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.
2022 Graduates
Alyssa Aurisy
Quality Improvement: Implementing Transgender/Gender Diversity Education for Parents at Unity Center for Behavioral Health
Amelia Mahoney
Quality Improvement Project: Addressing the Problem of Nurse-Patient Communication at a Critical Access Hospital
Amy Behler
Quality Improvement: Improving Nutritional Knowledge Among Residents of a Residential Rehabilitation Unit
Andy Worley
Quality Improvement: Optimizing Screening for Substance Use Disorder in a Primary Care Clinic
Angelo Davis
Program Evaluation: Trauma-Informed Care (TIC) Education Process at NW Children’s Hospital
Austin Brekke
Quality Improvement: Implementing and Evaluating a Palliative Care Education Program
Brianna Melvin
Quality Improvement: Modeling Safe Sleep among Hospitalized Infants
Britney Allison
Organizational Change/Quality Improvement: Respecting Gender Diverse Patients and Caregivers: A Microlearning Training Program
Cameron Maleki
Quality Improvement: Improving the Care of Domestic Violence Survivors in a Labor and Delivery Unit
Danette Delo
Quality Improvement: Effective Screening for Symptoms of Postpartum Depression
DeAnna Hamlik
Program Evaluation: Palliative Care in the Emergency Department
Deborah Orth
Quality Improvement: Mindfulness-Based Interventions (MBI) to Reduce High School Faculty and Staff Stress
Diana Rambo
Quality Improvement: Reducing Inpatient Seclusion for Psychiatric Patients
Erik Rammelsberg
Quality Improvement: A Process to Decrease Door to Electrocardiogram Time in the Emergency Department
Gabriela Byrne (Hurst)
Quality Improvement: Improving Hypertension Management in an Indian Health Service Clinic
Gilleann Rivera
Program Evaluation: Evaluating a CAUTI Reduction Program Seeking to Standardize Practice with External Collection Devices
James Zachary
Quality Improvement: An Initiative to Reduce Hypertension in the Primary Care Setting Using the Health Literate Care Model
Jennifer Hanlon-Wilde
Quality Improvement: Increasing Primary Care Engagement in the Treatment of Problem Drinking in a Rural Northwest Family Practice
Jennifer Quinn
Program Evaluation: Addressing Tobacco Use by Cancer Patients and Supporting Cessation Using a Health Care Provider-Led Tobacco Cessation Program: Methodology Data Management
Jessica Bailey
Quality Improvement: Increasing Registered Nurse Confidence in Caring for Pediatric Emergencies at a Community Hospital
Jessica Dear
Quality Improvement: Implementation of the National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale (NIHSS) in the Perioperative Environment
Jessica Wallingford
Quality Improvement: Implementation of Interdisciplinary SBAR with New Graduate Nurses to Increase Confidence Levels with Communication
Juliana Crisman
Quality Improvement: The Integration of Palliative Care Within Primary Care Clinics in Rural Okanogan County
Juliana Whitaker
Quality Improvement: Implementing Usage of The Adverse Childhood Experience Screening Tool
Justine Mings
Quality Improvement: Implementing Universal School-Based Mental Health Screening at a Residential School for Deaf and Hard of Hearing Adolescents
Kari Cunningham-Rosvik
A Program Evaluation: The Effectiveness of The Arc of King County Parent to Parent, Parent Matching Program for Spanish-Speaking Parents and Caregivers of Individuals with Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities
Kari Wallace
Qualitative Improvement: Addressing Barriers to Early Mobility in the Intensive Care Unit by Improving Caregivers Perception of Early Mobility Practices
Kayla Lamb
Quality Improvement: Standardizing Heart Failure Care Across a Clinic System
Kelsey Eidem
Program Evaluation: Evaluating a Primary Care Nurse Practitioner Residency Program.
Lindsey Davidson
Program Evaluation: The Care, Assistance, Resiliency, Encouragement (CARE) 4 U Program: One Urban Medical Center’s Approach to Mitigate Burnout and Improve Well-Being in Health Care Professionals.
Lisa Rodriguez
Quality Improvement: Improving Cultural Responsiveness in Outpatient Behavioral Health Care: The Effect of Cultural Formulation Interview Education and Implementation on Culturally Responsive Care
Madeline Gottlieb
Quality Improvement: Increasing Mindfulness in Assisted Living Caregivers
Manjot Singh
Organizational Change/ Quality Improvement: Zero Harm for Caregivers: A Microlearning Training Program
Mattie Keltner
Quality Improvement: Increasing Accuracy of Specimen Labeling through Bedside Technology and Staff Development.
