Overview

Course Number:

NR451
Course Title:

RN Capstone

Course Credits:

3 Credits (Theory 3)
Prerequisite:

Successful completion of all other BSN courses

Course Description

Specifically for RN to BSN option students, this is a synthesis course and requires senior students to demonstrate mastery of skills learned in liberal arts and sciences as well as nursing courses. Special emphasis is placed on the implementation of change in response to identification of needs/problems in selected healthcare settings. The major assignment is an evidence-based project that grows out of the student's interest in a specific patient population, professional nursing role and/or healthcare setting.

Clinical Compliance Requirements

All Clinical compliance requirements must be satisfied, and necessary health forms must be on file with the Corporate Clinical Office prior to registration for any clinical course. Failure to comply will result in the student being withdrawn from the class roster. Students not in compliance may be refused entry to class or clinical and will not be excused for any absences. A complete list of these requirements is at http://my.chamberlain.edu under the Clinical section or by contacting clinicalcompliance@chamberlain.edu.

Textbooks and Resources

Required Textbooks

The following books are required for this course:

American Nurses Association. (2015). Nursing: Scope and standards of practice (3rd ed.). Silver Spring, MD: Author.

NOTE: This textbook is NOT available as an e-book. It may be purchased from the Chamberlain bookstore, or other online sellers.

American Psychological Association. (2010). Publication manual of the American Psychological Association (6th ed.). Washington, DC: Author.

Physical Books and Supplies

To obtain all your books and supplies, visit the online Chamberlain bookstore at https://bookstore.chamberlain.edu/.

eBook Details

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Bookshelf

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Access your eBook by clicking on the book cover or title in the syllabus page. Bookshelf Online will open.

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Mobile

Download the app and get your eBooks on your iPhone, iPad, or Android device.

Program Outcomes

The outcomes for the Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN) degree program are as follows:

1

Provides individualized comprehensive care based on theories and principles of nursing and related disciplines to individuals, families, aggregates and communities, from entry to the healthcare system through long-term planning.

2

Demonstrates leadership and collaboration with consumers and other healthcare providers in providing care and/or delegating responsibilities for health promotion, illness prevention, health restoration, health maintenance and rehabilitative activities.

3

Communicates effectively with patient populations and other healthcare providers in managing the healthcare of individuals, families, aggregates and communities.

4

Integrates clinical judgment in professional decision making and implementation of the nursing process.

5

Demonstrates responsibility for continued personal and professional development through enrollment in graduate education, continuing education degree programs, professional reading and participation in professional organizations and community service.

6

Implements professional nursing standards by practicing within the legal definitions of nursing practice and acts in accordance with the nursing code of ethics and American Nurses Association (ANA) standards of practice.

7

Practices in established professional roles consistent with entry-level BSN graduates to provide cost-effective, quality healthcare to consumers in structured and unstructured settings.

8

Incorporates evidence-based practice in the provision of professional nursing care to individuals, families, aggregates and communities.

Course Outcomes

Chamberlain College of Nursing courses are built to align course content with specific Course Outcomes (COs). The COs define the learning objectives that the student will be required to comprehend and demonstrate by course completion. The COs that will be covered in detail each week can be found in the Overview page in that particular week. Whenever possible, a reference will be made from a particular assignment or discussion back to the CO that it emphasizes.

Upon completion of this course, the student will be able to do the following.

1

Applies the theories and principles of nursing and related disciplines to individuals, families, aggregates, and communities from entry to the healthcare system through long-term planning. (PO #1)

2

Proposes leadership and collaboration strategies for use with consumers and other healthcare providers in managing care and/or delegating responsibilities for health promotion, illness prevention, health restoration and maintenance, and rehabilitative activities. (PO #2)

3

Communicates effectively with patient populations and other healthcare providers in managing the healthcare of individuals, families, aggregates, and communities. (PO #3)

4

Develops and outlines a scientific, systematic decision-making process to integrate critical thinking with clinical judgment to assure safe and effective outcomes. (PO #4)

5

Develops a plan for continued personal and professional development through enrollment in graduate education, continuing education programs, professional reading, participation in professional organizations, and service to the community. (PO #5)

6

Plans clinical practice activities that integrate professional nursing standards in accordance with the nursing code of ethics and American Nurses’ Association (ANA) standards of practice. (PO #6)

7

Integrates the professional role of leader, teacher, communicator, and manager of care to plan cost-effective, quality healthcare to consumers in structured and unstructured settings. (PO #7)

8

Selects evidence for best practice when planning professional nursing care for individuals, families, aggregates, and communities. (PO #8)

Course Schedule

Week, COs, and TopicsReadingsAssignments

Week 1

CO 1

Establishing Differences in Research, Evidence -Based Practice, and Quality Improvement Projects

American Nurses Association. (2015). Nursing: Scope and standards of practice (3rd ed.). Silver Spring, MD: Author.

