What Clinical Nursing Phenomena Are You Most Interested in

¶ … University Doctor of Nursing Practice Program? The Doctor of Nursing Practice is a unique degree in that it prepares nurses with the research skills to work more effectively in clinical settings. Unlike a purely academic degree, it is designed to prepare nurses to become leaders in the field, rather than work primarily in a university. But it still demands a rigorous understanding of evidence-based practice.

The DNP reflects the fact that research can be critical in improving the quality of medicine while still ensuring that the research has a practical focus and can be used in a meaningful way to better the lives of patients and providers alike. The increased complexity of healthcare regulation, the sophistication of medical technology, and the growing diversity of the patient population all reflect the need for leaders in the nursing field to pursue advanced degrees.

To have the necessary background to act as an advocate for my profession and to shape the future trajectory of healthcare policy, I believe that the foundation that the DNP can provide me with is essential. A DNP will allow me to make sense of the often confusing array of data confronting decision-makers and enable me to ensure the best possible outcome for my facility and individual patients. The healthcare environment is increasingly data-driven and using quantitative benchmarks to demonstrate improvements in health, quality, safety, and satisfaction are required.

I will be able to better analyze and set such benchmarks after achieving this degree. Yet my capabilities in qualitative research will likewise be sharpened, enabling me to analyze the human and individualistic side of healthcare. Of course, the DNP will provide me with greater potential advancement career-wise but it will also enable me to become the type of professional I wish to be, one that can make informed and intelligent leadership decisions. Q2.

As a clinical nursing scholar, specifically, what clinical nursing phenomena are you most interested in and do you perhaps have a primary clinical research question in mind? Despite the increase in applications to nursing programs, the looming nursing shortage is still a concern. As well as attracting new nurses to the profession, a key component of addressing the shortage is retention of highly-qualified staff. However, nursing 'burnout' is a significant factor in nursing attrition.

Furthermore, even nurses who do not leave their place of employment who are experiencing 'burnout' may compromise the care they give their patients; long hours, inadequate support, and psychological and emotional fatigue may contribute to medical errors. Even the phenomenon of nurses 'eating their young' or workplace hazing could at least partially be attributed to burnout, given that unhappy and disaffected employees are presumably more inclined to inflict their frustrations upon others.

Burnout can thus have serious consequences for nurses on a personal level and also for the healthcare system as a whole. Assessing its effects, causes, and generating solutions can be extremely difficult given that it cannot be measured in absolute, quantitative terms even though there is widespread agreement in the literature that it does exist.