Capstone Experience in Healthcare

Running head: CAPSTONE EXPERIENCE IN HEALTHCARE 1
Capstone Experience in Healthcare
Student’s Name
Institution

CAPSTONE EXPERIENCE IN HEALTHCARE 2
Capstone Experience in Healthcare
Introduction
Like in most graduate school programs that require the fulfillment of a thesis, a capstone
project is a similar program used in the competition of undergraduate and graduate course
degrees. This projects are however quite different from theses when the goals and aims of the
program are considered. Hence, a capstone project allows a student the opportunity to use
learned materials and apply them in a specific area of practice. The capstone experience will in
such a case entail identification of a particular issue or problem in the real world and then
utilizing or applying the learned skills to develop the solution that will directly resolve the
problem at hand. Thus main goals of a capstone experience will entail define a problem or
opportunity, decide on the techniques to be used, make a positive influence on the community
and base the findings on specific area of interest.
Alternatively, capstone projects aim to enable a student take advantage of the learned
knowledge and theory and utilize such information in a real world setting. Nursing students are
for instance given the opportunity to be involved in public health practice projects and further
synthesize, integrate and apply the skills and competencies acquired during their course work.
By focusing on a specific issue, students are expected to describe the problem using an evidence
or fact-based approach taking into account various contributions by other scholars. Hence, the
completion of a capstone project experience requires the student to base their findings on their
field experiences.
In my case, the capstone experience project revolved around the prevalence of dementia
and ways through which medical practitioners can manage or treat the condition. Notably,

CAPSTONE EXPERIENCE IN HEALTHCARE 3
dementia is not a specific disease but rather, it is a degenerative and irreversible condition that
mostly affects the elderly populations (Cations, Radisic, Crotty & Laver, 2018). The current and
widely used management practices involve provision of support to patients with dementia and
their caregivers. In Australia, care is mostly provided in residential aged cares with hygienic
routines, timely sleep and waking time, and engagement in physical activities being the primary
management practices in these care facilities (Dementia Australia, 2019). Caregivers in this case
follow a strict formula of impact, progress and treatment for every patient.
The aims of the capstone experience project is to determine the prevalence of dementia in
Australia and unfold the methods and techniques through which care and treatment are provided
for patients diagnosed with dementia and are living in age care homes (WHO, 2019). Ideally, it
can be noted that based on the capstone experience project operational and managed care plan
for dementia patients in aged care units lies on seven key areas including; communication,
spiritual and emotional wellbeing, social interaction and lifestyle management, personal care,
cultural and behavioral needs, and the environment.
Another aim of the capstone experience project is to identify the prevalence, causes and
challenges in managing dementia. Notably, this information will aid in the justification of
dementia as a concerning health issue in Australia. The data will similarly aid in identifying the
patient populations that are most affected and pinpointing the pitfalls associated with currently
used treatment and management practices (Gaskin, Georgiou, Barton & Westbrook,
2012)Finally, this capstone experience project aims to reflect and analyze the applicability of the
identified treatment and management plan.
Outline and the content of the body of the essay

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The capstone experience project contains a specific outline which can be described as
follows. The project experience will first justify the choice of the capstone experience project by
highlighting the prevalence of dementia in Australia. Justification will also be based on the
health, psychological and cost impacts that dementia has on the patients and other key
stakeholders such as the national government and patients’ relatives and friends. Ideally, this
justification process will help in bringing to light why dementia is one of the main healthcare
concerns and further illustrate how nurses have a critical role to play in management of this
condition (ABS, 2016).
The essay will then focus on self-assessment and evaluation. In this section, details
concerning the student’s assessment will be discussed in the process detailing journalizing and
itemization of guidelines as the main tools used in the assessment process. Such information will
further be aided by a rationale why self-assessment is important in nursing profession (Lima,
Newall, Kinney, Jordan & Hamilton, 2014). Also, the section will entail the main goals that
were set by the student in an attempt to fulfill the requirements of the capstone experience
project. Ideally, the main goals will encompass the identification of an evidence-based nursing
care for treatment and management of dementia cases among the elderly in residential care
homes (Arendts, Dickson, Howard & Quine, 2010).
The following section will comprise a critical reflection and analysis of the capstone
experience project. In this part, the essay will cover the experiences of the student in applying the
evidence-based nursing approach in the management of dementia in residential aged care. A
critical reflection framework will specifically be used to provide a vivid narration of the

CAPSTONE EXPERIENCE IN HEALTHCARE 5
experiences that the student had in their area of practice. As such, this critical reflection section
will be focused on the total experience of the nursing issue. The discussed stages will include;
description, feelings, evaluation, analysis, conclusion and an action plan.
The fourth section of this essay will be based on the professional portfolio of the student.
The content of the professional portfolio will include; personal details, educational
qualifications, professional membership, personal goal, work experience, key personal strengths,
and a description of the students current position.
Finally, this project will conclude by detailing a summary of all the findings in this
capstone experience project. Ideally, this information will include; aims of the project,
identification and justification of the issue, the devised action plan and a description of the same,
and a reflection and outcomes of the capstone experience project.
Justification for choice of capstone experience project
More than 50 million people are currently diagnosed with dementia. In Australia, the
prevalence of this condition has been alarming and since the condition lacks any desirable
treatments or cure, dementia has resulted in thousands of deaths over the past few years. The
latest evidence reveals that dementia related cases have been on the rise with data revealing that
more than 400,000 Australians are diagnosed with dementia as of 2018 (Dementia Australia,
2019). Most of the affected individuals are the elderly who are aged 65 years and above. 40% of
these cases are attributed to people who are aged above 85 years. This population group is also
the most vulnerable to other health conditions such as increased risk of falls and other disabilities
(ABS, 2016). It is further expected that without timely and effective management of this
condition, it is highly likely that dementia prevalence will continue to increase in the near future.

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Dementia poises advance health, social and cost implications to affected individuals and
their families. At the onset of this condition, dementia is associated with other health conditions
such as diabetes, cardiovascular diseases, stroke and ultimately death. The best that medical
practitioners can do to manage the condition comprises delay in its progression. Dementia
patients and their caregivers have also been dealt with hefty costs of medications coupled with
adverse psychological effects as dementia progresses towards its latter stages (Hunter & Doyle,
2014). The costs have also been borne by the federal government with latest evidence indicating
that the government of Australia spent more than $15 billion in managing this condition by the
end of 2018. Such costs have been disseminated through programs such as Dementia Initiative
but changes in government policy and priorities have either terminated such initiatives or
provided lesser funds to finance the entire management process inclusive of education and
training of caregivers and treatment options (AIHW, 2016).
Families and carers also suffer a great deal of emotional burden when providing care to
patients of dementia. It can be emotionally overwhelming to experience the health of a loved one
deteriorates especially when this condition reaches its latter stages. Financial pressure further
contributes to stress thereby warranting the need for support (Fazio, Pace, Maslow, Zimmerman
& Kallmyer, 2018). Thus, in light of the aforementioned challenges not only to the families and
carers, but also towards the state of a nation, dementia becomes a great public health concern that
must be tackled. Even so, evidence indicates that delaying dementia by at least two years can
have significant psychological and financial effects (Wells & Smith, 2017). In this light,
residential care for the aged populations has been touted as the most and one of the primary
settings to offer care and service to the aged people diagnosed with dementia (Parker & Clifton,
2014).