Perception of the Scholarly Work Project by DNP/DNAP Graduates: A Preliminary Survey

The purpose of this descriptive pilot survey was to understand the experiences of students completing scholarly work projects for practice doctorate programs. With this work, we hoped to fill the literature gap and to inform curriculum. A descriptive survey was used to answer the question: How do graduates of entry level and completion degree Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) and Doctor of Nurse Anesthesia Practice (DNAP) programs perceive the scholarly work requirements? The Chi-square test of independence was used to compare whether there was a statistically significant association between the responses to the survey question and the demographic variable. Only 46 DNP/DNAP graduates (4%) completed the survey. The survey results indicated that students in completion programs believed that their scholarly work empowered them to conduct future scholarly work as compared with the entry-topractice cohorts. Variables addressing each aspect of scholarly work project were described by the participants. This preliminary work provides a glimpse into the experience of scholarly work projects for the practice doctorate. To provide greater depth and understanding of this important aspect of doctoral education, a larger sampling of graduates is needed. A collaborative study might be beneficial.