NURSING POSTER

NURS 6600: Capstone Synthesis Practicum

Student Support and Calendar Information

So you have all key information available to you off-line, it is highly recommended that you print the following items for your reference:

• Syllabus, including the Course Schedule, located below as a linked PDF

• Term Calendar

• Student Support

Credit Hours

5 quarter hours

Walden University assigns credit hours based on the number and type of assignments that enable students to achieve the course learning objectives. In general, each semester credit equals about 42 hours of total student work and each quarter credit equals about 28 hours of total student work. This time requirement represents an approximate average for undergraduate work and the minimum expectations for graduate work. The number and kind of activities estimated to fulfill time requirements will vary by degree level and student learning style, and by student familiarity with the delivery method and course content.

Course Description

Students in this course apply the MSN curriculum experience by translating knowledge into practice through participation in professional activities and the development of a culminating project. Students apply theory, principles, and concepts related to their area of specialization in order to enhance nursing practice and promote positive social change. Note: This course requires a minimum of 144 practicum hours.

Course Prerequisites

Students must have completed all Core Courses:

• NURS 6001: Foundations for Graduate Study

• NURS 6050: Policy and Advocacy for Improving Population Health

• NURS 6051: Transforming Nursing and Healthcare Through Technology

• NURS 6052: Essentials of Evidence-Based Practice

• NURS 6053: Interprofessional Organizational and Systems Leadership

Plus area of specialization courses:

Leadership and Management Specialization:

• NURS 6201: Leadership in Nursing and Healthcare

• NURS 6211: Finance and Economics in Healthcare Delivery

• NURS 6221: Managing Human Resources

• NURS 6231: Healthcare Systems and Quality Outcomes

• NURS 6241: Strategic Planning in Health Care Organizations

Nursing Informatics Specialization:

• NURS 6401: Informatics in Nursing and Healthcare

• NURS 6411: Information and Knowledge Management

• NURS 6421: Supporting Workflow in Healthcare Systems 

• NURS 6441: Project Management: Healthcare Information Technology

• NURS 6431: Evaluation Methods for Health Information and Technology

Course Outcomes

• Create professional development objectives for the Practicum Experience

• Apply theory as it relates to a practicum and/or practice experiences

• Apply knowledge and expertise to address a health care problem in a practicum setting

• Evaluate Practicum Experiences

• Evaluate the achievement of individualized and Practicum Project objectives

• Apply methods for disseminating outcomes of the Practicum Project

• Evaluate opportunities for continued professional growth

Son Alignment of Learner Outcomes

Click on the following link to access the SON Alignment of Learner Outcomes: NURS 6600 SON Alignment of Learner Outcomes (PDF)

Course Materials

Students will be provided the following course materials. For missing, incorrect, or damaged materials, please contact the Student Support Team. Contact information for the Student Support Team can be located in the Student Support area of the course navigation menu.

Course Text

There is no course text for this course. However, other readings (journal articles, websites, book excerpts, etc.) are assigned throughout the course and may be found within each week and within the Course Schedule.

Course Readings List

The Course Readings List contains all of the required Walden Library resources for this course. Please click on the following link to access the list: NURS 6600 Course Readings List

Media

Assigned course media elements may be found in one or more weeks of the course and are available via a streaming media player or a hyperlink to the individual item.

Course Schedule

For full assignment details and directions, refer to each week.

All assignments are due by 11:59 p.m. Mountain Time (MT) on the day assigned (which is 1:59 a.m. Eastern Time (ET) the next day). The time stamp in the classroom will reflect Eastern Time (ET), regardless of your time zone. As long as your submission time stamp is no later than 1:59 a.m. Eastern Time (ET), you have submitted on time.

Click the following link to access the Course Schedule: NURS 6600 Course Schedule (PDF)

Course Calendar

A printable course calendar is located in the Term Calendar area of the course navigation menu.

Dedicated Support for Course Media

You may use the following e-mail address and toll-free number for any questions or concerns you have about media in the course.

E-mail: [email protected]

Phone: 1-877-238-2963

Primary and Secondary Sources

Review the following information prior to selecting resources for assignments.

Primary: A primary source is an original document that is the first account of what happened. A research report is primary, and you can tell because it includes materials and methods demonstrating how the research was done. Some creative work is also primary, such as poetry, novels, and interviews of people who experienced something firsthand. In nursing, which is an evidence-based discipline, we strive to use primary research that is published in scholarly, peer-reviewed journals.

Scholarly, peer-reviewed journal: Scholarly journals publish papers by professional authors and experts in the field using a peer-review process to review the work and assure quality before publishing. The focus of a scholarly journal is to provide accurate information for scholars and other researchers. The focus is on content rather than advertising, a direct contrast to popular media. Scholarly journals publish both primary and secondary papers, the former usually noted as original research and the latter as reviews and commentaries. Letters to the editor may also be published but should be recognized as opinion pieces.

