As the final stop in your journey toward your Bachelor of Science in Nursing degree, you will complete a capstone that integrates the knowledge and skills you
have developed in previous coursework. Over the duration of the capstone course, you will create a proposal for change designed to address a specific
healthcare-related need in the organization where you currently work or a place where you have previously worked, or an issue of local, state, or national
importance, subject to instructor approval. You will also reflect on your journey through the Bachelor of Science in Nursing program and how you plan to
position yourself professionally by developing a brief philosophy of nursing statement. This statement will be an important tool for discussing the knowledge,
skills, and abilities that you have gained from the RN-BSN program and your own nursing values with potential employers or graduate school admissions officers.
Together, these capstone artifacts will set you apart from other workforce and/or graduate school applicants by showcasing your unique abilities and talents.
The artifacts will demonstrate your current knowledge, theoretical foundations, and expertise in the nursing profession and your ability to improve your own
performance and that of your organization through thoughtful reflection on your own practice.
Evaluation of Capstone
This capstone will be assessed somewhat differently than other courses you have taken online at SNHU. There are two separate components that operate
together to comprise the whole capstone experience and are not assessed separately. You will be evaluated on both artifacts as a one cohesive unit in
determining whether you have demonstrated proficiency in each outcome. Your instructor will guide you through this process and will maintain a running
narrative of your strengths and areas for development in relation to the outcomes as you progress through the class. Your work is expected to meet the highest
professional standards.
This assessment will evaluate your mastery with respect to the following outcomes:
Apply skills in using patient care technologies, information systems, and clinical decision support tools to promote safe nursing practice and quality
patient outcomes
Utilize evidence-based practice in planning, implementing, and evaluating outcomes of care
Formulate strategies to promote health and prevent disease in individuals and populations across the life span
Implement patient safety and quality initiatives within the complex clinical microsystem using leadership and communication skills
Analyze trends in healthcare policy, finance, and regulatory environments and their implications for healthcare access, equity, and affordability
Evaluate life-long learning and nursing engagement to promote personal and professional transformation
Prompt
Your capstone assessment will consist of two components. The first component consists of a change proposal that comprehensively addresses a nursing- related
concerneither in an organization where you work or have worked, or more broadly at the local, state, or national level. Your instructor should approve
your change proposal topic early in the course. Because change does not happen in isolation and often has far-reaching impacts, your proposal will need to
incorporate multiple aspects of health practice in suggesting strategies to improve the target populations health. You will need to address patient and nurse
safety; appropriate use of technology; health literacy; policy, regulatory, and financial constraints; and strategies for building support for proposed changes.
In addition to the change proposal, you will also create a brief statement that expresses your philosophy of nursing practice. To do this, you will reflect on what
you have learned, relevant theories of nursing practice, and the importance of professional integrity, ethics, and self-reflection in caring for patients. Your goal is
to articulate how your philosophy of nursing has evolved as a result of the experiences and knowledge you gained in the RN-BSN program.
Change Proposal
In first portion of your capstone, you will create a comprehensive change proposal designed to promote health and to prevent disease in your selected health
care environment (current employer, previous employer, or within the broader nursing community, subject to instructor approval). This artifact will showcase
your abilities as a nursing professional capable of leading change in a complex healthcare environment.
As a practicing RN-BSN, you will be expected to bring clinical expertise to your work and take on a leadership role in continually improving patient care. Your
change proposal should be geared toward convincing an audience of administrative decision-makers that change is needed and that your plan is
desirable and viable. It should clearly and concisely lay out the problem you are seeking to address and suggest specific evidence-based changes, including a plan
for implementing and evaluating those changes. You should also specify and approximate a timeframe for carrying out your plan and the resources you will
need. (Note: You do not need to actually implement the change and evaluate it, just create a plan for how you would do so.)
Remember that in order for you to gain support for your proposal, it will need to be succinct, clear, and well-supported throughout by credible research and
evidence.
Your proposal should contain the following sections:
I. Introduction
A. Identify a clinical or nonclinical problem that is relevant to nurses in your workplace or former workplace or is a recognized issue in the local,
state, or national nursing community from which you can act as a change agent and propose a change.
B. Explain why you selected the issue, identifying the significance to nursing practice and the expected outcomes from the change.
II. Justification of Need
A. Explain the current situation of the targeted organization for your proposed change.
B. Develop arguments with evidence that support this need for change.
III. Pre-Implementation Plan
A. Identify a specific change theory that will assist you with planning stages of your change proposal
B. Identify activities needed prior to implementing your change, making theory-to-practice connections with each key element and impact of
change to the element
C. Discuss a plan for activities needed to leverage this element to promote change and identify the stakeholders that may be involved in these
activities. The activities you propose must cover multiple aspects of health practice surrounding the problem, including but not limited to:
a. Patient and Nurse Safety
b. Information Management Systems
c. Health Literacy
d. Administrative Policies
e. Ethical Considerations (i.e.; equity of access and treatment, etc.)
Overall Feedback From the Professor
Kristen,
I am excited to see what direction your change proposal topic of nursing turnover will take! This remains a consistent issue in the nursing profession.
The assignment for this week was to introduce your topic and identify why this change is needed and the expected outcomes. These are the only sections that I reviewed this week for feedback.
The introduction is well written and includes reasons that may be impacting nursing turnover and the potential consequences such as burnout and compromised patient safety. The sentence that begins with “the long shifts” is too long and could easily be rewritten into two sentences. The introduction of patient safety in the last sentence seems abrupt without a lead into the subject and the expected outcomes is not discussed.
In terms of APA format, please review the manual related to the title page and please reference the example I provided as well. Include the title of your paper on the title page instead of Change Proposal in Nursing.
I would also recommend including the Table of Contents now so that you can build upon it as your project expands.
The reference page is well done although there is too much space between several of the references, such as Leineweber and Marc.
Great topic, great start to your project.
Dr. Stone