Syllabus

Addendum: Graded Assignments Detail

N143 Quality Improvement (QI) Research Project Proposal

Description:
During the course of the semester, students are required to create and write up a
proposal for a Quality Improvement Research Project. This proposal will reflect
knowledge of the QSEN Quality Improvement competency and QSEN Evidence-based
Practice competency. No actual data will be collected; this is a proposal for research
only.

Instructions:
During your clinical contract appointment with your instructor and the preceptor
discuss the QI project and solicit the preceptors support in identifying the project
topic. This project will be completed in groups of five (5) students. You will form your
own groups based upon similar interests. Students precepted in different clinical sites
or units may collaborate on a QI project.

The assignments you will turn in related to this QI project consist of three (3) parts:
1. QI Proposal Draft Paper
2. QI Proposal Final Paper
3. QI Professional Poster presentation

1. QI Proposal Draft Paper: A written proposal of your proposed QI project/study.
A cover page with the project title and name of students proposing the study
Identification and description of the nursing problem
A brief summary of the available evidenced-based practice literature including a
discussion of the evidence as it relates to current policy and procedure (you will
develop your discussion of the literature further in the final paper).
An outline of the proposed research project. What are your early plans for
studying or alleviating this problem?
An APA reference list including a minimum of 4 related peer-reviewed research
articles
Proposal must be in APA format

Turn in: Have ONE MEMBER of your group submit on N143 SacCT site by
midnight, March 11th at midnight.


2. QI Proposal Final Paper: A written 800-1000 word paper of your QI project/study
proposal including:
Introduction: Identification and description of the nursing problem
Literature Review: A brief summary of the available evidenced-based practice
literature including a discussion of the evidence as it relates to current policy

and procedure. Must use a minimum of 6 related peer-reviewed research

articles
Proposed Study:
a. Sample Population: Who will your participants be and how will they be
selected?
b. Methods: How will you learn more about the nursing problem and/or
what intervention are you testing in order to attempt to alleviate the
nursing problem? Please provide a copy of the data collection tool you
will use (survey, interview guide, focus group guide, intervention
description, etc).
c. Data Analysis: How will you analyze the data you collect? How will you
know if your data is significant enough to act upon? Please provide
dummy tables or charts showing how you would display relevant data.
Dummy tables do not pretend to have actual data, they simply show,
for example, a bar chart with x- and y-axis labeled and dummy data to
show where actual data would be presented.
Limitations: Discuss the limitations of this proposed study (is the sample size
small, is there a lack of randomization, for example).
Implications for improving nursing care: Evaluation of the project including
impact on patient care including the QSEN Safety and Patient/Family Centered
Care competencies
References

Paper must be in APA format and must be kept within the word limit of 800-1000
words. These papers will be graded according to the rubric (on SacCT) and this
description with close attention to detail!

Turn in: Please have ONE MEMBER of your group submit on N143 SacCT site
by midnight, April 8th.

3. Professional Poster Presentation:
You will prepare a poster to be presented to your peers and faculty on the
assigned date. This poster presents the information provided in your QI
abstract.
Your poster will be reviewed and evaluated by School of Nursing faculty.
o Please print and bring to the QI poster presentations a total of 5 QI
Evaluation forms. These are posted on SacCT under Assignments on
the course website.
o You can have your poster printed on campus (for free!) or you can use a
tri-fold poster format.
o Poster should include relevant and sufficient information to act as an
invitation to discuss your proposal. Beware of the too many words
pitfall!

Presentations will take place on Monday, May 2nd.