Note: When selecting articles for course assignments, you are advised (unless you are referencing seminal information) to focus on work published within the past five years.

Secondary: A secondary source is one step removed from the original source. This work interprets and often compiles other work, and it includes review articles, textbooks, fact sheets, and commentaries about a topic. It also includes news reports of original research. Secondary work is more prone to error and bias than primary work because it is being filtered through an additional person or persons. Review papers can be useful to glean information about a topic and to find other sources from the reference list, but it is the original, primary research that should be relied on most heavily in demonstrating scholarship, depth, and validation of factual information.

Course Assignments

1. Participation in weekly Discussions: The exchange of ideas among colleagues engaged in scholarly inquiry is a key aspect of learning and is a requisite activity in this course. You are expected to participate each week by posting a response to a prompt or question in the weekly Discussion area. Discussion topics/questions are provided in the Discussion area under each weekly button. In addition, you are expected to respond to your fellow students’ postings. To count as participation, responses need to be thoughtful; that is, they must refer to the week’s readings, relevant issues in the news, information obtained from other sources, and/or ideas expressed in the postings of other class members. You may ask questions or offer further information or links about the subject. Please pay attention to grammar and spelling, as consistently poorly written posts will receive grade penalties. In grading the required Discussion postings, your Instructor will be using the Formative Evaluative Criteria for Discussion Board Assignments rubric located in the Course Information area of the course navigation menu.
   Note: Unless otherwise noted, initial postings to Discussions are due on or before Day 3, and response postings are due on or before Day 6. You are required to participate in the Discussion on at least three different days. It is important to adhere to the weekly time frame to allow others ample time to respond to your posting. In addition, you are expected to respond to questions directed toward your own initial posting in a timely manner.

2. Application Assignments: The Application Assignments provide you with the opportunity to apply the skills and knowledge gained through the Learning Resources. See the Assignment area of specific weeks for detailed descriptions of the assignments. In grading the required Application Assignments, your Instructor will be using rubrics located in the Course Information area of the course navigation menu.

3. Practicum Journal/Time Log: This course includes a 144-hour practicum. The practicum is an active learning experience that provides you with the opportunity to apply your nursing knowledge in a community or public health setting. You will apply the concepts and skills that you are acquiring in NURS 6600 with guidance from your Instructor under the direction of a mentor. The practicum is a minimum of 144 hours.
   Students must keep a log of the time they spend related to their practicum experience.  Time Logs are accessed from the Welcome Page of the Meditreck Account. Hours must be inputted daily throughout the term and are reviewed by the instructor in Weeks 3, 7, and 11.

Grading Criteria and Total Components of a Grade

Course grades will be based on participation (postings) and completion of assignments listed below.

Grading Scale

Letter grades will be assigned as follows:

Please see below for the policy on Incomplete (I) grades.

Important Note: This course contains weighted grading. Assignments are weighted differently depending on their type. The total points achieved for each assignment will be weighted based on the percentage values noted in the Weighted Total (%) column of the table that follows.

* Each Discussion requires that you make one initial posting and at least two response postings to colleagues. See the Formative Evaluative Criteria for Discussion Board Assignments Rubric for posting details.

Incomplete Grade Policy

Per University policy, Incomplete grades can be granted only to students who have already met the minimum criteria for active weekly participation in a course (including weekly postings in online courses) and have completed at least 80% of other coursework. Incompletes can be awarded when, because of extenuating circumstances, a student has not met additional course requirements, including but not limited to written assignments, group projects, and research papers, as applicable. All Incomplete grades are awarded at the discretion of the course faculty. (Reproduced from the Student Catalog)

Students who are eligible for an Incomplete must contact the course Faculty Member to request the grade as soon as possible. Students who do not meet the criteria listed above will not be allowed to earn an Incomplete. If the Incomplete is approved, the Faculty Member will work with the student to outline the due date(s) for remaining work. Under no circumstances will the new due dates extend beyond 50 days from the last day of the term. Faculty will then have 10 days to assess the work and post the permanent grade before the University-allotted Incomplete time limit of 60 days expires. All Incomplete grades not resolved within the time allotted will convert to permanent grades of F.

Instructor Feedback Schedule

The Instructor will log in to the course during the week to monitor the weekly Discussion area. Feedback will be provided via comments in the My Grades area, the Discussion area, and/or the Announcements page.

