Week 6 Documenting the Practicum Experience DISCUSSION PURPOSEAs already mention

Week 6 Documenting the Practicum Experience

DISCUSSION

PURPOSE

As already mentioned, you are required to complete 1,024 practicum hours for the DNP program. This may seem daunting at first; however, reviewing the different types of activities that align with each DNP Essential and how to document the hours correctly and consistently will help you prepare for the experience. The purpose of this assignment is to examine practices and processes used to accurately document the DNP practicum experience.

INSTRUCTIONS

Reflect on your readings this week and review the Project & Practicum Activities Form. Then, describe activities that you might complete during your Project & Practicum courses and identify the associated DNP Essential.

Please click on the following link to review the DNP Discussion Guidelines on the Student Resource Center program page:

• Link (webpage): DNP Discussion GuidelinesLinks to an external site.

PROGRAM COMPETENCIES

This discussion enables the student to meet the following program outcomes:

1. Integrates scientific underpinnings into everyday clinical practice. (POs 3, 5)

1. Uses analytic methods to translate critically appraised research and other evidence into clinical scholarship for innovative practice improvements. (POs 3, 5)

1. Analyzes health care policies to advocate for equitable health care and social justice to all populations and those at risk due to social determinants of health. (POs 2, 9)

1. Leads others in professional identity, advanced clinical judgment, systems thinking, resilience, and accountability in selecting, implementing, and evaluating clinical care. (POs 1, 4)

COURSE OUTCOMES

This discussion enables the student to meet the following course outcomes:

1. Prioritize and apply ethical considerations and theories relevant to translation science. (PCs 1, 3, 8; POs 3, 4, 5)
2. Apply clinical scholarship methodologies for designing, developing, implementing, and evaluating quality improvements and the translation of evidence-based practice, to improve healthcare outcomes at the micro, meso, or macrosystem level. (PCs 1, 3, 5; POs 3, 5, 9)

Hello! Welcome to Week 6. This week, you will examine the importance of accurately documenting your DNP practicum experience. You will learn why you must design, implement, evaluate, and disseminate your DNP practicum project through a lens of ethical accountability, ensuring the protection of not only your participants but also the practicum site. You will also learn that judicious procedures must be used when gathering data and disseminating the outcomes of your DNP practicum project. The importance of correctly and consistently entering your practicum hours in each Project & Practicum course cannot be overemphasized as this will support you in meeting the required 1,024 practicum hours and graduating from the DNP program. Are you ready to get started on this week’s lesson? Let’s go!

PreviousNextDocumenting, Evaluating, and Disseminating Project Outcomes

As you have learned in previous courses, the Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) degree is a practice-focused doctorate, in comparison to the PhD, which is a research-focused doctorate degree. The DNP degree prepares you with the knowledge, skills, and abilities to advance nursing practice. This is demonstrated through the implementation of evidence-based practice interventions, quality improvement processes and programs, and advanced leadership projects in the clinical practice setting (Bemker, Ralyea, & Schreiner, 2022).
Your DNP degree program will culminate with the completion and dissemination of your final DNP practice change project. The DNP practice change project will demonstrate the achievement of the following competencies:
Competencies Image Description
So far in your DNP degree journey, you have identified a practice problem, searched the literature for an evidence-based intervention, and started the design process for your DNP practice change project. It is crucial that you design, implement, and evaluate your project through a lens of ethical accountability, protecting your participants and the practicum site from harm or risk. As you learned last week, informed consent may be required prior to the implementation of your project. This is one way of demonstrating ethical accountability for your participants and the practicum site.
Ethical practices are vital during the data collection and evaluation phase of your DNP practice change project as well. All data collected related to your project must be protected and recorded precisely to ensure the accuracy of your project outcome. Your disseminated outcomes must be reflective of what transpired as a result of your evidence-based intervention.
As DNP projects are disseminated in print, at conferences, and through databases, large audiences of nursing professionals view the outcomes. The opportunity to significantly impact populations, far beyond the brick and mortar of a practicum site, exists within the potential of every DNP project. It is for these reasons that judicious procedures must be used when gathering data and disseminating the outcomes of your DNP practice change project. The highest ethical standards must be maintained throughout the four Project & Practicum courses and during the implementation, evaluation, and dissemination of your DNP practice change project.
Documenting Practicum Hours
When you enter NR702 Project & Practicum I, you will begin documenting your DNP project practicum hours. You will document your practicum activities in each of the four Project & Practicum courses. You are required to complete a minimum of 1,024 practicum hours to complete your DNP degree. It is critical that you document your practicum activities consistently as they occur so that you do not forget the activities but rather have an accurate portrayal of your practicum experience. A best practice is to document your practicum hours daily or at a minimum each week. This will help you stay on track and meet the required hours for each session.
There are many activities that you may complete outside your practicum site while preparing for your project that will support the achievement of the program outcomes and the American Association of Colleges of Nursing DNP Essentials (AACN, 2006). For some students, your Master of Science in Nursing degree may have included a practicum experience, which may partially satisfy a portion of the practicum hour requirement.
Documentation Guidelines
For each documented practicum activity, address the following:
Align with an appropriate AACN DNP Essential.
Provide enough detail to substantiate not only the selected essential but also the amount of time documented.
Reflect and support the actual time you were involved in the activity in your submissions.
Use the following increments:No more than 4-hour increments per entry
May enter in minutes, such as 15 minutes, 30 minutes, 45 minutes, etc.
The following interactive provides an example of appropriate documentation and inappropriate documentation. Check your knowledge by identifying the inappropriate documentation on the second example.
Document Examples Interactive Transcript
The submission of your documented DNP practicum hours is a course assignment in each DNP Project & Practicum course. As such, the academic integrity policies of Chamberlain University College of Nursing apply to your submissions. Entries will not be accepted if sufficient information is not provided to substantiate the time entered. If you have questions regarding whether an activity can be submitted for practicum hour consideration, you will need to consult with your course faculty. Students who do not earn at least 1,024 approved practicum hours by the end of NR709 Project & Practicum IV will not be eligible for graduation until such time as all 1,024 practicum hours are completed.
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