DNP 830 Topic 8: scholarly activities reports
Outside clinical or professional practice is the phrase that rules. It excludes most of what a busy clinician does in a week, and picking something that fails that test wastes the whole activity.
Editorial process
Last reviewed · August 15, 2026
Four activities, and the reports are the deliverable
The requirement carries an exclusion that decides which activities qualify: the scholarly activity must sit outside your clinical or professional practice. That rules out most of what fills a working week. Mandatory in-service training, unit huddles, competency reassessment and the education you deliver as part of your role are all professional practice, however much you learn from them. What qualifies is the list the brief gives — conferences, seminars, grand rounds, policy and quality-improvement committee work, scholarly publication, community planning, guest lecturing — and interdisciplinary initiatives. Check the boundary before committing the time, because an activity that fails it is not salvageable by writing about it well. The exclusion is not arbitrary either: the point of the requirement is to push you into the professional community beyond your own unit, which is where the DPI project will eventually have to be defended and disseminated. An activity that never leaves your employer cannot do that work, however substantial it was.
The reports are the assessed artefact, not the attendance, and this is where thin submissions show. A report that summarises what a speaker said is a set of notes. A report that identifies what you took from the activity, how it connects to your DPI project or your competencies, and what you will do differently is a scholarly activity report. Write each one soon after the event while the specifics are still available, because a report written months later reliably collapses into generalities. Watch the count and the horizon: four is a programme-level minimum spread across courses, not four per course, and the portfolio deadline is the end of the course rather than the end of the programme — so track which ones you have already banked and which course each was recorded against, since a well-written report filed in the wrong place counts twice for nothing.
Likely learning objectives
Inferred from the brief — check these against your own rubric.
- 01Apply the outside-practice boundary when selecting activities.
- 02Write an activity report that argues rather than summarises.
- 03Connect scholarly participation to project and competency development.
- 04Track programme-level requirements across courses.
Read the full question
Review every instruction before using the planning guidance that follows.
Course-wide instructions that accompany this question
Name: Assignment Rubric Grid View List View Excellent Good Fair Poor Summarize your interpretation of the frequency data provided in the output for respondent’s age, highest school grade completed, and family income from prior month. 32 (32%) – 35 (35%) The response accurately and clearly explains, in detail, a summary of the frequency distributions for the variables presented. The response accurately and clearly explains, in detail, the number of times the value occurs in the data. The response accurately and clearly explains, in detail, the appearance of the data, the range of data values, and an explanation of extreme values in describing intervals that sufficiently provides an analysis that fully supports the categorization of each variable value. The response includes relevant, specific, and appropriate examples that fully support the explanations provided for each of the areas described. 28 (28%) – 31 (31%) The response accurately summarizes the frequency distributions for the variables presented. The response accurately explains the number of times the value occurs in the data. The response accurately explains the appearance of the data, the range of data values, and explains extreme values in describing intervals that provides an analysis which supports the categorization of each variable value. The response includes relevant, specific, and accurate examples that support the explanations provided for each of the areas described. 25 (25%) – 27 (27%) The response inaccurately or vaguely summarizes the frequency distributions for the variables presented. The response inaccurately or vaguely explains the number of times the value occurs in the data. The response inaccurately or vaguely explains the appearance of the data, the range of data values, and inaccurately or vaguely explains extreme values. An analysis that may support the categorization of each variable value is inaccurate or vague. The response includes inaccurate and irrelevant examples that may support the explanations provided for each of the areas described. 0 (0%) – 24 (24%) The response inaccurately and vaguely summarizes the frequency distributions for the variables presented, or it is missing. The response inaccurately and vaguely explains the number of times the value occurs in the data, or it is missing. The response inaccurately and vaguely explains the appearance of the data, the range of data values, and an explanation of extreme values, or it is missing. An analysis that does not support the categorization of each variable values is provided, or it is missing. The response includes inaccurate and vague examples that do not support the explanations provided for each of the areas described, or it is missing. Summarize your interpretation of the descriptive statistics provided in the output for respondent’s age, highest school grade completed, race and ethnicity, currently employed, and family income from prior month. 