NR451 Capstone Project: Practice Issue and Evidence Summary (Milestone 1)

Welcome to the first major milestone of your Capstone journey. In this assessment, you will lay the foundation for your entire evidence-based practice (EBP) change project. We are looking for you to identify a significant clinical problem in your current workplace, formulate a precise PICO question, and summarize the best available evidence—specifically a systematic review—that supports a potential solution. This isn’t just an academic exercise; it is about finding a real way to improve patient safety and care quality where you work.

Course: NR-451 RN Capstone Course

Assessment Type: Written Assignment (Milestone 1)

Length: 3–5 pages (excluding title and reference pages)

Format: APA 7th Edition (Content below formatted for clarity)

Assignment Guidelines and Instructions

Purpose

The primary goal of this assignment is to bridge the gap between clinical inquiry and evidence-based practice. You will demonstrate your ability to:

• Identify a nursing practice issue that directly impacts patient outcomes.
• Construct a formatted PICO(T) question (Population, Intervention, Comparison, Outcome, Time).
• Locate and analyze a high-quality systematic review from a reputable database (e.g., Cochrane, CINAHL, PubMed).
• Synthesize research findings to support an evidence-based intervention.

Course Outcomes (COs)

This assignment directly assesses your competency in:

• CO4: Develops and outlines a scientific, systematic decision-making process to integrate critical thinking with clinical judgment to assure safe and effective outcomes.
• CO8: Selects evidence for best practice when planning professional nursing care for individuals, families, aggregates, and communities.

Step-by-Step Instructions

Please follow these steps carefully to ensure you meet all grading criteria. You are required to submit a 3-to-5-page paper that addresses the following sections:

1. Introduction (approx. 1 paragraph)

Begin with a strong opening that captures the significance of your chosen topic. Briefly describe the clinical setting (e.g., Med-Surg, ICU, Home Health) and the specific practice issue you have observed. State your PICO question clearly in this section. This sets the stage for your evidence review.

2. Practice Issue and Scope (approx. 1–2 pages)

Dive deeper into the problem. Why does this matter? Discuss the impact of the problem on the organization, nursing staff, and patient health. Is it a safety risk? Does it increase costs or length of stay? Use internal data (if available and de-identified) or general statistics to validate that this is a problem worth solving. Explain why you selected this specific issue for your Change Project.

3. Evidence Summary (approx. 1–2 pages)

This is the core of your paper. You must select one (1) high-quality systematic review (SR) or meta-analysis published within the last 5 years that relates to your intervention.

• Summarize the Evidence: What did the researchers find? Does the evidence strongly support your proposed intervention?
• Critique the Quality: Briefly mention the reliability of the source. Was it a Cochrane review? How many studies were included?
• Connect to Practice: Explicitly state how this evidence supports the change you want to implement in your workplace.

4. Conclusion (approx. 1 paragraph)

Wrap up your paper by summarizing the connection between your identified problem and the evidence you found. Briefly mention the next steps: how this evidence will guide your change project plan in the upcoming weeks.

Grading Rubric Criteria

Your submission will be evaluated based on the following:

1. PICO Question (20%): Is the PICO question clearly stated and formatted correctly? Does it include all components (P-I-C-O)?
2. Practice Issue Definition (30%): Is the scope of the problem clearly defined with supporting rationale? Does the student explain why this is a priority?
3. Evidence Appraisal (30%): Did the student select a valid Systematic Review? Is the summary accurate? Does it clearly link the research findings to the proposed intervention?
4. APA, Grammar, and Clarity (20%): Is the paper free of spelling/grammar errors? Are citations and references formatted correctly according to APA 7th edition standards?

Academic References

• Kumari, V. and Kumar, P. (2023) ‘Impact of bedside shift handover on patient safety and nurse satisfaction: A systematic review’, Journal of Nursing Management, 31(4), pp. 885–896. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1111/jonm.13654
• Malfait, S., Eeckloo, K., Van Biesen, W. and Van Hecke, A. (2019) ‘The effectiveness of bedside shift report: A systematic review’, Worldviews on Evidence-Based Nursing, 16(5), pp. 348–358. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1111/wvn.12396
• Slater, B., Law, Q., McCance, T. and McCormack, B. (2022) ‘The impact of bedside shift reporting on patient safety and patient satisfaction: A systematic review and meta-analysis’, International Journal of Nursing Studies, 134, p. 104328. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijnurstu.2022.104328
• World Health Organization (2021) Global Patient Safety Action Plan 2021–2030: Towards eliminating avoidable harm in health care. Geneva: World Health Organization. Available at: https://www.who.int/publications/i/item/9789240032705