Purpose: A paradigm shift is underway in doctoral education in nursing. The doctor of nursing practice (DNP) degree emerged amidst a chaotic healthcare landscape demanding the rapid adoption of evidence-based practice across delivery systems (Udilis & Manusco, 2015). The complexity of health care, along with the mandate in 2010 from the Institute of Medicine to add nursing’s unique perspective to improve outcomes, drove the need for expansion of the educational preparation of nurses to include a focus on leadership and the translation of evidence into practice. Although the expected competencies for graduates of the practice-focused doctoral program were set forth in the 2006 AACN
Essentials of Doctoral Education for Advanced Practice Nursing, debate abounds regarding effective practice-based curricula to equip graduates to succeed at the new level of accountability of practice (Howard & Williams, 2017). Moreover, the rapid rate of increase in DNP programs in the United States (U.S.) has resulted in the need for an urgent review of the curriculum based on student, faculty, and clinical partner input (Brown & Crabtree, 2013; Root, Nuñz, Velasquez, Malloch, & Porter-O'Grady, 2018). Nursing students at the doctoral level have learning needs different from students at other levels of learning; therefore, DNP curricula must include teaching and learning methods appropriately leveled to ensure students are ready to translate evidence, the hallmark of the practice doctorate (Hande, Williams, Robbins, Kennedy, & Christenbery, 2017). However, little is yet known about the unique learning needs of DNP students or about effective methods to enhance skills in translating evidence (Brown & Crabtree, 2013; Hlabse, Dowling, Lindell, Underwood, & Barsman, 2016; Udilis & Manusco, 2015). The purpose of this quality improvement project was to develop, implement, and evaluate an online student-centered learning course design to prepare future practice scholars to translate evidence into practice. A scaffolding-learning path was designed to support learners in assuming an active and intentional role in organizing, analyzing, and synthesizing essential concepts. Purposeful technology, pedagogy, and assessments (both formative and summative) were used to help learners construct knowledge and skills, and refine meaning and understanding based on real-life situations. Robust teaching and learning resources were provided to underpin learning activities, and an interactive, virtual coach was used to create a caring and supportive online learning environment.
Methods:
Prior to the launch of the course , an onsite student focus group was held to gather perceptions about the new course design to support the learning needs of students pursuing the practice doctorate. Faculty focus groups also were convened to gather the perceptions of faculty about the new course design. Post-course surveys were employed in three DNP courses to capture student engagement, satisfaction, and outcome data. Data were analyzed using t-tests and analysis of variance (ANOVA) to distinguish differences among three consecutive pre-launch sessions of each course with three consecutive post-launch sessions of each course.
Results:
Results suggest the new course design was effective in improving DNP student engagement, satisfaction, and outcomes.
Conclusion:
The new course design holds promise for preparing future practice scholars for the translation of evidence into practice.
