Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP)

About the Practice Project

Certain areas in health care need more improvement than others, and your DNP Practice Project will help you identify one specific problem you see in patient care or clinical practice and empower you to present solutions. Your project will cover the planning, implementation and evaluation of a new process, program or practice model that you’ve introduced into a health care setting.

To complete your DNP project, you will be required to review previous research and literature, while also taking an active role in performing the steps necessary to resolve the issue you have identified. The conclusion you reach should guide ideas for future policies and procedures that will improve patient care and clinical practice. Your final project will reference your prior and current educational experiences, outline your immersion experience in the health care setting where you are implementing your project, and summarize your findings and areas of opportunity for future projects.

While your practice project will highlight an area of quality improvement in patient care and clinical practice, it should also reflect a topic of personal interest since you will be working on this project for the two years you’re enrolled in Duquesne’s DNP program.*

*The DNP project is outlined by the AACN and is a component of all Doctor of Nursing Practice programs available, though you may also see it referred to as a capstone or final project.*

As you work to complete your DNP Practice Project, you will be matched with a Duquesne University faculty member who will act as a mentor throughout your time as a DNP student. You will meet regularly with your faculty mentor to ensure that your practice project is on the right track.

Faculty mentors are responsible for evaluating your outcomes, the appropriateness of your DNP project and the setting of your practicum hours as they relate to the DNP Essentials. That means your faculty mentor is not responsible for evaluating the effectiveness of your project; they will focus only on the evaluation of the final project itself.

We do our best to pair students with faculty mentors who are experienced on the subject matter of the student’s practice project, and while we aim to do this for all students, it is not guaranteed.

 

As an online DNP student with Duquesne University, you are required to participate in two on-campus visits throughout the course of the DNP program.

During the first few weeks of the first semester you will join us on campus in the heart of downtown Pittsburgh to participate in a two- to three-day orientation. Being on campus will give you the opportunity to network with other students, meet your faculty mentor in person and understand more about the Practice Project and expectations. Sessions will also focus on scholarly writing and presentation skills.

The second time you are asked to come to campus is at the end of the DNP program to present your DNP Practice Project to faculty and fellow classmates. This will also give you another chance to network with other students and connect with faculty members from whom you have learned over the past two years.

Writing Residency

Writing is a complex process, especially at the doctoral level. Elevate your professional writing skills with our writing residency! This residency prepares you to deliver high‑quality academic papers and projects. Prior to orientation, you will gain access to writing modules created exclusively for DNP online students. Each module can be completed at your own pace.

 

Study Abroad: Italy or Ireland*

This experience is an optional, study-abroad residency*. It’s part of the transcultural and global health perspectives course GPNS 917. Online DNP students can study advanced-practice nursing in Italy at Duquesne’s Rome campus or in Ireland at Duquesne’s Dublin campus.* This is an outstanding opportunity for doctoral nursing students to learn more about international health care systems. Please note: any tuition discounts that graduate students receive are not applicable to study abroad courses.

*Exclusively for Clinical Leadership DNP students

 

Leadership

Nurses prepared at the DNP level are expected to provide leadership for evidence‑based practice in nursing. That’s why we require you to complete a Doctoral Practice Project.

Working closely with faculty, you will select an area of interest to evaluate, such as a population, program, system or clinical intervention, within a health setting. You will receive regular, one-on-one support from our DNP faculty throughout the program. Each course in our DNP program builds on the last — enabling you to work toward the completion of your DNP project every step of the way.

Duquesne University’s online DNP program complies with the AACN’s recommendations that the DNP practice experience is composed of 1,000 practicum experience hours.* These hours are meant to provide students with the opportunity to increase their comprehension of complex factors focused on advanced specialty practice and the eight DNP essentials.

For Duquesne’s DNP program, these hours are achieved through various avenues. Hours may be granted while you:

• Read and review case studies
• Participate in the immersion experience
• Work on writing your presentation
• Attend conferences related to your project topic
• Go on a mission trip and provide nursing care
• Complete DNP Residency I & II courses

*Students with an advanced practice NP master’s degree are automatically granted 500 hours due to their prior post-baccalaureate experience. All other students must provide their advanced practice certification to transfer 500 hours from their master’s program.