An agency-financed capstone experience for graduating seniors

Area of Science:

• Nursing Education
• Undergraduate Curriculum

Background:

• Capstone experiences are standard in undergraduate programs.
• Nursing programs typically require a clinical capstone experience.
• Kentucky mandates 120 hours of clinical experience prior to graduation for nursing students.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate an innovative approach to the undergraduate nursing capstone clinical experience.
• To assess the implementation of 120 hours of clinical experience within the final 7 weeks of a nursing program.

Main Methods:

• The study involved an innovative clinical experience model.
• This approach was implemented during the last 7 weeks of the nursing program.
• The focus was on fulfilling the 120-hour requirement.

Main Results:

• An innovative approach to the capstone clinical experience was evaluated.
• The method was designed to meet the 120-hour requirement for Kentucky nursing programs.
• The experience was integrated into the final 7 weeks of the curriculum.

Conclusions:

• The study explored a new method for delivering essential capstone clinical hours.
• This innovative approach was assessed for its effectiveness in meeting program requirements.
• The findings contribute to understanding alternative models for nursing capstone experiences.