DNP Handbook

• Utilizes and applies the concepts and skills you acquire throughout the program while contributing to health care outcomes through the systematic application of existing research/evidence to nursing practice at the systems level.

• Addresses a problem or need within a practice specialty area.

• Reflects an extensive review of the research literature and examination of the ethical, political, economic, and cultural aspects inherent to the problem.

• Targeted outcomes will be developed to inform the design of a detailed plan for addressing the issue.

• Includes an assessment of the community, target population, and setting for implementation as well as economic, political, ethical, and time considerations.

• Is disseminated through a scholarly presentation of the project.

• Is related to advanced practice at the systems level.

• Focuses on change that will benefit a group, population, or community rather than an individual patient.

• Is a sustainable project developed in partnership with the targeted system or community (e.g., clinical agency, health department, government agency, community group).

• Involves stakeholders that will be impacted by the change in every phase of the DNP project process.

• Incorporates competencies and guidelines relevant to DNP practice.

• May include quality improvement initiatives; implementation and evaluation of evidence-based practice guidelines; the design and use of databases to retrieve information for decision making, planning, and evaluation; the design and evaluation of new models of care; and designing and evaluating health care programs.

• No direct patient care is provided by you, the student, during the supervised practice experience.

• Your practice experience focuses on a systems-level change identified for the DNP project process, though your learning is enhanced via accruing experience in a practice setting that offers a rich and dynamic context.

• Your supervised practice hours incorporate skills and knowledge at the DNP level.

• Each supervised practice experience incorporates the development and implementation of the DNP project in the context of DNP course content (e.g., leadership, health policy, ethics, technology).

• You will develop professional competencies in practice settings aligned with the level of the DNP, as well as course- and program-level outcomes.

• Your successful completion of specific DNP courses includes attainment of the required supervised practice hours.

• The electronic tracking log requires you to document your faculty-approved learning objectives, summarize a description of the experiences at each practice experience, and relate your activities to course and program outcomes.

• The DNP Faculty reviews documented hours to ensure you have met the course/program requirements.

• The final course practice experience focuses on the evaluation of the project, dissemination of the results, and recommendations emanating from the project.

Expectations 

• • Collaborate with the DNP Faculty to schedule project meetings, project proposal presentation, and the final project presentation.

  • Establish and maintain the practice partnership in collaboration with the DNP Faculty and the DNP Practice Mentor.

  • Submit draft of the DNP project proposal, IRB documents, and project final written paper to the DNP Faculty for review and feedback.

  • Complete the program summative evaluation prior to completion of the final DNP course

  • Completes and submits all forms/documents.

  • Adhere to the due dates within the course and submit appropriate documents to DNP Faculty in sufficient time for review.

Expectations 

• • Serves as an expert resource and engages in discussions with you to help clarify professional goals and university academic expectations.

  • Works with you during project proposal, implementation, evaluation, and dissemination.

  • Schedules periodic meetings you during the program of study.

  • Attends joint meetings with you and your DNP Practice Mentor.

  • Attends your final project presentation.

  • Manages a maximum of 15 students in varying terms in the DNP curriculum.

  • Works closely with the DNP Program Lead and reports directly to the Department Chair.

  • Has current Collaborative Institutional Training Initiative (CITI) training.

  • Assists you with any project issues that may arise.

  • Reviews your final project paper and presentation.

  • Assists you with preparation of Institutional Review Board (IRB) document submission.

Qualifications:

• • Expert in the clinical, educational, or administrative area in which you wish to develop expertise.

  • Has practice, administrative, management, or other designated content expertise that aligns with your learning needs and objectives.

  • Holds a position in the organization where they can facilitate your access to organizational information, decision makers, and other personnel to complete the development and implementation of your clinical project.

  • Holds current state licensure as required for the professional role and practice area if applicable.

  • Has formal education and professional experience as required for the professional role and practice area, preferably an earned graduate degree or its equivalent in a specialty area of practice or profession.

  • Shows commitment to assist you in meeting the defined learning objectives as established by the program of study.

  • Must have an institutional email address.

Expectations:

• Serves as a mentor, resource, and role model for the DNP student in the practice setting.

• Collaborates with the DNP students to identify experiences to support the achievement of their personal learning objectives.

• Oversees the practice experience based on objectives provided by the student in collaboration with the DNP Faculty.

• Provides an orientation of the organization to the student.

• Maintains ongoing communication with the DNP Faculty to discuss project progress.

• Notifies DNP Faculty of areas of concern regarding the DNP student and/or the project.

• Meets with the DNP student during the practice experience to discuss details, logistics, and progress toward practicum goals.

• Provides feedback to the student and DNP Faculty regarding the extent to which the DNP student achieved the project/practice objectives.

Examples of DNP Practice Mentors:

• A professional with a doctoral degree.

• An advanced practice nurse with considerable experience and recognition as an expert certified in a particular clinical field.

• An MD with specialized training and experience.

• A doctoral or master’s-prepared nurse with an administrative position as the director, vice president, president, or CEO within a healthcare organization.

• A doctoral- or master’s-prepared nurse educator in the practice setting.

• Other master’s prepared professionals as approved by the Academic Chair.

