Senior Capstone Learning Outcomes
1. Determine their professional development and practice goals.
-During the senior capstone course my personal and professional development continued to grow. Through my introduction, selection of subject for my senior capstone project, and through the presentation of my learning plan I was able to share with the class about myself, and my professional goals for the time being.
2. Proactively seek out learning experiences that fulfill professional development and practice goals.
-Throughout the BSN program I have had to be proactive in seeking learning opportunities, which continued to be the case in the senior capstone course. I had to reach out to a nurse mentor to aid me in the learning, planning, and development of my senior project. Working with my mentor was a great experience and enabled me to further my own personal development through discussion, listening, and reflection on the information at hand. I also found the benefit that comes from reaching out and developing a network of experienced individuals willing to help in the educational process. I found that there were many people willing to participate in educational discussions that ranged from nurses, scrub techs, managers, and surgeons. Through gathering resources I was able to fulfill my course outcomes as well as complete a meaningful capstone project.
3. Analyze nursing research related to professional interests and experiences.
-Many assignments aided in furthering my researching skills. The nursing research, nursing informatics, and capstone courses all played a vital role. In these courses I had to compose a literature matrix, annotated bibliography, and literature review, which are all slightly different ways of researching and analyzing information. These skills are invaluable to me in my future pursuit of excellence in nursing and will serve me well as I continue my educational career.
4. Engage in reflective practice concerning professional nursing.
-There have been so many opportunities to practice personal reflection throughout the BSN program. Towards the top of the list were the numerous weekly discussions that allowed for the expression of my opinions and information researched, reading others thoughts on the matter, seeing how others responded to my opinion, and then reflecting on my own thoughts after receiving comments back. The other most beneficial reflection opportunities came from my interactions with my nursing mentor during the capstone project. Working closely with a mentor allowed for open discussion, free exchange of opinions, and the opportunity for reflection on lessons learned.
5. Integrate professional nursing concepts and principles learned in the BSN program into their professional nursing practice.
-There have been many principals learned throughout the BSN program that have altered the course of my own personal nursing practice. Among the most important is the value of self-reflection on my own personal opinions and biases towards subjects. Understanding where I have biases and how my opinions can affect my actions and judgments allows me to correct situations before they happen. Every patient is unique and requires their own special kinds of care to have the best experience they can have. As the nurse I need to be aware of their needs and how my own beliefs can affect the care I give in order to deliver the best possible care. Just being aware of these facts has already helped me in my practice and will continue to improve my ability to care for patients. The senior capstone project has also been an excellent learning opportunity that has improved my personal nursing practice. Through research I have furthered my own understanding of techniques and skills used in my area of specialty that will continue to serve me as I progress in my practice.
6. Provide to and receive critique from one’s peers as a means to enhance professional development.
-This has been a common theme throughout the BSN program but possibly the best opportunity came during the capstone course. The weekly discussions have been by far some of the best and most beneficial during the capstone. This is because we not only had to post an original response and comment to other peers, but also respond to peers that have responded to our original posts. This allows for the discussion to come full circle and requires more thought and personal reflection to complete. Also during the capstone course we were required to post weekly blogs about our progress through our senior capstone project, which added different points of view on how our projects were progressing, and was an additional source of feedback outside from just that of our mentors.
-During the senior capstone course my personal and professional development continued to grow. Through my introduction, selection of subject for my senior capstone project, and through the presentation of my learning plan I was able to share with the class about myself, and my professional goals for the time being.
2. Proactively seek out learning experiences that fulfill professional development and practice goals.
-Throughout the BSN program I have had to be proactive in seeking learning opportunities, which continued to be the case in the senior capstone course. I had to reach out to a nurse mentor to aid me in the learning, planning, and development of my senior project. Working with my mentor was a great experience and enabled me to further my own personal development through discussion, listening, and reflection on the information at hand. I also found the benefit that comes from reaching out and developing a network of experienced individuals willing to help in the educational process. I found that there were many people willing to participate in educational discussions that ranged from nurses, scrub techs, managers, and surgeons. Through gathering resources I was able to fulfill my course outcomes as well as complete a meaningful capstone project.
3. Analyze nursing research related to professional interests and experiences.
-Many assignments aided in furthering my researching skills. The nursing research, nursing informatics, and capstone courses all played a vital role. In these courses I had to compose a literature matrix, annotated bibliography, and literature review, which are all slightly different ways of researching and analyzing information. These skills are invaluable to me in my future pursuit of excellence in nursing and will serve me well as I continue my educational career.
4. Engage in reflective practice concerning professional nursing.
-There have been so many opportunities to practice personal reflection throughout the BSN program. Towards the top of the list were the numerous weekly discussions that allowed for the expression of my opinions and information researched, reading others thoughts on the matter, seeing how others responded to my opinion, and then reflecting on my own thoughts after receiving comments back. The other most beneficial reflection opportunities came from my interactions with my nursing mentor during the capstone project. Working closely with a mentor allowed for open discussion, free exchange of opinions, and the opportunity for reflection on lessons learned.
5. Integrate professional nursing concepts and principles learned in the BSN program into their professional nursing practice.
-There have been many principals learned throughout the BSN program that have altered the course of my own personal nursing practice. Among the most important is the value of self-reflection on my own personal opinions and biases towards subjects. Understanding where I have biases and how my opinions can affect my actions and judgments allows me to correct situations before they happen. Every patient is unique and requires their own special kinds of care to have the best experience they can have. As the nurse I need to be aware of their needs and how my own beliefs can affect the care I give in order to deliver the best possible care. Just being aware of these facts has already helped me in my practice and will continue to improve my ability to care for patients. The senior capstone project has also been an excellent learning opportunity that has improved my personal nursing practice. Through research I have furthered my own understanding of techniques and skills used in my area of specialty that will continue to serve me as I progress in my practice.
6. Provide to and receive critique from one’s peers as a means to enhance professional development.
-This has been a common theme throughout the BSN program but possibly the best opportunity came during the capstone course. The weekly discussions have been by far some of the best and most beneficial during the capstone. This is because we not only had to post an original response and comment to other peers, but also respond to peers that have responded to our original posts. This allows for the discussion to come full circle and requires more thought and personal reflection to complete. Also during the capstone course we were required to post weekly blogs about our progress through our senior capstone project, which added different points of view on how our projects were progressing, and was an additional source of feedback outside from just that of our mentors.