Capstone Project and Practicum Introduction
In this assignment, you will discuss your capstone project in detail. You also need to list at least three individual behavioral objectives (using verbs that can be measured) that are based on your overall objectives for this course as well as your population or problem of interest. (This assignment will seem similar to one from NSG7200 course. You are being asked to introduce your project again since you may have a new instructor and/or classmates. This will provide them with a frame of reference for your work.)
By the end of this course, you will:
- Critically appraise the evidence related to a given subject and its application to current nursing standards and patient safety.
- Evaluate multiple methods for quality improvement.
Briefly describe your preceptor and his or her academic qualifications and experience and provide a brief description of the practicum site. Describe your population or problem of interest and the challenges issues or concerns you might have about investigating this topic. What objectives have you set and how do you plan to meet these objectives? How are your practicum methods supported by evidence-based practice?
Each week, you will be retrieving various articles pertaining to your population or problem of interest. In Week 1, you will be introducing your capstone project. In Weeks 2–8, you will find articles (or evidence) that support various areas of your topic.
Write your initial response in 300–500 words.
Sample Answer
Use of the ASQ Toolkit in the Prevention of Suicide Among Young Adults
Brief description of my preceptor
My preceptor is Sandra R. Pelaez-Munsey, Psychiatric Nurse Practitioner, DNP, PMHNP. Dr. Sandra has been described by her peers as genuine, practical, and direct, with a good sense of humor (CHG psychiatry, n.d.). She has extensive experience in the fields of geriatric mental health, ADD/ADHD, bipolar disorder, and anxiety disorders. She also performs psychiatric evaluations, handles medication management, and, if necessary, offers solution-focused psychotherapeutic interventions grounded in cognitive behavioral therapy, dialectical behavioral therapy, and motivational interviewing.
Her approach to mental health care as a psychiatric NP is holistic and patient-centered. She encourages her patients to take an active role in their treatment and care while respecting their autonomy (CHG psychiatry, n.d.). In her line of work, she treats children, adolescents, and adults with a wide range of psychiatric symptoms and stressors, and she employs evidence-based treatments to improve self-efficacy and restore a sense of equilibrium. Her ten years of practice as a board-certified psychiatric nurse practitioner will ensure I gain the knowledge, skills, and psychosocial support I need as a preceptee.
Brief description of the practicum site
The practicum site where I will conduct my DNP project is Coastal Health Group Inc., an interdisciplinary facility in Miami dedicated to community wellness. Coastal Health Group Inc. was established in 2019 by Sandra Pelaez-Munsey, PMHNP-BC, APRN (CHG psychiatry, n.d.). Dr. Sandra’s goal in opening her practice was to provide a comfortable space where patients could feel safe discussing their mental health concerns with trained professionals and making progress toward their goals.
Coastal Health Group Inc offers high-quality, personalized mental health care. The organization takes a holistic approach to mental health care by offering clients conventional, alternative, and complementary therapies (CHG psychiatry, n.d.). In addition to psychiatric evaluations and medication management, the clinic also offers brief psychotherapy. Furthmore, the clinic has an in-house therapist to provide additional care.
Brief description of my population and problem of interest
Suicide is the leading cause of death among adolescents and young adults in the United States, yet due to various reasons, many people at risk go unnoticed and do not receive critical mental health care. Surprisingly, most of these patients will have seen their primary care physician within the year preceding their suicide attempt or death (Miron et al., 2019). This is why primary care providers are uniquely positioned to promote the identification and referral of patients at risk for suicide.
Clinicians can more accurately identify patients with suicide ideation and in need of further intervention by using suicide risk screening tools that have been validated for use in a clinical setting and with young people (Kessler et al., 2019). One such tool is the Ask Suicide-Screening Questions (ASQ) Toolkit developed by the National Health Institute of Mental Health (NIMH). This evidence-based screening tool can help primary care providers identify patients at risk of suicidal ideation and manage those who test positive. My DNP project seeks to determine whether the ASQ tool can be used as an effective screening tool for young medical patients to assist in suicide prevention and to examine why nurses should be well-trained on how to use the toolkit.
The objectives I have set and how I plan to meet them
The behavioral objectives for my DNP project include the following:
- Evaluating NPs’ use of the ASQ toolkit to detect patients at risk of suicide;
- Educating NPs on how to conduct suicide risk screening using the ASQ toolkit and when and how to intervene
- Guiding NPs through the screening and assessment process
Although the ASQ toolkit was developed with input from researchers and industry experts, its efficacy and simplicity have yet to be demonstrated. More research studies will reveal whether the toolkit improves the frequency and quality of suicide screening, helps identify those at risk for suicide, and links at-risk patients with necessary services (Kessler et al., 2019). To that end, I will educate the participants on the methodology underlying the toolkit’s suicide risk screening, provide illustrative examples of how to conduct the screening at the point of care, and describe the results. Following the education intervention, I will administer a post-intervention survey adapted from Erbuto et al. (2021) to see if the intervention improved the participants’ knowledge and utility of the tool. A statistical analysis of the pre-and post-intervention survey data will determine whether the educational intervention was successful, providing evidence for wider implementation in primary care so that suicidal patients can be identified and referred to psychiatric services sooner.
References
CHG psychiatry. (n.d.). Psychiatry: Coastal Health Group Inc.: Miami. chgpsychiatry.com. Retrieved October 27, 2022, from https://www.chgpsychiatry.com/meet-the-team
CHG psychiatry. (n.d.). Psychiatry: Coastal Health Group Inc.: Miami. chgpsychiatry.com. Retrieved October 27, 2022, from https://www.chgpsychiatry.com/sandrapelaezmunsey
Kessler, R. C., Bossarte, R. M., Luedtke, A., Zaslavsky, A. M., & Zubizarreta, J. R. (2019). Suicide prediction models: A critical review of recent research with recommendations for the way forward. Molecular Psychiatry, 25(1), 168–179. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41380-019-0531-0
Miron, O., Yu, K.-H., Wilf-Miron, R., & Kohane, I. S. (2019). Suicide rates among adolescents and young adults in the United States, 2000-2017. JAMA, 321(23), 2362. https://doi.org/10.1001/jama.2019.5054
