American Sentinel University DNP Practice Experience Quick Start Guide This Quick Start Guide is designed to guide your preparation, practice experiences, and reflective journaling within each nursing course and across the Nursing Programs at American Sentinel University. Review the DNP PE Assignment document within the course for detailed required, suggested, and recommended activities. A. Practice experience hours must be completed during each course. Hours accumulated outside of courses do not count for academic credit. B. Practice experience hours are achieved in a learning environment. You may not complete hours during paid work time. If you are in a salaried position, you must work your expected hours before counting any hours toward your practice experiences. C. Creativity is encouraged to accommodate diverse student learning needs and organizations in which students are employed or select for practice experiences. Initially in the program these practice experiences are structured and guided to develop student confidence in achieving the expectations of the nursing program and university. As the program continues students are encouraged to explore diverse and creative practice experiences that accommodates individualized learning outcomes. D. Preceptors must have an earned MSN. Preceptors may possess a terminal degree in addition to having an earned MSN. You may work with other knowledgeable healthcare personnel during practice experiences, however, your preceptor must always be an RN with at least an earned MSN. For the DNP students, preceptors must also have an earned terminal degree. E. Precepted practice experiences may require a signed agency agreement on file at both American Sentinel University and the agency prior to the start of any practice experiences with a university approved preceptor. Signed agency agreements are only required if your practice experience location requires a signed agency agreement. Plan ahead!! F. This grid provides a general guide for the acceptable time counted toward preparation and reflective journaling. You may accumulate less time in the preparation and reflective journaling activities, however, total required PE hours must be met as described for each course. 1
Number of Practice Experience Hours* Preparation Practice Experiences Reflective Journaling 15 1.5 11.25 2.25 30 3 22.5 4.5 45 4.5 33.75 6.75 60 6.0 45.00 9.0 75 7.5 56.25 11.25 90 9 67.5 13.5 Above 90 9 Balance of hours 15 *May not apply to courses with special PE requirements or capstone courses. G. The information below provides guidance on the types of acceptable practice experiences by program and within some special courses in the DNP program. a. Acceptable practice experiences: i. Types 1. Practice learning experiences 2. Simulated practice experiences 3. Precepted practice experiences ii. Tips for Success 1. Work on finding one agency and one preceptor for your specialization course practice experiences during your first year of the program. Get this in place and organized early. Keep the same primary preceptor across the program if possible. You will enjoy learning from a nursing scholar and not worrying about getting a new preceptor and agency agreement for each PE course. 2. Your capstone project preceptor will be your assigned DNP capstone chair. iii. Course Specific Student Assignment Sheets 1. Worksheets are available in each PE course and via the Course Roadmaps for you to review and plan ahead. Please note information is subject to change across the curriculum. Check back often if accessed prior to course start. H. Quick Start General Information a. DNP Program i. The DNP program requires a total for 600 practice experience hours. These hours are accrued in the following manner: 2
1. 210 hours in four core courses (two courses have no PE hours) 2. 150 hours in five specialization courses 3. 240 hours in three capstone courses ii. Core: Practice Learning Experiences 1. N700PE: 30 practice learning experience hours focused on developing nursing leadership knowledge, skills, and attitudes as doctoral scholars to change nursing practice and education (A structured experience is provided to help you get started in the DNP Program practice experiences.). 2. N725PE: 30 practice learning experience hours focused on use of nursing research to inform nursing practice and education (A structured experience is provided to help you get started in the DNP Program practice experiences.). 3. N745PE: 70 practice learning experience hours focused on use of strategic leadership knowledge, skills, and attitudes to change nursing practice and education 4. N760PE: 75 practice learning experience hours focused nursing leaders on use of strategic planning knowledge and skills to change nursing practice and education 5. Types of acceptable practice learning experiences in the DNP Courses: a. Viewing Virtual Presentations related to the course topic in the American Sentinel University Nursing Presentation Hall (within the American Sentinel University Virtual World). Maximum hours = 12 hours across all courses. Maximum hours per course = 3 hours. Available in N700PE, N725PE, N740PE, and N765PE. b. Reading scholarly (research) articles related to the course topic on one approved topic of choice. Select one middle range theory to study and apply to your clinical practice; select one clinical topic and apply current evidence based practice literature to improvement of contemporary nursing practice. Maximum hours = 12 hours or maximum of 2 hours per scholarly research article/evidence-based practice guideline document. c. Interview diverse nurses (or other key stakeholders) related to the course topic. Diverse nurses may be nurses with various degrees, nurses working in different types of health care settings, nurses working with diverse populations. Maximum per interview (includes interview question preparation and 3
