Dissemination of scholarship across eight cohorts of doctor of nursing practice graduates

Aims and objectives: To evaluate the publication record across eight cohorts of post-master's Doctor of Nursing Practice graduates. Background: Dissemination of findings from evidence-based practice is described in the American Association of the Colleges of Nursing, Doctor of Nursing Practice Essential III. Students in Doctor of Nursing Practice programmes are expected to generate deliverables (e.g., a manuscript) of evidence to improve practice or patient outcomes. Design: A descriptive study was conducted to determine whether two key manuscripts (i.e., integrative review and an evidence-based quality improvement project) were disseminated in peer-reviewed journals, and if so, the length of time from graduation to publication. Co-authorship with faculty advisors and contributors was also examined. Results: The number of evidence-based quality improvement publications outpaces the number of integrative reviews over this span of time. Time to publication from graduation has decreased in recent years. Conclusions: Expecting, rather than encouraging a publishable-ready manuscript as a course deliverable would further student's motivation to disseminate their scholarship. Focused attention on faculty co-authorship may help increase the number of successful student publications for both integrative reviews and evidence-based quality improvement projects and decrease the time from graduation for those publications. Relevance to clinical practice: Dissemination of academic scholarly work is an expected outcome for Doctor of Nursing Practice graduates who impact clinical, operational and financial outcomes in complex healthcare delivery systems.