Using A Senior Capstone Project to Link Root Cause Analysis to the Practice Realm Mikel W. Hand, EdD, RN, OCN, NE-BC, NEA-BC, Assistant Professor of Nursing Susan Seibert, MSN, RN, Clinical Assistant Professor of Nursing University of Southern Indiana College of Nursing & Health Professions Student Power Point Slide: Results Project Development of a senior capstone project to engage students in Root Cause Analysis (RCA) Setting: BSN Leadership and Management Course in both the traditional prelicensure BSN and RN to BSN completion program. Project successfully implemented in 3 consecutive courses Sample topics: Organ transplantation error Death after central line removal Heparin overdose Death by PCA overdose Student feedback concerning the overall learning experience very positive. “The RCA project also makes students more aware of some inherent risks in providing patient care and will hopefully help make us more conscientious practitioners in the future. ” Christina Samuels, USI Student Theoretical Framework Instructional Design Problem –based learning RCA is complex and challenging Cases used are real Students engage as collaborative teams to examine the case and apply RCA principles Motivation to address the case using RCA becomes the motivation to learn Teams of students select instances of significant medical error from media to complete the following assignment criteria: Research the case Identify potential members of RCA team Interview individuals in local hospitals regarding topic (QI team leader, nurse attorney, nurse manager, pharmacist, surgeon). Integrate evidence from literature Formulate a RCA based on available information Submit a formal paper including recommendations for system and process improvements Present project to classmates (oral presentation) either in class (traditional) or online (RN to BSN) using Voice Thread technology. Implications for Practice Actively engages students in RCA using actual cases from literature and the media Empowers students with knowledge and skills of QI processes Prepares students for involvement in QI even as new graduates RCA