documentation of interview summary). Maximum number of interviews = 6 interviews per course. d. Webinars, continuing education hours, or short online learning courses on nursing theories or development of evidence-based practice in nursing in your area of practice interest. A continuing education hour equals 50 minutes of actual learning time per one continuing education hour. Participation in an inperson learning experience is acceptable for practice learning experiences. Submission of the CEU or completion form will be required. Maximum number of webinar, continuing education, AND short online learning courses = 5 hours per course. e. Obtaining experiences with your preceptor. iii. Specialization Track Practice Experience Hours: Precepted Practice Experiences 1. Total number of required hours in the specialization are 150 hours. 2. The number of hours vary within courses by specialization. Please check each course syllabus, course description, and practice experience assignment sheet for number of required hours in each PE (practice experience) course. 3. We strongly recommend one agency agreement and one preceptor to facilitate your precepted practice experiences throughout your DNP program. 4. You will likely interact with multiple key stakeholders, nurses, and informants during your precepted practice experiences. It is best to have one preceptor as your primary point of contact and local person to verify precepted practice experiences and serve as a local mentor. 5. Be very creative in designing the types of experiences within agency settings. Attend meetings; interview key stakeholders to better understand course topics; observe meetings, labs, clinical, classrooms; explore strategic planning, assessment and evaluation, core measures discussions; think about what you really want to learn to become a more informed and educated nurse leader at the doctoral level. What is it in this topic area that you don t know or struggle with to meet deliverables in your own work setting? Practice experiences are the opportunity to seek, explore, learn, and grow in a safe environment. This is a wonderful time to ponder what you learning in the classroom with what you are observing in the practice or academic 4
setting. Rarely, if ever, will you be given this rich learning opportunity. Make the most of it! 6. Preceptors provide feedback to the University. Faculty evaluate your performance. 7. Not every experience will require a preceptor and not every experience will require direct interaction with your preceptor. Think of your preceptor as your local guide or mentor. You will interact with this graduate prepared (DNP, PhD, EdD or other terminal degree and be an actively practicing RN) to plan, organize, and make sense of your learning at the local level. Your preceptor will help you make these important decisions based upon state nursing and local agency regulations. iv. DNP Capstone Courses: 1. These are Precepted Practice Experiences. You DNP Capstone Chair will serve as your preceptor. 2. You will obtain 240 hours. (Structured experience guides are provided to help you manage these DNP Program practice experiences.). 3. You will design a project, plan, implement, defend, and write this project according the DNP Capstone Guide and DNP Capstone Template. 4. The majority of these courses are project based. You will log or track all of the activities related to completion of your final capstone project. Start logging your hours from day one of Capstone Project I course. 5. Practice experience hours in this course are accumulated differently from previous courses. Include all reading, research, discussions with your preceptor, key stakeholders, planning, and writing of the final project. Hours counted as practice experience hours are more clearly articulated during Residency I and Residency II. v. eportfolio 1. You will complete an eportfolio throughout the DNP program. You are advised to work on this project throughout the program. The eportfolio will be assessed in Residency II and following your final DNP capstone oral defense. This is a graduation requirement at American Sentinel University. 2. There are various software platforms for the eportfolios. DNP students will always use the platform initiated with Residency I. 3. It is your responsibility to maintain your login and password information. 5
