Week 3: Assignment: Organizational Needs Assessment

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Purpose

The identification of a need is the cornerstone of a project. The purpose of this assignment is to conduct an organizational needs assessment. The formulation of a comprehensive organizational needs assessment supports the professional formation of the DNP-prepared nurse. To complete the assessment of the organizational need, you will need to interview a key decision-maker at the practicum site. For students not implementing their DNP Project at a practicum site, complete the assignment as if you had interviewed a key decision-maker at a practicum site.

Course Outcomes

This assignment enables the student to meet the following course outcomes:

· CO 2: Formulate a needs-based organizational assessment to inform strategic leadership decision-making. (POs 3, 5, 7)

· CO 3: Develop strategies to lead project planning, implementation, management, and evaluation to promote high value healthcare. (POs 3, 5, 7)

Due Date(s)

Submit your assignment by 11:59 p.m. MT Sunday at the end of Week 3. The late assignment policy applies to this assignment.

Total points possible: 125

Page Requirement:

Length: 3-4 pages, excluding cover page and references

Instructions

To create flexibility, we are providing you options on this assignment. Concept maps are an effective way to express complex ideas, especially for visual learners. For this assignment, each of the sections can be presented either as a narrative or as a concept map.

Please note that you are not required to complete any or all sections as a concept map. If you choose to use a concept map for a section, it should be created in Microsoft Word and placed in that section of your paper. The concept map must meet all the requirements of the assignment rubric for that section. The rubric and page length requirements of the paper are unchanged.

If you need additional information about concept maps and how to create a concept map in Microsoft Word, please access the following resources.

· Link (video): 
Microsoft Word: Creating a Flowchart, Concept Map, or Process Map
 (4:03)

· Link (video): 
Concept Mapping for Developing your Research
 (3:37)

Review the Graduate Re-Purpose Policy in the Student Handbook, page 15:

Repurposed Work (Chamberlain University Graduate Programs only): Graduate students have the opportunity to use previously submitted ideas as a foundation for future courses. No more than 50 percent of an assignment, excluding references, may be repurposed from another Chamberlain University course (excluding practicum courses). Previous course assignments that are deemed building blocks will be notated in the syllabus by the course leader. As with every assignment, students must uphold academic integrity; therefore, students must follow the guidelines for remaining academically honest according to the Academic Integrity policy. If the instructor is not made aware of the repurposing of an assignment, the submission will be treated as plagiarized work if not properly referenced

Follow these guidelines when completing each component of this assignment. Contact your course faculty if you have questions.

1. The assignment should be 3-4 pages (excluding title and reference pages).

2. The assignment will include the following components:

a. Title Page

b. Introduction

i. Start your introduction with a powerful statement or two to stimulate interest.

ii. Introduce the practice problem or need

iii. Provide a preview of what the paper will include with a strong thesis sentence.

c. Identification of the Practice Problem or Need

i. Describe the practice problem or need.

ii. Discuss how the practice problem or need was determined.

iii. Briefly summarize the evidence in the literature, using in-text citations/references, to support the need for change. (Minimum of five current peer-reviewed journal articles).

iv. Describe the source of the evidence (i.e. internal data) to support the need for change at the practicum site to improve outcomes and/or nursing practice. For example, incident reports, readmission rates, infection rates, etc.

d. Identify the stakeholders who have some form of stake or interest in the project outcomes.

i. Identify key stakeholders who will support the change.

ii. Identify key stakeholders who may resist the change.

iii. Identify who will have the most influence on positive or negative changes related to your identified problem

e. Use the 
DNP Topic Prioritization Worksheet (Links to an external site.)
 link to determine whether the practice problem is recognized as a priority within the practicum site. Do not attach the worksheet.

i. Describe the criteria determined to be of high priority.

ii. Describe the criteria determined to be of low priority.

iii. Provide a summary of your assessment.

f. Complete the 
gap analysis template (Links to an external site.)
 and include it in your paper. For directions on how to copy a table in Word go to the following link: 
Move or Copy a Table (Links to an external site.)
.

i. The gap analysis can be presented in paragraph format instead of copy and pasting the template.

g. Conclusion

i. Provide a well-rounded and comprehensive conclusion.

ii. Summarize the assessment.

iii. Provide support for the need to conduct the project.

h. References

3. APA Style and Standards

a. Uses appropriate Level I headers

b. Reference and citations are in current APA style

c. Paper length is 3-4 pages excluding title and reference pages

4. Clarity of Writing

a. Uses standard English grammar and sentence structure

b. No spelling or typographical errors

c. Organized presentation of ideas

All Chamberlain University policies related to plagiarism must be observed.

