DNP Student Projects

A hallmark of the DNP-prepared nurse is the ability to utilize the concept of practice inquiry to translate meaningful health research into practice. Students learn this process through the completion of a final DNP project. Students investigate an area of nursing practice, the health care delivery system, or a health care policy issue to develop a project meaningful to the organization as well as one that meets the scope of doctoral level work. DNP projects may take the form of quality improvement initiatives, practice change programs, program evaluation or translating evidence into practice. See examples of DNP student projects below.


Peimaneh Abdolhosseini: Quality Improvement: Increasing Mindfulness Mediation to Prevent Burnout Among Mental Health Nurses

Kimberly Ashmore: A Program Evaluation: Evaluating the Impact of a Nurse Practitioner Residency Program (NPRP) on the Development of Confidence and Competence in the Novice Nurse Practitioner 

Emina Polovina Bayomy: Screening for Development Delays in Early Childhood and the Need for a Standardized Protocol: A Quality Improvement Project 

David Califf: A Quality Improvement Project: Improving Outcomes for Code Gray Responses at Legacy Salmon Creek Medical Center 

Samantha Capoeman: Improving Medication Reconciliation at Roger Saux Health Center: A Policy Project 

Dustin Carlson: Quality Improvement: Mindfulness to Build Resilience to Burnout Among Nurse Leaders.

Rachel Carnes: Quality Improvement: Using Simulation to Improve Acute Care Nurses’ Self-Efficacy in Caring for Post-Procedure Arterial Access Patients

Anna Caruso: A Quality Improvement Project: Meeting the Healthcare Needs of LGBTQ+ Youth Through Implementation of an Affirmative Approach in the Acute Care Setting 

Brittnie Curtis: Quality Improvement Project: Increasing patient satisfaction using the Teach-Back Method 

Daniel Davidson: A Quality Improvement Project: An Educational Program for Nurses to Improve the Care for Patients Diagnosed with Alcohol Withdrawal Syndrome 

Jessica Davis: A Quality Improvement Project: Implementing Stop the Bleed at Sno-Isle TECH Skills Center, Saving Lives in Hemorrhagic Situations 

Jade Graff: Quality Improvement Project: Implementing Education on a Communication Framework to Improve Palliative Care Staff Knowledge and Confidence in Goals of Care Conversations 

Michealle Gregory: Quality Improvement Project: Supporting Transgender Youth’s Mental Health 

Cassie Hummel: Quality Improvement: Improving Menstrual Health Outcomes for an Immigrant and Refugee Organization Using Popular Training

Jessica Jajesnica: Teaching Mindfulness Techniques to Behavioral Health Care Staff for Stress Reduction and Self-Care

Jamie Jordan: A Quality Improvement Project: Implementation of an Overdose Education and Naloxone Distribution (OEND) Program in a Behavioral Health Agency 

Lindsey Karlsen: Quality Improvement: Implementing a Medication Container Review Process  
to Reduce Medication Discrepancies or Errors at the New Heights Clinic, a Free Primary Care Clinic 

Svitlahna Kasko: Improving Practitioner Skills in Managing Vascular Occlusions: A Quality Improvement Project at a Private Plastic Surgery Clinic in Seattle, Washington 

Jeffrey Kasnick: Quality Improvement Project: Creating a Culture of Evidence-Based Practice Through the Implementation of an Evidence-Based Practice Toolkit  

Samantha Knapp: A Quality Improvement Project: Providing Anxiety Web-based Psychoeducational Resources and Tools to Rural School Districts for Advancing Mental Health Awareness of Rural Adolescents and Children (Project TAMARACK)

Stanley Kong: Program Evaluation: Assessing Effectiveness, Efficiency, and Consistency in Migraine Assessment Workflow in the Neurology Clinic

Crystal Kostelyk: Program Evaluation: Evaluating Implementation of Antibias Training in the Perinatal Setting 

Diana Meresi: A Quality Improvement Project: Implementing the Use of a Violence Assessment Tool in Assessing the Risk of Violence in Behavioral Health. 

Danielle Metz: A Quality Improvement Project: Implementing an Educational Offering to Increase Nursing Staff Confidence in Using the Teach-back Method for Patient Education 

Courtney Morley: A Quality Improvement Project: Initiating Contingency Management to Improve Retention in Medication Assisted Treatment for Adults with Opioid Use Disorder    

Katherine Novak: A Quality Improvement Project: Restoring Reimbursement Parity 

Pedersen: A Policy Proposal for Intravenous Micronutrient Therapy as a Non-Pharmacologic Approach in Mental Health Treatment. 

