Survey of Nursing Faculty Preparation for Guiding DNP Quality Improvement Projects

Quality improvement (QI) projects comprise the majority of University of Maryland School of Nursing (UMSON) Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) projects.

An online survey was completed by 51% (n = 38) of faculty, who teach or mentor DNP students, and was analyzed using quantitative and descriptive methods.

Faculty were somewhat or not familiar with developing a QI charter 68.4%, human error theory and error proofing 63.2%, driver diagrams 60.5%, characteristics of high-reliability organizations 60.5%, and Standards for Quality Improvement Reporting Excellence (SQUIRE) guidelines 55.3%. The faculty were most interested in learning more about (n = 97 responses) were human error theory and error proofing (28.9%), SQUIRE guidelines (26.3%), statistical process control (21.1%), and implementation strategies and tactics (21.1%). The most commonly identified challenges included identifying QI projects (24%), project time constraints (16%), keeping up-to-date on QI concepts, methods, and tools (12%), and balancing professional workload (10%).

Gaps in self-reported QI knowledge indicate there is a need for further development of DNP and PhD prepared faculty at the UMSON.