In honor of the Doctors of Nursing Practice Conference happening this week in Tampa, SLACK is pleased to feature a guest blog post from Linda Benson, DNP, ACNP-BC, CPHQ, author of The DNP Professional: Translating Value from Classroom to Practice. 

Putting the DNP Essentials into Practice                                                Every year the number of Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) graduates continues to increase. According to the American Association of Colleges of Nursing, the number of DNPs graduated from 2018 to 2019 increased from 32,678 to 36,069 and is predicted to continue on an upward climb. More BSN and MSN-prepared nurses are recognizing the value of the DNP skillset. The DNP Essentials, which define the elements of a curriculum which must be present in a DNP program, emphasize organizational and systems leadership for quality improvement and systems thinking. The DNP graduate is keenly positioned to promote evidence-based practice as it affects population health and to utilize data mining techniques to optimize patient outcomes. This is extremely valuable as healthcare has become quality oriented with a zero tolerance for hospital acquired conditions. Consumers have become savvy in the search for optimal healthcare outcomes which the DNP can be uniquely positioned to provide.

In this practical application textbook, multiple DNP authors have presented how they successfully operationalized the skillset post-graduation and implemented the DNP Essentials.

A variety of practice settings are presented including inpatient, outpatient, and mobile settings. Both adult and pediatric patient populations are depicted. Academic settings that have not only DNP professors but have DNP program directors are portrayed. Nurse executives who have obtained their DNPs are uniquely positioned to not only understand how the DNP can affect clinical, satisfaction and cost outcomes, but also can provide preceptorship and mentoring.

This text should serve as a resource for both DNP students and graduates. The book fits nicely into introductory DNP curriculum with evidence-based practice course work and Capstone project design. The text provides examples of the DNP Essentials implementation that would be pertinent for students designing Capstone and practicum experiences. Likewise, practicing DNPs would find the text useful in gaining further insight on how to both implement the Essentials and demonstrate the value and impact of the DNP degree. The text could assist in either providing methods to either enhance a current practice or to establish a completely new practice.

To keep reading or to learn more about The DNP Professional: Translating Value from Classroom to Practice, please visit: https://www.slackbooks.com/the-dnp-professional-translating-value-from-classroom-to-practice/. Plus, save with an exclusive offer of 15% off any purchase when using promotional code SB15.