GCU NRS490 Full Course: Professional Capstone and Practicum

GCU NRS490 Full Course: Professional Capstone and Practicum

GCU NRS490 Full Course: Professional Capstone and Practicum

Week 1
Discussion

DQ1 Identify two GCU Library scholarly databases that will
help you find the best research articles to support your EBP proposal. Discuss
why these two databases are better than Google Scholar or a general Internet
search.

DQ2 The Institute of Medicine has stated a goal that 90% of
practice be evidence-based by 2020. According to HealthyPeople.gov, the United
States is currently at approximately 15%. Discuss two barriers that might hold
nursing practice from achieving this goal, and suggest ways in which identified
barriers may be addressed.

NRS490
Professional Capstone and Practicum

Week 2
Discussion

DQ1 During your practicum, determine what clinical problem
or issue the organization is facing. Discuss two implications for nursing.

DQ2 What is the main issue for your organization in
addressing a solution to evidence-based nursing practice? Discuss what might be
the first step in addressing and resolving this issue.

NRS490
Professional Capstone and Practicum

Week 3
Discussion

DQ1 Submit a summary of six of your articles on the
discussion board. Discuss one strength and one weakness to each of these six
articles on why the article may or may not provide sufficient evidence for your
practice change.

DQ2 Name two different methods for evaluating evidence.
Compare and contrast these two methods.

NRS490
Professional Capstone and Practicum

Week 4
Discussion

DQ1 Why is understanding the health care system at the local
level important to consider when planning an EBP implementation? Conduct
research and solicit anecdotal evidence from your course mentor that you will
take into consideration for your own change project.

DQ2 Compare and contrast two change theories, and determine
which theory makes the most sense for implementing your specific EBP project.
Why? Has your mentor used either theory, and to what result?

NRS490
Professional Capstone and Practicum

Week 5
Discussion

DQ1 Stakeholder support is necessary for a successful change
proposal project implementation. Consider your internal stakeholders, such as
the facility, unit or health care setting where the change process is situated,
and your external stakeholders, like an individual or group outside the health
care setting. Why is their support necessary to the success of your project,
and how you will go about securing that support?

DQ2 Technology is integral to successful implementation in
many projects, through either support or integration or both. Name at least one
technology that could improve the implementation process and the outcomes of
your EBP project. Do you plan to use this technology? If not, what are the
barriers that prevent its use?

NRS490
Professional Capstone and Practicum

Week 6
Discussion

DQ1 After discussion with your mentor, name one financial
aspect, one quality aspect, and one clinical aspect that need to be taken into
account for developing the evidence-based practice project. Explain how your
proposal will directly and indirectly impact each of the aspects.

DQ2 Now that you have completed a series of assignments that
have led you into the active project planning and development stage for your
project, briefly describe your proposed solution to address the problem, issue,
suggestion, initiative, or educational need and how it has changed since you
first envisioned it. What led to your current perspective and direction?

 

NRS490
Professional Capstone and Practicum

Week 7
Discussion

DQ1 Describe one internal and one external method for the
dissemination of your EBP project results. For example, an internal method may
be the hospital board, and an external method may be a professional nursing
organization. Discuss why it is important to report your results to both of
these groups. How will your communication strategies change for each group?

DQ2 In order to evaluate an evidence-based practice project,
it is important to be able to determine the effectiveness of your change.
Discuss one way you will be able to evaluate whether your project made a
difference in practice.

 

NRS490
Professional Capstone and Practicum

Week 8
Discussion

DQ1 Based on how you will evaluate your EBP project, which
independent and dependent variables do you need to collect? Why?

DQ2 Not all EBP projects result in statistically significant
results. Define clinical significance, and explain the difference between
clinical and statistical significance. How can you use clinical significance to
support positive outcomes in your project?

 

NRS490
Professional Capstone and Practicum

Week 9
Discussion

DQ1 Discuss one personal strength and one weakness you have
regarding professional presentations. Name one method for improvement for each
of these, and discuss why it is important for you to work on these skills if
you want to present your findings in a more formal setting.

