Identifying a Practice Problem in Need of Improvement

In this week’s Discussion, you shared your experiences with health care practice problems as a consumer and/or as a practitioner. Now, consider your current practice setting and think about something specific and relevant to your practice setting that you would like to see improved or changed. Interview a key leader in your practice setting who can confirm that your practice problem is one that should be addressed to enhance delivery or performance in the field. It is important to remember from the beginning that your practice problem must be measurable, and that you identify data that suggests a problem exists, and although this comes up more specifically in Week 2, it is important to consider this from the start.

This will be the problem discussed in your Practice Experience Project, Capstone Paper, and Storyboard.

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BY DAY 4

Identify a measurable patient-centered practice problem related to quality or safety and relevant to your practice setting that you will also focus on in your Capstone Paper, and post a brief description of the problem and an explanation of why you selected it. Explain how the conversation you had with the key leader in your practice setting impacted your decision to address this particular practice problem. Be sure to support your practice problem with the literature that indicates the relevance of this problem for nursing practice. Provide evidence from your practice area and describe the data that is available.

You will not be collecting any data during the practice experience project; you will use data already available to you in your workplace or other practice setting. Think about the different kinds of data that is shared with you in your work area. For example, data may include patient satisfaction scores, medication error rates, fall, CLABSI or CAUTI rates. Analyzing the data available to you is how you will identify that a quality problem exists. Data identifies potential areas for improvement, and monitors the effectiveness of any changes. It is important to obtain baseline data before beginning a quality improvement project and to analyze results during and at the end of a project.

Note: The practice problem must be related to patient outcomes. (Staffing cannot be your main practice problem for the completion of the Practice Experience Project and Capstone Paper.)

Note: If you use the same practice problem that was presented in the Week 1 Discussion on quality theories, keep in mind that you must be much more specific in this post and explain how it is relevant to your setting and nursing practice.

BY DAY 7

Read two or more of your colleagues’ postings from the Discussion question. Respond to at least two of your classmates. As a member of a community of practice, help each other refine and clarify the patient-centered Practice Experience Project. Provide support and suggestions on the importance of the practice problem in improving patient outcomes.

Capstone Paper (4–5 pages)

In each week of this course you will apply the steps of the quality improvement process to a real practice problem. This Capstone Paper will provide the comprehensive discussion of your Practice Experience Quality Improvement Project.

The Capstone Paper will be submitted in two parts. Part I is submitted in Week 3 and Part II will be submitted in Week 5. The two parts of the Capstone are designed to be easily combined into one document and used in conjunction with your storyboard to present a quality improvement plan. After incorporating instructor feedback, you may use these documents demonstrate to your employer an understanding of quality improvement processes that improve patient care and/or patient safety.

You are expected to use high-quality, credible, relevant sources to develop ideas that are appropriate for the discipline and genre of the writing. You must use a minimum of five evidenced based resources. Including research studies (at least two or three), clinical guidelines, expert opinions, and other relevant information. You will incorporate the results into your quality improvement project, capstone paper, and storyboard. Textbooks may be used on a limited basis but do not count in the five references. (All work must be supported by the literature and cited correctly in text and in the reference list.)

Each section of the Capstone Paper must meet the Academic Writing Expectations for the Capstone Level (see the AWE Checklist and the AWE at a Glance document):

Demonstrate a thorough understanding of context, audience, and purpose.
Use appropriate, relevant, and compelling content to illustrate mastery of the subject, conveying the writer’s understanding and shaping the whole work.
Employ the revision process and take responsibility for proofreading for writing errors before submission.
The capstone must demonstrate detailed attention to, and successful execution of, a wide range of conventions particular to a specific discipline and/or writing task, (s) including:
- Show organization, content, presentation, formatting, and stylistic choices.
- Demonstrate skillful use of high quality, credible, relevant sources to develop ideas that are appropriate for the discipline and genre of the writing.
- Use appropriate and persuasive language that communicates meaning to readers with clarity and fluency, and is virtually error-free.

Identifying a Practice Problem in Need of Improvement