Capstone in Evidence-Based Professional Nursing Practice
Course Description
Students review and build upon leadership and management principles. Emphasis is placed on understanding the health care system and social forces affecting care delivery, effective leadership, patient outcomes, project management, health care policies, basic accounting principles, and entrepreneurship. Students use evidence-based resources, address health competencies and analyze an identified issue while developing a plan of interventions that incorporates current evidence for management of the identified issue. Students will present their capstone work via a poster or podium presentation. Presentation forums may be at their selected venue, at a professional conference, or conducted virtually.
Course Learning Outcomes
Upon completion of the course, the student will be able to:
- Use information and technologies to monitor and provide quality patient care. (PLO 1)
- Demonstrate cultural competence in nursing practice. (PLO 2)
- Provide competent, evidence-based nursing care. (PLO 3)
- Document nursing information and activities in support of safe patient care. (PLO 4)
- Speak clearly and concisely in conveying healthcare information. (PLO 5)
- Collaborate effectively with healthcare team members. (PLO 6)
- Apply empirical research to nursing practice. (PLO 7)
- Apply the Code of Ethics for Nurses in professional nursing practice. (PLO 8)
- Objectively analyze and evaluate data to inform decision-making in nursing practice. (PLO 9)
Welcome to Nurs 499 Capstone in Evidence-Based Professional Nursing Practice
The student will provide a proposal on the approved topic from NURS 378 using Evidence-Based Project in healthcare and their respective community setting. You will develop a protocol supported by evidence, review and critically appraise the literature regarding this topic, and develop a project proposal. The proposal should include the plan for implementation, and evaluation. During week 8, the student will present his/her EBP project and finally, create a poster suitable for presentation at a nursing conference or for publication. The Project must focus on the RN/BSN practice. Please consult your practicing state’s Nurse Practice Act. Your project proposal must not focus on interventions carried out by an Advanced Practice Nurse.
Concepts studied during your progression through the RN-BSN program should be clearly integrated into this assignment. This presentation demonstrates your achievement of the outcomes of the Essentials of Baccalaureate Education for Professional Nursing Practice as defined by the American Association of College of Nursing
There are eight modules in this course.
Module 1: Evidence-Based Practice (EBP) topic proposal from the identified health concern (approved topic) in NURS 378 (due week 1)
Module 2: Evidence-Based Practice Timeline and Plan (due by Week 2)
Module 3: Literature Review (due end of Week 3)
Module 4: Stakeholder Analysis (due end of Week 4)
Module 5: Stakeholder Communication (due end of Week 5)
Module 6: Evidence-Based Practice Design Paper (due end of Week 6)
Evidence-Based Practice Design Paper
- Background: Community Health Concern and Identification
- Facilitators and Barriers to EBP Implementation
- Organizational Culture
- Proposal for the next steps to address the identified health concern
Module 7: Evidence-based Practice Presentation, Part I
- Presentation in synchronous class session (TBA, Week 7)
- Instructor will schedule presentation date and time
Module 8: Evidence-based Practice Poster Presentation, Part II
- Poster presentation, voice-narrated powerpoint.
Welcome to Week 6
Week six will focus on evidence-based practice in public health, how evidence is used to initiate new programs and services and promote legislation that advocates for improved health outcomes among vulnerable populations.
Public health decision making is a complicated process. The complexity of the health concern along with the wide range of inputs of the stakeholder groups are reasons why we must bridge the gap between public health research and practice. Evidence-based public health (EBPH) means the application of principles of evidence-based medicine (EBM) to the public health arena. The clinical trials conducted by EBM are not always applicable to a public health concern. Instead the data collected in the affected community are used to drive the decision-making process to address the public health concern. Evidence-based public health has the potential for direct and indirect benefits such as increased access to care, prevention programs, public policies, and efficient use of resources.
Reference:
Pettman T. L., Armstrong R., Doyle J., et al. (2012). Strengthening evaluation to capture the breadth of public health practice: ideal vs. real. Journal of Public Health. 34(1):151–155. doi: 10.1093/pubmed/fds014.
Resource:
Office of Disease Prevention and Health Promotion [(ODPHP)]
(2016). Healthy People 2020. Retrieved from https://www.healthypeople.gov/2020/topics-objectives
HHS Ignite Lightning Talk: Evidence-based Intervention Implementation Accelerator
ASSIGNMENT
Evidence-Based Practice Proposal, EBP Design: Background and Significance: Identification and Analysis of Need from your approved topic from NURS 378 course, Young People with Obesity
The background and significance are used to establish the significance of your proposed project. The design must address three key areas:
- Background: Community Health Concern and Identification
- Facilitators and Barriers to EBP Implementation
- Organizational Culture
- Proposal for the next steps to address the identified health concern
In the background, introduce your health concern (NURS 378 approved topic) and the context that led you to identify your health concern. You will explore the relevant background literature and theory related to your topic. Discuss its relevance to your local community health setting, organizational, metropolitan, state, national, and international levels as applicable. You will discuss the potential benefits and challenges of addressing the community health topic in your local setting, and explore the larger contextual impact related to this problem. The conclusion of this design is the proposal for the next steps to address the identified health concern.
Directions:
Pull modules 1-6 together into one(1) paper.
- Describe the background leading to your proposal topic. Briefly explain what you have observed in current trends of community health practice that leads you to further exploration. (You will have the opportunity to provide a more detailed description of your preliminary work in the next section.)
- Background Literature: provide a critical evaluation of existing knowledge as it pertains to the proposal topic. The search for background literature does not have to be exhaustive, but must be sufficiently thorough to convince reviewers that you are up to date on the state of the field. Demonstrate that your understanding of the community health field, and that you have a balanced knowledge of it. Cite recent literature and, if appropriate, indicate your awareness of any discrepancies or inaccuracies in the literature. A minimum of 3-5 citations are required for this section.
- Include the stakeholder analysis and the data from your communication with the individuals, groups, organizations, etc..
- Identify the gaps in knowledge that your project is intended to fill. If there are no gaps exist that are obviously and directly related to your project, explain how your proposed research will contribute to the overall understanding of your RN practice.
- Now that you have established the context for your identified health concern, your proposed project, and explained its significance, describe potential impacts of your project within your field of study and in a broader context.
For example, your proposed project may provide improved education for a particular population group or lead to a new practice guideline for nursing interventions. Clearly explain how the project is relevant.
