Date of Conferral

8-4-2025

Degree

Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP)

School

Nursing

Advisor

Cara Krulewitch

Abstract

This Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) project addressed a significant gap in staff training at a behavioral health residential treatment facility. Nonmedical staff, including substance abuse counselors, lacked formal education in recognizing, assessing, and escalating symptoms of substance withdrawal. This lack of competency posed a risk to patient safety, regulatory compliance, and quality of care. The goal of the project was to evaluate the impact of a structured, simulation-based training program on nonmedical staff’s knowledge and confidence in using validated withdrawal assessment tools and monitoring vital signs. Six nonmedical staff participated in the training, which incorporated lecture, hands-on simulation, and case-based role-playing. The project was guided by adult learning theory and the ADDIE instructional design framework. Findings demonstrated substantial improvements: Correct identification of assessment tools rose from 17% pretraining to 100% posttraining, and confidence levels increased by between 2.0 and 2.7 points across all measured domains. This initiative supports nursing practice by enhancing interprofessional collaboration, expanding the competency of support staff, and strengthening withdrawal safety protocols. The project promotes positive social change by improving equity in care delivery, especially for vulnerable populations, and aligning practice with state-mandated standards.

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