Capstone Project Oral Defense
The purpose of the oral defense is to demonstrate to the faculty that each student has acquired the
skills necessary for a Master’s degree as guided by the AACN Essentials of Masters Education in Nursing
and core competency as a nurse practitioner guided by the National Organization of Nurse Practitioner
Faculties (NONPF). In addition, projects should be based upon at least one of the Institute of Medicine’s
(IOM) recommendations for improving patient care.
The Ten Essentials of Master of Education in Nursing include the following:
1) Knowledge of Nursing Practice
2) Person-Centered Care
3) Population Health
4) Scholarship for the Nursing Discipline
5) Quality and Safety
6) Interprofessional Partnerships
7) Systems-Based Practice
8) Informatics and Healthcare Technologies
9) Professionalism
10) Personal, Professional, and Leadership Development
The Nine Nurse Practitioner Core Competencies are:
1)
2)
3)
4)
5)
6)
7)
8)
9)
Scientific Foundations
Leadership
Quality
Practice Inquiry
Technology and Information Literacy
Policy
Health Delivery System
Ethics
Independent Practice
IOM Recommendations for Areas to Focus on to Improve Patient Care: one
1)
2)
3)
4)
5)
6)
7)
8)
9)
Access to Medical Care
Healthcare Cost
Quality of Healthcare
Medical Errors / Patient Safety
Disease Prevention
Community Health Promotion
Timeliness / Efficiency of Care
Health Professional Collaboration / Information Sharing
Patient-Centered Care
The following are guidelines for the oral defense:
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Each capstone project must be thoroughly defended during a presentation to the faculty.
The presentation should be creative and not exceed 20 minutes in duration.
You may use audio / visuals during your presentation if desired.
Every student involved in the project must be present for the defense.
All students should be prepared to answer faculty questions regarding any aspect of the project.
The key elements of your presentation should include:
Community assessment performed
Healthcare need identified – Based upon the community assessment and IOM recommendations for
improving patient care. Identify the IOM recommendation that you will be addressing with your project.
Literature reviewed and how this guided your intervention
Theoretical framework that guided your intervention
Identification of non-nursing individuals collaborating on the project and input into the project
Role of the Advanced Practice Nurse and involvement in the project
Discussion of the project implementation
Projected outcomes and community impact
Reflective evaluation of the project, ways to improve, how it could be sustained, and what could be
done different in the future.
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Throughout your presentation, please identify how you applied all the Master of Education in
Nursing essentials and the NP core competencies.