40 DNP Project Ideas for 2026, Each With a PICOT-Style Question (Sorted by Specialty)

A DNP project idea is only useful if it can survive three tests: it must be a change you can implement in a setting you can reach, it must have an outcome you can measure over a defined period, and it must fit the American Association of Colleges of Nursing (AACN) definition of a DNP Project, which requires planning, implementation and evaluation and rules out a literature review on its own. Every idea below is written to pass those tests. Each one names the specialty, states the change, and gives a one-line PICOT-style question you can adapt, so the idea is already halfway to a proposal. For the mechanics of writing that question, see our guide to building a PICOT question for a nursing dissertation.

The ideas are grouped by practice area. Most are quality improvement or evidence-based practice implementations, because that is what the majority of DNP Projects are; a few could be framed as program evaluations. None of them is a research study, and if you are still deciding between a DNP Project and a research dissertation, the DNP Project versus PhD dissertation comparison explains where the line falls.

How to judge a DNP project idea before you commit

Four questions sort strong ideas from weak ones. Is there a measurable baseline already being collected, such as a unit fall rate, a screening completion percentage or a readmission rate? Is there a published guideline or bundle the change is drawn from, so the evidence appraisal has something to appraise? Does the organization want it, meaning a nurse manager or quality director will sign the site letter? And can the outcome move within twelve to sixteen weeks of data collection, which is the window most programs allow? Ideas tied to measures that hospitals already report, such as the nurse-sensitive indicators (falls, pressure injuries, catheter-associated urinary tract infections, central line infections), the CMS Hospital Readmissions Reduction Program conditions (heart failure, pneumonia, COPD, acute myocardial infarction, CABG and elective hip or knee replacement) or the sepsis bundle measure, tend to pass all four because the data and the organizational interest already exist.

Acute care and medical-surgical nursing

1. Hourly purposeful rounding to reduce falls. In adults on a medical-surgical unit, does hourly purposeful rounding compared with usual care reduce falls per 1,000 patient days over twelve weeks? Tip: use the existing incident-report feed as your outcome source and add a rounding-log audit as the process measure.
2. Structured bedside handoff with a standardized tool. In a telemetry unit, does an SBAR-based bedside handoff compared with verbal report at the station reduce reported omissions of care over twelve weeks?
3. Nurse-driven urinary catheter removal protocol. In adult inpatients with an indwelling catheter, does a nurse-driven removal protocol compared with physician-order removal reduce catheter days and catheter-associated urinary tract infections per 1,000 catheter days over sixteen weeks?
4. Pressure injury prevention bundle adherence. In immobile adult inpatients, does a two-hourly repositioning and skin assessment bundle with electronic reminders compared with standard care reduce hospital-acquired pressure injuries over twelve weeks?
5. Early mobility program on a surgical unit. In post-operative adults, does a nurse-led progressive mobility protocol compared with mobilization on physician order reduce length of stay over twelve weeks?
6. Medication reconciliation at admission. In adults admitted through the emergency department, does pharmacist-nurse collaborative medication reconciliation compared with nurse-only reconciliation reduce unintended discrepancies per admission over ten weeks?
7. Alarm fatigue reduction on telemetry. In a telemetry unit, does individualized alarm parameter setting with daily electrode changes compared with default settings reduce non-actionable alarms per bed per day over eight weeks?
8. Sepsis screening at triage and on the floor. In adult inpatients, does an every-shift nurse-administered sepsis screen compared with physician-initiated recognition shorten time to antibiotic administration for patients meeting sepsis criteria over sixteen weeks?