DQ2 Sustaining change can be difficult, as there are many
variables that can affect implementation. One critical component of EBP is to
ensure that practice change is part of an organization’s culture so it will
continue to impact outcomes over time. Name two potential barriers that may
prevent your EBP change proposal from continuing to obtain the same desired
results 6 months to a year from now, and your strategies for overcoming these
barriers.

NRS490
Professional Capstone and Practicum

Week 10
Discussion

DQ1 Dissemination of EBP and research, such as presenting
results at a conference or writing an article for a journal, is an important
part of professional practice. Identify one professional journal and one
nursing or health care conference where you might present your project. Discuss
why each of your choices is the best option for you to disseminate your new
knowledge.

DQ2 Discuss why EBP is an essential component of the
practice of a BSN-prepared RN. Identify two ways in which you will continue to
integrate evidence into your practice and encourage it within your work
environment. What obstacles could challenge this plan, and what steps will you
take to minimize their impact?

NRS490
Professional Capstone and Practicum

Week 1 Assignment

Individual Success Plan (ISP)

Planning is the key to successful completion of this course
and your overall program of study. The Individual Success Plan (ISP) assignment
requires early collaboration with the course faculty and your course mentor.
You will need to establish a plan for successful completion of (1) deliverables
associated with weekly course objectives, (2), required practice immersion
hours, and (3) deliverables associated with your capstone project.

Access the “Individual Success Plan” resource in
the Topic Materials. Read the information in the resource, including student
expectations and instructions for completing the ISP document.

Use the “Individual Success Plan” to develop a
personal plan for completing your practice hours and how topic objectives will
be met. Include the number of hours you plan to set aside to meet your goals.

A combination of 100 supervised clinical hours in community
health and leadership areas will be obtained through the application of the
objectives listed in the Guidelines for Undergraduate Field Experiences manual.

Practicum immersion experiences are required in a community
health setting. Community-based settings should encourage community integration
and involvement; expand accessibility of services and supports; promote
personal preference, strengths, dignity; and empower people to participate in
the economic mainstream.

According to HealthyPeople.gov, educational and
community-based programs and strategies are designed to reach people outside of
traditional health care settings. These settings may include schools,
worksites, health care facilities, and communities. Community health and
leadership practice immersion can occur in the same site and in conjunction
with the evidence-based project in the NRS-490 course.

If you are a registered nurse in Washington, your practicum
experience must include a minimum of 50 hours in a community health setting.

Students should apply concepts from prior courses to
critically examine and improve their current practice. Students should also
integrate scholarly readings to develop case reports that demonstrate
increasingly complex and proficient practice.

Consider the challenges you expect to encounter as you
continue the practice hour and competency requirements throughout this course.
How might you overcome these challenges?

You can renegotiate these deliverables with your faculty and
mentor throughout this course and update your ISP accordingly.

Once your ISP has been developed and accepted by your course
faculty, you will have your course mentor sign it at the beginning of, and upon
completion of, each assignment that incorporates practice immersion hours. You
will track all course practice immersion hours in the ISP.

APA format is not required, but solid academic writing is
expected.

You are not required to submit this assignment to
LopesWrite.

NRS490
Professional Capstone and Practicum

Week 1 Assignment

Professional Capstone and Practicum Reflective Journal and
Scholarly Activities

Throughout the course, students will engage in weekly
reflection and scholarly activities. These assignments are presented in Topic 1
to allow students to plan ahead, and incorporate the deliverables into the
Individual Success Plan if they so choose.

The weekly reflective journals and scholarly activities will
not be submitted in LoudCloud each week; a final, culminating submission will
be due in Topic 10. No submission is required until Topic 10.

Professional Capstone and Practicum Reflective Journal

Students are required to maintain weekly reflective
narratives throughout the course to combine into a final, course-long
reflective journal that integrates leadership and inquiry into current practice
as it applies to the Professional Capstone and Practicum course. This
course-long journal assignment will be due in Topic 10.

