Please read Instruction.
Assessing the Problem: Leadership, Collaboration, Communication,
Change Management, and Policy Considerations
In a 5 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.
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.
Instruction:
Complete this assessment in two parts.
Part 1
UseAssessing the Problem: Leadership, Collaboration, Communication, Change
Management, and Policy Considerations [PDF] to 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.
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.
○ Document the time spent (your practicum hours) with these
individuals or group in the Capella Academic Portal Volunteer
Experience Form.
★ Organize content so ideas flow logically with smooth transitions.
★ Apply APA style and formatting to scholarly writing.
Competencies Measured:
By successfully completing this assessment, you will demonstrate your proficiency in
the following course competencies and 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 and document
the practicum hours spent with these individuals or group in the
Capella Academic Portal Volunteer Experience Form.
● 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.
Format:
● Format: Format your paper using APA style.
○ Appropriate section headings.
○ A title page and reference page. An abstract is not required.
● Length: Your paper should be approximately 5 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.
- Part 1
- Part 2
