The patient, family, or population health problem
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.
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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 and research base, inform your assessment, and meet scholarly expectations for supporting evidence.
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] Download 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 Capella 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.
o Summarize the problem you’ll explore.
o Identify the patient, family, or group you intend to work with during your practicum.
o Provide context, data, or information that substantiates the presence of the problem and its significance and relevance to the patient, family, or population.
o 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.
o Note whether the authors provide supporting evidence from the literature that’s consistent with what you see in your nursing practice.
o Explain how you would know if the data are unreliable.
o Describe what the literature says about barriers to the implementation of evidence-based practice in addressing the problem you’ve defined.
o Describe research that has tested the effectiveness of nursing standards and/or policies in improving patient, family, or population outcomes for this problem.
o Describe current literature on the role of nurses in policy making to improve outcomes, prevent illness, and reduce hospital readmissions.
o 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.
o Describe research that has tested the effectiveness of these standards and/or policies in improving patient, family, or population outcomes for this problem.