  • Scope of Nursing Practice, pp. 13–19

Required Article

Stevens, K. R. (2013). The impact of evidence-based practice in nursing and the next big ideas. Online Journal of Issues in Nursing, 18(2), manuscript 4. doi:10.3912/OJIN.Vol18No02Man04. Link to article

Graded Discussion

Week 2

CO 4

The ACE Star Model of Knowledge Transformation

American Nurses Association. (2015). Nursing: Scope and standards of practice (3rd ed.). Silver Spring, MD: Author.

  • Scope of Nursing Practice, pp. 1–11, 110

Graded Discussion

Week 3

CO 3

Solving the Problem

American Nurses Association. (2015). Nursing: Scope and standards of practice (3rd ed.). Silver Spring, MD: Author.

  • Scope of Nursing Practice, pp. 31–45, 77, 79, 82

Capstone Project Milestone #1

Graded Discussion

Week 4

CO 2

Continuous Quality Improvement for Improved Patient Outcomes

American Nurses Association. (2015). Nursing: Scope and standards of practice (3rd ed.). Silver Spring, MD: Author.

  • Scope of Nursing Practice, pp. 22–33

Required Reading

Hughes, R. G. (Ed.). (2008). Patient safety and quality: An evidence-based handbook for nurses (AHRQ Publication No. 08-0043). Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality. Retrieved from https://archive.ahrq.gov/professionals/clinicians-providers/resources/nursing/resources/nurseshdbk/

Capstone Project Milestone #2

Graded Discussion

Week 5

CO 8

Evaluating Quality Change

American Nurses Association. (2015). Nursing: Scope and standards of practice (3rd ed.). Silver Spring, MD: Author.

  • Scope of Nursing Practice, pp. 47–62

Required Websites

Graded Discussion

Week 6

CO 6

Strategies for Effective Change

American Nurses Association. (2015). Nursing: Scope and standards of practice (3rd ed.). Silver Spring, MD: Author.

  • Scope of Nursing Practice, pp. 1–6, pp. 21–31

Optional Websites

Capstone Project Milestone #3

Graded Discussion

Week 7

CO 7

Clinical Judgment

American Nurses Association. (2015). Nursing: Scope and standards of practice (3rd ed.). Silver Spring, MD: Author.

  • Scope of Practice, pp. 28–30, 45–49, 75

Required Article

Mann, K., Gordon, J., & Macleod, A. (2009). Refection and reflective practice in health professions education: A systematic review. Advances in Health Sciences Education, 14(4), 595–621. doi:10.1007/s10459-007-9090-2. Link to article

Required Website

Please go to the White House website at https://www.whitehouse.gov/blog/2016/03/23/look-six-years-affordable-care-act and review an article on the Affordable Care Act.

Graded Discussion

Week 8

CO 5

What Does the Future Hold?

There are no required readings this week.

Graded Discussion

Late Assignment Policy

Students are expected to submit assignments by the time they are due. Assignments submitted after the due date and time will receive a deduction of 10% of the total points possible for that assignment for each day the assignment is late. Assignments will be accepted, with penalty as described, up to a maximum of three days late, after which point a zero will be recorded for the assignment.

In the event of an emergency that prevents timely submission of an assignment, students may petition their instructor for a waiver of the late submission grade reduction. The instructor will review the student’s rationale for the request and make a determination based on the merits of the student’s appeal. Consideration of the student’s total course performance to date will be a contributing factor in the determination. Students should continue to attend class, actively participate, and complete other assignments while the appeal is pending.

This Policy applies to assignments that contribute to the numerical calculation of the course letter grade.

Due Dates for Assignments and Exams

Unless otherwise specified, the following applies.

  • Access to the course begins on Sunday at 12:01 a.m. (MT) during preview week.
  • All assignments are to be submitted on or before Sunday at the end of the specified week that they are due by 11:59 p.m. (MT).
  • All quizzes and exams, if applicable in your course, are to be completed on or before Saturday at the end of the specified week that they open by 11:59 p.m.(MT).

Note: In Week 8, for the DNP, MSN, RN-BSN, and Prelicensure BSN, the assignments would be due by Wednesday at 11:59 p.m. MT.

Faculty Grading/Response Schedule

Grades for Discussion will be posted by Tuesday night after the due date, except for grades for Week 8 Discussion, which will be posted by Friday at the end of Week 8. For all other work (papers, projects, etc.), grades will be posted by Friday night after the due date. An announcement will be posted if these deadlines cannot be met.

Faculty will respond to student emails or questions in the Q & A Forum within 48 hours.

Concerns about faculty grading and responsiveness may be sent to the director and the dean of the RN-to-BSN Option by clicking on the Online Administrator’s Message link under Course Home.

