DNP Project Process Guide
You are encouraged to follow this Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) Project Process Guide and work with your assigned faculty to ensure that all steps are followed to expedite completion. Throughout your program of study, refer to the DNP capstone resources website for the DNP Project milestones to aid in the appropriate tracking and completion of your DNP Project.

Introduction

As a requirement of Walden University’s DNP degree, you are required to complete a DNP Project. This project will focus on a quality improvement initiative that integrates project management tools and techniques and addresses a gap in nursing practice or an identified practice change. These project activities qualify as quality improvement (as opposed to research) because the project involves synthesis and application of established and tested quality standards and/or systematic monitoring, assessment, or evaluation to ensure that existing quality standards are being met. The project does not develop paradigms, test new methods/standards, follow a research design, or involve a protocol that overrides clinical decision-making.

For this project, a quality improvement initiative is defined as a process that supports an improvement in healthcare outcomes. This project may include a staff education program, development of a clinical practice guideline, or an evaluation of an existing quality improvement process. The project process cannot include patients or nursing students. The DNP Project will emphasize evidence-based practice approaches to support the quality improvement initiative at your project/clinical site. You may complete your DNP project at your workplace if your project mentor is not your direct report, supervisor, or both.

In compliance with the American Association of Colleges of Nursing (AACN) DNP program expectations, “practice-focused graduates are prepared to generate new knowledge through innovation of practice change, the translation of evidence, and the implementation of quality improvement processes [emphasis added] in specific practice settings and systems or with specific populations to improve health or health outcomes” (American Association of Colleges of Nursing Task Force on the Implementation of the DNP, 2015, p. 2).

Roles and Stakeholders

Student: You are the owner of the process checklist and candidate for the DNP degree.
DNP program director or designee: The program director is responsible for the overall academic functions and integrity of the DNP program. The coordinators and faculty report to the program director.
DNP academic program coordinator: The program coordinator and program director work closely with the research coordinator, faculty, and students to ensure that questions and concerns regarding the DNP Project process are addressed.
DNP academic research coordinator: The research coordinator is the point person for matching faculty and processing student submission of the DNP Project Committee Matching Request Form for DNP project committee advisors.
DNP Project faculty advisor: You complete the Nomination for DNP Committee Faculty Advisor in NURS 8302. Your faculty advisor is then assigned by the research coordinator using your nominated advisor options. The advisor works with the organization leader(s) and student to oversee completion of the DNP Project.
Partner organization: The partner organization is also called “partner site” or “project site” in some contexts. This is the organization that will host the doctoral project.
POS: Program of study requirements for the DNP degree.

Glossary of Doctoral Project Terms

Action Planning Tool. Breakdown of project into individual components identifying all the activities needed to achieve a successful project.
Deliverables. The items needed to meet the goals and objectives of the project.
DNP Project Approval Form. A document defining the purpose and measurable objectives for the project; the approval form signed-off by the organization representative, your project mentor, and your faculty advisor.
GANTT chart. Bar graph for scheduling and monitoring activities related to a project.
MyDR. The MyDR system landing pages will track your progress and serve as a central location for resources to support that progress. MyDR is accessed from a link on the Course Home of your capstone’s classroom. From there you will be able to access the Taskstream component of MyDR to submit your documents for review by your committee.
Organization leader. The partner site representative approving the DNP project.
Project. A planned set of interrelated tasks with a specified timeline for completion.
Project management process. The formal process identified to meet the goals of the project.
Project mentor. The organization representative identified to work directly with the DNP student and faculty advisor on the DNP Project.
Project plan. The identification of content, tools, and processes needed to complete the DNP Project.
Site approval document. The site approval document identifies the DNP Project site, the purpose of the DNP Project, and the proposed project outcomes. The ethical standards and project activities are described on the form. The project site leader confirms the approval process required from the site. Site leader, project mentor, and faculty advisor signatures are required confirming agreement of above.
SMART objectives. Specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and timely
Stakeholder. Anyone who has a vested interest in the project.
Supplemental documents. Additional project management tools determined by your project mentor, faculty advisor, and yourself that will be used for project development.
SWOT analysis. Process used to identify strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats related to project planning.
Taskstream. The TaskStream element of the MyDR system will be used to establish a process flow tool in which you exchange and store faculty evaluations of and feedback on your work as you progress along the DNP Project journey.

DNP Project

The Walden University DNP Project will follow the Johns Hopkins Evidence-Based Practice Model for translation of evidence.

Dang, D., Dearholt, S., Bissett, K., Ascenzi, J., &Whalen, M. (2022). Johns Hopkins evidence-based practice: Model and guidelines (4th ed.). Sigma.

