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 Academic Portal Volunteer Experience Form.

Introduction

Nurses in all professional roles work to effect positive patient outcomes and improve organizational processes. Professional nurses are leaders in problem identification, planning, and strategy implementation—skills that directly affect patient care or organizational effectiveness.

Too often, change agents jump to a conclusion that an intervention will promote the envisioned improvement. Instead, the ideal approach is to determine which interventions are appropriate, based on an assessment and review of credible evidence. Interventions could be patient-facing or involve a change in policy and process. In this assessment, you’ll identify and make the case for your practicum focus area, then explore it in depth from a leadership, collaboration, communication, change management, and policy perspective.

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 and research base, inform your      assessment, and meet scholarly expectations for supporting evidence.

In addition, you may wish to complete the following:

• Review the assessment instructions and scoring guide to      ensure that you understand the work you’ll be asked to complete and how it      will be assessed.
• Review the Practicum Focus Sheet:      Assessment 1 [PDF], which provides guidance for conducting this portion      of your practicum.

Instructions

Complete this assessment in two parts.

Part 1

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 and establish your evidence and research base to plan, implement, and share findings related to your project.

Part 2

Connect with the patient, family, or group you’ll work with during your practicum. During this portion of your practicum, plan to spend at least 2 hours meeting with the patient, family, or group and, if desired, consulting with subject matter and industry experts of your choice. The hours you spend meeting with them should take place outside of regular work hours. Use the Practicum Focus Sheet [PDF] provided for this assessment to guide your work and interpersonal interactions. Document the time spent (your practicum hours) with these individuals or group in the Academic Portal Volunteer Experience Form.

Requirements

The assessment requirements, outlined below, correspond to the scoring guide criteria, so be sure to address each main point. Read the performance-level descriptions for each criterion to see how your work will be assessed. In addition, note the additional requirements for document format and length and for supporting evidence.

• Define a      patient, family, or population health problem that’s relevant to your      practice.
  • Summarize the       problem you’ll explore.
  • Identify the       patient, family, or group you intend to work with during your practicum.
  • Provide       context, data, or information that substantiates the presence of the       problem and its significance and relevance to the patient, family, or       population.
  • Explain why       this problem is relevant to your practice as a baccalaureate-prepared       nurse.
• Analyze evidence      from peer-reviewed literature and professional sources that describes and      guides nursing actions related to the patient, family, or population      problem you’ve defined.
  • Note whether       the authors provide supporting 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.
• Organize content      so ideas flow logically with smooth transitions.
• Apply APA style      and formatting to scholarly writing.

Additional Requirements

• Format: Format your paper      using APA style.  Be sure to include:
  • A title page and reference page. An abstract is not       required.
  • Appropriate section headings.
• Length: Your paper      should be approximately 5–7 pages in length, not including the reference      page.
• Supporting evidence: Cite at least      five sources of scholarly or professional evidence that support your      central ideas. Resources should be no more than five years old. Provide      in-text citations and references in APA format.
• Proofreading: Proofread your      paper, before you submit it, to minimize errors that could distract      readers and make it more difficult for them to focus on its substance.

Competencies Measured

By successfully completing this assessment, you will demonstrate your proficiency in the course competencies through the following assessment scoring guide criteria:

• Competency 1: Lead people and processes to improve      patient, systems, and population outcomes.
  • Define a patient, family, or population health problem       that’s relevant to personal and professional practice.
• Competency 2: Make clinical and operational decisions      based upon the best available evidence.
  • Analyze evidence from peer-reviewed literature and       professional sources that describes and guides nursing actions related to       a defined patient, family, or population problem.
• Competency 5: Analyze the impact of health policy on      quality and cost of care.
  • Explain how state board nursing practice standards       and/or organizational or governmental policies could affect a defined       patient, family, or population problem.
• Competency 7: Implement patient-centered care to      improve quality of care and the patient experience.
  • Propose leadership strategies to improve outcomes,       patient-centered care, and the patient experience related to a defined       patient, family, or population problem 
• Competency 8: Integrate professional standards and      values into practice.
  • Organize content so ideas flow logically with smooth       transitions.
  • Apply APA style and formatting to scholarly writing.