2014-2015 Innovations Magazine

i nnovations • 22 gRADUATE pROgRAMS The Doctor of Nursing Practice (D.N.P.) pro- gram, which was established in 2012 and is lo- cated in Palm Beach Gardens, is the newest addition to the College of Nursing graduate programs. The online program, which was re- cently accredited by the Commission on Colle- giate Nursing Education, graduated its first two cohorts in August 2014. The D.N.P. is a practice-focused terminal de- gree that prepares graduates to function at the highest level of specialty practice or executive leadership. As such, the D.N.P. is best suited for those master’s-prepared nurses who are functioning as nurse practitioners, clinical nurse specialists, midwives, nurse anes- thetists, and nurse leaders but see the need to address health care problems in clinical set- tings. The D.N.P. curriculum builds on the mas- ter’s curricula by providing additional education in evidence-based practice, technology, policy, quality improvement, and systems thinking. Our graduates are prepared to lead and en- gage in practical, clinically focused scholarship and evidence-based research utilization. This preparation begins with the capstone project, which addresses a health care issue of interest to the student and focuses heavily on practice that is innovative and grounded in evidence. Some examples of the D.N.P. graduates’ proj- ects are • Evaluation of Role Functions and Competencies of Dermatology Nurses and Nurse Practitioners • Decreasing Overuse Injuries in the Adolescent-Throwing Athlete • Development of a Shared Governance Model for A.P.R.N.s in a Hospital Setting • Development of an Intra-Abdominal Hypertension Guideline and Protocol • Development of a Breastfeeding Education and Support Web Site Each of these projects and the others not mentioned here will impact nursing practice, health care outcomes, delivery, and policy, which are the hallmarks of a D.N.P. education. NSU’s Doctor of Nursing Practice program is unique in several ways. Unlike some institu- tions, students start working on their capstone projects in their very first course with faculty guidance. This permits students to hone in on a health care issue early in their course of study and then use subsequent courses to de- velop, implement, and evaluate a health care innovation that can be presented at a confer- ence—and can proudly be included in their CVs. In one of the courses, students are asked to develop an abstract and then a poster that is evaluated by peers and colleagues for potential local or national presentations. As this program is online, the faculty mem- bers are committed to one-on-one guidance on the capstone project. Go to Meeting sessions, which are similar to Skype, keep faculty mem- bers and students in close individualized con- tact. Students who are close to the Palm Beach Regional Campus have their proposal and final defenses on that campus, while those who are distant may choose to use Go to Meeting as their face-to-face contact for their defenses. In response to students’ suggestions, the D.N.P. program will also videotape defenses and have them available for student viewing. The capstone project reflects the application of research findings completed by the re- search-focused, doctoral-prepared scholar. Both the research- and practice-focused doc- toral programs in nursing share the scholarly approach to nursing science and are consid- ered terminal degrees in the discipline. DOcTOR OF NURSINg pRAcTIcE (D.N.p.) pROgRAM