DNP projects addressing emergency contraception, human trafficking and perinatal care earn Edwardson Award

Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) students Celeste de los Santos, Rebekah Vonasek and Kerena Saltzgiver were named recipients of the Sandra R. Edwardson Award for Excellence in a Doctor of Nursing Practice Scholarly Project.

The award, named for the school’s first DNP program director and former dean, is given to students who demonstrate leadership in an area of nursing practice and whose DNP project exemplifies the ideals of DNP scholarship.

De los Santos is a student in the nurse-midwifery specialty. Her project is Improving Emergency Contraception Utilization in the Primary Care Setting: A Quality Improvement Project.

Vonasek is a student in the health innovation and leadership specialty. Her project is Implementing a Human Trafficking Screening Process at a Title X Clinic: A Quality Improvement Project.

Saltzgiver is a student in the post-master’s DNP program. Her project is Implementing a Trauma Screening Protocol in the Perinatal Period for Indigenous Women at an Indian Health Service Facility.

The DNP Scholarly Project represents a synthesis of a student’s work in the DNP program by addressing a complex practice or clinical problem within the student’s field of expertise. Students propose an evidence-based change to address that problem for a significant population, use doctoral-level leadership skills to implement and evaluate the efficacy of the practice change, and evaluate the outcomes of the change.

“The DNP project is a collaborative partnership. The student gains invaluable, hands-on experience leading a systems change and the community partner receives tailored, evidence-based solutions to some of their most complex healthcare challenges,” says Stephanie Delkoski, DNP, APRN, WHNP-BC, PNAP, assistant dean of the DNP program. “The recipients of the Sandra Edwardson Award exemplify this dual impact and how student scholarship can directly impact population health, experience of care, healthcare costs, workforce wellbeing, and health equity.”