Mentorship Model in a DNP Program

The importance of mentorship in doctoral level nursing education for PhD students has been well documented; however, little has been written about mentorship for Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) students (Spengler, 1982; Davidhizer, 1998; Byrne & Keefe, 2002; Maas et al., 2006; Jackson, Darbyshire, Luck, & Peters, 2009). In many DNP programs, individual mentoring is provided by a faculty member who guides the student’s capstone project (Chism, 2010).  In one DNP program, Post-Master’s students are assigned a doctorally prepared faculty member to mentor the student through their evidence-based clinical project and clinical residency hours. Each student develops individual learning objectives to reflect evidence-based practice interests, DNP-level competencies, and career goals.  Several students identified an interest in a faculty position following graduation. DNP curricula are practice focused and are not specifically designed to prepare graduates as educators. According to the AACN (2006), DNP graduates will seek nursing faculty roles to educate the next generation of nurses. Zaccagnini & White (2011) suggest mentoring programs to expand the role of the DNP in academia and Riley & Fearing (2009) identified the value of peer-to-peer mentoring. Therefore, during their final semester, two DNP students served as Teaching Assistants (TA) in introductory DNP courses taught by their assigned faculty mentor. Learning objectives were established and mentoring was provided on the theory of adult learning, on-line instruction, and evaluation. This opportunity served to enhance the student-mentor relationship as well as socialize DNP students into the community of faculty. Additionally, this enhanced the opportunity for peer mentoring as the TA’s supported the socialization of incoming colleagues to the doctoral student role. Outcomes of this pilot project demonstrated the benefits and effectiveness of this model. As DNPs continue to expand their roles in academia, socializing them to faculty roles through mentoring programs should be considered.