In this assignment, students will pull together the capstone project change proposal components they have been working on throughout the course to create a proposal inclusive of sections for each content focus area in the course. For this project, the student will apply evidence-based research steps and processes required as the foundation to address a clinically oriented problem or issue in future practice.
Develop a 1,250-1,500 written project that includes the following information as it applies to the problem, issue, suggestion, initiative, or educational need profiled in the capstone change proposal:
1) Background
2) Clinical problem statement.
3) Purpose of the change proposal in relation to providing patient care in the changing health care system.
4) PICOT question.
5) Literature search strategy employed.
6) Evaluation of the literature.
7) Applicable change or nursing theory utilized.
8) Proposed implementation plan with outcome measures.
9)Discussion of how evidence-based practice was used in creating the intervention plan.
10) Plan for evaluating the proposed nursing intervention.
11) Identification of potential barriers to plan implementation, and a discussion of how these could be overcome.
12) Appendix section, if tables, graphs, surveys, educational materials, etc. are created.
13) Review the feedback from your instructor on the Topic 3 assignment, PICOT Question Paper, and Topic 6 assignment, Literature Review. Use this feedback to make appropriate revisions to these before submitting.
Prepare this assignment according to the guidelines found in the APA Style Guide, located in the Student Success Center. An abstract is not required.
This assignment uses a rubric. Please review the rubric prior to beginning the assignment to become familiar with the expectations for successful completion.
You are required to submit this assignment to LopesWrite. Refer to the LopesWrite Technical Support articles for assistance.
Benchmark Information
This benchmark assignment assesses the following programmatic competencies:
RN to BSN
1.1: Exemplify professionalism in diverse health care settings.
2.2: Comprehend nursing concepts and health theories.
3.2: Implement patient care decisions based on evidence-based practice.
Benchmark – Capstone Change Project Objectives
Benchmark – Capstone Change Project Objectives
Introduction
Autonomy and social justice of diverse populations are two major achievements that nursing practice should support. As part of society, nursing has a social responsibility to provide care to diverse patients, individuals, families, communities, and populations (Varkey, 2021). Quality care should ensure patients’ safety and positive outcomes. The concept of social justice and autonomy are elements of quality care. Components of autonomy include legal recognition of the practice, control of the education of the practitioners of nursing, and development of standards of practice and a code of ethics (Varkey, 2021). The practicum project is about enhancing handwashing practices among healthcare professionals to improve the quality of care as well as prevent hospital-acquired infections. The paper identities project objectives as well as how these objectives advocate for social justice and autonomy for individuals and diverse populations.
Objectives
- To promote adherence to proper and frequent handwashing among healthcare providers.
The intervention will improve proper and frequent handwashing because it involves education and reinforcement of these guidelines. Close monitoring will be kept to ensure adherence is maintained.
- To demonstrate effective handwashing within the organization.
During the education, the educator will demonstrate to the participants how to perform proper handwashing. There are techniques of handwashing that all healthcare providers must demonstrate on daily basis at the workplace.
- To increase awareness regarding the importance of proper and frequent hand handwashing.
First, staff will be educated regarding proper handwashing techniques as well as the importance of frequent handwashing. Therefore, awareness will increase, among care providers, regarding the issue.
- To reduce incidences of hospital-acquired infections due to contaminated hands.
The primary problem in the hospital is the lack of proper and frequent handwashing, which is often associated with increased hospital-acquired infections. Therefore, it is expected that these infections will reduce when adherence to proper and frequent handwashing improves.
- To improve supervision and leadership at the departmental level.
After the staff education, the guidelines will be reinforced by assigning departmental leaders supervisory roles to ensure adherence. This situation will improve supervision and leadership at the departmental level.
How findings relate to the topic and proposed intervention
The proposed topic of this study is hand washing and hygiene. The proposed project intervention is education and clinical supervision to enhance hand hygiene among healthcare providers. The problem identified in the long-term acute care hospital is the lack of proper and frequent hand washing by nurses and physicians. The detailed examination of findings of handwashing indicates that it promotes patient safety and outcomes (Damayanti, 2020). Handwashing by healthcare providers is an evidence-based solution to many healthcare problems. Nurses and physicians are often encouraged to wash their hands frequently and appropriately to improve safety. Hands should be washed with soap and running water for about 20 to 30 seconds (Damayanti, 2020). Many infections between patients in healthcare occur through the contaminated hands of healthcare providers. Therefore, hand washing prevents hospital-acquired infections.
Findings also indicate that staff training increases knowledge or awareness, which in turn improves effectiveness. Staff training can increase their awareness regarding handwashing and hygiene leading to improved quality of care. Guidelines provide evidence-based information and influence on handwashing practices (Gwarzo, 2018). However, the successful implementation of recommendations requires additional strategies, including educational interventions, to ensure that guidelines are translated into daily practice and become part of healthcare workers’ core competencies. In that regard, even reinforcement is appropriate to ensure the guidelines are adhered to (Gwarzo, 2018). Education should cover a wide range of activities and may be delivered in different places and channels such as continuing education, curricula for nursing students, or meetings of professional bodies and in-service sessions in healthcare facilities for existing and new staff.