Project management (PM) is the formal process used to translate evidence into practice improvement and meet the goals of the DNP Project. Managing a project includes a specific plan, timeline, and organizational resources. The DNP project process consists of six phases which can be completed in two to three quarter terms, beginning with your first enrollment in NURS 8702.

Preparation for project planning will begin during the clinical component of NURS 8302. The DNP Project must follow the guidelines set forth in one of the DNP Project Checklists. All tools and checklists used for the DNP Project are found on the DNP Capstone Resources site and in the NURS 8702/8703 course resources. The Dang et al. (2022) textbook will serve as your guide for the project. The DNP Project will be one of the following types:
• Staff Education Program
o Staff Education Program Checklist
o Staff Education Program Executive Summary Checklist
• Clinical Practice Guideline Development
o Clinical Practice Guideline Checklist
o Clinical Practice Guideline Executive Summary Checklist
• Evaluation of a Quality Improvement Initiative
o Quality Improvement Checklist
o Quality Improvement Executive Summary Checklist

Starting the Process: During NURS 8302, you will be instructed on how and when to identify leaders in the DNP Project site and will be provided instructions to set up a meeting to discuss the feasibility of doing a project to address a practice problem or gap in practice. You will inform the DNP Project site that early in the next term (upon enrolling in NURS 8702/8703), you will set up a meeting with the organization leader and your faculty advisor to discuss the feasibility of the identified project and the Walden University requirements for the DNP Project. After this initial meeting with the potential project site during NURS 8302, you will complete the online form that identifies the DNP Project site, the practice problem or gap in practice that was explored with the project site, and the possible project to address this gap. This information will assist the research coordinator in assigning a faculty advisor. The DNP Project Advisor Request Form and list of available faculty are available in NURS 8302 and on the Capstone Resources Page.

You enroll in NURS 8702 (DNP Project Mentoring) while completing the program of study (POS) requirements for the DNP program. If the DNP Project is not completed once all required POS courses have been completed, you will enroll in NURS 8703 (DNP Project Completion). You must submit a current term plan each term you enroll in either NURS 8702 or NURS 8703. For this document, the term project course will refer to either NURS 8702 or NURS 8703, depending on where you are in your POS.

The following six phases will require the application of consistent and standard processes which will assist in meeting the DNP Project goals and objectives:
• Phase 1: Design
• Phase 2: Plan
• Phase 3:Implement
• Phase 4: Measure/Monitor
• Phase 5: Close/Project Evaluation
• Phase 6: Disseminate

Phase 1. Design: Activities during the design phase support the initiation of the project. During the design phase the organization representative(s), your faculty advisor, and you meet to clearly identify the practice problem and to identify the goal(s) to be achieved. The approval document will be signed by the organization leader, project mentor, and your faculty advisor. You will examine the evidence to identify the best practice to address the practice problem. Review Figure 11.1, Appendix A (pp. 248–249), in Dang et al. (2022) for an overview of the process for translation of evidence. This Project Guide will give you an overview of the steps used for the DNP project.

Step 1. Faculty Advisor: During Week 1 of the project course, your faculty advisor will meet with you to review the requirements of the DNP Project and discuss the identified DNP Project site available for you. Your faculty advisor will review your project-course requirements with you. All DNP Project documents submitted for review must be submitted in the project course.

Step 2. Term Plan: You should complete the term plan and submit it to the project course classroom by Day 7 of Week 1 of the mentoring course.

• Term plan: https://academicguides.waldenu.edu/ld.php?content_id=43781556

Step 3. Team: You will set up a meeting with faculty advisor and DNP Project site leader(s) to discuss the DNP Project and the Walden University requirements and DNP Project process.

The practice problem will be clearly identified, and additional team members and/or additional stakeholders who will participate with you and project mentor will be identified. You will discuss stakeholder involvement and strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats (SWOT) related to the project. The project approval form and site agreements will be introduced to the site representative and the process for signatures discussed.

Minutes of this meeting will be completed by you and submitted in the project course. Copies of the minutes will be shared with your project mentor. The stakeholder analysis form and SWOT analysis will be submitted into the project course.

• Minutes template
• Organizational Readiness
• Stakeholder Analysis
• SWOT Analysis
• Virtual Strategist. (2016). How to Perform a SWOT Analysis. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I_6AVRGLXGA

Step 4. Approvals: You will complete the process for approvals as identified in the minutes from the initial meeting with the site and project advisors. You will complete the Site Approval Form and obtain signatures from the site for both the project approval and the site agreement for the identified project focus. You will scan the completed site approval to upload to MyDR.

MyDR: Upload and submit the completed site approval for committee and program director review once your faculty advisor confirms the site approval is ready for a formal rubric review. NOTE: MyDR is accessed from a link on the Course Home of your capstone classroom. From there you will be able to access the Taskstream component of MyDR to submit your documents for review by your committee.