Courtney Robbins: Quality Improvement: Implementing a Program to Increase Caregiver Confidence Regarding Advanced Care Planning Conversations Within a Large Healthcare Organization

Stephanie Rudin: A Program Evaluation: The Impact of The Spanish-Speaking Nurse Navigator Role on Staff Engagement and Patient Outcomes 

Jessica Saxton: Policy Project: Creating a Diabetes Care Policy for Spokane Public Schools 

Danielle Scala: A Quality Improvement Project: Impact of GAIN-SS Tool on Outcomes of a Rehabilitation

Crystal Swain: Implementing Postpartum Depression Screening in the NICU: A Quality Improvement Project

Sienna Tanner: A Quality Improvement Project: Providing Web-Based Sleep Education in a School-Based Setting 

Mesha Thomas: Quality Improvement: Closing Care Gaps for Patients with Diabetes Through Integration of Telehealth and In-Home Care

Natasha Tobias-White: Policy: Improving abscess management care during street rounds: Developing an evidence-based clinical practice guideline for abscess management adapted to street medicine practice.  

Victoria Wallin: A Quality Improvement Project: Promoting Antibiotic Stewardship for the Treatment of Urinary Tract Infection

Stacey Williams: A Quality Improvement Project: Utilizing Cancer Survivorship Care Plans for Survivors of Bladder Cancer Post-Cystectomy in a Urology Outpatient Setting

Teresa P. Abernathy, BSN, RN, CGRN, DNP-FNP Student
Quality Improvement: Implementing a Screening,
Brief Intervention, and Referral to Treatment Approach Among Patients on Chronic Opioid Therapy (PDF)

Vanessa R. Albert
Recognizing Post Intensive Care Syndrome in
Intensive Care Survivors in the Outpatient Setting: Policy Change (PDF)

Micah F. Anderson, RN, BSN, DNP-FNP Student
Program Evaluation: Identifying Barriers
for a Clinical Pathway for Heart Failure in the Emergency Department (PDF)

Alex Arnold, RN, BSN, DNP-FNP Student
Program Evaluation: Assessing the Current STEMI Process from ED to Cath Lab (PDF)

Carly Beesley, RN, BSN, DNP-FNP Student
A Quality Improvement Project: Improving Post-Pathogen Exposure Safety (PDF)

Rosemaria Blackstone, RN, BSN, DNP-FNP Student
A Quality Improvement Project:
Increasing Cultural Competency to Improve Medication Administration Documentation (PDF)

Samantha Anne Campbell, BSN, RN,DNP-FNP Student
A Program Evaluation of Falls Prevention in a Medical/Renal Unit (PDF)

Ashley B. Dalgarno, RN, BSN, DNP-DNP Student
A Quality Improvement Project: Improving Nurse Proficiency in Quantitative Blood Loss Measurement (PDF)

Cathleen M. Daly, BSN, RN, DNP-FNP Student
Program Evaluation: Assessing the Effectiveness of
Advance Directive Planning for Surgical Intensive Care Unit Patients (PDF)

Allison L. Davis, DNP-S, MSN, ARNP, FNP-BC
A Quality Improvement Project: Implementation and Evaluation of a Preceptor Preparedness Program (PDF)

Sophia Dunton
Assessment of EHR Implementation and
Training Processes at a Pilot Site for a National Initiative: A Program Evaluation
(PDF)

Ginnette Erb RN, BSN, CEN, DNP-FNP Student
Program Evaluation: Improving Access to Healthcare in the Emergency Department
to Identify, Monitor, and Create Solutions for Efficient Throughput of Patients (PDF)

Mandie R. Gardner, RN, BSN, DNP-FNP Student
A Quality Improvement Project: Increasing Depression Screening and Intervention (PDF)

Andrew Given, RN, BSN, DNP-FNP Student
Program Evaluation: Alprazolam and Medications for Opioid Use Disorder: One Washington Opioid Treatment Program’s Approach to Risk Management and Patient-Centered Care (PDF)

Allen J Gonzalez, RN, BSN, DNP-FNP Student
Program Evaluation to Assess Process and Outcome Causes for Unsuccessful Colonoscopies (PDF)

