Preparing For the Transition: Preparing Faculty for a Doctor of Nursing Practice Program Juliann G. Sebastian, ARNP, PhD, FAAN Assistant Dean for Advanced Practice Nursing and Professor Co-Director, DNP Program Carolyn A. Williams, RN, PhD, FAAN Dean and Professor Marcia Stanhope, RN, DSN, FAAN Associate Dean and Professor Co-Director, DNP Program University of Kentucky College of Nursing AACN Regional DNP Meeting San Diego CA 1/12/06

Considerations Identify faculty groups to include Determine types of transitions Examine faculty development issues related to the nature of the program AACN Regional DNP Meeting San Diego CA 1/12/06

Context Strong commitment to clinical practice Faculty practice program initiated in 1984 Faculty practice plan in 1994 Practice arrangements include clinical appointments within the academic health center, College of Nursing owned and operated sites, and contracts with clinical agencies AACN Regional DNP Meeting San Diego CA 1/12/06

Setting the stage Dean’s conversations with Chancellor about the concept of a professional practice-oriented doctoral program during the couple of years prior to convening a planning committee; Dean discussed the concept of a professional practice doctorate with Dean of the Graduate School. AACN Regional DNP Meeting San Diego CA 1/12/06

Stages of transition* Curriculum transition Pre-implementation Curriculum implementation Program implementation Curriculum advancement Formative evaluation and enhancement *Farmer, E.A. (2004). Faculty development for problem- based learning. European Journal of Dental Education, 8(2), AACN Regional DNP Meeting San Diego CA 1/12/06

Pre-Implementation Faculty involvement in curriculum development Input into decision to develop a DNP program ( ) Dean convened a planning committee Faculty fora and focus groups Curriculum committee and faculty meeting discussions Retreat with planning committee Development of program objectives (post MSN), curriculum framework and structure, courses, admission and progression standards Total faculty vote on the program proposal (1999) AACN Regional DNP Meeting San Diego CA 1/12/06

Program Implementation: Development of the core faculty group DNP Coordinating Committee, 5/01 Composition All faculty members teaching in the DNP program All are doctorally prepared Director of the PhD program All work with both DNP and PhD students Two teach PhD courses Others advise students as dissertation chairs or committee members AACN Regional DNP Meeting San Diego CA 1/12/06

Functions of DNP Coordinating Committee Planning, implementing, and evaluating the DNP program Admissions Operational policies and procedures Academic guidelines Communication (ex., monthly graduate faculty meetings) Evaluation Formative Summative AACN Regional DNP Meeting San Diego CA 1/12/06

Faculty Committee Member Faculty Advisor Clinical Mentor Student Student Committees AACN Regional DNP Meeting San Diego CA 1/12/06

Faculty advisors Evidence of understanding and operating from a nursing model Evidence of scholarship related to clinical practice; e.g., extramurally funded evaluation research, publications, presentations Provision of clinical leadership in decision-making Use of an evidence-based approach to clinical decision-making AACN Regional DNP Meeting San Diego CA 1/12/06

Clinical mentors Top level clinical or executive experts with responsibility for population-focused health care delivery Mentors are selected from among a variety of disciplines, thereby building the students’ interdisciplinary experiences. AACN Regional DNP Meeting San Diego CA 1/12/06

Connecting with faculty advisors and clinical mentors Faculty advisors invited to attend course discussions Course faculty encourage students to work directly with faculty advisors & committees Committees meet regularly to consult with students; sharing different perspectives from practice & academe enrich all. AACN Regional DNP Meeting San Diego CA 1/12/06

Ongoing operationalization of curriculum Ongoing, scheduled faculty meetings to discuss issues, values and ideas Monthly DNP Coordinating Committee meetings Discussion of the nature of the curriculum, clinical capstone projects, evaluation and modification of requirements Faculty retreat, Jan., 2005 AACN Regional DNP Meeting San Diego CA 1/12/06

Evolution of the clinical capstone projects Faculty discussions of assumptions, goals, beliefs Examination of various types of clinical change projects Outcomes evaluation, program evaluation and evaluation research AACN Regional DNP Meeting San Diego CA 1/12/06

Monthly reports at Graduate Faculty meetings Updates at Total Faculty meetings All faculty and students invited to DNP student presentations and special lectures, presentations by visiting professors DNP students encouraged to make Brown Bag presentations and to participate in poster sessions Sharing occurs with faculty members in other disciplines via academic council discussions, Brown Bag presentations, invitations to visiting professor seminars and colloquia Communication strategies AACN Regional DNP Meeting San Diego CA 1/12/06

Communication strategies (cont.) Electronic mail announcements, congratulatory messages College newsletter Print advertisements

Faculty Involvement in National Meetings AACN Doctoral conference Regional DNP conferences Participation in specialty organization discussions AACN Regional DNP Meeting San Diego CA 1/12/06

Formative Evaluation and Enhancement AACN Regional DNP Meeting San Diego CA 1/12/06

Formative Evaluation Real time changes as student or faculty needs indicate E.G., addition of Evidence-Based Practice course in the first year Curricular modifications in 2005 Balanced clinical hours across the two tracks Added economics/finance course for clinical students Distributed final clinical project over two semesters AACN Regional DNP Meeting San Diego CA 1/12/06

Summative Evaluation Incorporation into the full College academic evaluation plan End of program surveys, Jan., 2006 AACN Regional DNP Meeting San Diego CA 1/12/06