In each week’s entry, you should reflect on the personal
knowledge and skills gained throughout the Professional Capstone and Practicum
course. Your entry should address a variable combination of the following,
dependent on the specific practice immersion clinical experiences you
encountered that week:

New practice approaches

Intraprofessional collaboration

Health care delivery and clinical systems

Ethical considerations in health care

Population health concerns

The role of technology in improving health care outcomes

Health policy

Leadership and economic models

Health disparities

In the Topic 10 submission, each of the areas should be
addressed in one or more of the weekly entries.

This reflection journal also allows students to outline what
they have discovered about their professional practice, personal strengths and
weaknesses that surfaced, additional resources and abilities that could be
introduced to a given situation to influence optimal outcomes, and finally, how
they met competencies and course objectives.

Scholarly Activities

Throughout the RN-to-BSN program, students are required to
participate in scholarly activities outside of clinical practice or
professional practice. Examples of scholarly activities include attending
conferences, seminars, journal club, grand rounds, morbidity and mortality
meetings, interdisciplinary committees, quality improvement committees, and any
other opportunities available at your site, within your community, or
nationally.

You are required to post one scholarly activity while you
are in the BSN program, which should be documented by the end of this course.
In addition to this submission, you are required to be involved and contribute
to interdisciplinary initiatives on a regular basis.

In Topic 10, you will submit a summary report of your
scholarly activity. You may use the “Scholarly Activity Summary”
resource to help guide this assignment.

NRS490
Professional Capstone and Practicum

Week 1 Assignment

Professional Capstone and Practicum Documentation

The Professional Capstone and Practicum course requires
students to select a course mentor. This mentor is not a preceptor, but an
individual who will guide students as they work to complete the practice
immersion hour requirements for this course. Students are not required to
“shadow” their mentor.

The course mentor should be someone who can provide
professional development knowledge and guidance and who possesses a genuine
interest in working with students to further their academic goals.

Selection, approval, and retention of a course mentor must
be completed as soon as possible at the start of this course, as this
individual will be working with the student on each assignment that
incorporates practice immersion hours. Working with a course mentor is
mandatory.

Once a course mentor has agreed to serve in the role, you
must complete and submit the following required documentation so that practice
experiences can begin in a timely manner:

Field Experience Site Information Form

Qualified Mentor/Preceptor Summary Form

Mentor’s license, certification, and resume/curriculum vitae

The student is responsible for obtaining all signatures for
the paperwork submission. Course faculty will approve all sites and mentors
according to student learning needs and specific course objectives.

Do not initiate new work on practice-immersion-hour-based
course assignments until your course instructor has approved your course
mentor.

Once a course mentor is approved, students should contact
the mentor within 1 week of receiving the approval notification. Students are
encouraged to make an appointment to meet with their mentor in person and
arrange to review the NRS-490 course objectives and the Individual Success Plan
(ISP).

For more specific information on the course mentor process
and roles and responsibilities, refer to Section Three of the Guidelines for
Undergraduate Field Experiences resource.

NRS490
Professional Capstone and Practicum

Week 2 Assignment

Capstone Project Topic Selection and Approval

In collaboration with your approved course mentor, you will
identify a specific evidence-based practice proposal topic for the capstone
project. Consider the clinical environment in which you are currently working
or have recently worked. The capstone project topic can be a clinical practice
problem, an organizational issue, a quality improvement suggestion, a
leadership initiative, or an educational need appropriate to your area of
interest as well as your practice immersion (practicum) setting. Examples of
the integration of community health, leadership, and an EBP can be found on the
“Educational and Community-Based Programs” page of the Healthy People
2020 website.

Write a 500-750 word description of your proposed capstone
project topic. Make sure to include the following:

The problem, issue, suggestion, initiative, or educational
need that will be the focus of the project

The setting or context in which the problem, issue,
suggestion, initiative, or educational need can be observed.

A description providing a high level of detail regarding the
problem, issue, suggestion, initiative, or educational need.

