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AACN DNP Essentials

  • Post category:Nursing
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Describe the 3 AACN DNP Essentials that most align to the completion of a Doctoral Project. Be specific. Note: This is in general terms, not in relation to a particular quality improvement or organizational goal.
Explain how the AACN DNP Essentials will relate to the completion of a practicum/field experience. Be specific.

AACN DNP Essentials

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AACN DNP Essentials

Healthcare systems are complex and rapidly evolving, hence, require influential nurse leaders to manage changes in a dynamic environment. The Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) is a powerful strategy to produce competent nurses in the advanced clinical nursing practice (Rivaz et al., 2021). In that regard, the three AACN DNP Essentials that most align with the completion of a Doctoral Project include essential II, essential VII, and essential I.

Essential I: Scientific Underpinnings for Practice

The DNP essential advocates for the wide array of knowledge gained from sciences, which includes the ability to translate scientific knowledge into practice. The scientific underpinnings of nursing practice entail the principles that govern the well-being and optimal functioning of human beings (AACN, 2006). This DNP essential aligns with a doctoral project in the sense that the projects or practicum experiences aim at improving the well-being and optimal functioning of individuals. The DNP project promotes students’ ability for scientific investigations and the ability to translate scientific findings into study.

Essential II: Organizational and Systems Leadership for Quality Improvement and Systems Thinking

This DNP essential promotes the ability of DNP-prepared nurses to ensure quality improvement in the healthcare system. DNP graduates roles under this essential include designing evidence-based interventions, and clinical practice guidelines, as well as evaluating practice outcomes (DeCapua, 2016). These are some of the activities learned in a nursing practicum or a DNP project. DNP-prepared nurses can design and evaluate innovative patient care models. Evidence-based practice is a core throughout DNP education (Edwards et al., 2018). The main aim of a DNP project or practicum includes quality improvement and system innovations.

Essential VII: Clinical Prevention and Population Health for Improving the Nation’s Health

This DNP essential is based on health promotion and risk reduction. Clinical prevention and population health activities are essential in achieving the national aim of improving the health status of everyone (AACN, 2006). This essential aligns with DNP project or field experience with it entails interpretation of epidemiological, occupational, and environmental data to improve health (DeCapua, 2016). Therefore, the three DNP essentials align with DNP project, practicum, or field experience.

References

AACN. (2006). The Essentials of Doctoral Education for Advanced Nursing Practice. AACN. https://www.aacnnursing.org/Portals/42/Publications/DNPEssentials.pdf

DeCapua, M. (2016). The Essentials of the DNP Program. http://www.dnpnursingsolutions.com/dnp-nursing-program-overview/dnp-program-essentials/

Edwards, N. E., Coddington, J., Erler, C., & Kirkpatrick, J. (2018). The Impact of the Role of Doctor of Nursing PracticeNurses on Healthcare and Leadership. Medical Research Archives, 6(4). https://doi.org/10.18103/mra.v6i4.1734.

Rivaz, M., Shokrollahi, P., Setoodegan, E., & Sharif, F. (2021). Exploring the necessity of establishing a doctor of nursing practice program from experts’ views: a qualitative study. BMC medical education, 21(1), 1-7. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12909-021-02758-w