DNP Capstone Projects

The doctor of nursing practice (DNP) capstone project is a scholarly method to directly impact quality of care and health care outcomes. Translating knowledge into practice and disseminating outcomes for care and policy are consistent with the call for action in the Institute of Medicine report. This book adds to the dialogue by presenting exemplary capstone projects that have provided leadership for change in clinical practice, enhanced interdisciplinary collaboration, promoted advocacy and policy changes, or contributed to quality improvement in health care systems. Each exemplar presented is linked to one or more of the DNP essentials. After a presentation on the impact of DNP degree on clinical practice, the book addresses issues related to the development of the bachelor’s in science of nursing to doctor of nursing (BSN-DNP) capstone curriculum. DNP education is heavily focused on innovative and evidence-based practices (EBPs), and the capstone exemplar describes how a DNP student was guided to design and implement an EBP capstone project. Subsequently, the book discusses burnout as a barrier to practice among nurse-midwives, describes a systems-level change in implementing diabetic group visits in a primary care clinic, and explains the development of a training program for emergency nurses to prevent compassion fatigue and strengthen resiliency skills. One of the chapters is devoted to the development of a data collection tool for microcosting provision of care within the freestanding birth center (FBC) model of maternity care.