4mranch

I believe the scholarly activity is not a weekly requirement, but rather a one time thing and you write a paper about it.

I sent you a PM

I finished the newer Capstone class and I would have to say that the paper itself is the easiest part of the class. The other documentation was VERY confusing. I routinely asked the professor if he would supply a sample of the documentation and that helped tremendously. That weird ISP document was very strange - not sure what it was supposed to accomplish, and using the Appendix section did not make much sense either. The other documentation was not so bad. Best of luck!

Yes, I started the course without site approval. They had my information for a few weeks prior to the start of the class. My mentor did have to send them an email that stated that I had approval to continue with my Capstone project while waiting final site approval. It was not a form letter, but and email.

For my immersion hours I counted the time spent researching and writing about my project, as well as time spent on assignments. The bulk of the immersion hours that I logged where spent on my project. I would usually log about 12 hours of time per week. It was my understanding that you could not count any time spent meeting with your mentor.

knight05, Sorry to hear that your Capstone experience has been such a nightmare. I too had to receive site approval. It took about 4 weeks to get the final approval, and during that time I was able to continue the Capstone class with a letter from my mentor stating that it had been approved by my facility to continue my project while awaiting final site approval. This new Capstone format appears to be a work in progress, and it saddens me to see the individuals having so much difficulty with the class - mainly, it appears, through a lack of clarification and guidance from their instructors. I agree that the format and some of the assignments can be confusing, but it was not something that would make me not recommend GCU for future RN to BSN students. Maybe i just had a real good instructor, or maybe it was the plethora of questions and clarifications that I sent to my instructor :). I would definitely still recommend the school. Throughout the whole program I did not have a single instructor that did not respond to a question that I had - some where more timely than others, but all responded. My adviser was great, and never once let me down. She was able to help clarify any questions or concerns I had, and was able to help me navigate through that final site approval. It appears that some of us have had very different experiences. Maybe I have just been lucky. Even with the group projects (yuck), and the new Capstone format, I feel that GCU is still an excellent choice, and would recommend the program to future students.

You are correct that the capstone project is a research paper on an area/topic that you see needs improvement or modification. It can address an existing policy or a new policy and does not need to actually be implemented, but it could be if your facility/site would like to use it. The practice immersion hours is the time spent researching, writing, editing, etc. your paper. This does not necessarily include meetings or seminars unless they pertain to your project. I know we could not include the time spent with your mentor as immersion hours. The newer capstone format is a work in progress so there has been a lot of confusion with assignments. Hopefully you have an instructor that is quick to respond to questions. Mine was awesome and a lot of help. Best of luck.

I got this assignment confused with the lit review. I believe on this assignment I just had a paragraph in the paper that stated something like "Several studies will be used to support this conclusion" and then (in parentheses as if an in text citation) I listed the 9 studies that I was going to use throughout the research paper. You can then list these on your reference page at the end of the paper. It seems like the Capstone class is pretty fluid from one class to another, so the assignment may be slightly different between classes as they tweak the class. I do not remember what the 6 items were specifically, but if they were in the rubric I would use them as headings for each section of your paper. Hope this helps some.

Those 8+ research articles are the ones that you will be using/referencing in your final paper. If I recall correctly you write a short review of each article for this assignment. Those 750 words go by quick so be aware of your word count. Some instructors are more lenient than others when is comes to going over the word count so make sure you know how your instructor feels/grades

Agreed, it is confusing. You can have the journal entries "loosely" tie back in to your project. The instructor I had explained that the journal entries can cover your Capstone experience - not just the project. It felt like (to me) that there were no specific parameters on what the journal entries covered. I just included if I had an interesting case, how I collaborated with other departments (this could also tie-in to your project), how I used community health and/or the nursing process, etc. The Capstone is about more than just the research project, because really the research paper is much shorter than what was required in the previous 5 week class. If you are in doubt, then try to confirm if the journal entries need to tie-in directly with your research project. Hope this helps some.

In regards to the journal entries - the final journal is turned in at the end of the class. What I did is at the end of each week I would explain what I did that week, if I had an interesting case/experience, and relate each entry to one or more of the 10 subjects you need to address (new practice approaches, the role of technology in improving health care outcomes, population health concerns, etc). If you keep up on it each week it is much easier to manage. The scholarly activity that I chose was attending an 8hr trauma conference. Midnightspecialist, I would not wait too long before choosing your project and formulating your PICOT as this is the basis for all of your research time. Best of luck - the 10 week Capstone did have some challenges.

I never saw a list of instructors to avoid. I did not really have any trouble with the instructors I had. Maybe I was just lucky. Getting feedback was faster with some than with others. I really liked my Capstone instructor and would be happy to share his name with anyone if they want to private message me.

