DNP 815 Postconference Evaluation: Individual Success Plan (ISP)

Assessment Description

The Individual Success Plan (ISP) assignment in this course requires your collaboration with the course faculty early on to establish a plan for successful completion of mutually identified and agreed-upon specific deliverables for your programmatic requirements. Programmatic requirements are: (1) completion of required practice immersion hours, (2) completion of work associated with program competencies, and (3) work associated with completion of your Direct Practice Improvement (DPI) Project.

A postconference evaluation is mandatory and will occur at the end of this course and every subsequent course using the ISP form. This is intended for the learner and preceptor/mentor to review and evaluate the completion of the ISP. The faculty will validate that all areas are at “Meets Expectations” on the preceptor/mentor evaluation form, located in Typhon or Lopes Activity Tracker, prior to progression. The learner will upload the ISP and preceptor/mentor evaluations and proof of entered and approved practice immersion hours into the digital classroom by Topic 8 with the other required deliverables. Faculty will review this before filling out the faculty evaluation of the learner in Typhon or Lopes Activity Tracker, which the learner will also upload in Topic 8. The course faculty will complete a separate evaluation of the learner’s performance in the digital classroom. The faculty is responsible for any course grading, final course grade, and validation of the learner’s’ completed practice immersion hours.

General Requirements:

Use the following information to ensure successful completion of the assignment as it pertains to deliverables due in this course.

• Use the Individual Success Plan (ISP) developed in Topic 1 as a personal plan for completing your practice immersion hours and how competencies will be met. All of the major milestones and deliverables should be indicated in the timeline.
• Conferences may be conducted face-to-face or via technology. A copy of the signed document will be uploaded into the digital classroom no later than the end of Topic 8.
• Doctoral learners are required to use APA style for their writing assignments. The APA Style Guide is located in the Student Success Center.
• This assignment uses a rubric. Review the rubric prior to the beginning to become familiar with the expectations for successful completion.
• You are not required to submit this assignment to LopesWrite.
• Learners will submit this assignment using the assignment dropbox in the learning management system. In addition, learners must upload this deliverable to the Learner Dissertation Page (LDP) in the DNP PI Workspace for later use.

Directions:

1. Identify the specific deliverables you will complete throughout this course from those defined above with your faculty. Update your faculty/chair with any revisions or changes to the ISP.
2. List the challenges you expect to encounter as you continue the practice immersion hour and competency requirements throughout this course. How might you overcome these challenges?
3. Complete the Contact Information table at the beginning of the ISP resource, and type in your signature (learner only) and the date on which you completed the table. Read the information in the ISP document, including the following: Learner Expectations, Derivation of the ISP, and Instructions for Completing the ISP.
4. Follow the instructions and complete the ISP.

Which science-based theories do you think are the most useful to the DNP-prepared nurse? Why?

Theories are ubiquitous throughout scientific disciplines. Scientific theories make attempts to describe, explain or predict various phenomena (Butts & Rich, 2018). This type of theory has clear definitions and characteristics which can be attributed to an event or situation. As such, nursing theories are scientifically based on defined and testable concepts that attempt to lead to an explanation or prediction. Theories help to guide and solidify ideas or concepts in various professions. The incredible consideration for nursing theory is the combination of science with the person. These two items can not be siloed as any theory in nursing will ultimately impact the people under nursing care. As a DNP, scientific theories transition knowledge and research into practice.

           There are numerous theories within the nursing profession and the most appropriate theory will be dependent on the situation it is being applied. Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs can be applied in most situations and tends to the physical demands and psychological needs of a person in order to grow and develop. Lower level needs must be obtained before higher level needs can be met. Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs was evident during the pandemic. The initial needs of COVID-positive patients were physical, considering impaired oxygenation and perfusion. However, this can be applicable to nurses as well. When COVID started, nurses were operating in a crisis and trying to meet physiological needs and safety. With support and encouragement from the organization, nurses could grow to the top level of self-actualization where innovation was supported and nurses rose to the challenge (Hayre-Kwan et al., 2021).

           The Neuman Systems Model (NSM) is another beneficial theory for DNP nurses to use. This model views how an organism (which could be a person, family, group, community, or larger group) interacts with each other and with different environmental groups (Ahmadi & Sadeghi, 2017). NSM is similar to Maslow’s model as it looks at the physiological and psychological dimensions of an individual. There are certain needs that must be addressed to survive. But NMS also discusses the environmental factors that may impact a person, including internal, external, and created influences. Both of these theories address the person holistically and include basic needs and higher-level needs which is helpful considerations for DNPs.

References

Ahmadi, Z. & Sadeghi, T. (2017). Application of the Betty Neuman systems model in the nursing care of patients/clients with multiple sclerosis. Multiple Sclerosis Journal – Experimental, Translational and Clinical, 3(3), 2055217317726789. Doi: 10.1177/2055217317726798

Butts, J. B., & Rich, K. L. (2022). Philosophies and theories for Advanced Nursing Practice. Jones & Bartlett Learning. 

Hayre-Kwan, S., Quinn, B., Chu, T., Orr, P., & Snoke, J. (2021). Nursing and Maslow’s Hierarchy: A Health Care Pyramid Approach to Safety and Security During a Global Pandemic. Nurse Leader, 19(6), 590–595. https://doi-org.lopes.idm.oclc.org/10.1016/j.mnl.2021.08.013.