4. It is your responsibility to retain electronic copies of all DNP course final projects. This is a graduation requirement of the university. The university does not retain copies of your final papers for you to complete this graduation requirement. Back up electronic copies are strongly advised. Examples of the structured practice experiences for the first three DNP courses are listed below: N700PE: Leadership: Setting the Example STRUCTURED PRACTICE EXPERIENCE NUMBER OF PRACTICE EXPERIENCE HOURS Organize Practice Experiences: Submit plan for practice Up to experiences in Week One Request for Practice Experiences. allowed. Suggested Course Practice Experience Activities: You must complete at least 22.5 hours of active practice experiences. This is separate from organizing and documenting practice experiences within this course. This course requires a total of 45 hours of practice experiences. Required: Complete Certified Background Check Focus on nursing leadership opportunities and models within selected practice experience setting Interview a leader such as a dean or program director in your workplace related to his or her perceived leadership qualities Focus on observed leadership within a complex organization in selected practice experience setting Interview someone in upper management [president or provost] in your organization related to the stewardship activities of the organization Interview the head of Human Resources or the person in charge of hiring with the goal of discovering and analyzing the characteristics of the modern workforce with particular attention to generational issues, gender differences and diversity Focus on leading change in nursing setting What role does leadership play throughout the change process? Observe a leadership meeting in your workplace curriculum committee, all faculty committee, faculty senate; or managers, directors, senior leadership (C-Suite) - Focus on power, politics, and policy Review the organizational chart within your PE setting, noting both formal and informal power structures and alliances 6
Conclude Practice Experiences: Complete reflective journaling and documentation of practice experiences. Submit required Practice Experience Forms in Week 8. This course requires 45 hours of practice experiences. Up to 4.5 hours allowed. N725PE: Health Services Research STRUCTURED PRACTICE EXPERIENCE NUMBER OF PRACTICE EXPERIENCE HOURS Organize Practice Experiences: Submit plan for practice Up to experiences in Week One Request for Practice Experiences. allowed. Suggested Course Practice Experience Activities: You must complete at least 22.5 hours of active practice experiences. This is separate from organizing and documenting practice experiences within this course. This course requires a total of 45 hours of practice experiences. Interview someone in a leadership position in your practice experience organization related to health services research and how research is found, accessed, and applied in this nursing practice setting Interview Information Technology Manager or personnel related to health services research and how research is found, accessed, and applied in this nursing practice setting Interview a Chief Nursing Officer related to health services research and how research is found, accessed, and applied in this nursing practice setting Interview two or more peers related to health services research, benchmarking and use of findings Interview two or more key stakeholders in your practice experience organization related to any suggestions they might have related to relevant research topics. How do these relate to implementation science? Explore role of a nurse researcher: DNP or PhD if DNP is not available, or other researcher to develop insight into this advanced practice role and its contribution to advancing nursing knowledge and practice. Conclude Practice Experiences: Complete reflective journaling and documentation of practice experiences. Submit required Practice Experience Forms in Week 8. This course requires 45 hours of practice experiences. 6 hours 6 hours 6 hours Up to 4.5 hours allowed. 7
N740PE: Capstone Project I STRUCTURED PRACTICE EXPERIENCE NUMBER OF PRACTICE EXPERIENCE HOURS Organize Practice Experiences: Submit plan for practice Up to experiences in Week One Request for Practice Experiences. allowed. Suggested Course Practice Experience Activities: You must complete at least 22.5 hours of active practice experiences. This is separate from organizing and documenting practice experiences within this course. This course requires a total of 30 hours of practice experiences. Complete CITI Training for Social and Behavioral Sciences to meet American Sentinel University IRB policies of DNP students. Interview a leader in your workplace related to their perceptions of issues in their environment Compare their observations to your observations and note areas of convergence that might be appropriate for a capstone project Interview someone in upper management or some of your peers in your organization related to implementation science and the possible applications in your workplace Conduct initial review of the literature using search strategies learned in N740PE to complete this section of your DNP Capstone Project Complete investigative review to complete Section 1 of the DNP Capstone Project Paper Conclude Practice Experiences: Complete reflective journaling and documentation of practice experiences. Submit required Practice Experience Forms in Week 8. This course requires 45 hours of practice experiences. 6 hours 10 hours 5.5 hours Up to 4.5 hours allowed. 8