NURS-FPX4900 Assessment 1: Assessing the Problem: Leadership, Collaboration, Communication, Change Management, and Policy Considerations

Course Details

Course Code: NURS-FPX4900

Course Title: Capstone Project for Nursing

Program: BSN

Term: Winter 2026

Assessment Weight: 20%

Due Date: End of Week 2

Submission: Via Capella’s online submission system

Assessment Description

In this assessment, you will define a patient, family, or population health problem relevant to your practice. Summarize the problem you will 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.

Instructions

In a 5–7 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. Document the time spent (your practicum hours) with these individuals or group in the Capella Academic Portal Volunteer Experience Form.

Preparation

In this assessment, you’ll assess the patient, family, or population health problem that will be the focus of your capstone project. Plan to spend approximately 2 hours working with a patient, family, or group of your choice to explore the problem from a leadership, collaboration, communication, change management, and policy perspective. During this time, you may also choose to consult with subject matter and industry experts about the problem (for example, directors of quality or patient safety, nurse managers/directors, physicians, and epidemiologists).

To prepare for the assessment, complete the following:

• Identify the patient, family, or group you want to work with during your practicum. The patient you select can be a friend or family member or an acquaintance. (Your practicum cannot be completed with a Capella faculty or staff member.)
• Begin exploring the patient, family, or population health problem you have defined. This exploration will be the focus of your practicum.
• Review the assessment instructions and scoring guide to ensure that you understand the work you will be asked to complete.
• Review the Practicum Focus Sheet: Assessment 1 [PDF], which provides guidance for conducting this portion of your practicum.

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 policies in improving outcomes related to the problem.
• Explain how these standards and policies will guide your actions in applying evidence-based practice to address the problem you’ve defined.
• Describe the role of leadership, collaboration, communication, change management, and policy in addressing the problem you’ve defined.
• Explain how these leadership strategies will help improve outcomes related to the problem.
• Explain how collaboration and communication with the patient, family, or group, and other health care professionals, will help improve outcomes related to the problem.
• Explain how change management strategies will help improve outcomes related to the problem.
• Explain how state board nursing practice standards and/or organizational or governmental policies will guide your actions in addressing the problem.
• Propose strategies for communicating and collaborating with the patient, family, or group to improve outcomes associated with the problem you’ve defined.
• Identify the patient, family, or group.
• Discuss the benefits of gathering their input to improve care associated with the problem.
• Identify best-practice strategies from the literature for effective communication and collaboration to improve outcomes.
• Explain how state board nursing practice standards and/or organizational or governmental policies guided the development of your proposed strategies.
• Explain how your proposed strategies respect the patient’s or group’s dignity, autonomy, and cultural, gender, or religious preferences.
• Explain how you will evaluate the success of your proposed strategies.
• Write concisely and clearly, using correct grammar and mechanics.
• Integrate relevant sources to support your arguments, correctly formatting source citations and references using current APA style.

Additional Requirements

• Format: Format your paper using APA style. APA Style Paper Tutorial [DOCX] is provided to help you in writing and formatting your paper. Be sure to include:
• A title page and reference page. An abstract is not required.
• Appropriate section headings.
• Length: Your paper should be approximately 5–7 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.

Competencies Measured

By successfully completing this assessment, you will demonstrate your proficiency in the course competencies through the following assessment 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.

Scoring Guide

Health problems like type 2 diabetes require careful assessment to understand their impact on patients and populations. Leadership involves coordinating interdisciplinary teams to implement evidence-based interventions while addressing policy implications. Collaboration ensures input from various stakeholders to tailor care plans effectively. Change management helps overcome resistance to new practices in diabetes management. Research supports that such approaches improve glycemic control and reduce complications (American Diabetes Association, 2021; https://doi.org/10.2337/dc21-Sint).

Recommended References

1. American Diabetes Association, 2021. Standards of medical care in diabetes—2021. Diabetes Care, 44(Supplement 1), pp.S1-S232. https://doi.org/10.2337/dc21-Sint
2. Saeedi, P., Petersohn, I., Salpea, P., Malanda, B., Karuranga, S., Unwin, N., Colagiuri, S., Guariguata, L., Motala, A.A., Ogurtsova, K. and Shaw, J.E., 2019. Global and regional diabetes prevalence estimates for 2019 and projections for 2030 and 2045: Results from the International Diabetes Federation Diabetes Atlas. Diabetes Research and Clinical Practice, 157, p.107843. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.diabres.2019.107843
3. Davies, M.J., D’Alessio, D.A., Fradkin, J., Kernan, W.N., Mathieu, C., Mingrone, G., Rossing, P., Tsapas, A., Wexler, D.J. and Buse, J.B., 2018. Management of hyperglycemia in type 2 diabetes, 2018. A consensus report by the American Diabetes Association (ADA) and the European Association for the Study of Diabetes (EASD). Diabetes Care, 41(12), pp.2669-2701. https://doi.org/10.2337/dci18-0033
4. Corathers, S.D., Schoettker, P.J., Clements, M.A., List, B.A., Mullen, J., Ohmer, A., Shah, A., Lee, J., Quinn, C.T., Nelson, B. and Haslam, D., 2020. Health-system-level variation in diabetes care among older adults in the United States, 2005–2009. Diabetes Care, 43(2), pp.313-321. https://doi.org/10.2337/dc19-0589
5. Powers, M.A., Bardsley, J.K., Cypress, M., Funnell, M.M., Harms, D., Hess-Fischl, A., Hooks, B., Isaacs, D., Mandel, E.D., Maryniuk, M.D. and Norton, A., 2020. Diabetes self-management education and support in adults with type 2 diabetes: A consensus report of the American Diabetes Association, the Association of Diabetes Care & Education Specialists, the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, the American Academy of Family Physicians, the American Academy of PAs, the American Association of Nurse Practitioners, and the American Pharmacists Association. Diabetes Care, 43(7), pp.1636-1649. https://doi.org/10.2337/dci20-0023