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DNP Capstone Project

Doctoral education is characterized by a project or product that is the synthesis of the study in which the student has engaged. Nurses prepared at the DNP level are expected to provide leadership for evidence-based practice in nursing. The entire capstone process provides a vehicle for this outcome to emerge in a manner most consistent with student career goals and objectives.

The Capstone project produces a tangible academic product derived from the practice immersion experience. The final project of the DNP student for completion of the degree should demonstrate the student's  original thinking and ability to evaluate an area of advanced nursing practice at the educational level and experience of a doctor of nursing practice. The practice and project must be evidence based, and should involve a population, program, system, or clinical intervention of the health system. The project should be original, innovative, and include an evaluation of the desirability, impact, or progress of the subject or topic of the project. Thus, a project could be or include a needs assessment, impact/outcome review, or a modification of nursing practice for a group of patients, a population, neighborhood, or health care system. A project may assess an educational approach or teaching style within a given curriculum. It is an expectation that the project include a statement by the author about the impact of the project on his or her nursing practice and philosophy of care.

Dr. Bonnie Dean Speaks About the Capstone Project

 

DNP Graduate, Rebecca Cook with DNP Faculty, Rebecca Kronk

2012 Capstone Titles

Audrey Brooks
"Faculty Development Program on Academic Diversity"

Rebecca Cook
"Effect of an Educational Intervention on Nursing Staff Knowledge and Confidence in the Care of Children with Mild Traumatic Brain Injury"

Rachel Derr
"The Impact of a Structure High-Fidelity Simulation Debriefing Tool on Critical Thinking Skills in Nursing"

Lisa Easterby
"Impact of a Leadership Development Program on the Leadership and Management Competencies of Nurse Managers"

Kathleen Evanina
"The Outcomes of Education on Elder Abuse in a Long Term Care Facility"

Karen George
"Impact of Educational Instruction of the Clinical Institute Withdrawal Assessment Revised (CIWA-Ar) Scoring Tool on Self-Reported Learning and Self-Confidence of Medical-Surgical Registered Nurses in Veterans Hospitals"

Pamela Gilbert
"Impact of Additional Cultural Diversity Training for Hospice Staff on the Provision of Services for Culturally Diverse End of Life Patients"

Ellen Hamilton
"Facilitation of Knowledge of Evidence-Based Practice Among Registered Nurses in a Small Community Hospital"

Kathy Holloway
"Exploring Attitudes about Mental Illness and Psychiatric Nursing in Associate Degree Nursing"

Greta Marek
"Impact of Learning Style Assessment on Self-Reported Skills of Students in an Associate Degree Nursing Program"

Rosemary Mitchell
"Improving Disease Prevention and Health Promotion Adherence of Patients in a Military Ambulatory Care Clinic"

Grace Moodt
"Effectiveness of Using an Evaluation Tool in Simulation to Improve Nursing Students Ability to Achieve Learning Outcomes"

Sandra Quinn
"The Impact of a Nursing-Connection Mentor Program on New Nurse Retention Rates, Professional Growth, and Nurse Satisfaction"

Tamara Robertson
"The Impact of Peer-led, Problem-based Learning Exercises on the Critical Thinking Skills of First-semester, Baccalaureate Nursing Students"

Barbara Siebert
"The Academic Characteristics of Nursing Students with Undiagnosed Learning Disabilities-A Retrospective Case Study Analysis"

Amy Smith
"Strengthening Role Clarity in Acute Care Nurse Case Managers: Application of the AACN Synergy Model in Staff Development"

Cheryl Smith
"The Effect of Medication Review Screening Tools on Polypharmacy in Long Term Care"

Ann Spence
"The Impact of Interventions Designed to Decrease Interruptions of Pediatric Nurses During Medication Administration in a Pediatric Hospital"

Cynthia Walters
"Exploring the Relative Effectiveness of Two Teaching Approaches with Baccalaureate Nursing Students"

Cynthia Woodfield
"Kolb's Experiential Learning Theory: Instructional Design Framework for Teaching Nursing"

