Date of Conferral

8-17-2026

Date of Award

August 2026

Degree

Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP)

School

Nursing

Advisor

Melissa Rouse

Abstract

This staff education doctoral project addressed a practice gap involving limited education on frailty assessment and senior surgical safety within the general surgery department of a large, integrated healthcare system. Frailty is associated with increased postoperative complications, hospitalizations, readmissions, and mortality among older adults, making early recognition essential to improving surgical outcomes. The practice-focused question project was: Does education on frailty screening and senior surgical safety improve the knowledge, confidence, and intent of general surgery staff in a large, integrated health system? The purpose was to develop, implement, and evaluate an evidence-based educational intervention. The project was guided by the Johns Hopkins evidence-based practice model and the analysis, design, development intervention, and evaluation instructional design framework. Major project products included an educational presentation, participant learning materials, and evaluation tools. Evaluation included pre- and posttest assessments. There were five participants. Descriptive statistics revealed mean knowledge scores increased from 91.1% before the intervention to 97.8% after the intervention. Participant confidence improved, with 100% of participants reporting they were “very confident” following the educational session. Additionally, 80% of participants reported intent as “very likely” to apply frailty screening principles in practice following the educational session. This project supports positive social change by improving nursing knowledge to provide evidence-based nursing care for older adults with increased awareness of frailty-related risks. The project also promotes equitable, patient-centered surgical care and improved outcomes for vulnerable older adults, supporting positive social change and addressing age-related healthcare disparities.

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