Evaluation Methods

The maximum score in this class is 1,000 points. The categories, which contribute to your final grade, are weighted as follows.

AssignmentPointsWeighting
Discussion (50 points per topic, one topic for Weeks 1– 8)40040%
Capstone Project Milestone #1 (Week 3)17517.5%
Capstone Project Milestone #2 (Week 4)22522.5%
Capstone Project Milestone #3 (Week 6)20020%
Total Points1,000100%

No extra credit assignments are permitted for any reason.

The course grade is determined by transferring the total number of points possible in the course to a percentage grade. There is no rounding of grades. Percentages of 0.5% or higher are not raised to the next whole number. A final grade of 76% (letter grade C) is required to pass the course.

Letter GradePointsPercentage
A  940–1,00094% to 100%
A- 920–93992% to 93%
B+890–91989% to 91%
B  860–88986% to 88%
B- 840–85984% to 85%
C+810–83981% to 83%
C  760–80976% to 80%
F  759 and below75% and below

Chamberlain College of Nursing students are expected to conduct themselves in an ethical and professional manner. All academic assignments, including papers, exams, projects, and in-class assignments must be the original work of the individual student unless otherwise specified by the instructor. Academic or clinical dishonesty are exceptionally serious offenses and may result in a failing grade on an assignment, failure in the course, or dismissal from the College.

Students agree that by taking this course all required papers, threaded discussions or other written learning activities may be subject to submission for textual similarity review to Turnitin.com for the detection of plagiarism. All submitted papers will be included as source documents in the Turnitin.com reference database solely for the purpose of detecting plagiarism of such papers. Use of the Turnitin.com service is subject to the Terms and Conditions of Use posted on the Turnitin.com site.

Participation: RN-to-BSN

In discussions, you, as a student, will interact with your instructor and classmates to explore topics related to the content of this course. You will be graded for the following.

1. Attendance

Discussions (graded): Discussions are a critical learning experience in the online classroom. Participation in all discussions is required.

2. Guidelines and Rubric for Discussions

PURPOSE: Threaded discussions are designed to promote dialogue between faculty and students, and students and their peers. In the discussions students:

  • Demonstrate understanding of concepts for the week
  • Integrate scholarly resources
  • Engage in meaningful dialogue with classmates
  • Express opinions clearly and logically, in a professional manner

Participation Requirement: You are required to post a minimum of three (3) times in each graded discussion. These three (3) posts must be on a minimum of two (2) separate days. You must respond to the initial discussion question by 11:59 p.m. MT on Wednesday.

Participation points: It is expected that you will meet the minimum participation requirement described above. If not:

  • You will receive a 10% point deduction in a thread if your response to the initial question is not posted by 11:59 p.m. MT on Wednesday
  • You will also receive a 10% point deduction in a thread if you do not post at least three (3) times in each thread on at least two (2) separate days.

3. Threaded Discussion Guiding Principles

The ideas and beliefs underpinning the threaded discussions (TDs) guide students through engaging dialogues as they achieve the desired learning outcomes/competencies associated with their course in a manner that empowers them to organize, integrate, apply and critically appraise their knowledge to their selected field of practice. The use of TDs provides students with opportunities to contribute level-appropriate knowledge and experience to the topic in a safe, caring, and fluid environment that models professional and social interaction. The TD's ebb and flow is based upon the composition of student and faculty interaction in the quest for relevant scholarship. Participation in the TDs generates opportunities for students to actively engage in the written ideas of others by carefully reading, researching, reflecting, and responding to the contributions of their peers and course faculty. TDs foster the development of members into a community of learners as they share ideas and inquiries, consider perspectives that may be different from their own, and integrate knowledge from other disciplines.

4. Participation Guidelines

You are required to post a minimum of three (3) times in each graded discussion. These three (3) posts must be on a minimum of two (2) separate days. You must respond to the initial discussion question by 11:59 p.m. MT on Wednesday. Discussions for each week close on Sunday at 11:59 p.m. Mountain Time (MT). To receive credit for a week's discussion, students may begin posting no earlier than the Sunday immediately before each week opens. For courses with Week 8 graded discussions, the threads will close on Wednesday at 11:59 p.m. MT. All discussion requirements must be met by that deadline.

5. Grading Rubric

Discussion Criteria
 A
(100%)
Outstanding or highest level of performance  		B
(87%)
Very good or high level of performance		C
(76%)
Competent or satisfactory level of performance		F
(0)
Poor or failing or unsatisfactory level of performance

Answers the initial graded threaded discussion question(s)/topic(s), demonstrating knowledge and understanding of concepts for the week.
16 points

Addresses all aspects of the initial discussion question(s) applying experiences, knowledge, and understanding regarding all weekly concepts.

16 points

Addresses most aspects of the initial discussion question(s) applying experiences, knowledge, and understanding of most of the weekly concepts.