45 (45%) – 50 (50%) The response accurately and clearly summarizes in detail the interpretation of the descriptive statistics provided. The response accurately and clearly evaluates in detail each of the variables presented, including an accurate and complete description of the sample size, the mean, the median, standard deviation, and the size and spread of the data. 40 (40%) – 44 (44%) The response accurately summarizes the interpretation of the descriptive statistics provided. The response accurately explains evaluates each of the variables presented, including an accurate description of the sample size, the mean, the median, standard deviation, and the size and spread of the data. 35 (35%) – 39 (39%) The response inaccurately or vaguely summarizes the interpretation of the descriptive statistics provided. The response inaccurately or vaguely evaluates each of the variables presented, including an inaccurate or vague description of the sample size, the mean, the median, the standard deviation, and the size and spread of the data. 0 (0%) – 34 (34%) The response inaccurately and vaguely summarizes the interpretation of the descriptive statistics provided, or it is missing. The response inaccurately and vaguely evaluates each of the variables presented, including an inaccurate and vague description of the sample size, the mean, the median, the standard deviation, and the size and spread of the data, or it is missing. Written Expression and Formatting – Paragraph Development and Organization: Paragraphs make clear points that support well-developed ideas, flow logically, and demonstrate continuity of ideas. Sentences are carefully focused—neither long and rambling nor short and lacking substance. A clear and comprehensive purpose statement and introduction is provided which delineates all required criteria. 5 (5%) – 5 (5%) Paragraphs and sentences follow writing standards for flow, continuity, and clarity. A clear and comprehensive purpose statement, introduction, and conclusion is provided which delineates all required criteria. 4 (4%) – 4 (4%) Paragraphs and sentences follow writing standards for flow, continuity, and clarity 80% of the time. Purpose, introduction, and conclusion of the assignment is stated, yet is brief and not descriptive. 3 (3%) – 3 (3%) Paragraphs and sentences follow writing standards for flow, continuity, and clarity 60%–79% of the time. Purpose, introduction, and conclusion of the assignment is vague or off topic. 0 (0%) – 2 (2%) Paragraphs and sentences follow writing standards for flow, continuity, and clarity < 60% of the time. No purpose statement, introduction, or conclusion was provided. Written Expression and Formatting – English writing standards: Correct grammar, mechanics, and proper punctuation 5 (5%) – 5 (5%) Uses correct grammar, spelling, and punctuation with no errors. 4 (4%) – 4 (4%) Contains a few (1 or 2) grammar, spelling, and punctuation errors. 3 (3%) – 3 (3%) Contains several (3 or 4) grammar, spelling, and punctuation errors. 0 (0%) – 2 (2%) Contains many (≥ 5) grammar, spelling, and punctuation errors that interfere with the reader’s understanding. Written Expression and Formatting – The paper follows correct APA format for title page, headings, font, spacing, margins, indentations, page numbers, parenthetical/in-text citations, and reference list. 5 (5%) – 5 (5%) Uses correct APA format with no errors. 4 (4%) – 4 (4%) Contains a few (1 or 2) APA format errors. 3 (3%) – 3 (3%) Contains several (3 or 4) APA format errors. 0 (0%) – 2 (2%) Contains many (≥ 5) APA format errors. Total Points: 100 Name: Assignment Rubric
Turn the brief into deliverables
- 01Reports on at least four qualifying activities.
- 02For each, what was taken from it and what changes as a result.
- 03A connection to your DPI project or competencies.
- 04Portfolio documentation recorded against the correct course.
Choose, attend, then write what changed
What qualifies and what does not
Apply the outside-practice boundary to candidate activities.
Selecting for relevance
Choose activities that connect to your project or competencies.
Writing the report
Set out what a report contains beyond a summary of content.
Documenting and tracking
Record each activity in the portfolio against the correct course.
Deciding what counts before you commit the time
Recommended databases
- Your programme's scholarly activity guidance
- Professional association calendars
- PubMed Central
- Your practice portfolio
Search sequence
- 1.Check your programme's definition of a qualifying activity before booking anything.
- 2.Count what you have already recorded and against which courses.
- 3.Look for a committee or interdisciplinary initiative that touches your project topic.
- 4.Draft the report template once so each event can be written up quickly.
Reference shortlist
These are authoritative starting points, not a ready-made bibliography. A qualified reviewer must confirm that each source fits the assignment and supports the claim beside which it is cited.
Nothing here is cleared for citation until you have read it.
- 01
Portfolios with Evidence of Reflective Practice Required by Regulatory Bodies: An Integrative Review
Nursing Reports · 2023
On what portfolios are expected to evidence, which is why the report rather than the attendance is assessed.
- 02
Advancing Research, Writing, and Publishing in Nursing: Addressing Challenges and Improving Standards
Journal of Advanced Nursing · 2024
Covers scholarly participation and publication in nursing, which is the activity category the requirement is pointing at.
- 03
Reflections on clinical practice whilst developing a portfolio of evidence: Perceptions of undergraduate nursing students in the Western Cape, South Africa
Curationis · 2018
On writing reflective evidence close to the event rather than reconstructing it later.
- 04
Professionalism, accountability and peer review
Health Services Research · 1982
On peer review and professional accountability as scholarly activity in their own right.
Review before submission
Common mistakes
- Counting mandatory in-service training as a scholarly activity.
- Submitting notes on what a speaker said instead of a report.
- Writing reports months later, once the specifics are gone.
- Losing track of which activities were already recorded against earlier courses.
Submission checklist
- Does each activity sit outside your clinical or professional practice?
- Does each report say what changed for you, not just what happened?
- Are they recorded in the portfolio against the right course?
- Have you counted what you have already banked across the programme?
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Aaron Bishop
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