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1. N 599: Hospital Education Department Paper
N 599: Hospital Education Department Paper ON N 599: Hospital Education Department
PaperCapstone projects are intended to be of an applied and pragmatic nature, with the
hope that the outcome/findings will be of value to you personally and to the nursing
profession. Your topic need not be aligned according to traditional functional areas of
nursing activity and may assume a variety of formats. Ideas for capstone projects may
include, but are not limited to:Curriculum design and developmentCurriculum
implementation and evaluationIntegrated review of the literatureDesign a quality
improvement change projectGrant proposalPolicy, project or procedural development,
implementation and or outcomeJournal articleSystematic analysis of healthcare system in
another geographic regionDevelop or revise an existing business or marketing plan within a
nursing or healthcare organizationWhere do I begin? In order to focus your activities on the
development of your capstone project proposal. You will need to develop a framework or
structure within which you can target the subject or topic that you choose to use as the
focus for your capstone proposal and project. From our experience in working with
participants in previous capstone style projects, one of the best approaches we have seen
which can assist with this task is to generate a series of questions which are intended to
move you from a more general to specific topical or subject focus.What is my proposed
subject or topic and why is this subject or topic of interest to me? Exploring and
investigating a specific subject may be of interest to you professionally in your current
occupational or organization setting. Clearly the topical area is of your choosing and you
should consider a subject that may address not only a real-life nursing problem or issue but,
if possible, one with which you can identify and which perhaps offer some personal interest
and motivation. N 599: Hospital Education Department PaperWhat issues, factors, elements,
or other parameters should be considered in researching a topic? Using the powers of
deductive reasoning, you can move from a more general to a more specific focus on your
topic. Some preliminary thought and investigation given to searching for a topic even before
you begin your formal project formulation can greatly assist in the definition process.Do I
have the necessary commitment needed within the organization in which I wish to conduct
my research activity? If you are considering investigating or researching existing nursing
problems or issues within an organization, it is important that you determine at the outset
whether the organization will give you the access to resources and information within the
organization that will permit you to focus on the problem or issue that you have selected.Do
I have the necessary approval needed within the organization in which I wish to conduct my

2. research activity? The ethical conduct of research requires protection of human subjects.
Aspen University adheres to the guidelines and policies set forth by the U.S. Department of
Health and Human Services. Even though a formal research endeavor is not required for a
capstone project, many projects may include activities that meet the federal definition of
research involving human subjects. If human subjects are involved, the research may
require approval from an Institutional Review Board (IRB) to ensure the protection of
human subjects. Many healthcare organizations have an IRB, and any proposed research
involving human subjects must first meet with their approval. The
institutional/organizational IRB approval letter must be included with the proposal
submission.Does my proposed project require IRB approval? Not all research projects
require IRB approval. Per the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services “ research
activities in which the only involvement of human subjects will be in one or more of the
following categories are exempt from this policy”:(1) Research conducted in established or
commonly accepted educational settings, involving normal educational practices, such as ( i
) research on regular and special education instructional strategies, or (ii) research on the
effectiveness of or the comparison among instructional techniques, curricula, or classroom
management methods. N 599: Hospital Education Department Paper(2) Research involving
the use of educational tests (cognitive, diagnostic, aptitude, achievement), survey
procedures, interview procedures or observation of public behavior, unless:( i ) information
obtained is recorded in such a manner that human subjects can be identified, directly or
through identifiers linked to the subjects; and (ii) any disclosure of the human subjects’
responses outside the research could reasonably place the subjects at risk of criminal or
civil liability or be damaging to the subjects’ financial standing, employability, or
reputation.(3) Research involving the use of educational tests (cognitive, diagnostic,
aptitude, achievement), survey procedures, interview procedures, or observation of public
behavior, if:( i ) the human subjects are elected or appointed public officials or candidates
for public office; or (ii) federal statute(s) require(s) without exception that the
confidentiality of the personally identifiable information will be maintained throughout the
research and thereafter.(4) Research involving the collection or study of existing data,
documents, records, pathological specimens, or diagnostic specimens, if these sources are
publicly available or if the information is recorded by the investigator in such a manner that
subjects cannot be identified, directly or through identifiers linked to the subjects.(5)
Research and demonstration projects which are conducted by or subject to the approval of
department or agency heads, and which are designed to study, evaluate, or otherwise
examine: ( i ) Public benefit or service programs; (ii) procedures for obtaining benefits or
services under those programs; (iii) possible changes in or alternatives to those programs
or procedures; or (iv) possible changes in methods or levels of payment for benefits or
services under those programs.(6) Taste and food quality evaluation and consumer
acceptance studies, ( i ) if wholesome foods without additives are consumed or (ii) if a food
is consumed that contains a food ingredient at or below the level and for a use found to be
safe, or agricultural chemical or environmental contaminant at or below the level found to
be safe, by the Food and Drug Administration or approved by the Environmental Protection
Agency or the Food Safety and Inspection Service of the U.S. Department of Agriculture.Your

