In a
5–7 page written assessment, define the patient, family, or population
health problem that will be the focus of your capstone project. Assess
the problem from a leadership, collaboration, communication, change
management, and policy perspective. Plan to spend approximately 2 direct
practicum hours meeting with a patient, family, or group of your choice
to explore the problem and, if desired, consulting with subject matter
and industry experts. Document the time spent (your practicum hours)
with these individuals or group in the Capella Academic Portal Volunteer
Experience Form.
INTRODUCTION
This assessment lays the foundation for the work that will carry you
through your capstone experience and guide the practicum hours needed to
complete the work in this course. In addition, it will enable you to do
the following:
Develop a problem statement for a patient, family, or population that’s relevant to your practice.
Begin building a body of evidence that will inform your approach to your practicum.
Focus on the influence of leadership, collaboration, communication, change management, and policy on the problem.
PREPARATION
In this assessment, you’ll assess the patient, family, or population
health problem that will be the focus of your capstone project. Plan to
spend approximately 2 hours working with a patient, family, or group of
your choice to explore the problem from a leadership, collaboration,
communication, change management, and policy perspective. During this
time, you may also choose to consult with subject matter and industry
experts about the problem (for example, directors of quality or patient
safety, nurse managers/directors, physicians, and epidemiologists).
To prepare for the assessment, complete the following:
Identify the patient, family, or group you want to work with during
your practicum. The patient you select can be a friend or a family
member. You’ll work with this patient, family, or group throughout your
capstone project, focusing on a specific health care problem.
Begin surveying the scholarly and professional literature to establish your evidence from the literature that’s consistent with what you see in your nursing practice.
Explain how you would know if the data are unreliable.
Describe what the literature says about barriers to the
implementation of evidence-based practice in addressing the problem
you’ve defined.
Describe research that has tested the effectiveness of nursing
standards and/or policies in improving patient, family, or population
outcomes for this problem.
Describe current literature on the role of nurses in policy
making to improve outcomes, prevent illness, and reduce hospital
readmissions.
Describe what the literature says about a nursing theory or
conceptual framework that might frame and guide your actions during your
practicum.
Explain how state board nursing practice standards and/or
organizational or governmental policies could affect the patient,
family, or population problem you’ve defined.
Describe research that has tested the effectiveness of these
standards and/or policies in improving patient, family, or population
outcomes for this problem.
Describe current literature on the role of nurses in policy making
to improve outcomes, prevent illness, and reduce hospital readmissions.
Describe the effects of local, state, and federal policies or
legislation on your nursing scope of practice, within the context of
this problem.
Propose leadership strategies to improve outcomes, patient-centered
care, and the patient experience related to the patient, family, or
population problem you’ve defined.
Discuss research on the effectiveness of leadership strategies.
Define the role that you anticipate leadership must play in addressing the problem.
Describe collaboration and communication strategies that you anticipate will be needed to address the problem.
Describe the change management strategies that you anticipate will be required to address the problem.
Document the time spent (your practicum hours) with these
individuals or group in the Capella Academic Portal Volunteer Experience
Form.
Organize content so ideas flow logically with smooth transitions.
Apply APA style and formatting to scholarly writing.
SCORING GUIDE: FOLLOW THIS SCORING GUIDE
Clearly and succinctly defines a patient, family, or population health
problem that’s relevant to personal and professional practice. Fully
substantiates the presence and relevance of the problem.
Analyzes evidence from peer-reviewed literature and professional sources
that describes and guides nursing actions related to a defined patient,
family, or population problem. Applies relevant, unambiguous criteria
for evaluating the evidence, and exhibits clear insight into potential
barriers to evidence-based practice and theoretical guiding frameworks.
Provides an explanation, with examples, of how state board nursing
practice standards and/or organizational or governmental policies could
affect a defined patient, family, or population problem, based on a
perceptive and coherent synthesis of current literature. Provides clear
insight into how policy affects nursing scope of practice.
Proposes leadership strategies, supported by examples, to improve
outcomes, patient-centered care, and the patient experience related to a
defined patient, family, or population problem. Exhibits clear insight
into the necessary role of leadership and the need for collaboration,
communication, and change management in addressing the problem. and
Documents the practicum hours spent with these individuals or group in
the Capella Academic Portal Volunteer Experience Form.
Organizes content so clarity is enhanced and all ideas flow logically with smooth transitions.
Applies APA style and formatting to scholarly writing. Exhibits strict
and nearly flawless adherence to stylistic conventions, document
structure, and source attributions.