• Staff Education Site Approval Form
• Clinical Practice Guideline Site Approval Form
• Quality Improvement Site Approval Form

Step 5. Question Development: You will complete the Question Development Tool in preparation for reviewing current evidence. You will make an appointment with the Walden University health sciences librarian to explore possible search terms, databases, and search strategies. You will submit the completed Question Development Tool into the project course. Upon faculty advisor approval, you will discuss the Question Development Tool with your project mentor. Minutes of this meeting will be submitted to the project course. Revisions or updates of the Question Development Tool will be discussed with your faculty advisor. A final document will be submitted in the project course, and a copy given to your project mentor.

• Question Development Tool

Step 6. Evidence Search: After completion of the Question Development Tool and the meeting with the health sciences librarian, you will complete a rigorous review of evidence outlining best practices that can address the practice problem. Review the Evidence Level and Quality Guide, which will be used to grade the evidence. Utilize the appraisal tools below as you review the evidence for your project.

• Research Evidence Appraisal Tool
• Nonresearch Evidence Appraisal Tool

Upon completion of the evidence review, you will complete the Individual Evidence Tool and the Synthesis Process and Recommendations Tool and submit to the project course. If your faculty advisor does not feel that there is substantial evidence to support the recommended practice change, you will repeat Step 3. Upon approval of the evidence synthesis from your faculty advisor, you will review the above documents with your project mentor.

• Individual Evidence Summary Tool
• Synthesis Process and Recommendations Tool
• Evidence synthesis directions: https://academicguides.waldenu.edu/writingcenter/evidence/synthesis

YOU MUST COMPLETE A MININIMUM OF PHASE 1 TO OBTAIN A SATISFACTORY GRADE IN THE FIRST ENROLLMENT OF THE PROJECT COURSE.

Phase 2. Plan: During Phase 2 you work with your project mentor (and project team if identified) to develop the action plan.

Step 1. Core Design and Planning Documents: Complete the core design and planning documents identified below and submit these to the project course for faculty advisor review. Upon approval from your faculty advisor, meet with your project mentor to review. Submit minutes of the meeting to the classroom. If revisions to core documents are suggested by your project mentor, meet with your faculty advisor to discuss. Complete revisions and submit final documents to the project course. Complete the checklist that aligns with your project to develop the action plan.

• Action Planning Tool
• Work Breakdown Structure or GANTT chart (White, pp. 209–216; Sipes, pp 86–88)
• Staff Education Program Checklist
• Clinical Practice Guideline Checklist
• Quality Improvement Checklist
• Develop SMART objectives
o https://www.health.state.mn.us/communities/practice/resources/phqitoolbox/objectives.html
o https://www.cdc.gov/phcommunities/resourcekit/evaluate/smart_objectives.html

MyDR: When satisfied that the project planning documents (question development tool, synthesis process and recommendations tool, action plan, and GANTT chart) meet university criteria outlined in the action plan checklist and DNP minimum standards rubric, your faculty advisor will authorize you to submit the documents to the committee for review. This review will document your faculty advisor and committee member’s endorsement of the documents and the readiness for presentation to the University Research Review (URR) member assigned to the committee.

Step 2. Online Ethics Pledge: After your action plan has received final approval, you will receive a notice from Student Research Administration (SRA) to complete the online ethics pledge: https://walden.co1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_6KKMk5znRdjBuqq. Specifically, the approved DNP Project may not begin until confirmation of your completion of the online ethics pledge has been received from DNPethics@mail.waldenu.edu; noncompliance with completion of the online ethics pledge will delay further work on your DNP Project. When you are notified that the online ethics pledge is completed you may schedule the final kickoff meeting (Step 3).

Step 3. Final Action Plan Review: When the DNP Project process documents have been approved in Taskstream, you will work with your faculty advisor and project mentor to schedule a final action plan review meeting with all stakeholders. The goal of the meeting is to ensure that everyone agrees before the DNP Project moves forward to implementation.

MyDR: Following URR approval of the project process documents, you will orally present an action plan presentation to your project mentor, faculty advisor, and any invited stakeholders. You may present at the site or virtually and must include your faculty advisor via a teleconference scheduled with the SRA. Requests should be made 1 week in advance of your meeting with your committee. This presentation is used to confirm the final action plan and clarify any remaining questions that your faculty advisor or mentor may have regarding the action plan. This meeting will be recorded in Microsoft Teams. After you have successfully presented the action plan, your faculty advisor will indicate the committee’s endorsement of the plan at this stage in the MyDR system.

• DNP Project 8702 Conference Call Request Form

YOU MUST COMPLETE A MINIMUM OF PHASE 2 TO OBTAIN A SATISFACTORY GRADE IN THE SECOND ENROLLMENT OF THE PROJECT COURSE.