14 points

Addresses some aspects of the initial discussion question(s) applying experiences, knowledge, and understanding of some of the weekly concepts.

12 points

Minimally addresses the initial discussion question(s) or does not address the initial question(s).

0 points

Integrates evidence to support discussion. Sources are credited.*
( APA format not required)
12 points

Integrates evidence to support your discussion from:

  • assigned readings** OR online lessons, AND
  • at least one outside scholarly source.***

Sources are credited.*

12 points

Integrates evidence to support discussion from:

  • assigned readings OR online lesson.

Sources are credited.*

10 points

Integrates evidence to support discussion only from an outside source with no mention of assigned reading or lesson.

Sources are credited.*

9 points

Does not integrate any evidence.

0 points

Engages in meaningful dialogue with classmates or instructor before the end of the week.
14 points

Responds to a classmate and/or instructor’s post furthering the dialogue by providing more information and clarification, thereby adding much depth to the discussion.

14 points

Responds to a classmate and/or instructor furthering the dialogue by adding some depth to the discussion.

12 points

Responds to a classmate and/or instructor but does not further the discussion.

10 points

No response post to another student or instructor.

0 points

Communicates in a professional manner.
8 points

Presents information using clear and concise language in an organized manner (minimal errors in English grammar, spelling, syntax, and punctuation).

8 points

Presents information in an organized manner (few errors in English grammar, spelling, syntax, and punctuation).

7 points

Presents information using understandable language but is somewhat disorganized (some errors in English grammar, spelling, syntax, and punctuation).

6 points

Presents information that is not clear, logical, professional or organized to the point that the reader has difficulty understanding the message (numerous errors in English grammar, spelling, syntax, and/or punctuation).

0 points

PARTICIPATION:
Response to initial question: Responds to initial discussion question(s) by
Wednesday, 11:59 p.m. M.T.

0 points lost

Student posts an answer to the initial discussion question(s) by Wednesday, 11:59 p . m. MT.

-5 points

Student does not post an answer to the initial discussion question(s) by Wednesday, 11:59 p . m. MT.

PARTICIPATION
Total posts: Participates in the discussion thread at least three times on at least two different days.

0 points lost

Posts in the discussion at least three times AND on two different days.

-5 points

Posts fewer than three times OR does not participate on at least two different days.

NOTES:
* Credited means stating where the information came from (specific article, text, or lesson). Examples: Our text discusses…. The information from our lesson states…, Smith (2010) claimed that…, Mary Manners (personal communication, November 17, 2011)…. APA formatting is not required.

** Assigned readings are those listed on the syllabus or assignments page as required reading. This may include text readings, required articles, or required websites.

*** Scholarly source – per the APA Guidelines in Course Resources, only scholarly sources should be used in assignments. These include peer reviewed publications, government reports, or sources written by a professional or scholar in the field. Wikipedia, Wikis, .com website or blogs should not be used as anyone can add to these. For the discussions, reputable internet sources such as websites by government agencies (URL ends in .gov) and respected organizations (often ends in .org) can be counted as scholarly sources. Outside sources do not include assigned required readings.

NOTE: A zero is the lowest score that a student can be assigned.

6. Chamberlain Policies

Students are required to comply with Chamberlain College of Nursing's academic policies. To access Chamberlain's policy on academic integrity (and all other Chamberlain policies), please review the information in your Undergraduate Student Handbook, Undergraduate Catalog, and the policies outlined in this course.

The Undergraduate Catalog describes the technical requirements for students. Sufficient technology and Internet access is required to complete Chamberlain College of Nursing online classes. Technical requirements include, but are not limited to:

  • Hardware/Software Requirements
    • Supported Operating Systems
    • Productivity Tools (Microsoft Office, VitalSource Bookshelf)
  • Internet Access o Internet Connections
    • Email
    • Supported Browsers
    • Browser Settings
    • Plug-ins
  • Screen Settings
  • Hardware Specifications
    • Computer Internet Security
    • Operating System Updates

Chamberlain College of Nursing is committed to providing reasonable accommodations for eligible students with documented disabilities as defined by state and federal laws relating to the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). Our intent is to ensure that every student who makes a request for accommodations under ADA is advised of the accommodation process as promptly as possible. If you are a student with a verifiable documented disability, and you can provide medical documentation regarding this disability, then contact our ADA Officer at adaofficer@chamberlain.edu for more information on how to receive ADA accommodations in your online classes or fax your request to 630-596-1651.

Webliography

The purpose of the Webliography is to provide students with annotated bibliographies of world wide websites relevant to their courses. These websites are not meant to be all inclusive of what is available for each course's subjects and have not been sanctioned as academically rigorous or scholarly by Chamberlain College of Nursing. Please exercise caution when using these websites for course assignments and references.