NRSG466: Nursing Leadership & Management

Capstone Project 20% of Final Grade

Due: December 13, 2016

What is a capstone project?

· A capstone project gives you the opportunity to show what you have learned in your classes by applying it to a real-world situation/ in your place of employment. It is designed for you to use a stated issue (see below) or identify an issue that is relevant to your work setting, liaise with the ward manager or supervisor to solve or help to resolve the issue by e.g. formulating policies/ plan of action/ recommendations etc.

What does it include?

· It should include a literature review, or background and history of your project. This gives you an opportunity to show what you know about the issue and the possible solution(s), explore how others have applied relevant concepts to your project, and how you might apply it to your project. The application of biblical principles and Christ’s method of Leadership should also be applied in this project.

How do I choose a project?

· You certainly need to choose something you’re interested in, but beyond that, consider the following:

· The lack of specificity of job function in relation to performance/ appraisal.

· The lack of quality clinical leadership and Preceptorship for recent graduates.

· Patient safety related to inadequate and inappropriate staff mix

· Rigidity/ inflexibility in scheduling.

· Patient/ family teaching needs.

· Incident reporting

· Auditing in clinical practice.

· Chart auditing.

· Nurse safety on the job

· Preventing or treating Incivility and Bullying in Nursing

· Violence in Healthcare

· Compassion Fatigue in Nursing

· Staff Preparedness for deadly transmissible diseases

· Reducing Nurse Fatigue: An Urgent Call!

· Efficient use of the Nursing Process in Practice

· Documentation in Nursing Practice

What do I need to remember?

· Your ability to do what you’re proposing. For example, don’t propose an elaborate web site if you know nothing about web site production.

· Your ability to gather the necessary resources in time. For example, you might want to evaluate differences on health care delivery based on the political framework, but can you do this by the end of the module?

· Your ability to work with others involved in the project. For example, if your workplace manager is always on the road, you’ll have a hard time catching his /her input for your hand washing campaign.

What should be part of my project report?

· You will need these elements:

· Title: 2 marks

· Description: 3 marks

· Rationale and Literature Review: 10 marks

· Objectives: 5 marks (see page 154-155 in the text. These should be measurable, realistic, time bound, objective, and specific)

· Procedures: How the project will be carried out, step by step with approximate timelines: 15 marks

· Evaluation: 5 marks

Note that you don’t necessarily need outcome or results. This project is a plan; it may be possible to carry out your plan by the end of the module, or it may not be. But your grade is not based on you actually executing your plan, as you can’t be in control of others (employers, co-workers, boards of directors, accountants, etc.) who control your timeline; but it should be doable.

What documents do I need to prepare to help me plan my capstone?

· These are suggestions, so you should consider what documents are relevant to your project:

· Project statement

· Risk analysis

· Project proposal

· Tracking

· Status report

· Final project report

For this class, you don’t necessarily need to include all parts, although you may work through them if they would be helpful for you to organize the project. A risk assessment, for example, would give you a good opportunity to think through problems you may have finishing your project. That might cause you to proceed differently, or even to choose another project.

Please include a timeline to help persuade me that you will not procrastinate! Deadlines for these pieces of your capstone will be indicated on the LMS page.

In addition to to the required elements outlined above, please see the rubric for the project below.

CAPSTONE PROJECT GRADING RUBRIC

A (4)

B (3)

C (2)

D/F (1/0)

Focus: Purpose

Purpose is clear

Shows awareness of purpose

Shows limited awareness of purpose

No awareness

Main idea

Clearly presents a main idea and supports it throughout the paper.

There is a main idea supported throughout most of the paper.

Vague sense of a main idea, weakly supported throughout the paper.

No main idea

Organization: Overall

Well-planned and well-thought out. Includes title, introduction, statement of main idea, transitions and conclusion.

Good overall organization, includes the main organizational tools.

There is a sense of organization, although some of the organizational tools are used weakly or missing

No sense of organization

Organization: Paragraphs

All paragraphs have clear ideas, are supported with examples and have smooth transitions.

Most paragraphs have clear ideas, are supported with some examples and have transitions.

Some paragraphs have clear ideas, support from examples may be missing and transitions are weak.

Paragraph lack clear ideas

Content

Exceptionally well-presented and argued; ideas are detailed, well-developed, supported with specific evidence & facts, as well as examples and specific details.

Well-presented and argued; ideas are detailed, developed and supported with evidence and details, mostly specific.

Content is sound and solid; ideas are present but not particularly developed or supported; some evidence, but usually of a generalized nature.

Content is not sound

Research

Sources are exceptionally well-integrated, analyzed, and they support claims argued in the paper very effectively. Quotations and Works Cited conform to APA style sheet (Perdue OWL).

Sources are well integrated and support the paper’s claims. There may be occasional errors, but the sources and Works Cited conform to APA style sheet. (Perdue OWL)

Sources support some claims made in the paper, but might not be well integrated within the paper’s argument. There may be a few errors in APA style.

The paper does not use adequate research or if it does, the sources are not integrated well. They are not cited correctly according to APA style, nor listed correctly on the Works Cited page.

Style: Sentence structure

Sentences are clear and varied in pattern, from simple to complex, with excellent use of punctuation.

Sentences are clear but may lack variation; a few may be awkward and there may be a few punctuation errors.

Sentences are generally clear but may have awkward structure or unclear content; there may be patterns of punctuation errors.

Sentences aren’t clear

Style: Details and Examples

Large amounts of specific examples and detailed descriptions.

Some use of specific examples and detailed descriptions. May have extended examples that go on for too long.

Little use of specific examples and details; mostly generalized examples and little description.

No use of examples

Grammar & Mechanics

Excellent grammar, spelling, and punctuation.

A few errors in grammar, spelling, syntax and punctuation, but not many.

Shows a pattern of errors in spelling, grammar, syntax and/or punctuation. Could also be a sign of lack of proof-reading.

Continuous