2011 Capstone Titles

Robin Adams-Weber
"The Impact of Education Provided by a Health Care Practitioner on Chlamydia Screening and Incidence in Women Ages 18-25 in a County Health Clinic in Rural Appalachia"

Dany Badreddine
"The Development of Baseline Evaluation of the Current Knowledge of Nurses about Patient Safety on Nurse Remote Area Chair (RAC), Saudi Arabia"

Dawn Bent
"Health Promotion Education for Guardians to Decrease Poor Eating Habits and Lack of Physical Activity in Lower Elementary School Students"

June Borazjani
"Will a Stimulated Learning Activity Facilitate the Development of Empathy in Nursing Students?"

Renee Cantwell
"Nursing as an Additional Language and Culture Program"

Margaret Chakan
"The Impact of a Clinical Experience with Women Who are Incarcerated on Sophomore Student Attitudes and Cultural Awareness"

Donna Gribbin
"The Impact of High Fidelity Simulation on the Self Confidence and Satisfaction of Undergraduate Nursing Student"

Tami Jakubowski
"Nursing Students Perceived Value of Learning to Coach High School Girls in Health Behavior Change"

Kelly Jenkins
"Building the Foundation: Simulation Education and Student Nurses' Perceptions of Clinical Decision-Making Skills"

Karen Marzlin
"A Competency Program to Improve Cardiac Monitoring Practice by Engaging Nurses to Link Evidence to the Point of Care"

Linda Morrow
"An Evaluation of the Impact of Computerized Bedside Medication Verification on Medication Administration Errors"

Karen Myers
"The Educational Effectiveness of Using Student Centered Teaching Modalities with Associate Degree Nursing Students"

Mary Polito
"The Effects of Diabetes Education on Patient Follow-Up Eye Examination and Treatment Rates for Diabetic Retinopathy Among Community-Based Adults with Diabetes"

Bonnie Price
"Lead the Design of a Comprehensive Forensic Curriculum for the Entry Level Forensic Nurse"

Lori Profota
"The Implementation of Communication Guidelines and Microsoft Sharepoint: A Quality Improvement Project for Nursing Shared Guidance"

Janet Russell
"Assessing the Need for a Nurse Managed Primary Health Care Clinic within a Domestic Violence Shelter"

Margaret Teu
"Safe in the City: The Impact of a Sexually Transmitted Disease Prevention Video on Prevention Knowledge in Africa-American Men and Women Ages 18 to 30"

Cynthia Webner
"Improving Outcomes in the Out of Hospital Cardiac Arrest Patient: A Clinical Nurse Specialist Led Evidence Based Initiative"

Megan Wilson
"Impact of Lower Extremity Depp Vein Thrombosis Risk and Prevention Education in an Agricultural Community"

2010

Eva Bell
"Concepts of Mental Health Care in a PCP Setting"

Rhonda Brogdon
"A Self-Care Educational Intervention to improve Dietary Phosphorus Control in Clients Requiring Hemodialysis"

Donna Estes
"Problem Based Learning: An Alternative Approach to Teaching Health Assessment"

Karen Gittings
"Developing Caring Behaviors in Undergraduate Baccalaureate Nursing Students Through Planned Community Service Experiences"

Denise McNulty
"Empowerment of Nursing Staff as a Factor in Performance in an Addictions Treatment Facility"

Denise Panosky
"An Evaluation Project for an Adolescent Behavior Program: Leadership, Development, Achievement and Development for Adolescent Offenders in Corrections"

Gale Plank
"Sexual Assault Evidence Collection Training Program"

Sandra Richmond
"Evaluation of Medication Error Prevention, Response and Reporting Practices in School Settings"

Ginger Riebe
"The Planning and Implementation of a Health Promotion Program in a Correctional Setting: The Benefits of Physical Activity for People with Mental Illness"

Brenda Trigg
"Improving Instruction and Learning Experiences in a Baccalaureate Nursing Program: A Capstone Experience and Project"

Yvonne Weideman
"Virtual Pregnancy Module"