Megan DePaolo
Program Evaluation: Assessing the Effectiveness of Sepsis Bundle Adherence at an Urban Teaching Medical Institution
Meghan Fitzpatrick
Quality Improvement: Gender Identity and Sexual Orientation Disclosure to Health Care Providers
MJ Pastor
Quality Improvement: Approaches to Improving Hyperphosphatemia in Adults Undergoing Home Peritoneal Dialysis
Nicole Falkin
Quality Improvement: Implementing Distress Screening for Patients with Head and Neck Cancer
Pawandeep Kaur
Program Evaluation: The Food Farmacy Program and its Effectiveness in Overcoming Food Insecurity
Quinn Fihn
Program Evaluation of a Collaborative Care Model Pilot at a Critical Access Hospital in San Juan County, Washington
Rashida Ullah
Quality Improvement: Increasing Skin to Skin Rates Following Birth in the Operating Room
Rebecca Randall
Quality Improvement: Implementing and Evaluating a Shared Decision-Making Tool to Address Cannabis Use in the Management of Chronic Non-Cancer Pain
Rosa Casillas
Quality Improvement: Reducing Patient Falls on an Acute Care Unit
Scott Kluth
Quality Improvement: Emergency Department Initiated Buprenorphine Bridge Pilot Program
Stephanie Tougas
Program Evaluation: Patient and Staff Perspective on the Quality of Telemedicine Visits at a Community Clinic
Sue Weeks
Quality Improvement: Implementation and Evaluation of the SBIRT Toolkit to reduce Substance Use Among Patients at a Student Health Clinic
Teresa Mendoza
Quality Improvement: Implementing a Confusion Assessment Method Scale for the Fragility Fracture Patient
Teresa Robinson
Quality Improvement Project: The Effects of a Mindfulness Program to Reduce Compassion Fatigue and Burnout Among Hospitals Nurses and Certified Nurse Assistants
Teri Walker
Quality Improvement: Improving End of Life Symptoms with Use of the Macy Catheter
Tofik Shkrea
Quality Improvement: Addressing Lack of Activities and Boredom in a Psychiatric Unit
Tony Blagikh
Quality Improvement: Implementation and Evaluation of a Handoff Tool in an Emergency Psychiatric Unit
Vanessa Hutton
Quality Improvement: Addressing Mental Health Crises in Blind Adolescent Population: Triage and Management within a Residential Setting
2021 Graduates
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
Vanessa R. Albert
Recognizing Post Intensive Care Syndrome in Intensive Care Survivors in the Outpatient Setting: Policy Change
Micah F. Anderson, RN, BSN, DNP-FNP Student
Program Evaluation: Identifying Barriers for a Clinical Pathway for Heart Failure in the Emergency Department
Alex Arnold, RN, BSN, DNP-FNP Student
Program Evaluation: Assessing the Current STEMI Process from ED to Cath Lab
Carly Beesley, RN, BSN, DNP-FNP Student
A Quality Improvement Project: Improving Post-Pathogen Exposure Safety
Rosemaria Blackstone, RN, BSN, DNP-FNP Student
A Quality Improvement Project: Increasing Cultural Competency to Improve Medication Administration Documentation
Samantha Anne Campbell, BSN, RN,DNP-FNP Student
A Program Evaluation of Falls Prevention in a Medical/Renal Unit
Ashley B. Dalgarno, RN, BSN, DNP-DNP Student
A Quality Improvement Project: Improving Nurse Proficiency in Quantitative Blood Loss Measurement
Cathleen M. Daly, BSN, RN, DNP-FNP Student
Program Evaluation: Assessing the Effectiveness of Advance Directive Planning for Surgical Intensive Care Unit Patients
Allison L. Davis, DNP-S, MSN, ARNP, FNP-BC
A Quality Improvement Project: Implementation and Evaluation of a Preceptor Preparedness Program
Ginnette Erb RN, BSN, CEN, DNP-FNP Student
Program Evaluation: Improving Access to Health Care in the Emergency Department to Identify, Monitor, and Create Solutions for Efficient Throughput of Patients
Mandie R. Gardner, RN, BSN, DNP-FNP Student
A Quality Improvement Project: Increasing Depression Screening and Intervention
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
Allen J Gonzalez, RN, BSN, DNP-FNP Student
Program Evaluation to Assess Process and Outcome Causes for Unsuccessful Colonoscopies
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
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
Sarah M. Howard
Implementation of an Educational Teach-Back Program: A Quality Improvement Project in a Thrombectomy-Capable Stroke Center
Joanne M. Iverson, MN, RN, DNP Student
Program Evaluation: Evaluating a Social Emotional Learning Program for Youth Living Homeless
Calperna C Lucas, RN, BSN, DNP-FNP Student
A Quality Improvement Project: Strategies to Reduce Violence in an Inpatient Mental Health Setting
Diane Marines, MSN, RN, DNP student
Program Evaluation of Mammogram Screening: In the Rural and Underserved in a Coastal NW Clinic
Chelsea Mellett, RN,BSN, DNP-FNP Student
Program Evaluation: The Diabetic Prevention Program
Amanda C. Moore, RN, DNP-FNP Student
A Quality Improvement Project: Treating Procedural Needle Pain in Pediatric Patients Using Non-Pharmacologic Techniques
Zach R. Nelson
Using Group Cognitive Behavioral Teletherapy to Increase Student Access to Counseling Services: A Quality Improvement Project
Maria Nikolao, RN, BSN, DNP-FNP Student
Maternal Mental Health Capture: A Program Evaluation for Standardized Mental Health Screening
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
Suzanne K. Puryear
Improving Awareness and Knowledge of Post-ICU Syndrome in the Outpatient Setting: A Quality Improvement Project
Kimberly Riano, MSN, DNP Student, ARNP
Innovations to Increase Access to IUD Training for Nurse Practitioners
Catherine Shutty, BSN, RN, DNP-FNP Student
Addressing Health Literacy through Staff Development in a Primary Care Setting: A Quality Improvement Project
Oksana Solovyanchik, BSN, RN, DNP-FNP Student
A Quality Improvement Project: Increasing Early Detection and Self-Management of Prediabetes in a Community Clinic
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
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
Caleb Tadesse, RN, DNP-FNP Student
A Program Evaluation: Fall Prevention Program at a Long-Term Care Facility
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
Jennifer L Venable, RN, BSN, DNP-FNP Student
Quality Improvement: Initiating Protected Sleep Time to Improve Postpartum Patient Satisfaction and Reduce Postpartum Fatigue
Benjamin Verbil
Reducing Specimen Labeling Errors in a Large Metropolitan Emergency Department: A Quality Improvement Initiative
