Building a Blueprint for Evaluation of DNP Project Outcomes

Gap Statement:  Currently, 217 programs in 40 states and the District of Columbia are enrolling DNP students.  In addition, another 97 programs are in the planning stages.  Between 2011 and 2012, the number of DNP students enrolled in a program increased from 9,094 to 11,575 and the number of DNP graduates increased from 1,595 to 1,858 (AACN, 2013).  Despite these increasing numbers, there are still debates about how best to demonstrate the impact of DNP graduates on improved healthcare outcomes. There is a dearth of overall outcomes of DNP graduates despite the increasing number of graduates. In contrast, advanced practice nursing (APN) outcomes have been evaluated and summarized utilizing the following categories in defining outcome measures in APN effectiveness research: (1) care, (2) patient, and (3)performance- related outcomes (Kleinpell, 2013). More recently, outcomes for DNP graduates were summarized using the following categories for outcomes measures: (1) patient, (2) systems, (3) populations, and (4) policies (Conrad& O’Dell, 2013).

 Method:  Three years of data were retrieved from scholarly projects completed at the School of Nursing during the time frame of 2010-2012. Since the Essentials define the foundational outcomes of DNP programs with requisite competencies for the graduates, project titles and abstracts were reviewed for emerging themes and mapped with the 8 essentials by three DNP faculty.   

Results: Although several projects aligned with more than one Essential, most projects were aligned with one Essential.  Clearly, improving the quality of healthcare and patient safety was highlighted, which speaks to graduates having the knowledge, skills, and attitudes identified through QSEN.  Specific findings will be described during the presentation.

Recommendations:  Evaluating the outcomes of DNP scholarly projects is imperative to support the potential impact of DNP graduates on healthcare. The alignment with the Essentials is another way to validate the synthesis and integration of the competencies within individual programs and for the broader DNP graduate cohort. Future steps will include evaluating outcomes based on the dissemination of these projects through professional organizations, professional journals, stakeholders, and agencies/organizations.