Educating healthcare providers about handwashing and hygiene can take place through oral presentation, demonstration, and interactive learning. In an oral presentation, the educator presents the topic through a traditional lecture. In a demonstration, the educator practically shows the procedure of hand washing to the care providers (Gwarzo, 2018). Additionally, visual demonstrations of the effectiveness of handwashing can be helpful. Regarding interactive learning, the trainee builds up knowledge starting from a specific question and by establishing links. This can be facilitated through e-learning and has been successfully used to improve hand hygiene.
Other findings of organizational leadership also support the project topic and intervention. According to Shim et al. (2019), there is a strong correlation between leaders and followers regarding hand hygiene compliance within the same departments. This suggests that leadership plays a major role in handwashing performance among healthcare providers. In their study, 1 found out that hand hygiene compliance was significantly higher among the senior residents than others because they had received more hand hygiene education. This finding supports the aspect of educating healthcare providers before reinforcing the guidelines (Shim et al., 2019). Leaders make monthly objectives to guide daily activities. They also keep ongoing engagement with other care providers.
How do the proposed project and objectives advocate for autonomy and social justice for individuals, and diverse populations?
The proposed project advocates for autonomy and social justice in one way or the other. The evolutions of the concept of autonomy can be traced back to ancient Greece when cities defended the ideologies of sovereignty and freedom from interference by foreign powers. Therefore, autonomy implied self-determination, self-rule, and self-ownership (Varkey, 2021). The Principle of autonomy is applicable in a clinical setting and well as research and other aspects of healthcare. In every setting, participants must be allowed the opportunity to make individual decisions to participate or not. In this proposed project, participants (healthcare providers) will be allowed to decide whether or not they will participate in this project (Varkey, 2021). Those whose wishes are against participating will be left out of the project.
This proposed project advocates for autonomy by providing sufficient information including staff education to all participants. Informed consent is an element of the principle of autonomy. To enhance autonomy, the patient (participants in this case) must be provided with adequate information regarding the entire process, the purpose of the interventions, benefits, and possible risks (Varkey, 2021). This proposed project advocates for providing adequate information through staff education to enhance autonomy. Before, engaging in the real project, participants will sign consent to show that they voluntarily participated in the process. Autonomy requires that the subject must be competent to understand and decide, receive full disclosure, comprehend the disclosure, act voluntarily, and consent for the proposed action (Varkey, 2021). This project does not have any form of luring participants into the process because their decision should be fully independent.
Additionally, this proposed capstone project also advocates for social justice for diverse people. According to Varkey (2021), justice is interpreted as fair, equitable, and appropriate treatment of individuals. This project advocate for justice because it does not discriminate against people but is open to all nurses and physicians within the hospital. All nurses and physicians have equal chances of participating, regardless of age, ethnicity, race, or disability. All the benefits and resources associated with this project will be distributed fairly and equally. For example, educational resources will be provided equally among the participants (Varkey, 2021). Also, continued engagement with every single individual will be fair. The reinforcement process and experience will be fair across all the participants. No one will be handled more harshly than the other on normal ground. The handwashing points will be accessible to everyone, including people with disabilities to ensure the principle of justice is upheld. The purpose of the proposed project also advocates for justice. Washing hands properly and frequently brings good to every patient and healthcare provider (Varkey, 2021). It is a way of ensuring everyone gets the quality care they deserve. Also, it ensures that all patients and healthcare providers remain safe.
Conclusion
The concept of social justice and autonomy are elements of quality care. The proposed project intervention is education and clinical supervision to enhance handwashing and hygiene among healthcare providers. Many infections between patients in healthcare occur through the contaminated hands of healthcare providers. The proposed project advocates for autonomy and social justice. Autonomy implies self-determination, self-rule, and self-ownership. This project advocate for justice because it does not discriminate against people but is open to all nurses and physicians within the hospital. The paper identified project objectives as well as how these objectives advocate for social justice and autonomy for individuals and diverse populations.
References
Damayanti, V. (2020). The Effectiveness of Hand Washing Training Based on Kirkpatrick’s Theory on Nurses. European Journal of Molecular & Clinical Medicine, 7(5), 392-397. https://ejmcm.com/article_2880.html
Gwarzo, G. D. (2018). Hand hygiene practice among healthcare workers in a public hospital in North-Western Nigeria. Nigerian Journal of Basic and Clinical Sciences, 15(2), 109. https://doi.org/10.4103/njbcs.njbcs_40_17
Shim, J. Y., Park, S., Kim, G. E., Jeong, Y. S., Kim, J. H., Lee, E., … & Park, S. Y. (2019, June). Does physician leadership influence followers’ hand hygiene compliance?. In Open forum infectious diseases (Vol. 6, No. 6, p. ofz236). US: Oxford University Press. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6590979/
Varkey, B. (2021). Principles of clinical ethics and their application to practice. Medical Principles and Practice, 30(1), 17-28. https://doi.org/10.1159/000509119