Hi jjmerc. The only break I took between classes was the required 2 week break at Christmas. I worked night shift (7p - 7a), 36 - 48 hours a week, 12 hour shifts. It was very doable as long as you are organized with your time. Do not wait until the day before, or in sometimes the day of, when a project is due. I know some work well under that kind of pressure, but not me. I was usually done with my projects by atleast the Friday before the Sunday due dates. Best of luck.

The purpose of the mentor is to offer guidance and suggestions with your project, and as a sounding board and someone else to bounce ideas off of. In my opinion the purpose of the clinical site is to offer insight and experience to help support, or in some cases help you clarify or alter you project purpose through the experiences you have at your site. As you have stated, the bulk of your research is likely done off site. As another purpose for the clinical site would be to show that, according to BSN requirements, a clinical site is used in the program - just a thought. Best of luck.

Hi Chrissybear. I just finished the capstone class in July. Immersion hours are the hours you spend working on you project and assignments such as research time, writing time, etc. It does not include the time spent with your mentor. I would usually log 12+ hours each week. Hope this helps some.

They combined the spirituality class and the ethics class into one 5 week class. This allowed the final Capstone class to be 10 weeks, but not require you to go an additional 5 weeks longer in the program.

I would suggest going right into a BSN program. You will find work as an ADN, but more doors will open with a BSN. Also, if you still have to do your pre-reqs you are going to spend a year doing that alone, so why not go another year and get your BSN. Best of luck

I have not had any issues with my employer recognizing my BSN from GCU. I also have 2 coworkers that went through GCU, also with no issues. I am with Flames on the doubling up of classes. My schedule just did not allow me to feel comfortable doing that, so I took all the classes individually. With the Capstone you will need 8 peer reviewed articles for you paper. Yes, they do need to be either qualitative or quantitative research articles. Choose your project wisely - meaning do not choose a research subject that you will have difficulty finding adequate research references, otherwise you are just shooting yourself in the foot (so to speak). Good luck with the program. I feel it was worth it. I did learn a lot. You will get out of it what you put into it. 4mranch

Hi kobe. During the first week, we were required to submit the ISP completed except for the columns with the number of hours, the self-assessment, and the date assignment completed (those could be completed for the first week only). We did not submit the final completion until the 10th week.

This is how my instructor explained it to me. In the table there are 6 columns. The first column is the topic due that week. In the second column list the domains addressed in that topic (domains are found in the Appendix towards the end of the ISP). The third column you would list the number of hours spent that week on each topic due for the week. The fourth column is the assignment due date. The fifth column list each domain used (i.e. 1.1, 1.2, 2.2, etc) and a BRIEF synopsis of how those domains relate to activities for the week. The sixth column is the date the assignments were submitted. Hope this helps. Good luck with the class. It does get easier after the first couple of weeks. There is just a lot of "busy work" that you have to do. I would also advise getting your scholarly activity done and written earlier rather than later just to get it out of the way. I did mine on a trauma symposium that I attended.

I don't believe your mentor has to be in the exact same field as your project, but they do have to be a BSN or higher in their education. Best of luck with your Captsone.

I just finished the program. I am not planning on attending graduation in the fall. It was offered, but I live in the midwest and do not feel the need to go through the ceremony.

Hi jjmerc. The only break I took was the mandatory Christmas break which was 2 weeks. With student loans I believe you can take breaks between classes - I think 2 weeks, but not sure - like Flames suggested, check with your counselor. I just wanted to get it done. Took me 14 months. I worked 3-4 12 hour shifts a week 7p - 7a. Not too bad. You just have to watch your time management. I do not have young kids at home, so that was much easier. Husband and 2 older children (18 and 22) who were very supportive and left me alone when I was in "writing mode" :) Best of luck.

I just submitted my last assignments for the Capstone class! I worked full time throughout the program. I did not double up any classes as it just would not have worked out well for my schedule. The group projects are a pain, but not deal breakers in my opinion. I took some advice from Flames and just took the lead on each project I was in - most do not want to be the lead and time gets wasted trying to figure it out. Yes, there can be slackers in the groups, but if it becomes a big issue let your instructor know. The 10 week Capstone class is quite confusing during the first 2 weeks while trying to figure out exactly what it is they are asking for. Just ask questions, and ask for examples to help give you an idea how to approach a project. My instructor was very good about responding to questions, was very helpful, and seemed to want to make sure that you were going to be able to complete the class. As with all online programs, you will get out of it what you put into it.

Hi Nea, I asked for clarification on this as well and our professor supplied a sample ISP so we could better understand what they were asking for.