of the first DNP program 20 years ago, the number of DNP programs has risen dramatically. Because these are doctoral programs, these programs are often led, taught and advised by PhD-prepared faculty who’s education was steeped in teaching them to be quality researchers, or by DNPs who were educated in DNP programs that were more steeped in research than in evidence-based practice. The result is faculty who find themselves with limited education and experience in evidence-based practice, meaning faculty may not have the training in EBP and continued connection to clinical practice needed to support project advisement. In fact, results from a recent national study on EBP in nursing academics revealed that faculty teaching in DNP programs ranked themselves as competent to highly competent in EBP. However, EBP knowledge tests in these same faculty were low. This lack of adequate knowledge of EBP has created a climate of confusion around what DNP scholarly projects, causing frustration for students, faculty and organizational mentors and leaders where DNP students implement their projects. Moreover, this variation is having a negative impact on the generation of knowledge from practice by DNP prepared nurses.
This gap between knowledge and competence can be filled by EBP professional development and creating common DNP project criteria that send a clear message that all graduates from DNP programs are prepared to carry out EBP projects that contribute new practice-based knowledge.
See more of: Evidence-Based Practice Sessions: Symposia