You can expect your weekly assignment grades to be posted within 10 calendar days of a due date. Instructor feedback and explanation is provided whenever full credit is not achieved. Depending on the nature of the feedback, Instructor responses may be posted to the Discussion area or included in the My Grades area. The goal of your Instructor is to act as a discussion and learning facilitator rather than a lecturer. The Instructor will not respond to every posting by every individual, so please feel free to ask your Instructor if you would like some personal feedback on a particular assignment posting or any time you have any questions regarding your assignments or your grade.

Course Procedures

All class Discussions take place in the weekly Discussion areas.

You are encouraged to post course-related questions to the Contact the Instructor area of the course navigation menu, as they may be of interest to all; however, if your question is urgent, it is often best to e-mail the Instructor. If your e-mailed question is thought to be of benefit to all, it may be responded to by the Instructor via e-mail to all or posted as an announcement.

Instructor feedback on content and writing issues that is thought to be of benefit to the entire class may be posted to the Contact the Instructor area; however, most personal critique will be done privately in the My Grades area. Be sure to check the My Grades area for comments every week, even if you received full credit.

Please feel free to use the Class Café to initiate and participate in conversations not directly related to the course. This is an excellent opportunity to get to know other students better. The Instructor will browse theClass Café occasionally, but generally will not respond to conversations posted there unless students have specific questions for him or her.

Check the e-mail account you use for official Walden University business on a regular basis. The expectation is that you are checking this e-mail account daily during the week. If you experience difficulty sending or receiving Walden e-mail, please contact the Student Support Team right away. Contact information for the Student Support Team is located in the Student Support area of the course navigation menu.

Review all materials in the Course Information area, as well as the materials contained under each of the weekly buttons. Please note: There may be Optional Readings located within the Learning Resources section of each week in the course. You are encouraged to explore these readings as needed in order to enhance your understanding of the course content.

Preferred Methods for Delivering Assignments

Be sure that you post to the correct Discussion area each week. Do not e-mail postings to the Instructor. For all initial Discussion postings, make sure that the first sentence of your posting reads Main Question Post. For your responses to others’ response postings, make sure that the first sentence of your response readsResponse. These actions will ensure easily identifiable subject lines for your postings and responses.

Application Assignments are submitted and named according to the week in which the Assignment is submitted. Directions for naming each Application Assignment are included in each week’s Assignment area. Please be sure that all written Application Assignments are saved and submitted as “.doc” files.

All e-mail correspondence must contain in the subject line “NURS 6600-XX-NAME” (XX is the section number) followed by a brief description of the subject. This subject line convention ensures that your e-mail will be easily identified and responded to in a timely manner. It is required that the e-mail contain a signature that matches the official name used in the course.

Late Assignment Policy

Students are expected to submit assignments by the due dates noted in the course. In extenuating circumstances, such as illness, the student must contact the Instructor as soon as possible to discuss the situation. In those circumstances, faculty will determine the appropriate course of action for the student. Depending on the situation, these actions may include recommendations to drop the course (if within the University drop/withdrawal period), acceptance of some or all of the overdue assignments with or without penalties, or refusal to accept assignments.

Assignments submitted late without prior agreement of the Instructor, outside of an emergency absence, or in violation of agreements for late submission, will receive a grade reduction for the assignment amounting up to 20%. After 5 days, the assignment will not be graded. Students should be aware that late assignments may not receive the same level of written feedback as do assignments submitted on time.

Keeping Your Course Work

You will have access to the course and your coursework from the course start date until 60 days after the course ends. After this time, you will no longer be able to access the course or related materials. For this reason, we strongly recommend that you retain copies of your completed assignments and any documents you wish to keep. The University is not responsible for lost or missing coursework.

Course Evaluation

At or near the end of the course, you will receive an e-mail inviting you to submit an online evaluation of the course and instruction. All submitted course evaluations are confidential, and only aggregate data and comments will be shared with the Instructor and Program Director. Your feedback is vitally important to Walden University in its efforts to continuously improve programs.

Classroom Participation

In accordance with U.S. Department of Education guidance regarding class participation, Walden University requires that all students submit at least one of their required Week 1 assignments (which includes posting to the Discussion Board) within each course(s) during the first 7 calendar days of class. For courses with two-week units, posting to the Discussion Board by Day 7 meets this requirement. The first calendar day of class is the official start date of the course as posted on your myWalden academic page.

Assignments submitted prior to the official start date will not count toward your participation. 

Financial Aid cannot be released without class participation as defined above. 

Students who are taking their first class with Walden and do not submit at least one of their required Week 1 assignments (or at least one Discussion post) by the end of the 7th day will be administratively withdrawn from the university.

Students who have already taken and successfully completed at least one or more class(es) with Walden, and who do not participate within the first 7 days, will be dropped from that class.

If you have any questions about your assignments, or you are unable to complete your assignments, please contact your Faculty Member.