Degree Name
Nursing Practice, DNP
Publication Date
2-21-2026
First Advisor
Sandra King
Second Advisor
Paige Wimberley
Abstract
The purpose of this Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) quality improvement project was to address limited faculty self-efficacy in developing higher-level, competency-based pharmacology questions for clinical quizzes within an Associate Degree in Nursing (ADN) program. A faculty needs assessment identified an overreliance on recall-based pharmacology assessments, contributing to gaps in students’ clinical reasoning and medication competency. Guided by Bandura’s Theory of Self-Efficacy and Lewin’s Change Theory, a structured faculty development session was implemented to improve faculty confidence and skills in writing application-based pharmacology questions. A pre- post intervention design was used with ADN faculty participants (N = 5) at a community college nursing program. Faculty self-efficacy was measured using a validated self-efficacy survey administered before and after the educational intervention. Descriptive statistics were emphasized due to the small sample size, and a Wilcoxon signed-rank test was conducted to evaluate changes in self-efficacy scores. Results demonstrated improvement in post-intervention self-efficacy scores for all participants, with median scores increasing from 21 pre-intervention to 36 post-intervention. Although the improvement did not reach statistical significance (p = .063), the consistent positive change across participants indicates meaningful educational improvement. Limitations included the small sample size and reliance on self-reported measures. This project is significant as it supports targeted faculty development as an effective strategy to enhance assessment quality, strengthen competency-based education, and improve student preparedness for safe medication administration and clinical practice within ADN programs.
Rights Management
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License
Recommended Citation
Berg, Allison, "Quality Improvement Project: Leveling Pharmacology: A Faculty Development Initiative" (2026). Doctor of Nursing Practice Projects. 308.
https://arch.astate.edu/dnp-projects/308
