MikeH2013

I was a new grad not all that long ago and feeling like a lost sheep once I hit the floor. I couldn't control the learning curve (more like climbing Mt. Everest with a gas station map), but I could control my attitude. I got psyched up every day I went to work, determined to be better each time, and I got better. If the comments were constructive, I took it to heart, if the comments were snarky, I brushed them off, and if they crossed the line, I confronted the person immediately and defined where the line was and what I considered crossing that line. The people making the snarky comments have long forgotten what their first shift was like - in their photoshop enhanced memories they performed miracles fresh out of school and were never the wide-eyed, completely lost newbie that they really were.

Leave Florida? Seriously. Maybe Florida just has a shortage of mental health patients... sunshine and all, but elsewhere psych nurses with a psychology background would be offered a position with the red carpet rolled out. Places in this area actively looking for psychiatric mental health nurses: HCA Presbyterian/Texas Health Resources JPS UT Southwestern Methodist Baylor Parkland DSHS (Terrell State Hospital, Kerrville State Hospital, Vernon State Hospital... etc) So, chances are that you are either working in a saturated market (nurses like sunshine, beaches, and Jimmy Buffet), or you're knocking on the wrong doors. I would suggest knocking on the doors of the state, county, city mental health services. If they're anything like Texas, they will be more than happy to have you work for them. Caveat: the salaries may be lower than what you're expecting, but you're looking for that golden year of service, not a life-long commitment to civil service.

I think it depends on the instructor and the academic coach. It also depends on the student as well, I would venture. The bottom line is that this class is designed to generate a "thesis-lite" and preparation for students wanting to progress further or the end of the line for someone content at the BSN level. Personally, I am working with the mindset that this is preparation for work requiring a higher degree of scrutiny and effort, and proceeding with that focus guiding my crafting of the required assignments as I plan to move immediately forward with my next goal of MSN-FP then DNP.

Capstone could be renamed Tombstone... if you fall behind. It's an unbelievable deluge of writing, but so far I'm swimming with a 4.0. I know that I'm getting tired and cannot wait for the 5 weeks to end. In week 4 now, and it ends on the 12th of September. You will write, write some, write again, and then write to the point where you have finger callouses from typing. I'm just about to wrap up my Power Point project and then I have to tackle my APA paper, plus two evaluations on the Power Point project, plus message board, and then it's time to finalize and submit the Capstone project by Saturday 0800. If I just had two more of me, one to go to work, the other to have a life, then all I would have to do is toil away here at the computer.

If there were Purple Hearts for a nursing class, everyone who survives nursing research would get one. If you don't trust the rest of your group, then you're going to have to take control the rest of the way. That means almost around the clock monitoring of the course, but in the long run, who really wants to drop another $1,200 and 5 weeks of their life to go through it all over again? Hang in there. It's only 5 weeks, and when it's over, you will never have to re-experience that level of suffering again.

From personal experience, the answers to 90% of both quizzes were in the class notes. The other 10% came from the book. Scoring a 90 on each quiz won't hurt in the least. If you have the time to do the work AND read the book, then you won't go wrong. The experience that I was the research had became an either/or situation, so I erred on the side of winging it with the notes and came out just fine. The JC Club article on the other hand... We got slapped by a misunderstanding between the coach and the class. It happens, life goes on, and we all survived which is about as good an outcome for that class as possible.

The book is good to have as a fail-safe. This class is extraordinarily time consuming with OOH, JC club, and article critique. It's like trying to arm-wrestle an octopus with both hands tied behind your back and a fork jabbed in your eye for spite. If MBrickle is still around, this person is an excellent resource for this class. * Use RefWorks/Flow: https://flow-proquest-com.ezproxy.uta.edu/login/ or https://www-refworks-com.ezproxy.uta.edu/refworks2/default.aspx?r=authentication::init The updates made to Flow have made it more attractive as a reference manager now, but I am more familiar with RefWorks. You can import your data between the two, seamlessly, so it's just a matter of preference and which one works best for you. * Get familiar with Google Scholar, Wiley, and Cochrane (hint: the last two are free through UTA) otherwise you will be used like a punching bag by Ebsco-Host/CINAHL... or you will punch your computer. * Wiley Online Library - Journal of Advanced Nursing has plenty of topics that will satisfy JC Club criteria and will save you time. * Google Scholar - can be a bit of a wilderness, but it provides a good starting point for locating articles of interest. *The majority of the test questions can be answered by reading the class notes provided by the professor and they are on blackboard. Review the notes carefully and thoroughly. If there isn't someone who immediately picks up the whip and starts cracking it on the other group members, then that person will need to be you. There isn't time for debate or playing nice unless you really, really want to drop $1,200.00 to take the class again. Start exchanging phone numbers and getting used to texting at all hours.

