Revising a Doctor of Nursing Practice Program in Response to Student Focus Group Feedback

Throughout the history of professional nursing, changes in practice environments have guided changes in nursing educational systems. Over the past 50 years, advanced practice nurse roles have progressed in clinical practice and professional role requirements. The need to enhance the educational preparation in response to these requirements was addressed by the American Association of Colleges of Nursing (AACN, 2006). These formative years in the development of the DNP resulted in several programs across the country with varying approaches to both advanced practice specialization and doctoral degree education. Although extensive work was done by faculty to develop the program, prepare for accreditation, and provide a quality program, continued data collection and response to student feedback is a necessary component of quality education and continuing accreditation. The purpose of this project is to describe the continued data collection process of the program, specifically regarding the immersion hours and development of the final project.