Rubric

Week 3 Assignment Grading Rubric: Organizational Needs Assessment (125 pts)

Week 3 Assignment Grading Rubric: Organizational Needs Assessment (125 pts)
Criteria	Ratings	Pts
This criterion is linked to a Learning OutcomeIntroduction Requirements: 1. Start your introduction with a powerful statement or two to stimulate interest. 2. Introduce the practice problem or need. 3. Provide a preview of what the paper will include.	10 pts Includes all requirements and provides an excellent introduction. 9 pts Includes all requirements with a very good introduction. 8 pts Includes all requirements with a basic introduction. 0 pts Poor introduction and/or includes 2 or fewer requirements	10 pts
This criterion is linked to a Learning OutcomeIdentification of the Problem or Need Requirements: 1. Present the practice problem or need. 2. Discuss how the practice problem or need was determined. 3. Present the evidence in the literature. 4. Present the source of the data (i.e. internal data) at the practicum site.	30 pts Includes all requirements and provides an excellent identification of the problem or need. 27 pts Includes all requirements with a very good identification of the problem or need. 24 pts Includes all requirements with a basic identification of the problem or need. 0 pts Poor identification of the problem or need and/or includes 3 or fewer requirements	30 pts
This criterion is linked to a Learning OutcomeStakeholders Requirements: 1. Identify key stakeholders including those who will support the change. 2. Identify key stakeholders who may resist the change. 3. Identify who will have the most influence on positive or negative changes related to your DNP project.	10 pts Includes all requirements and an provides an excellent discussion of stakeholders. 9 pts Includes all requirements and a very good discussion of stakeholders. 8 pts Includes all requirements with a basic discussion of stakeholders. 0 pts Includes 2 or fewer requirements and/or with a poor discussion of stakeholders	10 pts
This criterion is linked to a Learning OutcomePriority for the DNP Project Idea Requirements: 1. Describe the criteria determined to be of high priority. 2. Describe the criteria determined to be of low priority. 3. Present a summary of your assessment.	15 pts Includes all requirements and provides an excellent description of priority. 13 pts Includes all requirements and provides a very good description of priority. 12 pts Includes all requirements and provides a basic description of priority. 0 pts Poor description of priority and/or includes 2 or fewer requirements	15 pts
This criterion is linked to a Learning OutcomeGap Analysis Requirements: 1. Present what is currently happening in the practicum site. 2. Present what should be happening based on current evidence. 3. Present the practice gap. 4. Present why there a gap in practice. 5. Present factors that are contributing to the gap in practice. 6. Present the evidence you have to demonstrate there is a practice gap.	20 pts Includes all requirements and provides an excellent gap analysis. 18 pts Includes all requirements and provides a very good gap analysis. 16 pts Includes all requirements and provides a basic gap analysis. 0 pts Poor description of gap analysis and/or includes 4 or fewer requirements	20 pts
This criterion is linked to a Learning OutcomeConclusion Requirements: 1. Provide a well-rounded and comprehensive conclusion. 2. Summarize the assessment. 3. Provide support for the need to conduct the project.	10 pts Includes all requirements and provides an excellent conclusion. 9 pts Includes all requirements and provides a very good conclusion. 8 pts Includes all requirement and provides a basic conclusion. 0 pts Includes 2 or fewer requirements and/or provides a poor conclusion.	10 pts
This criterion is linked to a Learning OutcomeAPA Style and Standards Requirements: 1. Uses appropriate Level I headers. 2. Reference and citations are in current APA style. 3. Paper length is 3-4 pages excluding title and reference pages.	10 pts Includes all requirements and presents excellent APA style. 9 pts Includes all requirements and/or very good APA style. 8 pts Includes no fewer than 2 requirements of APA style. 0 pts Includes 1 or fewer requirements of APA style.	10 pts
This criterion is linked to a Learning OutcomeClarity of Writing Requirements: 1. Uses standard English grammar and sentence structure. 2. No spelling or typographical errors. 3. Organized presentation of ideas.	20 pts Includes all requirements and demonstrates excellent clarity of writing. 18 pts Includes all requirements and demonstrates very good clarity of writing. 16 pts Includes no fewer than 2 requirements and/or demonstrates good clarity of writing. 0 pts Includes 1 or fewer requirements and/or demonstrates poor clarity of writing.	20 pts
Total Points: 125

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Practice Gap Identification

Directions
: After performing a needs assessment with the practicum site decision maker(s), use the following table to help you understand what gaps are occurring between current practice and evidence-based practice (EBP). An example is provided for you below.

What is currently happening in the practicum site?	What should be happening in the practicum site based on current evidence?	What is the gap between what is currently happening and what should be happening (this is your practice gap)?	Why is there a gap in practice? What factors are contributing to the gap in practice?	What evidence do you have to demonstrate there is a practice gap?

Example
: Pediatric Practice

What is currently happening in the practicum site?	What should be happening in the practicum site?	What is the gap between what is currently happening and what should be happening (this is your practice gap)?	Why is there a gap in practice? What factors are contributing to the gap in practice?	What evidence do you have to demonstrate there is a practice gap?
There are no clinical practice guidelines for the management of obese patients in a pediatric setting being used at the practicum site.	Nurse Practitioners (NPs) should be using evidence-based clinical practice guidelines to better manage children who are obese	Approximately 40% of the patient population have been identified as being obese; however, there are no clear processes/guidelines in place for the NPs to use/follow when planning patient care.	Potential issue with lack of knowledge associated with updated guidelines for pediatric obesity. Physician-owned facility; potential lack of NP autonomy in regard to practice.	Comments provided by the NPs. NPs report they want to be able to better manage and plan care for pediatric patients who are obese.

• Directions: Use this worksheet to determine if your potential project idea is recognized as a priority within the practicum site.