Critical care and emergency nursing

9. Nurse-driven sedation interruption. In mechanically ventilated adults, does a nurse-driven daily sedation interruption protocol compared with physician-ordered interruption reduce ventilator days over six months?
10. ICU delirium screening and non-pharmacological bundle. In ICU adults, does routine CAM-ICU screening plus a sleep, orientation and mobility bundle compared with usual care reduce delirium-positive days over sixteen weeks?
11. Central line maintenance bundle audit and feedback. In ICU patients with central lines, does weekly audit with unit-level feedback compared with no feedback improve bundle compliance and reduce central line infections over six months?
12. Emergency department left-without-being-seen reduction. In an emergency department, does a nurse-initiated protocol allowing triage nurses to order defined diagnostics compared with physician-only ordering reduce the left-without-being-seen rate over twelve weeks?
13. Emergency department suicide risk screening. In adult emergency department patients, does universal screening with a validated brief tool compared with screening on clinical suspicion increase identification and referral of at-risk patients over twelve weeks?
14. Rapid response team activation education. In a medical-surgical unit, does an early-warning-score education program compared with existing training increase rapid response activations before cardiac arrest over sixteen weeks?

Primary care, chronic disease and community health

15. Nurse-led telephone follow-up for type 2 diabetes. In adults with an HbA1c above 8 percent at a federally qualified health center, does biweekly nurse-led telephone coaching compared with usual quarterly visits improve HbA1c at six months?
16. Home blood pressure monitoring with nurse review. In adults with uncontrolled hypertension in a rural clinic, does home monitoring with nurse-led titration by protocol compared with clinic measurement alone increase the proportion at goal at three months?
17. Depression screening workflow in primary care. In adult primary care patients, does a standardized PHQ-2 to PHQ-9 workflow with a warm handoff to behavioral health compared with clinician-initiated screening increase screening completion and referral acceptance over twelve weeks?
18. Colorectal cancer screening outreach. In patients aged 45 to 75 overdue for screening, does mailed stool-based testing with nurse phone follow-up compared with visit-based recommendation increase screening completion at three months?
19. Transitional care calls after hospital discharge. In adults discharged with heart failure, does a nurse-led call within 48 hours plus a seven-day visit compared with standard discharge instructions reduce 30-day readmissions over six months?
20. Opioid prescribing safety in a primary care practice. In adults on long-term opioid therapy, does a standardized monitoring bundle (agreement, prescription monitoring program check, naloxone co-prescribing) compared with clinician discretion increase guideline-concordant care over sixteen weeks?
21. Social needs screening and referral. In a community clinic, does routine screening for food and housing insecurity with a closed-loop referral system compared with ad hoc identification increase completed referrals over twelve weeks?

Pediatrics, maternal and neonatal nursing

22. Skin-to-skin protocol in a level II nursery. In stable preterm infants, does a structured daily skin-to-skin protocol compared with routine incubator care shorten time to full oral feeding during the admission?
23. Safe sleep education before discharge. In postpartum mothers, does nurse-delivered teach-back education compared with a printed handout alone increase reported safe-sleep practices at the two-week call?
24. Postpartum hemorrhage risk assessment and readiness. In a labor and delivery unit, does admission risk stratification with a staged hemorrhage cart compared with existing practice reduce time to first uterotonic in identified hemorrhage over six months?
25. Pediatric asthma action plans in primary care. In children with persistent asthma, does a written action plan with nurse teach-back compared with verbal instruction reduce emergency visits over six months?
26. Exclusive breastfeeding at discharge. In a mother-baby unit, does a lactation-consult trigger within six hours of birth compared with consult on request increase exclusive breastfeeding at discharge over twelve weeks?
27. Adolescent depression screening in a school-based clinic. In adolescents seen at a school-based health center, does universal PHQ-A screening compared with symptom-driven screening increase identification and referral over one semester?

Mental health and psychiatric nursing

28. De-escalation training to reduce restraint. In an inpatient psychiatric unit, does a structured de-escalation training program for all nursing staff compared with pre-training practice reduce restraint episodes per 1,000 patient days over six months?
29. Metabolic monitoring for patients on antipsychotics. In outpatients prescribed second-generation antipsychotics, does a nurse-managed monitoring protocol compared with prescriber-initiated monitoring increase completion of weight, glucose and lipid screening over sixteen weeks?
30. Medication-assisted treatment initiation in the emergency department. In adults presenting with opioid use disorder, does an emergency department buprenorphine initiation pathway with warm handoff compared with referral alone increase treatment engagement at 30 days over six months?
31. Peer-support debriefing for emergency nurses. In emergency department registered nurses, does a structured peer-support debriefing after critical incidents compared with no structured debriefing reduce scores on a validated burnout measure at three months?