N143 Mentoring Assignment (10 hours)

Mentoring and teaching are an integral part of the nursing profession and an
expected part of leadership development. This assignment requires you to
participate in 10 hours of mentoring a student in an earlier semester. You can meet
this requirement in one (or a mix) of three ways:
1. Through CNSA, you can mentor an incoming first semester student according to
CNSA guidelines.
2. You may work in the simulation lab or assist in the labs during skills check-offs
for 1st, 2nd or 3rd semester students.
3. You may partner with a clinical faculty member and make the first or second
day of a clinical groups first days more comfortable by being present to support
them.
See Mentorship Opportunities on SacCT:
1. Sign up for a mentorship opportunity via signupgenius or with clinical faculty per
Mentorship Opportunities file.
2. Arrive 10 minutes early with Name Tag, Lab Coat, close-toed, quiet shoes and
scrubs for skills lab, prep days, or clinical days.

Assignment Completion
1. Complete 10 hours of mentoring activities (can be any combination)
2. Get signatures for each hour you spend in mentoring activities. For CNSA first
semester student mentoring, get CNSA faculty signature AND student signature
with contact information.

Turn in: Submit completed and signed Mentorship Sheet to SacCT by midnight on
May 6th. One point will be given for each full hour completed. No late forms will be
accepted.

Leadership Paper

Creatively write about a nursing leader who greatly influenced your thoughts and
nursing practice. You may choose a formal, published and well-known nursing
leader/theorist (ex: Patricia Benner, Florence Nightingale, Clara Barton, Jean
Watson), or someone you identified during your journey through nursing school.
No more than 4 and no less than 3 pages using APA, Version 6 are required.
Use at least 2 references to support your choice; one must be from one of the class
texts and one outside of class texts.
Be sure to relate your choice to components of leadership from the course. This
paper should link your opinions about this leader to nursing leadership concepts.
Include a section regarding the elements of the nursing leader that will inform your
leadership ideology and role as a professional nurse. Give several specific
examples. For instance, you might elaborate on a statement like the following:
John Jones expressed his leadership through clear communication when he
advocated for his patients. I will do the same. For example, when a physician
asks me to do something that I think may not be in my patients best interests, I
will clearly and calmly explain my reasoning to him or her.

Crucial Conversations Book Club and Discussion

Turn in: Submit on N143 SacCT site by midnight, April 22nd

Four times during the semester you will be assigned reading from Crucial
Conversations (see weekly calendar).
Each of the four weeks you will respond to a prompt on the discussion board
that relates to that weeks reading.
In order to receive full points, you must contribute at least two thoughtful
posts.
o The first posting should be your own response to the prompt posted and
is due by midnight on the Sunday of the week the reading is assigned.
o The second posting should be a response to a posting by one of your
group members and is due by midnight on the Wednesday of the week
the reading is assigned.
The posts must reflect thoughtful reading of the assignment and your thoughts
of how it will assist (or not!) you in your future professional relationships.
Turn in: Submit on N143 SacCT group discussion site. For due dates, see
course calendar above.

Team Teaching Presentation

Leadership and management in nursing always includes teaching groups of
people; therefore, each team will have one opportunity during the semester to
teach some of the course content to their peers.
Your teaching session should last no longer than 20 minutes and should cover
the most important aspects of the chapter assigned. This means that no one
student should speak longer than 2 minutes! Be sure you practice!
o Please ask the Faculty of Record about how to narrow your topic if it
seems too complex for a 20-minute presentation! You will also have five
minutes of time for class discussion.
Teaching dates are listed on the syllabus weekly calendar and SacCT Weekly
Folders but teams may trade amongst themselves as long as they let the Faculty
of Record know at least a week ahead of time.
Grading will be according to the rubric on SacCT. Particular attention will be
paid to your teams ability to get important content covered and maintain your
peers attention throughout the presentation. Your class doesnt learn anything
if you cant keep them interested! Teaching is hard! J
My Future

Choose two professional organizations and two graduate school programs that
might meet your needs in the future. Write a few sentences about why each
might be appropriate for you.
o Do NOT say: This school of midwifery is good for me because I
want to be a midwife.
o INSTEAD say: This school of midwifery fits my needs because its
mission makes clear that they have the same philosophy for
approaching child-birth as I have, which is
Turn in: Submit on N143 SacCT site by midnight, April 26th