3. Capstone mentor/instructor will help you to determine if your Capstone Project is exempt
from IRB approval. If IRB approval is required, it must be obtained from the organization
with which you will conduct your research, or an outside source.What can you learn from
information, analyses, and outcomes from previous studies and project documentation that
you have been able to locate during your topical search? Although you can (sometimes)
assume that the problem or issue that you have selected for your project is in some way
unique or previously unexplored, history has taught us that you can learn from the past
experience of others who have faced similar if not identical problems or issues. An in-depth
analysis of the literature will help you refine your topic and guide the proposed
analysis.Have you discussed your project ideas and topic with your colleagues, managers, or
trusted friends? We are all familiar with the expression that “two heads are better than
one”. Discussion of your proposed topic with respected colleagues or friends is, in our
experience, always beneficial. 2. Develop a proposal based on the Capstone proposal
template.When you have chosen a topic and received approval from your capstone mentor,
you can proceed to complete the capstone proposal template. The template is designed to
guide you through specific steps that will become the blueprint to follow for the rest of your
project.Project TitleWrite the name of your project.Project DescriptionThis should be a half
page to a page detailed description of what exactly your project is.Project RationaleTwo to
three paragraphs stating the need for, and justification of, selecting this project. Who will
benefit and how will they benefit from this project (not including yourself)? What is the
significance of the project, and how will it advance nursing science?Personal/Professional
ExpectationsTwo to three paragraphs on what you hope to gain from this project, both
professionally and personally.Project GoalsSuccinctly describe the long-and short-term
goals of your project. This may include a research question or hypothesis, depending upon
the major objectives of the project. N 599: Hospital Education Department PaperAnalysis of
the LiteratureYour proposal should also include a brief review of the existing research on
your topic and a discussion comparing this research to your project focus. How will your
proposed research meet the gaps in existing nursing knowledge? this The proposal should
address how you plan to review the existing literature, what sources you plan to
use.ProcedureThis is the major section of your proposal, and includes a step-by-step
description of how you intend to carry out your project. It includes a discussion of how you
intend to meet your goals, including resources you will need, where you intend to find them,
and an estimated timeline of how long each step will take.EvaluationHalf a page to a page on
how your project is to be evaluated. Is your healthcare organization/academic setting going
to evaluate it? How? Community evaluation? What specifically will make your project a
success, both to you and to others?3. Refine your proposal based on input from your
capstone mentor/instructor.This step can be accomplished through submissions to the
dropbox until the capstone mentor/instructor is satisfied that all requirements for the
proposal have been met. At this time the proposal can be approved for formal
acknowledgement that it is complete in all aspects.As a professional courtesy, your
mentor/instructor will review developing iterations of sections of your capstone paper that
you submit in dropboxes weekly. Your instructor will review them only once, so no re-
writes will be graded. You are wise to submit them for review throughout the course so you

4. are writing to the requirements of the complete capstone paper which is due in Module 7.
No re-submission is allowed for the Module 7, as you are offered formative help throughout
the course. In other words, you must pass the Module 7 assignment, but are giving help
writing it throughout the course.Schedule a call with your mentor/instructor for additional
clarification.N 599: Hospital Education Department Paper