Change project packet

What is the change project?

The Change Project Practicum is an assignment for the student to identify an opportunity for change. The project requires the use of evidence to support the identified need for change as well as to understand the application of change theory and development of change process. This assignment offers the student the opportunity to demonstrate the leadership skills obtained in this course. Provide evidence to support the change you are proposing. If you are not currently employed, please contact your instructor EARLY for assistance with this project

• Identify a problem or opportunity for change in an actual health care or community setting.
• Develop the Change Process according to the guidelines found in the rubric and in Yoder-Wise, especially Chapter 17
• Implement or plan for implementation the Change Project
• Evaluate or plan an evaluation of the Change Process
• Propose Change Project to Decision Maker
• Summarize the reflective experience.

Resources for the Change Project

• Look at Healthy People 2020 for some excellent goals*
• Use the SWOSU Library search engines and other professional materials to give greater validity to the change proposed.
• Yoder-Wise chapter 17 for terminology and the change process
• Yoder-Wise Chapter 3 for leadership style
• Course resources in the modules area

Tips for the Change Project

• review the rubric and include all of the applicable elements into your paper.
• From the rubric, use each section’s heading in the rubric as a heading in your paper; this will organize your work and is required. You will not use a heading for the APA/Grammar section.
• A sample paper is posted for you to see what a completed document looks like, although it does not have the needed headings.
• Change Process and Nursing Process are very similar applications.
• Goals (short & long term) should be specific and measurable.
• You may need to create an evaluation survey or audit to measure to what degree the goals are met. Include any tools (surveys, evaluations, teaching tools, etc.) that you develop throughout your project in the appendix of your paper. If you use an existing tool, be sure to credit the source.
• Not crediting any source, including appendices, constitutes plagiarism and will lead to, at minimum, failure of the assignment.
• Choose something that you are passionate about and that is reasonably achievable in the 4-5 weeks. Keep it manageable. It may be only one element of a larger project that is going on where you work, for example.
• Include all of the steps of process development. For example: who did you talk to when deciding on the topic? How did you assess the need for change? How did you develop interest in the project with those who are involved or impacted by this change project?

Common Stumbling Blocks in the Change Project

• Incorrect use of APA format and citations
• grammar and spelling errors
• lack of headings or correct APA headings
• citing sources that are not peer-reviewed or within the last five years
• not using a change theory for support
• re-using a prior project or paper from other courses or the work of others (constitutes academic dishonesty)
• failure to support ideas with evidence and citations

Potential Ideas for the Change Project

Change Project Ideas

• Orientation or mentoring program for newly licensed nurses to hospital/unit
• Develop a tracking or documentation tool
• Develop training program
• Propose a way to improve education of staff or patients
• Propose a School Health Advisory Council and help institute it.
• An infection control protocol for your workplace.
• Self-scheduling on your unit
• Use of new technology to improve care and patient outcomes- see National Patient Safety Goals for ideas.
• Implementation of evidence-based practice
• Interdisciplinary rounds
• Pain management
• Intercultural Care
• Risk Assessment
• Improving assessment
• Improving recruitment or retention of nursing staff
• Quality improvement
• Skills fair
• Emergency preparedness in your department
• Fall risk
• Inventory control or other cost saving measure
• Communication between staff and shifts or staff and management

Resources for the Change Project

Existing projects exploring real-life changes: Transforming Care at the Bedside (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site.

Managing change by empowering staff (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site.

Recognizing and changing practice issues article (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site.