NHS8050 Preparing for the Professional Doctorate in Nursing and Health Sciences
Unit 1 Discussion
PhD Versus Professional Doctorate
For this discussion, consider the trends in the field of education and health care.
In your initial post:
Provide your own scholarly assessment of the differences between a PhD and professional doctorate.
Express your opinion about why professional doctorates may be gaining ground in the marketplace now.
Note your own current skill sets and how a professional doctorate may help you meet your own career goals.
Post according to the Faculty Expectations Response Guidelines. Be sure to include at least one APA-formatted citation (in-text plus full reference). The citation should be from materials you have read during this unit. It may be from course textbooks, assigned readings, or an outside source.
NHS8050 Preparing for the Professional Doctorate in Nursing and Health Sciences
Unit 2 Discussion
Evidence-Based Practice
Review the unit readings and complete your own research. In your initial post:
Discuss what EBP means in your field.
Assess the move toward evidence-based efforts across the health care and public health environments.
Compare and contrast the application of qualitative methods versus quantitative methods in the movement toward EBP.
Post according to the Faculty Expectations Response Guidelines. Be sure to include at least one APA-formatted citation (in-text plus full reference). The citation should be from materials you have read during this unit. It may be from course textbooks, assigned readings, or an outside source.
NHS8050 Preparing for the Professional Doctorate in Nursing and Health Sciences
Unit 3 Discussion
Project Topics
Note: Please complete this discussion before completing the assignment in this unit.
In this discussion, you will prepare for the assignment in this unit.
In your initial post:
Provide at least two possible topics you are considering for the course project.
Compare and contrast the two topics.
Discuss why each might be an important topic for a doctoral project.
Provide your thoughts on the value each topic might bring to an organization if you pursued it.
Post according to the Faculty Expectations Response Guidelines. Be sure to include at least one APA-formatted citation (in-text plus full reference). The citation should be from materials you have read during this unit. It may be from course textbooks, assigned readings, or an outside source.
NHS8050 Preparing for the Professional Doctorate in Nursing and Health Sciences
Unit 4 Discussion
The Specifics of Your Research
With your proposed gap and topic identified, begin to search the databases available in the Capella library. Determine search terms you will use to search the databases.
In your initial post, describe your project topic for this course and discuss what you found helpful as you began to research it.
What databases were helpful to you?
What types of search terms did you use?
What types of limiters did you consider?
Post according to the Faculty Expectations Response Guidelines. Be sure to include at least one APA-formatted citation (in-text plus full reference). The citation should be from materials you have read during this unit. It may be from course textbooks, assigned readings, or an outside source.
NHS8050 Preparing for the Professional Doctorate in Nursing and Health Sciences
Unit 5 Discussion
Levels of Evidence
Think about your own project topic for this course. In your initial post, discuss the three different levels of evidence you could apply to your own paper in this course.
What are the levels of evidence used in the peer-reviewed articles that you found?
Are there white papers or opinion papers on your topic?
Is there an industry expert you could consult?
What did you find that is not evidence based, but could be appropriate?
Provide your findings for all three levels of evidence.
Post according to the Faculty Expectations Response Guidelines. Be sure to include at least one APA-formatted citation (in-text plus full reference). The citation should be from materials you have read during this unit. It may be from course textbooks, assigned readings, or an outside source.
NHS8050 Preparing for the Professional Doctorate in Nursing and Health Sciences
Unit 6 Discussion
Analyzing a Research Article
Note: Please complete this discussion before completing the assignment in this unit.
For this discussion, select one of the peer-reviewed articles you included in your evidence table for the Unit 5 assignment.
In your initial post:
Cite the article and provide your own analysis of it. Use the general outline for analyzing a research article from the Analyze Results page (link given in the resources).
State why this specific article is important to your course project.
Post according to the Faculty Expectations Response Guidelines. Be sure to include at least one APA-formatted citation (in-text plus full reference). The citation should be from materials you have read during this unit. It may be from course textbooks, assigned readings, or an outside source.
NHS8050 Preparing for the Professional Doctorate in Nursing and Health Sciences
Unit 7 Discussion
Health Care Improvement
Review the "How to Study Improvement Interventions: A Brief Overview of Possible Study Types" article on health care improvement.
In your initial post:
Provide a synopsis of ways an improvement focus might be useful in bringing evidence to your practice.
