I feel like this is a great topic to post on this website, and it could be a great place for students to voice their ideas. What kind of experience have you had with patients? Are there any practice problems that have stood out to you?

I have been a nurse for over ten years, and I have worked -with many different types of patients, but I have come to specialize in cardiac and patients on dialysis. When I was working in the ER, speaking with discharged patients, I often came across MANY patients with new onset CHF symptoms that went undiagnosed because they were not sick enough to admit. Giving a new diagnosis of CHF requires long-term care and follow-up. Often, I would see patients coming in fluid-overloaded, given a one-time dose of Lasix, and then discharged – putting a band-aid on the issue but not providing the patients or families with any education. I thought I would do my DNP project on something cardiac-related, possibly just providing ED staff with more educational resources to give borderline new undiagnosed CHF patients, but since I am no longer working in the ED, my focus has shifted.

Since I am now working with ESRD patients in an acute care setting, I want to focus more on that, but I am unsure what my focus will be. Many hospital staff do not know much about dialysis patients, how to care for them properly, or what to do or not do when a patient has hemodialysis, medications to give or hold, etc. It is hard to choose a topic that is simple enough that we can finish it by graduation. Choosing too complex an idea may make the DNP project unattainable. Hope this helps!