The DNP Project
The purpose of the DNP Project is to provide Frontier Nursing University Students with a facilitated service learning opportunity. The program guides students through the process of working within a healthcare delivery system to translate evidence into practice. Students are introduced to quality improvement (QI) theories, processes and programs. Students partner with clinical site sponsors, Frontier faculty and faculty from the Institute for Healthcare Improvement Open School to plan, implement and evaluate a rapid cycle quality improvement project.
DNP projects are guided by the needs of the clinical site. Projects are small in scope and need to be appropriate for implementation within three months of the student and sponsor deciding on the clinical topic. Students complete planned improvements using the Institute for Healthcare Improvement “Model for Improvement” over an 8 week period. Examples include: improving compliance with childhood vaccination appointments, implementation of a palliative care shared decision making tool, initiating bedside huddles, or utilization of a toolkit related to a nationally endorsed quality measure.
Practicum Experience
The purpose of the FNU DNP clinical experience is to support community and academic service learning partnerships with the goal of promoting quality improvement skills and clinical practice scholarship. Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) students provide service learning hours within clinical settings to support translation of evidence into practice, cost-effective practice initiatives, quality assurance and quality improvement programs (QI). Students are encouraged to complete their clinical hours where they work if possible. If a birth center is the proposed site of the QI project, students are advised that only CABC accredited birth centers will be approved as clinical sites.
Frontier Nursing University DNP clinical students complete a total of 360 hours planning, implementing and disseminating the results of a rapid cycle quality improvement project using the Institute for Healthcare Improvement model. The clinical project hours involve demonstration of the DNP essentials including clinical projects related to family centered care, shared decision making, patient safety, equity and quality.
