Organizational Needs Assessment
Assignment
Purpose
The identification of a significant practice problem and associated project need are the cornerstone of a practice change 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.
Instructions
To create flexibility, we are providing options on this assignment. For this assignment, each of the sections can be presented either as a narrative or as a concept map. Concept maps are an effective way to express complex ideas, especially for visual learners.
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 the same whether you complete the sections of this assignment as a narrative or as a concept map.
Concept Map Resources
If you need additional information on concept maps and how to create a concept map in Microsoft Word, review the following videos:
• Link (video): Microsoft Word: Creating a Flowchart, Concept Map, or Process MapLinks to an external site. (4:03)
Concept Map (2:48) transcript:
As a leader, how you manage, and present information may vary depending upon the project, stakeholders, and goals. One approach to present information to gain support for projects is with visual aids such as a concept map. A concept map organizes and displays knowledge in a graphical manner to show relationships between different concepts. By showing interrelationships, concept maps help engage and heighten problem solving. One way to construct a concept map is by using Word and its graphic art capabilities known as Smart Art. – Open a blank Word document. – Go to the toolbar. – Select Insert. – Select Smart Art. Select the graphic shape you think most accurately reflects the information you want to share. Let’s say the topic is related to Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs. You know it is usually presented as a pyramid. So you select Pyramid from the SmartArt options. Once selected, it is placed on your Word document for editing. The Smart Art tool allows you to identify three sections of the pyramid. But Maslow’s Hierarchy has five levels, so you need to add two levels to the basic design. Place the cursor in the text box, right click, copy, and paste into position. You now should have four textboxes for the pyramid. Repeat the step to have five textboxes. Then, enter your labels inside each text box. This is one example to illustrate the ease of using Word Smart Art to create a concept map. Again, the concept map design depends upon the concepts of interest. Let’s try one more. You want to make a concept map of the three sciences integrated into nursing informatics: computer science, information science, and nursing science. – Open the Word document. – Go to Insert. – Select Smart Art. – Select Relationships, – Select Basic Venn Diagram. Click on the text boxes and enter Nursing Science in the top circle, then Computer Science and Information Science. Once you have identified a shape from Smart Art, in addition to adding or deleting parts of the graphic, you can change the location of parts of the graphic as well. Left click the part of the graphic you want to move and drag to a new location. You can connect with lines or arrows by going to the Toolbar and selecting, Insert and then Shapes. These are some basic examples of how to create a concept map. Follow the assignment instructions and use the rubric to guide your creation of the concept map.
Follow these guidelines when completing each component of this assignment. Contact your course faculty if you have questions.
1. Use the most current version of the APA formatted Microsoft Word document for the DNP Program. The document is located in Student resources and saved as a Microsoft Word Document and will end in "docx."
2. All Chamberlain University policies related to plagiarism must be observed.
3. Review the rubric for the grading criteria.
The assignment includes the following components:
1. Title Page
a. Title of the paper
b. Student name
c. Chamberlain University College of Nursing
d. Course number and course name
e. Session month and year
2. Introduction
a. Start your introduction with a powerful purpose statement or two to stimulate interest.
b. Introduce the practice problem or need.
c. Provide a preview of what the paper will include with a strong thesis sentence.
3. Identification of the Practice Problem or Need
a. Describe the practice problem or need.
b. Discuss how the practice problem or need was determined.
c. Briefly summarize the evidence in the literature which is focused on the practice problem and builds a compelling case for the practice problem. using in-text citations/ and references, to support the need for change.
d. A minimum of 3 current (within 5 years) research articles from peer-reviewed journals are required. The three research articles must support the significance and compelling nature of the practice problem. Non-research data can also be added to the 3 articles to support the compelling nature of the practice problem. (Examples of sources of non-research data are the CDC, state or county Health Department, Kaiser Family Foundation, AHRQ.)
e. Describe the source of the evidence or data at the practicum site to support the need for change at the practicum site. This may be the infection rate, obesity prevalence, or diabetic patients with A1C of 7 or higher, for example. This evidence might also be from a conversation with the organizational leader. State the source of the data that supports this need at the practicum site.
4. Identification of Stakeholders (Stakeholders have some form of stake or interest in the project outcomes.)
a. Identify (state explicitly) key stakeholders who will support the change.
b. Identify (state explicitly) key stakeholders who may resist the change.
c. Identify (state explicitly) stakeholders who will have the most influence on positive or negative changes related to your identified problem.
5. Gap Analysis Table
a. Complete the gap analysis table, which can be downloaded at the following link:
a. Link (Word doc): Gap Analysis TemplateLinks to an external site.
b. Include the table in your paper. Review the following instructions on how to copy a table in Word:
a. Link (webpage): Move or Copy a TableLinks to an external site.
c. Answer all of the questions completely and separately. Do not combine answers.
i. What is currently happening at the practicum site?
ii. What should be happening at the practicum site based on current evidence?
iii. What is your practice gap? (state what is currently happening and state what should be happening)
iv. Why is there a practice gap?
v. What factors are contributing to the practice gap?
vi. What evidence do you have to demonstrate there is a practice gap?
6. Conclusion
a. Write one concise paragraph, providing a clear and logical summation of the paper.
b. Summarize the main points from the needs assessment section above. (New information should not be included in the conclusion)
7. APA Standards and References
a. Use appropriate Level I headers.
b. Create the reference page with a minimum of three current (within 5 yrs) peer-reviewed journal articles.
c. References and citations are in current APA style.
d. Each reference has a matching citation.
Writing Requirements (APA format)
• 1-inch margins
• Double-spaced pages
• 12-point Times New Roman font or 11-point Arial
• Headings & subheadings
• In-text citations
• Title page
• References page
• Standard English usage and mechanics
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