Nursing Field Experience:

NURS 8312: Leading Quality Improvement

The Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) program builds on the student’s knowledge and expertise to strengthen advanced nursing practice, augment healthcare delivery, enhance organizational leadership, and improve patient outcomes. The program’s coursework covers a range of topics, including healthcare policy and advocacy, quality improvement, evidence-based practice, information systems/technology, advanced nursing practice, and organizational and systems leadership.

Program Learning Outcomes

At the end of the program, students will be able to:

1. Translate quality research findings to direct evidence-based nursing practice.
2. Develop organizational system changes for quality improvement in healthcare delivery in response to local and/or global community or workplace needs.
3. Apply optimal utilization of healthcare information technology across healthcare settings.
4. Advocate for the advancement of nursing and healthcare policy and standards to improve health outcomes by addressing positive social change and social policy through sharing of science-based knowledge with healthcare leaders and policy makers.
5. Demonstrate leadership to facilitate collaborative teams for improving patient and populations health outcomes.
6. Utilize advanced nursing practice knowledge to implement methodologies to improve population and community health outcomes among culturally diverse populations.
7. Establish a foundation for lifelong learning for continual elevation of contributions to the field of nursing through active involvement in professional organizations and/or other professional and community bodies.

DNP Traditional: The DNP program builds on the student’s knowledge and expertise to strengthen advanced nursing practice, augment healthcare delivery, enhance organizational leadership, and improve patient outcomes. The program’s coursework covers a range of topics, including healthcare policy and advocacy, quality improvement, evidence-based practice, information systems/technology, advanced nursing practice, and organizational and systems leadership.

The practicum experience helps students deepen their specialty area practice knowledge as they continue to enhance their leadership and nursing skills. The practicum experience and course assignments provide an opportunity for students to apply advanced level competencies and leadership skills in the development of a project for evidence-based practice at the organizational level in their chosen practice setting. During the practicum, students focus on skills at the aggregate, systems, and organizational levels; achievement of individualized learning objectives; and building and assimilating advanced specialty practice knowledge, as conceptualized by students and their preceptors and as approved by their practicum course faculty instructor. Practicum experiences and hours in DNP practicum courses do not involve direct patient care.  

Students should focus on expanding their specialty practice knowledge at the aggregate level and their socialization to roles they are interested in occupying after the completion of the DNP program, as described in the following examples:

• Students interested in being a nurse manager or leader should focus their practicum experience on organizational and system issues in healthcare.
• Students interested in informatics should focus their practicum experience on community-, system- or organization-wide information systems development and implementation in a healthcare setting.
• Students interested in being a nurse executive should focus their practicum experience at a high level of complexity within organizations by gaining experience in business skills and principles; relationship building; communication skills; and leadership in the health care environment. 
• Students interested in being an advance practice nurse should focus their practicum experience in their specialty area along with expanding their responsibilities for managing the care of individuals, families, and communities within systems or organizations. In addition, students may examine the following areas based on their area of expertise: practice trends; possible systemic changes to improve healthcare quality and safety at the organizational or policy level; or improvements in evidence-based practice settings.

NURS 8312:  Leading Quality Improvement

• Credits:  5 credits (4 didactic credits, 1 practicum credits)
• Required Practicum Hours:  80 Hours
• Review Course Description & Prerequisites

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To finalize their education, students must have an opportunity to apply their acquired knowledge, concepts, and skills during required practicum experiences. To do this, students may need to travel to a setting for their practicum experience. Students should consider their career goals after graduation when they are choosing a practicum site. They must match their practicum setting that they nominate with their goals and within the specific requirements of the course. Practicum sites must offer an experience that meets the requirements of the specialization and the practicum course. The general requirements for all practicum courses for practicum sites are as follows:   

• The practicum site must either have a valid affiliation agreement with Walden University that specifically covers your program or be willing to finalize an affiliation agreement with Walden University. The Office of Field Experience will contact a nominated practicum site to establish an agreement after a practicum application is submitted in Meditrek if Walden does not currently have an affiliation agreement with the practicum site. 
• The practicum site must abide by the terms and conditions outlined in the affiliation agreement. 
• The practicum site must employ the preceptor or be owned by the preceptor. 
• The practicum site must be located in a state or country where Walden University is authorized to enroll students and approve practicum for the student’s program. Students should review the list of states and countries that are restricted for enrollment and practicum on the List of Restricted States for practicum. 
• The practicum site must not be a private residential home setting because students are not permitted to go to private residential home settings of patients or preceptors for practicum experiences. 
• The practicum site must not be an agency that conducts home visits because students are not permitted to go to private homes for home visits. 
• The practicum site must operate at a physical location that is owned or leased by the site with a physical address that belongs to the site.  Addresses for a post office box, virtual office, co-working facility, or rental mailboxes are not acceptable. 
• The practicum site cannot be owned or operated by the student.  
• The practicum site must be willing to support you with opportunities to complete required practicum activities for the practicum course.
• The practicum site must meet the specific requirements for the practicum course. See the “Practicum Course Requirements for Practicum Sites & Preceptors” section for requirements.   <INTERNAL NOTE: Insert a link to the “Practicum Couse Requirements for Practicum Sites & Preceptors” subsection, which is in this section below> 

NURS 8312:  Leading Quality Improvement

• Acceptable Preceptor Options: Individuals employed in healthcare with experience and expertise in the practice setting relevant to your area of interest for your project and have a leadership role focused on organizational change. Examples include a chief nursing officer, medical director, administrator, director, director of nursing, quality improvement manager, staff development director or other nurse leaders. Individuals with an interdisciplinary focus may be an industry leader, a policy maker, a physician in leadership, or an informatics specialist. Preceptors may be a clinician, but solely when the preceptor’s experience and supervision will be focused on organizational change. For example, a practicing APRN who owns or manages a large clinic who has leadership responsibilities at the organization and point of care services may be acceptable.  
• Acceptable Site Options: Healthcare facilities such as healthcare systems, hospitals, medical centers, inpatient facilities, behavioral health centers, health centers, or clinics.
• Nonacceptable Site Options: 
  • Students are not permitted to complete or be involved in direct patient care during DNP practicum hours or the DNP Project.
  • Students are not permitted to use an academic nursing program such as a community college or university setting.
  • Students are not permitted to go to a private home residential setting for practicum. Students are not permitted to complete practicum at agencies or practices that conduct home visits; practices that are in the preceptor’s private residential setting; or any other facility that is in a private residential home setting.
• Required Practicum Hours: 80 Hours 
• Review Course Description & Prerequisites
• Preceptorship Prescreen Checklist 

• DNP Preceptorship Prescreen Checklist
• DNP Practicum Course Activities