Preparing faculty to lead doctor of nursing practice projects: A faculty development pilot project

Faculty expressed a need to improve knowledge and skills related to leading Doctor of Nursing Practice projects. A mentoring program was designed to provide faculty the skills to increase confidence when leading Doctor of Nursing Practice projects. The program included an assessment of confidence of six key skills. The intervention included didactic and individual experiential learning that coincided with student progression through project courses. Participants' self-identified areas of need included understanding application of translation science, methods, statistical choices, and all phases of analysis. Four of the six elements were improved from baseline, with two statistically significant, Project Analysis (M = 2.05, SD =0.88, p < .041) and Project Dissemination (M = 2.25, SD = 0.89, p < .046). The pilot project was a first step in assessing strategies for educating and mentoring faculty leading Doctor of Nursing Practice projects.