Dnp Case Study In Nursing

As the U.S. healthcare system continues to evolve, DNPs in clinical practice is expected to take on more significant roles in problem-solving and advocacy, as well as liaison with other areas of medicine and other medical professionals. This increased responsibility comes with higher pay rates and opportunities for advancement, especially as current DNP holders start to retire. According to the AACN, from 2015 to 2016, the number of students enrolled in DNP programs increased from 21,995 to 25,289. In that same period, the number of DNP graduates increased from 4,100 to 4,855. (American Association of Colleges of Nursing, 2015). The DNP degree prepares nurses to provide patient care at the highest level of education and practice. Programs have

Not only is patient care complex, but industry-wide developments in healthcare are shifting more responsibility onto nurses than in the past. Anticipated shortages in physician staff and nursing faculty also place challenging intellectual demands on nursing leadership. Expectations for nurse leaders are rising, in this high-stakes environment, the Doctor of Nursing Practice program offers excellent preparation for advanced clinical practice. “This growing field of advanced practice nurses will face the changing landscape of healthcare and be required to create clinical strategies that improve practice and health outcomes” (Brown & Crabtree, 2013).

The nurse advances from the provider of care for one individual to an expert who can apply evidence-based practice and nursing scholarship to populations and systems. A review of the literature showed a breach in knowledge related to the evaluation of the impact of the DNP program on the graduate DNP’s nursing practice. Redman, Pressler, Furspan, and Potempa (2015), examined the number of articles that were authored or co-authored by DNP’s like a reflection of scholarship with DNP nurses. Eleven thousand five hundred seventy-five DNP students were enrolled in programs as of 2012, with 690 articles recognized as being authored/co-authored by DNPs Redman et al. (2015). While half of the articles focused on practice, the other articles studied issues of health care safety, education, and leadership. Redman et al. (2014) identified one method of analysis related to the contribution of the DNP on nursing scholarship. As more universities graduate the Doctor of Nursing practice scholar, the impact of the scholarship of the practice of those graduates will feature the importance of the degree and the effects it will have on the future of nursing. In order to evaluate the full impact of the degree on DNP graduates, inclusive of the mission embedded in the DNP essentials, a method for evaluation of the process and the follow-up achievements of the students