Discuss if your own project might work as an improvement project. How do you see improvement ideas integrated into your own work?
Post according to the Faculty Expectations Response Guidelines. Be sure to include at least one APA-formatted citation (in-text plus full reference). The citation should be from materials you have read during this unit. It may be from course textbooks, assigned readings, or an outside source.
NHS8050 Preparing for the Professional Doctorate in Nursing and Health Sciences
Unit 8 Discussion
Peer Review
Post the draft of the paper you submitted in the Unit 6 assignment as an attachment to this discussion. Indicate the type of feedback you would like from other learners. If there are specific aspects of the paper you would like help with, indicate that.
NHS8050 Preparing for the Professional Doctorate in Nursing and Health Sciences
Unit 9 Discussion
Practicum Site
For this discussion, propose the most likely site for completing a practicum with a project similar to the one you have worked on in this course.
In your initial post, address the following:
Is the chosen site your current employer?
Is there a likely location within your own community?
What are your options for a practicum site for doctoral-level work?
NHS8050 Preparing for the Professional Doctorate in Nursing and Health Sciences
Unit 10 Discussion
Reflection and Questions
For this discussion, think of all you have learned in this course. In your initial post, explain what you have learned that will assist you in moving forward. What types of questions do you have now?
If your post refers to the ideas or work of others, it must be supported by citing an outside scholarly source, using APA style.
Response Guidelines
You need not respond to the posts of other learners for this discussion, but you may, if you wish.
NHS8050 Preparing for the Professional Doctorate in Nursing and Health Sciences
Unit 3 Assignment
Project Topic Selection
Note: Please complete the discussion in this unit before completing this assignment.
The purpose of the project in this course is to evaluate a possible professional doctoral project topic that could be used to complete your doctoral studies. This project will help you assess the worthiness of a chosen topic; assist with developing literature search strategies to investigate the topic; provide practice in evaluating, analyzing, synthesizing, and applying credible literature to your topic idea; and build your capacity to think critically and develop and write a scholarly critical review of the literature.
This assignment focuses on picking the topic for your course project. You will pick a topic that explores a gap in practice, process, or policy, or an opportunity for improvement. The topic you select should be related to a current process or practice issue in your field of study. To help address that gap or opportunity, in the later activities in this course, you will use a critical review of the literature.
To choose your topic, consider your own doctoral program. Discuss possible process issues, practice gaps, or opportunities for improvement that your organization (or possible sponsoring organization) may have that are worthy of a doctoral project.
You may review the SNHS Doctoral Project Prospectus (DPP) in preparation for the assignment. To download the prospectus, visit the Doctoral Capstone page (link given in the resources) and scroll down and click Doctoral Project Prospectus (DPP) under Capstone General Resources.
For this assignment:
Identify a researchable clinical (DNP), process, or policy (DHA and DrPH) project topic that you will work on throughout this course. The topic you select must meet the approval of your instructor.
Describe the topic and justify why this topic is important to your field of study.
Explain how this topic is appropriate for a professional doctoral project as opposed to a PhD research project.
Examine how a project related to the selected topic can be completed within the constraints of the professional doctoral program.
Identify at least one organization within your community or professional realm that would benefit from the type of scholarly work an investigation of this topic would provide.
Here are some examples of possible topics:
In the DNP program, a critical review of the literature might ask the question: What evidence supports the use of a stewardship model to reduce overprescribing of antibiotics?
In the DrPH program, a critical review of the literature might ask: What evidence is available related to decreasing teen pregnancies?
In the DHA program, a critical review of the literature might ask: What evidence is available related to the integration of meaningful use in electronic health records for rural hospitals?
NHS8050 Preparing for the Professional Doctorate in Nursing and Health Sciences
Unit 5 Assignment
Developing an Evidence Table
Part 1
For this part of the assignment, use the "Evidence Table" from the appendix of the SNHS Doctoral Project Prospectus (DPP) to list articles that will help inform the topic you selected for your course project in the Unit 3 assignment.
Search the Capella library databases for a minimum of five peer-reviewed articles that you will use for your project topic. Complete the evidence table fully for these articles, providing all the required information.
Part 2
Review Chapters 7 and 8 of your How to Do a Systematic Literature Review in Nursing e-book about providing a critical review of the literature.