Impact of the problem, issue, suggestion, initiative, or
educational need on the work environment, the quality of care provided by
staff, and patient outcomes.

Significance of the problem, issue, suggestion, initiative,
or educational need and its implications to nursing.

A proposed solution to the identified project topic

You are required to retrieve and assess a minimum of 8
peer-reviewed articles. Plan your time accordingly to complete this assignment.

Prepare this assignment according to the guidelines found in
the APA Style Guide, located in the Student Success Center. An abstract is not
required.

You are required to submit this assignment to LopesWrite.
Please refer to the directions in the Student Success Center.

NRS490
Professional Capstone and Practicum

Week 3 Assignment

PICOT Statement Paper

Review the Topic Materials and the work completed in
NRS-433V to formulate a PICOT statement for your capstone project.

A PICOT starts with a designated patient population in a
particular clinical area and identifies clinical problems or issues that arise
from clinical care. The intervention should be an independent, specified
nursing change intervention. The intervention cannot require a provider
prescription. Include a comparison to a patient population not currently
receiving the intervention, and specify the timeframe needed to implement the
change process.

Formulate a PICOT statement using the PICOT format provided
in the assigned readings. The PICOT statement will provide a framework for your
capstone project.

In a paper of 500-750 words, clearly identify the clinical
problem and how it can result in a positive patient outcome.

Make sure to address the following on the PICOT statement:

Evidence-Based Solution

Nursing Intervention

Patient Care

Health Care Agency

Nursing Practice

Prepare this assignment according to the guidelines found in
the APA Style Guide, located in the Student Success Center. An abstract is not
required.

This assignment uses a rubric. Please review the rubric
prior to beginning the assignment to become familiar with the expectations for
successful completion.

You are required to submit this assignment to LopesWrite.
Please refer to the directions in the Student Success Center.

NRS490
Professional Capstone and Practicum

Week 4 Assignment

Literature Evaluation Table

In nursing practice, accurate identification and application
of research is essential to achieving successful outcomes. Being able to
articulate the information and successfully summarize relevant peer-reviewed
articles in a scholarly fashion helps to support the student’s ability and
confidence to further develop and synthesize the progressively more complex
assignments that constitute the components of the course change proposal
capstone project.

For this assignment, the student will provide a synopsis of
eight peer-reviewed articles from nursing journals using an evaluation table
that determines the level and strength of evidence for each of the eight
articles. The articles should be current within the last 5 years and closely
relate to the PICOT statement developed earlier in this course. The articles
may include quantitative research, descriptive analyses, longitudinal studies,
or meta-analysis articles. A systematic review may be used to provide
background information for the purpose or problem identified in the proposed
capstone project. Use the “Literature Evaluation Table” resource to
complete this assignment.

While APA style is not required for the body of this
assignment, solid academic writing is expected, and in-text citations and
references should be presented using APA documentation guidelines, which can be
found in the APA Style Guide, located in the Student Success Center.

This assignment uses a rubric. Please review the rubric
prior to beginning the assignment to become familiar with the expectations for
successful completion.

You are not required to submit this assignment to
LopesWrite.

NRS490
Professional Capstone and Practicum

Week 6 Assignment

Literature Review

While the implementation plan prepares students to apply
their research to the problem or issue they have identified for their capstone
change proposal project, the literature review enables students to map out and
move into the active planning and development stages of the project.

A literature review analyzes how current research supports
the PICOT, as well as identifies what is known and what is not known in the
evidence. Students will use the information from the earlier PICOT Statement
Paper and Literature Evaluation Table assignments to develop a 750-1,000 word
review that includes the following sections:

Title page

Introduction section

A comparison of research questions

A comparison of sample populations

A comparison of the limitations of the study

A conclusion section, incorporating recommendations for
further research

Prepare this assignment according to the guidelines found in
the APA Style Guide, located in the Student Success Center. An abstract is not
required.

This assignment uses a rubric. Please review the rubric
prior to beginning the assignment to become familiar with the expectations for
successful completion.

