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

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

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)