Evidence-Based Practice Project Proposal Outline

Follow the instructions located in the Week 5 Assignment Guideline and Rubric to complete the information below.
Use complete sentences to document findings.

Practice Issue and PICOT Statement
Practice issue: nursing shortage at VA hospitals
PICOT statement: Among nurses working at a VA hospital, does offering student loans or debt reduction incentives than private-sector incentives reduce nursing workloads within six months?

Article #1
Full reference for article (APA Format) Daw, P., Mills, M.E., & Ibarra, O. (2018). Investing in the future of nurse faculty: A state-level program evaluation. Nursing Economics, 36(2), 59-82.
Purpose To evaluate the New Nurse Faculty Fellowship (NNFF) program and its effectiveness in recruiting and retaining faculty staff.
Research Method Retrospective program review and evaluation
Participants 215 nurses who have completed the program
Data Collection Methods Financial review: a review of financial documents and funding allowances; faculty review: a survey using the SurveyMonkey instrument in a sample of nurses who have successfully completed the NNFF program.
Study Findings Over the eight years of program implementation, 245 nurses received $4.1 million total awards. In addition, the rates of retention reached almost 88 percent. Nurses responded that the most meaningful incentive for recruitment and retention would be providing scholarships and student loan forgiveness options.
Limitations of the Study Non-experimental; limited to faculty staff.
Relevance to Practice Issue and Proposed Intervention The results demonstrate the relevance of financial incentives for staff retention in nursing. Based on nurse responses, student loan forgiveness should become an intervention of choice to facilitate recruitment and retention of nursing staff at a VA hospital.

Article #2
Full reference for article (APA Format) Daw, P., Seldomridge, L.A., Battistoni, S., & Belcher, A.E. (2018). Increasing the number of nurse faculty with doctoral degrees: Outcomes of the Maryland Nurse Educator Doctoral Grant Program 2013-2018. Nursing Economics, 36(5), 213-218.
Purpose To evaluate the Maryland Nurse Educator Doctoral Grant Program (NEDG).
Research Method Retrospective, longitudinal, post-hoc review of secondary data
Participants 98 NEDG grant recipients
Data Collection Methods A web-based survey distributed among NEDG grant recipients
Study Findings All grant recipients had a severe student loan debt upon receiving the grant; 42.86% of them used it to repay their student loans.
Limitations of the Study Retrospective nonexperimental. It is limited to a single program.
Relevance to Practice Issue and Proposed Intervention Student loan forgiveness is the number one incentive for recruiting and retaining nursing staff, whether faculty or clinical staff. Proposed herein is the provision of student loan forgiveness resources to stimulate nurse recruitment and reduce workloads at a VA hospital.