You are required to submit this assignment to LopesWrite.
Please refer to the directions in the Student Success Center.

NRS490
Professional Capstone and Practicum

Week 9 Assignment

Benchmark – Capstone Project Change Proposal

In this assignment, students will pull together the change
proposal project components they have been working on throughout the course to
create a proposal inclusive of sections for each content focus area in the
course. At the conclusion of this project, the student will be able to apply
evidence-based research steps and processes required as the foundation to
address a clinically oriented problem or issue in future practice.

Students will develop a 1,250-1,500 word paper that includes
the following information as it applies to the problem, issue, suggestion,
initiative, or educational need profiled in the capstone change proposal:

Background

Problem statement

Purpose of the change proposal

PICOT

Literature search strategy employed

Evaluation of the literature

Applicable change or nursing theory utilized

Proposed implementation plan with outcome measures

Identification of potential barriers to plan implementation,
and a discussion of how these could be overcome

Appendix section, if tables, graphs, surveys, educational
materials, etc. are created

Review the feedback from your instructor on the Topic 3
assignment, PICOT Statement Paper, and Topic 6 assignment, Literature Review.
Use the feedback to make appropriate revisions to the portfolio components
before submitting.

Prepare this assignment according to the guidelines found in
the APA Style Guide, located in the Student Success Center. An abstract is not
required.

This assignment uses a rubric. Please review the rubric
prior to beginning the assignment to become familiar with the expectations for
successful completion.

You are required to submit this assignment to LopesWrite.
Please refer to the directions in the Student Success Center.

NRS490
Professional Capstone and Practicum

Week 10 Assignment

Benchmark – Professional Capstone and Practicum Reflective
Journal

Students are required to maintain weekly reflective
narratives throughout the course to combine into one course-long reflective
journal that integrates leadership and inquiry into current practice as it
applies to the Professional Capstone and Practicum course.

In your journal, you will reflect on the personal knowledge
and skills gained throughout this course. The journal should address a variable
combination of the following, depending on your specific practice immersion
clinical experiences:

New practice approaches

Intraprofessional collaboration

Health care delivery and clinical systems

Ethical considerations in health care

Population health concerns

The role of technology in improving health care outcomes

Health policy

Leadership and economic models

Health disparities

Students will outline what they have discovered about their
professional practice, personal strengths and weaknesses that surfaced,
additional resources and abilities that could be introduced to a given
situation to influence optimal outcomes, and finally, how the student met the competencies
aligned to this course.

While APA style is not required for the body of this
assignment, solid academic writing is expected, and in-text citations and
references should be presented using APA documentation guidelines, which can be
found in the APA Style Guide, located in the Student Success Center.

This assignment uses a rubric. Please review the rubric
prior to beginning the assignment to become familiar with the expectations for
successful completion.

You are required to submit this assignment to LopesWrite.
Please refer to the directions in the Student Success Center.

NRS490
Professional Capstone and Practicum

Week 10 Assignment

Scholarly Activities

Throughout the RN-to-BSN program, students are required to
participate in scholarly activities outside of clinical practice or
professional practice. Examples of scholarly activities include attending
conferences, seminars, journal club, grand rounds, morbidity and mortality
meetings, interdisciplinary committees, quality improvement committees, and any
other opportunities available at your site, within your community, or
nationally.

You are required to post one scholarly activity while you
are in the BSN program, which should be documented by the end of this course.
In addition to this submission, you are required to be involved and contribute
to interdisciplinary initiatives on a regular basis.

Submit, as the assignment, a summary report of the scholarly
activity, including who, what, where, when and any relevant take-home points.
Include the appropriate program competencies associated with the scholarly
activity as well as future professional goals related to this activity. You may
use the “Scholarly Activity Summary” resource to help guide this
assignment.

While APA format is not required for the body of this
assignment, solid academic writing is expected, and in-text citations and
references should be presented using APA documentation guidelines, which can be
found in the APA Style Guide, located in the Student Success Center.

You are not required to submit this assignment to
LopesWrite.

