The Graduate Nursing Capstone Experience is a culminating experience designed to provide learners with an opportunity to apply nursing leadership knowledge and skills acquired throughout the program of study focusing on the competencies of the graduate level nurse leader. This six-credit course consists of several integrated components: project experience, discussion, assignments, and project presentation. Assessment of the learner’s attainment of program competencies is built into these components. This course includes practice experience hours that must be successfully completed with an approved mentor. 3 credits allotted to didactic and 3 credits to practice experience. Practice Experience: 135 hours practice experience of an independent project reviewed and approved by instructional faculty. Students will work with their approved mentor to design a leadership project, plan its implementation in detail, implement the project, and prepare a comprehensive evaluation plan for the project. Students use a qualified individual who volunteers to serve as their mentor* for their project. Participation of the mentor is subject to approval by the capstone faculty. This course includes 135 hours practice experience. Please discuss with your mentor and faculty a suitable project that will fall within the allotted hours. No additional hours will be awarded beyond the 135 hours. * Individual with master’s degree or higher who has expertise within the designated specialization and agrees to voluntarily serve as a resource for the student. ACEN definition of Practice Experience: Direct practice experience is related to interaction with the interprofessional team, appropriate to achieve the end-of-program student learning outcomes, program outcomes, and/or role-specific professional competencies, and are overseen by qualified mentor and course faculty who provide feedback to students in support of their learning. Practice learning experiences are required for all nursing students enrolled in the graduate program. This course contains Practice Experience hours. You will not pass this course if you have not successfully met all components of the Practice Experience, regardless of the course numeric grade These are the components of the practice experience:

• • Satisfactory performance at all 3 Points of Contact
  • Approved Capstone Project Proposal
  • Practice Log with 135 hours signed by mentor
  • Mentor CV/Resume submission
  • Presentation of the Capstone Project
  • 135 Practice Experience Hours
  • Satisfactory completion of facility requirements (e.g. affiliation agreement, immunization, background check, active unencumbered RN license, etc.). This includes completion of the Capstone Project: Do You Need IRB Approval Quiz in Module 1.