Implementing peer support in graduate nursing education: A quality improvement initiative

Background: Graduate nursing students encounter a variety of academic and social sources of stress and anxiety. Post COVID pandemic review of mental health reveals worsening statistics for graduate students. Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) attrition is increasing, with student support issues and program stressors being two major predictors of attrition. At a large university, academic progression through the first two specialty courses revealed a 5–28 % failure/withdrawal rate. A Peer Support Pilot Program was implemented as a resource for students. Purpose: The purpose of this project was to implement and evaluate a Peer Support Pilot Program for students in the Adult Gerontology-Acute Care Nurse Practitioner/Clinical Nurse Specialist (AG-ACNP/CNS) track DNP program. Methods: The program was designed with literature, faculty, and student engagement. The program was implemented over one semester. An evaluation was completed looking at utilization, academic progression, and student perception. Attendance of in-person events and academic progression were recorded by course faculty. An anonymous Qualtrics Survey was sent to participants assess utilization and perceptions. Results: Students utilized their peer coaches for support throughout the semester (90 %), and half perceived it as contributing to their academic success. There was no measurable change in academic progression for AG-ACNP/CNS students compared to the year prior. Conclusions: A Peer Support Program is a well-known evidence-based intervention to support undergraduate nursing students. There are few studies that look at graduate nursing student's outcomes and utilization with peer support. Although this project revealed graduate nursing students perceived the program contributed to their academic success, there was no impact on academic progression. Further research is needed to assess the impact of peer support on graduate nursing students.