Nurse Practitioner Student Perceptions and Knowledge on Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome: A Quality Improvement Project

Abstract

The purpose of this doctor of nursing practice (DNP) project was to examine family nurse practitioner (FNP) students’ knowledge and perceptions of polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS), intent to screen, and confidence in starting treatment before and after education on the topic. There is a great deal of variability in the diagnosis and recurrent dissatisfaction amongst women with PCOS regarding their diagnosis experience (Cee-Green, 2017). There are established criteria for the diagnosis of PCOS, however many women see multiple providers over an extended period of time before their diagnosis and receive poor information regarding the condition and treatment options (Gibson-Helm, 2014). Additionally, many women with PCOS expressed dissatisfaction with the information they were given by their provider regarding the condition (Gibson-Helm, 2014; Gibson-Helm, 2017). However, there have been no studies to evaluate the knowledge base of primary care provider students’ before they enter practice. The design of this project was a pre-/post-test design with participants from the University of Arizona’ family nurse practitioner (FNP) program and was essentially a case study of one group of students prior to entering practice. This project was conducted to assess baseline knowledge, provide education on PCOS, and assess improvements in knowledge of PCOS, its long-term complications, treatment options and intent to screen after the education. The impact of this project was assessed through pre- and post-surveys utilizing Likert and multiple-choice questions, analyzing any differences. This project utilized online platforms for the surveys and education. Descriptive statistics were used to analyze the data. Surveys were assessed for frequency of responses and percentages. The responses from the pre-test and the post-test were compared to assess changes in knowledge and perception of PCOS.