How to guide students through a DNP project: A practical guide for faculty.

Background: There has been a rapid increase in Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) programs throughout the country. As such, there are more students conducting DNP projects, necessitating the need for more faculty members to serve as DNP project team leaders (also known as chairs or mentors). However, evidence suggests some faculty may not feel comfortable or confident in guiding students through the DNP project process.

Factors Influencing Student Evaluations of Teaching: A Descriptive Study.

Background: Student evaluations of teaching (SETs) provide educators feedback to improve the quality of instruction; however, response rates often are low. Incentives may be used, but there is limited data on their effect on SETs response rates and course means.

Method: This study used a descriptive study design.

Clean hands are caring hands: Improving anesthesia provider hand hygiene and double-glove compliance during induction of general anesthesia.

Background: Hand hygiene and double-gloving practices during induction of general anesthesia can decrease transmission of bacteria to patients and subsequent health care-associated infections; however, compliance to these practices is low.

Methods: A pre- and postimplementation quality improvement design was used with Plan-Do-Study-Act cycles. Several implementation strategies were used to improve hand hygiene and double-glove compliance among anesthesia providers, including printed educational materials, video, in-person, and virtual meetings, visual reminders, audit, and feedback, and improved access to hand sanitizer dispensers in the anesthesia workstation.

Evidence-Based Practice Quality Improvement Critical Appraisal Tool.

Background: Optimal quality improvement in health care is based on research and other types of evidence. Critical appraisal of evidence is a fundamental component of evidence-based practice (EBP) and is also needed to evaluate the quality of quality improvement (QI) projects.

Problem: Currently available EBP or QI critical appraisal tools can be challenging for students learning the critical appraisal process and for practicing clinicians who desire access to a standardized EBPQI approach to inform health care decision-making.

Optimizing Quality Improvement Methods in Practice : A Case Study Approach.

Background: Quality improvement (QI) initiatives help ensure patients are receiving high-quality care. Iterative Plan-Do-Study-Act (PDSA) cycles are used to test change. Data are evaluated over time, and tests of change can be modified or discarded as needed.

Reducing Clostridioides difficile Infections in a Medical Intensive Care Unit: A Multimodal Quality Improvement Initiative.

Background: Clostridioides difficile (C. diff) infection causes significant morbidity for hospitalized patients. A large medical intensive care unit had an increase in C.

Evaluation of a Seizure Action Plan in an Adult Epilepsy Center.

Background: Seizure action plans (SAPs) provide valuable information for patients to manage seizure emergencies, but are underutilized in adult epilepsy centers. The purpose of this project was to implement a structured SAP for adult patients with epilepsy.

Methods: A pre/postimplementation design was used.

Leveraging Artificial Intelligence for Expediting Implementation Efforts.

Expedited implementation of evidence into practice and policymaking is critical to ensure the delivery of effective care and improve health-care outcomes. Implementation science deals with the designing of methods and strategies for increasing and facilitating the uptake of evidence into practice and policymaking. Nevertheless, the process of designing and selecting methods and strategies for implementing evidence is complicated because of the complexity of health-care settings where implementation is desired.

Misuse of the P Value: Using Quality Improvement Analyses to Identify Clinically Significant Improvements.

Introduction: Quantitative research and quality improvement (QI) both seek to improve care provided to patients. However, clinicians often blur the lines between how to appropriately analyze data from these methodologies. Clinicians may inappropriately use statistical analyses for QI initiatives, rather than using run and statistical process control (SPC) charts to analyze improvements in outcomes.

Cognitive Symptom Awareness Among Patients With Multiple Sclerosis Using a Mobile Application.

Purpose: Cognitive impairment is a common complication in persons with multiple sclerosis (MS). Using a mobile application has been shown to improve patient's awareness of cognitive symptoms. The purpose of this quality improvement project was to improve awareness of cognitive symptoms in adult patients with MS using a mobile application.

Evaluation of lay health workers on quality of care in the inpatient setting.

Aims: To evaluate the impact of a lay health worker support role in the inpatient setting.

Background: Healthcare systems are facing critical nursing and nurse assistant staffing shortages. These disciplines can be challenging to recruit and retain, leading healthcare leaders to identify innovative staffing models.