Phase 3. Implement: Meet with project mentor to review your action planning tool on the implementation of the project plan. Submit minutes of this meeting to the project course. Meet with your faculty advisor to review and update the plan. Implementation plans must follow the guidelines set forth in the appropriate DNP Project checklist.

Phase 4. Measure/Monitor: During this phase, the main objective is to review the work plan on a regular basis to determine how the DNP Project is progressing in terms of timeline. Upon discussion with your project mentor, identify challenges and possible solutions. Submit minutes from this discussion to the project course. Copies of the minutes will be shared with your project mentor. Revise your Gantt chart as needed. Submit revised documents to the project course. Upon faculty advisor approval, share documents with your project mentor.

Phase 5. Close/Project Evaluation: Complete project evaluation using the metrics identified during the planning process. You will set up a meeting with your faculty advisor and project mentor to debrief and discuss results. The team will discuss the format for the final dissemination of results. Minutes of this meeting will be completed by you and submitted in the project course. Copies of the minutes will be shared with your project mentor. You will complete any materials needed for the final presentation to the stakeholders and submit into the project course for faculty advisor review. Upon faculty advisor approval, you will share materials with your project mentor. You will complete a draft of the executive summary and submit this to the project course for faculty advisor review.

• DNP Project Close Out Review Checklist
MyDR: When satisfied that the executive summary meets university criteria outlined in the DNP executive summary checklist, your faculty advisor authorizes you to submit the executive summary and checklist to the committee for review. This review will document your faculty advisor and committee member’s endorsement of the executive summary and its readiness for presentation to the URR member assigned to the committee. Upon approval from the URR, the executive summary will be forwarded to Form & Style Review editors for review. Upon completion of Form & Style Review, you may schedule the close out review and final presentation to stakeholders. You will orally present the project to your project mentor, faculty advisor, and any invited stakeholders. You may present at the site or virtually. You must include your faculty advisor via a teleconference scheduled with the SRA. Requests should be made 1 week in advance of your meeting. This meeting will be recorded in Microsoft Teams. After you have successfully presented your action plan, your faculty advisor will indicate the committee’s endorsement of the final presentation in the MyDR system.
• DNP Project 8702 Conference Call Request Form

Phase 6. Disseminate: During this phase, the final deliverable is completed by you. This final deliverable is the written executive summary with form and style edits completed, submitted into the classroom for faculty advisor approval.

• Staff Education Executive Summary Checklist
• Clinical Practice Guideline Executive Summary Checklist
• Quality Improvement Executive Summary Checklist

MyDR: When satisfied that the final executive summary meets university criteria outlined in the DNP executive summary checklist and minimum standards rubric, your faculty advisor authorizes you to submit the executive summary and checklist to the committee for final review. This review will document your faculty advisor and committee member’s endorsement of your executive summary and its readiness for presentation to the URR member assigned to the committee. Once the URR committee member approves your executive summary, the URR uploads the document as part of this URR review for Walden’s chief academic officer’s access and review.

ADDITIONAL TERM ENROLLMENTS (NURS 8702/8703): Depending on the updated timeline agreed upon by the organization, and you, the DNP project process may need to continue for additional terms.
 
Summary: Project Course (NURS 8702/8703) Submissions for DNP Project

Timing Type of Submission
Ongoing submissions Minutes
Phase 1 Design Site Approval form
Question
Organizational Readiness Assessment
Stakeholder Analysis
SWOT Analysis Development Tool
Phase 2 Plan Individual Evidence Summary Tool
Synthesis Process and Recommendations Tool
GANTT Chart
Action Planning Tool
Selected Project Checklist
Phase 3 Implement Action Planning Tool and Selected Checklist updated
Phase 4 Measure/Monitor Revised action plan if needed
Revised Implementation summary if needed
Phase 5 Close/Project Evaluation Presentation materials
DNP Project Close Out Review Checklist
Phase 6 Disseminate Executive Summary

MyDR Submissions

Purpose Submission
Committee Approval Review Site Approval Form
Program Director Approval Review Site Approval Form
Committee Plan Review Question Development Tool
Synthesis Process and Recommendations Tool
Action Planning Tool
Project Checklist
GANTT chart
URR Plan Review

NOTE: Online ethics pledge completed DNPethics@mail.waldenu.edu
Question Development Tool
Synthesis Process and Recommendations Tool
Action Planning Tool
Project Checklist
GANTT chart
Final Action Plan Review Action Plan and Implementation Review
Meeting recorded in TEAMS
Monitor Committee Review Executive Summary
Monitor URR Review Executive Summary
Form and Style Review Executive Summary
Close Out Review Presentation to Stakeholders
Meeting recorded in TEAMS
Final Quality Rubric Committee Analysis Executive Summary
Final Quality Rubric URR Analysis Executive Summary
CAO Approval Executive Summary