Facilitators and Barriers to Doctor of Nursing Practice Nurse Practitioner Program Implementation: A Mixed Methods...

Area of Science:

• Nursing Education
• Healthcare Finance
• Academic Program Development

Background:

• Financial constraints pose significant barriers to establishing Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) programs for nurse practitioners (NPs).
• Understanding financial facilitators and barriers is crucial for the successful implementation and sustainability of DNP-NP programs.

Purpose of the Study:

• To explore the financial facilitators and barriers encountered during the implementation of DNP-NP programs.
• To identify factors contributing to the financial success or failure of DNP-NP program initiatives.

Main Methods:

• An explanatory, sequential, mixed methods design was employed.
• Data collection involved surveys from 119 schools, with 17 meeting full inclusion criteria (DNP-NP program implementation post-2015 and transition budget creation).
• Qualitative data were gathered through three focus groups and two structured interviews (n=9).

Main Results:

• Only seven of the 17 schools meeting inclusion criteria achieved their financial projections.
• Dean's support was identified as the most critical factor for meeting financial projections.
• Budget concerns were the primary anticipated barrier for schools not implementing DNP-NP programs, with low enrollment being the top barrier for those that did.

Conclusions:

• Successful implementation of budget-neutral or income-generating DNP-NP programs is facilitated by strong administrative support, collaboration among faculty and clinical partners, integrated curriculum delivery, and phased transitions from Master of Science in Nursing (MSN) NP programs.
• Addressing financial challenges is essential for expanding DNP-NP program offerings in higher education.