Impact of Nursing Clinical Elective Courses on New Graduate Nurses' Clinical Practice: A Mixed-Methods Descriptive Study.

Background: Clinical elective courses provide additional specialty knowledge for prelicensure nursing students; however, it is unknown how these courses impact nurses' clinical practice after graduation.

Purpose: To describe how clinical nursing electives impact graduates' clinical practice.

Methods: A mixed-methods descriptive design was used.

The Role of Doctor of Nursing Practice-Prepared Nurses to Improve Quality of Patient Care.

Translating evidence-based practices (EBPs) and quality improvement (QI) initiatives to the bedside is a significant need among hospitals and outpatient settings to improve the provision of quality nursing care. However, health-care systems continue to struggle with implementing and sustaining EBPs. To improve the application of EBPs and QI initiatives, hospitals should consider using Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP)-prepared nurses in Quality Improvement roles, as DNP graduates have acquired unique expertise in these topics.

Febrile Neutropenia: Improving Care Through an Oncology Acute Care Clinic.

Background: Patients with cancer are at risk for oncologic emergencies, including febrile neutropenia (FN). Timely treatment of FN can prevent complications. Providing this care in the outpatient setting has been shown to be safe and effective.

Strength in numbers: Utilization of an innovative electronic audit to enhance the completion of central line maintenance audits.

Background: Health care systems use auditing processes to monitor compliance with evidence-based practices. The auditing process for a bundle targeting central line-associated bloodstream infection prevention at a large children's hospital was suboptimal. The purpose of this project was to implement a revised audit and feedback data collection process.

Evaluation of DNP program essentials of doctoral nursing education: A scoping review.

Background: In 2021, the American Association of Colleges of Nurses revised the core competencies for professional nursing education. The revision includes a call for a transformation from a traditional approach to a competency-based approach for teaching and learning.

Purpose: The purpose of this systematic scoping review was to provide a fuller understanding of how DNP programs have historically evaluated and documented attainment of the essentials of doctoral nursing education in a summative manner in order to inform developing methods for addressing the newly endorsed advanced-level competencies in nursing education.

Using the COM-B model to identify barriers to and facilitators of evidence-based nurse urine-culture practices.

Our surveys of nurses modeled after the Capability, Opportunity, and Motivation Model of Behavior (COM-B model) revealed that opportunity and motivation factors heavily influence urine-culture practices (behavior), in addition to knowledge (capability). Understanding these barriers is a critical step towards implementing targeted interventions to improving urine-culture practices.

Using clinical decision support to improve urine testing and antibiotic utilization.

Objective: Urine cultures collected from catheterized patients have a high likelihood of false-positive results due to colonization. We examined the impact of a clinical decision support (CDS) tool that includes catheter information on test utilization and patient-level outcomes.

Methods: This before-and-after intervention study was conducted at 3 hospitals in North Carolina.

Reduction in patient refusal of CHG bathing.

Background: Daily chlorhexidine gluconate (CHG) bathing is a well-supported intervention to reduce patient's risk of central line associated bloodstream infection (CLABSI); however, compliance with this practice is suboptimal. One major barrier is patient refusals of CHG bathing. The purpose of this project was to implement tailored interventions to mitigate this barrier.

Use of Topical Lavender Essential Oils to Reduce Perceptions of Burnout in Critical Care.

Background: Intensive care unit (ICU) health care workers face increased burnout. The purpose of this project was to evaluate burnout after implementing lavender essential oils.

Objective: To assess the effectiveness of topical lavender essential oils in decreasing the instance of burnout in frontline ICU health care workers during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Implementation Science Toolkit for Clinicians: Improving Adoption of Evidence in Practice.

Background: Clinicians are often familiar with quality improvement (QI) and evidence-based practice (EBP) processes, which provides guidance into what evidence should be implemented; however, these processes do not address how to successfully implement evidence.

Objective: Clinicians would benefit from a deeper understanding of implementation science, along with practical tools for how to use these principles in QI and EBP projects.

Methods: We provide a brief background of the principles of implementation science, an overview of current implementation science models and a toolkit to facilitate choosing and using common implementation science strategies.