The Catholic University of America
School of Nursing
Spring 2010
Doctor of Nursing Practice Program Evidence-Based Practice Project
The evidenced-based practice (EBP) project is an integral requirement of the CUA
School of Nursing Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) degree. The project is a facultyguided scholarly experience that provides evidence of the student’s critical thinking and
ability to apply research principles through problem identification, proposal development,
implementation, and evaluation of a clinical problem. The project will reflect the
culmination of knowledge and skills developed during the DNP program.
Research and research utilization are critical elements of evidenced-based nursing
practice. Nurses prepared at the DNP level translate evidenced-based research in their
own practice and provide leadership for evidenced-based health care. DNP graduates are
expected to disseminate and integrate new knowledge and evaluate the application of
knowledge.
The EBP project will focus on a theoretically and clinically relevant problem in nursing.
This requires competence in knowledge development activities such as the translation of
research into practice, application of new knowledge, the evaluation of practice,
initiatives that improve the reliability of health care practices and outcomes, and
participation in collaborative research (DePalma & McGuire, 2005). Students will follow
the American Association of Colleges of Nursing’s DNP Essentials for “Clinical
scholarship and analytical methods for evidenced-based practice.”
http://www.aacn.nche.edu/DNP/pdf/Essentials.pdf.
The first step in the EBP Project requires the student to identify a clinical problem in an
area of interest. The student will then review and summarize the literature dealing with
this problem area and will create a problem statement. The student then further
investigates the problem and proposes a project. Interdisciplinary and collaborative
approaches are encouraged. Following appropriate approval mechanisms, the project is
implemented, evaluated, and described in a scholarly paper.
EBP projects include, but are not limited to the following:
 Practice change initiatives
 Program needs assessment, development and evaluation
 Evaluation of an existing program
 Development of an assessment instrument/protocol for a specified population
 A cost/benefit analysis of program models
 Performance improvement project
 Research utilization project
 Practice management project
 Other scholarly project as approved
EBP projects are:
 Setting/population specific.
 Grounded in clinical practice and, ideally, collaborative across disciplines.
 Independent projects led by the student (although they may be a piece of a larger
project).
 Designed to solve practice problems and inform practice directly.
 Developed in conjunction with a committee.
 Conducted according to ethical principles.
EBP Project Committee
The EBP project committee requires a minimum of three members. The EBP Project
Committee Chair must be a doctorally prepared faculty member in the School of Nursing.
One committee member must be external to the SON. External members may be clinical
experts, experts in population health, experts in program development or methods of
evaluation. Committee members should have a minimum of a Master’s degree with
appropriate clinical expertise in the topic area. The student should submit the names of
committee members to the Director of the DNP Program for approval.
EBP Project and Product
The main product of the EBP project will be the scholarly paper, with the following
components:
1. Nature and scope of the project (introduction, problem identification, significance,
project objectives)
2. Synthesis and analysis of supporting and related literature
3. Project methods
4. Project implementation
5. Evaluation, outcomes (actual and predicted), implications & conclusions
EBP Project Process
The first three components of the paper are written in support of the proposal. Following
approval of the three components by each committee member, a proposal defense must
be arranged. The Committee Chair forwards the name of the candidate to the Director of
the DNP Program and the candidate will provide the Director with one copy of the
necessary documents (listed below) as well as one copy of the first three components.
The Candidate is responsible for scheduling the Project Defense meeting at a time that is
acceptable to all members. The Candidate must submit copies of the following to all
members of the Committee a minimum of two weeks prior to the scheduled meeting:
 Two page EBP Project proposal
 Reference page
 Consent Form(s)
 Copies of any protocols, tools, or instruments that will be used
 Letter(s) of support to implement project at the proposed setting(s)
 Completion certificate: Human Participant Protection for Research.
The candidate should complete the top portion of the form Recommendations of EPB
Project Proposal Committee prior to the project defense and bring it to the meeting so
that the requisite signatures can be obtained on the day of the defense.
Following a successful proposal defense, the candidate should submit a final copy of the
project proposal plus any additional information needed by human subjects review
clearly identified as attachments and separate from the two-page proposal, plus the signed
Request for Approval form to the office of the Director of the DNP Program. Upon
receipt of these documents, the Program Director will submit the proposal to an external
reviewer from within the School of Nursing. The external reviewer will submit Report of
External Reviewer to the Program Director. Final approval will be provided by the
Associate Dean of Academic Affairs in the School of Nursing.
Formal implementation of the project may begin only after necessary written approvals
are provided by the CUA Committee for the Protection of Human Subjects and the
Institutional Review Board where the project is to be conducted (if applicable).
The Candidate implements and evaluates the project and completes a final draft of
scholarly paper under the guidance of the Project Chair and with the concurrence of the
committee members.
Following approval of the paper by the full committee, the committee chair notifies the
candidate of committee approval and authorizes the student to schedule an oral
presentation in the SON which is open to the University community.
The Candidate requests the scheduling of the oral presentation through the SON Office of
the Associate Dean for Academic Affairs and completes materials for the presentation at
least three weeks prior to the proposed date. Following the presentation, final approval of
the EBP Project is indicated by the signature of the Committee Chair on the Approval of
Evidence Based Practice Project form.
The scholarly paper is included in the student’s portfolio (See DNP Professional
Portfolio).
Criteria for evaluation of the Scholarly Paper and EBP project include (adapted from the
NONPF Subcommittee on Capstone Project, NONPF, 2006):
 Is there evidence of clinical scholarship?
 Does the project demonstrate clinical expertise and clinical decision-making?
 Was there an identified need for the project?
 Was the project selected of adequate complexity? Feasible? Were alternatives
considered?
 What aspect of the project involved vision, leadership, policy?
 How does the project build upon knowledge, relate to theory, relate to the
literature, and foster practice-related research?
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Who will benefit from this work? Does this project raise the bar for quality of
care delivery? Was there evidence of collaboration?
How does the project advance our knowledge about practice? Does the project
resolve a controversy? Does the project bring together separate views, offer new
insights or directions? Does the project raise questions about conventional care?
How will the results of the project be disseminated?