Expectations:

• • Supports and guides you through the University systems, operations, policies, and processes.

  • Registers you for your courses, monitors your academic progress throughout the program, acts as a resource for any questions or concerns you may have while enrolled at Purdue Global.

  • Though integral to the educational experience for the DNP student, the Student Success Manager does not play a direct role on the DNP project team.

In the first course, you will identify an inquiry within a practice area that will be developed into a DNP project.

• • You will work with course faculty and the DNP Practice Mentor to develop the practice project idea while evaluating sources of evidence related to the problem/need.

  • The inquiry will be further defined as you progress through the program.

  • A project design appropriate to the inquiry will be developed based on the evaluation of the evidence, needs assessment, and organizational data that supports the need for the project, overall project goals, outcomes, and process objectives.

  • Because some DNP project activities occur outside specific courses, such as IRB application submission, you are responsible to know when project requirements are due.

  • Once IRB approval is granted, you may begin implementation of the DNP project at the practice site.

  • Evaluation of the process and outcomes of implementation and dissemination of findings complete the DNP project process.

  • The DNP project is not a research study—the goal is to develop a quality improvement project that translates existing evidence into practice.

  • The conclusion of the supervised practice hours in the DNP program coincides with the completion of the DNP project.

  • You will evaluate the outcomes of the project and disseminate the results in alignment with the AACN recommendations.

  • You will create a scholarly work suitable for publication in a peer-reviewed journal.

  • Upon the successful completion of the practice experience and the DNP project, program outcomes are met and you may prepare to graduate with a degree of Doctor of Nursing Practice.

  • You are expected to meet the requirements for completing the DNP project during the program of study.

  • If extenuating circumstances prevent you from meeting the expectations for completion of the project during the final semester, you will receive an Incomplete grade. If you receive an Incomplete, you will need to enroll in an extension course.

Your progression throughout the project process is monitored by the project team during meetings via conferencing or other acceptable methods agreed upon by team members. A minimum of one meeting should be held with the DNP Course Faculty during the project courses.

The appropriate method for presentation (e.g., Google Hangout, PowerPoint) will be determined by you and the course faculty.

• You must successfully defend the DNP project proposal to progress in the program. A written evaluation with recommendations as appropriate will be provided for you at the completion of the presentation.

• The course faculty will sign the DNP project proposal evaluation/approval form.

If you fail to defend the project proposal, a plan for remediation and second proposal presentation will be established by the DNP Course Faculty, and you. If the second presentation does not take place before the established deadline, you may need to request an Incomplete for the course.

• A Completion Report from the CITI program is a prerequisite for the DNP project process. This training is available in the DNP curriculum.

• You will review a PG IRB PowerPoint presentation presented by the IRB chair. This presentation orients you to PG’s IRB process.

• Once the DNP project proposal has been successfully defended, you will begin working on the IRB application and subsequent submission with the DNP Consultant.

• The IRB application is submitted only after the DNP Faculty has reviewed, approved, and signed the IRB checklist.

• A copy of the IRB letter of approval must be submitted to the DNP Faculty before your project can be implemented in the practice setting. Additional IRB approvals and CITI or National Institutes of Health (NIH) training may be required from the agency or institution where the project will be implemented. You will need to ascertain this requirement before the submission of the Purdue Global IRB application. The IRB letter of approval must be uploaded in the clinical management system.

• DNP project implementation cannot begin until IRB approval is granted.

• The DNP project final presentation will be facilitated by the DNP Faculty. You will present the project and results/recommendations, after which the audience may ask you questions or discuss the presentation.

• Following questions and discussion, the audience will be excused and the DNP Course Faculty, DNP Program Lead, SON dean, and graduate program chair may pose additional questions to you.

• You will then be excused while the DNP project team and SON leadership deliberate on the outcome of your presentation.

• A written evaluation with recommendations will be provided to you. The DNP Course Faculty and the graduate program chair or designee will sign the DNP project final presentation evaluation/approval form.

• The project must be successfully defended before the end of the final term for you to be eligible for graduation.

• If you fail to successfully defend the project, a plan for remediation will be developed by the DNP Course Faculty and the student. Failure to pass the second presentation will result in dismissal from the program.

• If the DNP Course Faculty, DNP Program Lead, and graduate program chair concur that you successfully presented and defended your DNP project, you will submit an electronic version of the final written paper in the clinical management system.

During the DNP program, you will upload various documents in the university’s clinical management system, CORE ELMS. During the first term, you will be provided login information via email to access your account in the system.

When you have your practice site and practice mentor identified, you will need to submit the site for review in CORE ELMS and provide contact information for the site so that the Clinical Student Support Team can initiate a request for an affiliation agreement. 

Once you have a verbal agreement from a practice site to host you for your project, submit this site for the School of Nursing and clinical team review. Please find the instructions in CORE ELMS on completing this step. 

Include information on the site location, address, institutional email address of your practice mentor, etc.

Note: Site submissions must only be completed once you have identified a potential site and practice mentor and they have verbally agreed to host you. Information provided on site submissions must be accurate and correct. Any instance of fabricated information on a site submission can result in disciplinary action under the university’s code of student conduct.