One major challenge is choosing a topic for the capstone project. There are so many interesting areas in the nursing field that it can be difficult to narrow it down to just one topic of focus. Students may feel overwhelmed by the scope of potential topics. A good way to overcome this is to think about personal areas of interest within nursing. Reflect on clinical experiences and populations that were personally meaningful. Discuss options with nursing instructors and mentors as they can provide guidance on what makes a strong capstone topic.
Another challenge is developing and defining the scope of the project. Once a topic is chosen, clearly defining the purpose, objectives, and direction of the project is a big undertaking. It’s easy for nursing students to want to take on too broad of a scope that would be difficult to complete within the given timeline and requirements. When first developing the project scope, it’s important to keep things focused and manageable. Talk to instructors about how to craft a clearly defined yet doable scope. Be willing to refine and adjust the scope as needed during the planning stages.
Conducting an extensive literature review can also pose difficulties for nursing students. The review requires navigating large quantities of research from professional journals, finding sources that are relevant yet not duplicative, and synthesizing findings into coherent themes. Nursing students may lack experience performing such in-depth reviews. Budgeting ample time for the literature review is key. Students should also familiarize themselves with helpful resources for nursing research like CINAHL and request guidance from nursing librarians on effective searching techniques.
Another major hurdle relates to research methodology. For capstone projects involving original research, nursing students need to design sound methodologies, determine appropriate methods/tools for data collection, and identify ethical considerations. This level of research design is a new skill that takes time to develop. Students should leverage the research coursework within their programs, speak to research-experienced mentors, consult the program’s IRB office, and allow sufficient time for methodology planning and refinement.
Time management is an ongoing challenge for many nursing students as well. Capstone projects occur alongside other high-level coursework during the final year of a bachelor’s program, when student schedules are extremely full. Successful time management requires students to create a schedule, set interim deadlines, and stick to regular work intervals without procrastination. Strategies like committing to focused blocks of capstone project work each week and requesting scheduling accommodations from instructors can help with time management.
Analysis and interpretation of collected data can also present difficulties. Making sense of various qualitative or quantitative findings requires statistical or thematic analysis skills that take practice to develop. Students may find they need several iterations of analysis to arrive at meaningful insights or conclusions. Consulting statistical tools, mentors, and instructor feedback helps strengthen analysis abilities over time. Leaving ample time for analysis is important too so that meaningful conclusions can be drawn from the collected data or information.
Presenting research finds through the required written capstone paper, oral presentation or other format poses its own challenges. Effectively communicating the project in a clear, rigorous yet engaging manner to both peers and professionals takes clear writing and presentation experience to achieve. Throughout the capstone process, capstone chairs and mentors should provide detailed feedback on writing and presentation skills so students can iteratively strengthen their communication abilities for the final report or presentation deliverables. Joining nursing conferences or workshops helps build invaluable presentation experience as well.
The capstone project pushes nursing students’ skills and time management to the limit. With careful topic selection, well-defined scoping, strategic literature review techniques, utilization of program supports and resources for research methodology and data analysis, diligent time management, and focus on ongoing skill-building through feedback – nursing students can successfully overcome these challenges and produce impactful work. Allowing ample overall time for the large undertaking and regularly accessing guidance from instructors, librarians and mentors are keys to capstone success.