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theses

Graduate Nurse Practitioner (NP) students are expected to leave their current roles as Registered Nurses (RNs) and enter an entirely different scope of practice. In addition to the conflicting research that debates the lack of advantage towards becoming NPs with previous RN experience, there is also a lack of evidence that discusses this specific population relative to the Impostor Theory. This theory discusses the idea that although students have achieved their merits based upon their efforts; they still feel as though they are impostors with their achievements (Sakulku & Alexander, 2011). Students not only require clinical knowledge, but also the emotional preparation to prevent the occurrence of the Impostorism theory which can perpetuate into feelings of limbo, anxiety, stress, and poor assimilation. The purpose of this study was to encourage awareness of Impostorism in Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN) students that are evolving into Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) NPs. This was achieved by three objectives. First, the relationship of demographics: age, gender, previous RN experience, program specialty, and number of completed clinical semesters were compared with the theory's severity. Secondly, Impostorism and its presence amongst students were measured with the chosen instrument. Lastly, the data was analyzed to be made available for faculty in promoting an active discussion in efforts to counter these feelings. NPs take care of millions of patients each year, yet the focus towards nursing education and ensuring that novice NPs are emotionally well taken care of is lacking. Although the normality of doubt is expected with role transition, this unfamiliar research not only promotes an active discussion within graduate programs, but also acknowledges the feelings of Impostorism amongst these students.

ETD_9576

DNP

Includes bibliographical references

doi:10.7282/t3-ynj4-gw59

ETD doctoral

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