There are no textbooks for Capstone. This is what you have learned in the previous 11 months (if you ran through it like I did) or two years or so. Think of it like a 'Choose your own adventure' book, where you are given a handful of vague directions and asked to complete the story. It really is a bit trial and error, but I'm into week 3 and doing well. Best advice, keep up and then get ahead if you can.

Well... by this time you probably have already submitted the goal. Future reference, the goal just needs to be S.M.A.R.T. specific, measurable, attainable, realistic, time-bound (during the course). There three areas for which you will choose a goal. Writers block will definitely cause you to cramp up during this course, so my suggestion is to walk away and think about it rather than sit in frustration trying to make something appear on the screen. Ideas can come from anywhere, at any time, and if one hits you over the head, make a mental note and come back to it when you are in front of a computer. This course is not as brutally graded as nursing research or assessment, so you will have some freedom from exacting constraints.

Purdue Owl is really the only reference needed - it's online and it's free. Some formatting tricks for Word 2010 and better for those who really "enjoy?" inputting their references one at a time. Type up your reference in Times New Roman 12 pt with double spacing. Right click before the first line in the reference and choose paragraph. In the indentation menu you will see 'special'. Choose hanging from the drop down menu and apply. Like magic you will now have a properly formatted hanging indent and will avoid the points loss.

Sorry that your experience is so difficult. We had a good group for the most part, and it was still a brutal grind. There are advantages to fewer members involved - less editing for one. There is another user on here, MBrickle, and I would suggest contacting this person as this individual was in my group, was very organized, and a lifesaver. Build this paper from the beginning with cited references as it will save time. Imagine having to go back and figure out which reference goes with which sentence or paragraph. Use a reference management tool like RefWorks or Flow (same company, slightly different format) or EndNote Web. They are free and will save you a ton of time ordering and cataloging your references and the one-click bib is nice to have. Don't waste time. If you are hitting a brick wall on one section, move on to the next task and take care of business. Hold the other group members accountable. If they are not participating and letting one person do all of the work, then let it be known. Why should someone sleep in and ride your coattails to an easy grade while you do all the work? As far PM click on the user icon next to a post and it will bring up that option if you have the requisite 15 posts. Good luck. Research is tough, but doable, and you will get through it.

The quizzes are the easiest part of the course (download and save the notes that the professor has provided). The hardest part is the team - you are assigned a group by the instructor/coach, and each member of that group has to pull their weight or it is a long, miserable 5 weeks. Once you know who the members of your team are, organize early before any work is due and nail down your game plan. Texting is the fastest way to communicate as you may be in Texas, and your other team members could be East Coast, West Coast, Montana, or in prison (Ha! Just kidding... maybe). At any rate, rapid communication and identifying team member strengths early is a good idea. For your JC Club article (which is like choose your own punishment), you need a good research paper that you will have to find yourself.

The only book you would be required to buy is if you take the elective 'Medical Terminology' - if you choose not to buy the book, you would still have to purchase the course code, so it's a wash. The other books that I would recommend buying are for the assessment course. I still use the small pocket version of the assessment book in my practice and keep it with me at work as it is really useful as a reference. You do not need the APA 6 book. Flow (now Pro-Quest Flow)/RefWorks, EndNote Web (all available free through the UTA library) will properly format your references, and better yet, will save links back to your cited papers so that you can retrieve the .pdf's with a click of the link. Purdue Owl, an online APA guide, has as much information as you will ever need regarding APA format. You may not have learned about reference managers, but if you are planning on taking the next step or two, it would be a good idea to learn more.

Leadership and management will not push you too hard. Follow the rubric and your paper will be fine - side note - some coaches ding hard for minor grammatical errors (my experience in another course), so be thorough and use the spell check. Avoid contractions in your submitted papers and utilize punctuation liberally. The quizzes are unusual in that they are based more on your understanding of the material and not on choose A,B,C,D. I would rent an e-book version of the text as it really is not that critical, but each coach and instructor are different, so e-rental is an inexpensive, and safe, compromise.

The JC club paper was the killer. If only I had known about Wiley and Cochrane at the time, so much wasted effort could have been spared going in circles with CINAHL and EsbscoHost. From what we experienced (and read), our group was graded much harder than others (and I'm speaking of the A.C., in particular). The JC paper basically torpedoed a high A for the class, but a B is acceptable considering the circumstances. I have not acquired another B since that time, nor have I experienced grading that was that poorly defined and arbitrary. I am just a short three weeks from completion and looking forward to moving on to the MSN program in short order.