For the second part of the assignment, provide a critical review of at least three of the articles you included in the evidence table. In your critical review:
Provide a one-sentence overview of the main topic of the article.
Discuss if the article reports on a comprehensive literature review that was completed to inform the topic.
Provide the research questions and discuss the research methodology used.
Analyze the theoretical basis and/or conceptual framework used in the study.
Report on the study findings and propose a possible application this article could have to your own project topic.
Other Requirements
Your paper should meet the following requirements:
Written communication: Written communication is free of errors that detract from the overall message.
APA format: Resources and citations are formatted according to current APA style and formatting.
Resources
Developing an Evidence Table Scoring Guide.
APA Style and Format.
Doctoral Capstone.
Toggle Drawer
[u05d1] Unit 5 Discussion 1
Levels of Evidence
Think about your own project topic for this course. In your initial post, discuss the three different levels of evidence you could apply to your own paper in this course.
What are the levels of evidence used in the peer-reviewed articles that you found?
Are there white papers or opinion papers on your topic?
Is there an industry expert you could consult?
What did you find that is not evidence based, but could be appropriate?
Provide your findings for all three levels of evidence.
Post according to the Faculty Expectations Response Guidelines. Be sure to include at least one APA-formatted citation (in-text plus full reference). The citation should be from materials you have read during this unit. It may be from course textbooks, assigned readings, or an outside source.
NHS8050 Preparing for the Professional Doctorate in Nursing and Health Sciences
Unit 6 Assignment
Draft of Final Paper
Note: Please complete the discussion in this unit before completing this assignment.
For this assignment, complete a draft of the Introduction, Methods, and Critical Review sections for the Critical Review of the Literature paper. Provide headings as placeholders for the sections of the paper you will not complete for this assignment (Recommendations and Conclusions). You will complete a final draft of the entire paper in Unit 9.
In addition, continue to add new sources to the evidence table you developed for the Unit 5 assignment. You will include this table as an appendix to your final paper. The final evidence table should include a minimum of 10 peer-reviewed resources.
Assignment Structure
Your assignment should include the following sections:
Title page.
Abstract.
Introduction (3–5 paragraphs).
Describe the topic you investigated.
Provide a brief background of this topic.
Explain why this topic is suitable for a professional doctoral project as opposed to a PhD research project.
Discuss a potential sponsoring organization that would be interested in the investigation of this topic.
Methods. (Methodology and search strategy used for literature search).
Databases searched.
Key search terms used.
Number of articles accessed and number of articles used for the paper.
Critical review.
Compare and contrast peer-reviewed articles and sources in your evidence table.
Provide analysis and synthesis of the articles.
Recommendations. [Only heading in this assignment.]
Content to be added in the final assignment.
Conclusions. [Only heading in this assignment.]
Content to be added in the final assignment.
NHS8050 Preparing for the Professional Doctorate in Nursing and Health Sciences
Unit 9 Assignment
Critical Review of the Literature – Final Paper
For this assignment, submit your final paper, a critical review of the literature.
Use the instructor and peer feedback you received on the draft paper you submitted in Unit 6 to help improve your work for this final submission.
For this final paper, complete the remaining sections (Recommendations, Conclusions, and References) you did not complete for your draft. This paper synthesizes your work on all of your assignments in Units 3, 5, and 6 into one final paper. Include your evidence table with a minimum of 10 peer-reviewed resources as an appendix to the paper.
Assignment Structure
Your final paper must include the following sections:
Title page.
Abstract.
Introduction. (3–5 paragraphs.)
Describe the topic you investigated.
Provide a brief background of this topic.
Explain why this topic is suitable for a professional doctoral project as opposed to a PhD research project.
Discuss a potential sponsoring organization that would be interested in the investigation of this topic.
Methods. (Methodology and search strategy used for literature search.)
Databases searched.
Key search terms used.
Number of articles accessed and number of articles used for the paper.
Critical Review.
Compare and contrast peer-reviewed articles and sources in your evidence table.
Provide analysis and synthesis of the articles.
Recommendations.
A clear statement of possible solutions found in the literature related to the topic.
Specific planned actions of how this information will inform your future work on this topic.
An evaluation of the appropriateness of this topic with a possible sponsoring organization.
A description of possible next steps for use of this topic.
Conclusions.
Summarize and tie together all the information. (3–5 paragraphs.)
References.
Appendix: Evidence Table.