Johannah Gregg, BSN, RN, DNP-FNP Student
A Quality Improvement Project: Improving Value in Total Joint Replacement Care: The Effect of Perioperative Education on Patient Quality of Care (PDF)s

Grace Hiner, RN, BSN, FNP-FNP Student
A Nurse Residency Program’s Impact on Nurse Retention and Turnover in a Rural Hospital: A Program Evaluation (PDF)

Sarah M. Howard
Implementation of an Educational Teach-Back Program: A Quality Improvement Project in a Thrombectomy-Capable Stroke Center (PDF)

Joanne M. Iverson, MN, RN, DNP Student
Program Evaluation: Evaluating a Social Emotional Learning Program for Youth Living Homeless (PDF)

Calperna C Lucas, RN, BSN, DNP-FNP Student
A Quality Improvement Project: Strategies to Reduce Violence in an Inpatient Mental Health Setting (PDF)

Diane Marines, MSN, RN, DNP student
Program Evaluation of Mammogram Screening: In the Rural and Underserved in a Coastal NW Clinic (PDF)

Chelsea Mellett, RN,BSN, DNP-FNP Student
Program Evaluation: The Diabetic Prevention Program (PDF)

Amanda C. Moore, RN, DNP-FNP Student
A Quality Improvement Project: Treating Procedural Needle Pain
in Pediatric Patients Using Non-Pharmacologic Techniques (PDF)

Zach R. Nelson
Using Group Cognitive Behavioral Teletherapy to Increase Student Access to Counseling Services: A Quality Improvement Project (PDF)

Maria Nikolao, RN, BSN, DNP-FNP Student
Maternal Mental Health Capture: A Program Evaluation for Standardized Mental Health Screening (PDF)

Phoebe Ortman
Improving Spinal Fusion Surgical Outcomes,
Patient Expectations, and Patient Satisfaction: A Quality Improvement Project (PDF)

Kim L. Pederson, BSN, MSN, RN, DNP-Student
Policy Proposal:Gender Affirming Care for PeaceHealth Systems

Ryan T. Pederson
Improving Emergency Department Sepsis Bundle Compliance: A Quality Improvement Project (PDF)

Suzanne K. Puryear
Improving Awareness and Knowledge of Post-ICU Syndrome
in the Outpatient Setting: A Quality Improvement Project (PDF)

Nik Rademaker
Evaluation of Fall rates on a Medical-Oncology Unit
after the Implementation of Fall Prevention Education: A Program Evaluation (PDF)

Kimberly Riano, MSN, DNP Student, ARNP
Innovations to Increase Access to IUD Training for Nurse Practitioners (PDF)

Catherine Shutty, BSN, RN, DNP-FNP Student
Addressing Health Literacy through Staff Development in a Primary Care Setting: A Quality Improvement Project (PDF)

Oksana Solovyanchik, BSN, RN, DNP-FNP Student
A Quality Improvement Project: Increasing Early Detection and
Self-Management of Prediabetes in a Community Clinic (PDF)

S. Robert Spence, Jr., RN, BSN, DNP-FNP Student
A Quality Improvement Project in a Culturally Diverse Community:
Easing Access to Early Childhood Learning with Micronesian Islanders (PDF)

Mari C. Sullivan, DNP-S, MSN, ARNP, FNP-BC
A Program Evaluation Project: Implementation of Health Promotion Activities
Using the Teach-Back Method with Micronesian Islander Community Parent Leaders (PDF)

Caleb Tadesse, RN, DNP-FNP Student
A Program Evaluation: Fall Prevention Program at a Long-Term Care Facility (PDF)

Misty Van Cleave, RN, BSN, DNP-FNP Student
An Urban Emergency Department Quality Improvement Project:
Improving Cultural Competency for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and Queer Patients (PDF)

Jennifer L Venable, RN, BSN, DNP-FNP Student
Quality Improvement: Initiating Protected Sleep Time
to Improve Postpartum Patient Satisfaction and Reduce Postpartum Fatigue (PDF)

Benjamin Verbil
Reducing Specimen Labeling Errors in a
Large Metropolitan Emergency Department: A Quality Improvement Initiative (PDF)

Sara E. Welty
Patient Navigation Program Based on Identified Social Determinants of Health
in an Emergency Department in Spokane, Washington: A Quality Improvement Project (PDF)