NRS490
Professional Capstone and Practicum

Week 10 Assignment

Practice Immersion Clinical Evaluation Tools Submission

Practice Immersion Clinical
Evaluation Tool – Agency/Site

Agency/Site Criteria	StudentEvaluation		Faculty Evaluation	Comments
Does Not Meet	Meets	Excels*	Does Not Meet	Meets	Excels*
1. Agency/site was able to provide the opportunities for the student to meet practice immersion clinical objectives.	?	?	?	?	?	?
2. Agency/site was able to establish a comfortable, yet stimulating, practice environment.	?	?	?	?	?	?

Criteria:

Does Not Meet: Elements are
missing.

Meets: Agency/site
meets this criterion.

Excels: Agency/site
meets this criterion and further a teaching point opportunity or expanded
information, guidance, or other element to further enhance student learning.

Agency/site – strengths:

Student Evaluation	Faculty Evaluation

Agency/site – areas of improvement needed:

Student Evaluation	Faculty Evaluation

Agency/site – Suggestions to incorporate more
responsiveness to student learning needs:

Student Evaluation	Faculty Evaluation

 

 

 

Practice Immersion Clinical
Evaluation Tool – Mentor

Clinical Criteria	Student Feedback of Mentor Experience	Comments
Does Not Meet	Meets	Excels*
3. Exemplify professionalism in diverse health care settings.	?	?	?
4. Utilize the nursing process to provide safe and effective care for patients across the health-illness continuum: promoting, maintaining, and restoring health; preventing disease; and facilitating a peaceful death as opportunity presents.	?	?	?
5. Implement patient care decisions based on evidence-based practice.	?	?	?
6. Utilize patient care technology and information management systems.	?	?	?
7. Communicate therapeutically with patients.	?	?	?
8. Professionally communicate and collaborate with the interdisciplinary health care teams to provide safe and effective care.	?	?	?
9. Understand the human experience across the health-illness continuum.	?	?	?
10. Provide culturally sensitive care.	?	?	?
11. Preserve the integrity and human dignity in the care of all patients.	?	?	?

Criteria:

Does Not Meet: Elements are missing; mentor did not achieve.

Meets: Mentor meets this criterion.

Excels: Mentor meets this criterion and further incorporates
a teaching point scenario or expanded information, guidance, or other element
to further enhance student learning.

 

Practice Immersion Clinical
Evaluation Tool – Student

Clinical Criteria	Mentor Sign Off	Faculty Sign Off	Comments
Does Not Meet	Meets	Excels*
12. Exemplify professionalism in diverse health care settings.	?	?	?	?
13. Utilize the nursing process to provide safe and effective care for patients across the health-illness continuum: promoting, maintaining, and restoring health; preventing disease; and facilitating a peaceful death as opportunity presents.	?	?	?	?
14. Implement patient care decisions based on evidence-based practice.	?	?	?	?
15. Utilize patient care technology and information management systems.	?	?	?	?
16. Communicate therapeutically with patients.	?	?	?	?
17. Professionally communicate and collaborate with the interdisciplinary health care teams to provide safe and effective care.	?	?	?	?
18. Understand the human experience across the health-illness continuum.	?	?	?	?
19. Provide culturally sensitive care.	?	?	?	?
20. Preserve the integrity and human dignity in the care of all patients.	?	?	?	?

Criteria:

Does Not Meet: Elements are missing; student is required to
remediate this element to pass the course

Meets: Student meets this criterion.

Excels: Student meets this criterion and further
incorporates a teaching point scenario.

GCU NRS490 Full Course: Professional Capstone and Practicum.GCU NRS490 Full Course: Professional Capstone and Practicum.GCU NRS490 Full Course: Professional Capstone and Practicum.GCU NRS490 Full Course: Professional Capstone and Practicum.GCU NRS490 Full Course: Professional Capstone and Practicum.GCU NRS490 Full Course: Professional Capstone and Practicum.GCU NRS490 Full Course: Professional Capstone and Practicum.

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