Gerontology, long-term care and palliative care

32. Deprescribing review in a skilled nursing facility. In residents taking nine or more medications, does a nurse practitioner-led deprescribing review using explicit criteria compared with usual prescribing reduce the number of potentially inappropriate medications at twelve weeks?
33. Antibiotic stewardship for suspected urinary infection. In long-term care residents, does a decision-support tool for suspected urinary tract infection compared with usual practice reduce antibiotic prescriptions for asymptomatic bacteriuria over six months?
34. Advance care planning conversations in primary care. In adults over 65 with serious illness, does a nurse-led structured advance care planning visit compared with opportunistic discussion increase documented care preferences at three months?
35. Fall prevention in assisted living. In assisted living residents, does a multifactorial fall prevention program with medication review and exercise compared with usual care reduce falls per 100 residents per month over six months?
36. Palliative care screening trigger in oncology. In hospitalized adults with advanced cancer, does an automated palliative care consultation trigger compared with physician referral increase consultations within 72 hours of admission over sixteen weeks?

Nursing leadership, education and informatics

37. Nurse residency to reduce first-year turnover. In newly licensed nurses on a medical-surgical unit, does a twelve-month structured residency with mentorship compared with standard orientation reduce first-year turnover across two cohorts?
38. Clinical decision support for venous thromboembolism prophylaxis. In adult inpatients, does an admission order-set alert compared with unprompted ordering increase risk-appropriate prophylaxis over twelve weeks?
39. Telehealth follow-up for post-surgical wound checks. In outpatients after uncomplicated surgery, does a nurse-led video wound check compared with in-person follow-up reduce no-show rates while maintaining complication detection over sixteen weeks?
40. Interprofessional simulation for obstetric emergencies. In labor and delivery staff, does quarterly in situ simulation compared with annual classroom training improve team performance scores and time to intervention over one year?

Turning an idea into a proposal

Once an idea passes the four tests, the proposal writes itself in a fixed order: the problem and its local baseline, the PICOT question, the evidence appraisal, the framework (usually the Model for Improvement, the Iowa Model Revised or the Johns Hopkins EBP Model), the implementation plan, the measures and analysis, and the sustainability plan. Our step-by-step guide to writing the methodology chapter of a nursing dissertation or DNP project covers each of those subsections and the IRB determination that goes with them. If you need national benchmarks to set a target, the open data sources in our directory of free datasets and open data repositories include the federal health statistics your baseline can be compared against, and our roundup of nursing dissertation statistics shows how long DNP projects typically take from proposal to defense. For a general method of narrowing several candidate ideas to one, our step-by-step guide to choosing a thesis topic applies to DNP projects as well.

Frequently asked questions

What makes a good DNP project idea?

A good DNP project idea is a practice change drawn from published evidence, implemented in a setting you can access, with an outcome that already has a baseline and can move within the project window. AACN requires every DNP Project to include planning, implementation and evaluation, so an idea that cannot be implemented is not a project.

Can a DNP project be a literature review or a systematic review?

No. The 2015 AACN white paper states that an integrative or systematic review alone is not considered a DNP Project. A review can be the evidence base for the project, but the project itself must implement and evaluate a change.

How long does a DNP project take?

Most programs allow twelve to sixteen weeks for implementation and data collection, with the proposal written in the semester before and the final paper and dissemination in the semester after. Ideas with a six-month outcome window need a program that permits a longer timeline.

Do DNP project ideas need IRB approval?

Most programs require every project to be submitted for review, but a quality improvement project usually receives a determination that it is not human subjects research rather than an approval. The site also needs to approve the project through its own quality or nursing research process.

Can two students work on the same DNP project idea?

Yes, if the program allows group projects. AACN permits team projects when each student holds a leadership role in at least one component, is accountable for a deliverable and is evaluated individually.

Should I choose a DNP project idea in my current workplace?

Usually, because access, baseline data and stakeholder support are already there. Be explicit in the proposal about your dual role as employee and project lead, and about how you will separate your project data from your clinical duties.