Scaling Up Doctor of Nursing Practice Project Processes for Large Student Cohorts

A Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) Program extended its admission criteria to include both Masters- and Bachelor of Science in Nursing-prepared students, thereby increasing annual average enrollment from 12 to over 100 students. This increased enrollment precipitated a time-sensitive need to overhaul the DNP Project process to accommodate large student cohorts.

A task force was formed and charged with designing the structure, processes, and outcome measures of a DNP Project to accommodate large student cohorts and be scalable in response to future fluctuations in cohort sizes.

Three DNP Project courses, delivered in a series, were redesigned and successfully implemented. Additionally, an innovative faculty workload model was developed and approved by school administration.

Training DNP students to engage in the health care system, implement actions to improve care, and evaluate effectiveness can drive significant improvements in health care and health outcomes and expand their skills as DNP-prepared nurse leaders.