Syllabus for NUR-902

SCHOLARLY IMMERSION 1: PROJECT IDENTIFICATION AND MENTORED PRACTICUM


COURSE DESCRIPTION

Scholarly Immersion I: Project Identification and Mentored Practicum is the first of three clinical immersion experiences that provide the student with the opportunity to synthesize and apply the knowledge and skills obtained during the Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) curriculum. In this course, students will identify a real-world practice problem/issue that will serve as the basis for their entire clinical immersion experience. The course supports student creation of an executive summary, problem statement, evidence-based literature review, and the development of a preliminary clinical immersion project proposal. The Practicum element of this course serves as the foundation for project development focusing on improving practice.

COURSE TOPICS

COURSE OBJECTIVES

After completing this course, you should be able to:

CO1        Critically explore concepts in current and emergent healthcare practice settings to identify problems/issues that are grounded in practice.

CO2        Construct an organizational assessment inclusive of the system culture, interprofessional practices, and support for change.

CO3        Analyze current scholarly and evidence-based research findings that support the development of real-world, focused initiatives.

CO4        Integrate advanced systems thinking in the development of evidence-based practice initiatives to influence healthcare outcomes.

CO5        Construct project change proposals that link scientific rigor, practice evidence, and systems level thinking to influence healthcare outcomes.

COURSE MATERIALS

You will need the following materials to do the work of the course. The required textbooks are available from the University’s textbook supplier, MBS Direct.

Required Textbooks

ISBN-13: 978-1284079685

ISBN-13: 978-1284117585

ISBN-13: 978-1433805615

Supplemental Textbooks (from NUR-805 and NUR-832)

ISBN-13: 978-1451190946 [NUR-805]

ISBN-13: 978-1455770601 [NUR-805]

ISBN-13: 978-0826128171 [NUR-832]

COURSE STRUCTURE

Scholarly Immersion I: Project Identification and Mentored Practicum is a three-credit, online course consisting of eleven modules. Modules include an overview, topics, learning objectives, study materials, and activities. Module titles are listed below.

ASSESSMENT METHODS

For your formal work in the course, you are required to participate in online discussion forums, complete written assignments, and complete a final project. See below for details.

Consult the Course Calendar for due dates.

Please note: (1) Rewriting or resubmitting assignments is not permitted; (2) no assignments may be submitted after the last day of the course without an approved extension; and (3) extension requests must be approved by the mentor and submitted by the student to the Registrar's Office prior to the last day of the course.

Discussion Forums

You are required to complete 11 online discussions. Please see specific directions within each discussion forum for posting instructions. There is also one ungraded but required Introductions Forum in Module 1. Located within the Evaluation Rubrics folder on the course website is the online discussion forum rubric used to grade all online discussions.

Clinical Practice Logs

You are required to complete four Practice Logs, which will be due in Weeks 4, 6, 8, and 12.

Needs Assessment

The needs assessment is a systematic method of identifying gaps between the ideal and the current condition, including valuable elements to the DNP project such as the current state of practice and where there may be gaps between the ideal state and the current state of practice.

Literature Review

The literature review is a critical piece in the research process that assists the DNP scholar in determining what is currently known about a topic and to identify gaps or needs for further study. The purpose of this assignment is for you to conduct an in-depth exploration of your project focus and its relevance to nursing practice.

Final Project—DNP Scholarly Immersion Project (Part 1)

The DNP Scholarly Immersion Project (Part 1) supports students in the synthesis and application of the knowledge and skills obtained during the DNP curriculum and applied to a mentored practicum experience. In this final project, the aforementioned scholarly work is placed in a deliverable academic product.

TURNITIN REQUIREMENT

You are required to submit the Needs Assessment, Literature Review, and Final Project assignments to Turnitin.com, an academic plagiarism prevention site, prior to submitting the assignment within your course space.

You will be able to view your originality report  from Turnitin, which will provide information regarding writing style as well as a plagiarism gauge with tips for proper citations (see the FAQ page, linked below, for further information). Based on this feedback, you will have the option to keep the original attempt or to choose to edit your assignment and resubmit it one more time to Turnitin (you will be allowed only one additional attempt). Please note: You will still need to submit the final version of your assignment in the course space.

Read carefully the document at the following link, as it will give you instructions for this requirement:

Turnitin FAQ Page

GRADING AND EVALUATION

Your grade in the course will be determined as follows:

All activities will receive a numerical grade of 0–100. You will receive a score of 0 for any work not submitted. Your final grade in the course will be a letter grade. Letter grade equivalents for numerical grades are as follows:

A

=

93–100

B

=

83–87

A–

=

90–92

C

=

73–82

B+

=

88–89

F

=

Below 73

To receive credit for the course, you must earn a letter grade of B or better, based on the weighted average of all assigned course work (e.g., assignments, papers, discussion postings).

Lateness Policy

Written assignments should be submitted no later than the due date unless prior arrangements are made with the mentor and a new due date is established. If a student submits an assignment after the due date without having made arrangements with the mentor, a minimum of five points (based on an assignment grading scale of 100 points) or 5% of the total points will be deducted for each week, or part thereof, that the assignment is late. Discussion forum assignments must be done in the week they are due or points will be forfeited.

STRATEGIES FOR SUCCESS

First Steps to Success

To succeed in this course, take the following first steps:

Study Tips

Consider the following study tips for success:

ACADEMIC INTEGRITY

Thomas Edison State University is committed to maintaining academic quality, excellence, and honesty. The University expects all members of its community to share the commitment to academic integrity, an essential component of a quality academic experience.

Students at Thomas Edison State University are expected to exhibit the highest level of academic citizenship. In particular, students are expected to read and follow all policies, procedures, and program information guidelines contained in publications; pursue their learning goals with honesty and integrity; demonstrate that they are progressing satisfactorily and in a timely fashion by meeting course deadlines and following outlined procedures; observe a code of mutual respect in dealing with mentors, staff, and other students; behave in a manner consistent with the standards and codes of the profession in which they are practicing; keep official records updated regarding changes in name, address, telephone number, or e-mail address; and meet financial obligations in a timely manner. Students not practicing good academic citizenship may be subject to disciplinary action including suspension, dismissal, or financial holds on records.

All members of the University community are responsible for reviewing the Academic Code of Conduct Policy in the University Catalog and online at www.tesu.edu.

Academic Dishonesty

Thomas Edison State University expects all of its students to approach their education with academic integrity—the pursuit of scholarly activity free from fraud and deception. All mentors and administrative staff members at the University insist on strict standards of academic honesty in all courses. Academic dishonesty undermines this objective. Academic dishonesty can take the following forms:

Plagiarism

Thomas Edison State University is committed to helping students understand the seriousness of plagiarism, which is defined as using the work and ideas of others without proper citation. The University takes a strong stance against plagiarism, and students found to be plagiarizing are subject to discipline under the academic code of conduct policy.

If you copy phrases, sentences, paragraphs, or whole documents word-for-word—or if you paraphrase by changing a word here and there—without identifying the author, or without identifying it as a direct quote, then you are plagiarizing. Please keep in mind that this type of identification applies to Internet sources as well as to print-based sources. Copying and pasting from the Internet, without using quotation marks and without acknowledging sources, constitutes plagiarism. (For information about how to cite Internet sources, see Online Student Handbook > Academic Standards > Citing Sources.)

Accidentally copying the words and ideas of another writer does not excuse the charge of plagiarism. It is easy to jot down notes and ideas from many sources and then write your own paper without knowing which words are your own and which are someone else’s. It is more difficult to keep track of each and every source. However, the conscientious writer who wishes to avoid plagiarizing never fails to keep careful track of sources.

Always be aware that if you write without acknowledging the sources of your ideas, you run the risk of being charged with plagiarism.

Clearly, plagiarism, no matter the degree of intent to deceive, defeats the purpose of education. If you plagiarize deliberately, you are not educating yourself, and you are wasting your time on courses meant to improve your skills. If you plagiarize through carelessness, you are deceiving yourself.

For examples of unintentional plagiarism, advice on when to quote and when to paraphrase, and information about writing assistance and originality report checking, click the links provided below.

Examples of Unintentional Plagiarism

When to Quote and When to Paraphrase

Writing Assistance at Smarthinking

Originality Report Checking at Turnitin

Disciplinary Process for Plagiarism

Acts of both intentional and unintentional plagiarism violate the Academic Code of Conduct.

If an incident of plagiarism is an isolated minor oversight or an obvious result of ignorance of proper citation requirements, the mentor may handle the matter as a learning exercise. Appropriate consequences may include the completion of tutorials, assignment rewrites, or any other reasonable learning tool in addition to a lower grade for the assignment or course. The mentor will notify the student and appropriate dean of the consequence by e-mail.

If the plagiarism appears intentional and/or is more than an isolated incident, the mentor will refer the matter to the appropriate dean, who will gather information about the violation(s) from the mentor and student, as necessary. The dean will review the matter and notify the student in writing of the specifics of the charge and the sanction to be imposed.

Possible sanctions include:

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