CAPSTONE PROJECTS
CAPSTONE PROJECTS
CAPSTONE PROJECTS
CAPSTONE PROJECTS
A capstone is literally, “one of the finishing or protective stones that form the top of an exterior masonry wall or building.” The Capstone project is the pinnacle of the University of Colorado Master of Science Palliative Care (MSPC) program and differentiates this program from programs without an integrative/systems project. In MSPC Capstone coursework, students apply what they have learned to real-world problems in their work settings. Students design and implement projects (e.g., evidence-based practice, quality improvement, patient safety, program development or evaluation, ethics or humanities, needs assessment, education, community engagement, research), build presentation skills, develop relationships with faculty mentors, and demonstrate program competencies. Students share results through a professional abstract and poster presentation and may present at a professional PC meeting.
Master’s students will take two 3-credit courses to complete the Capstone Coursework: PALC 6910 Capstone Project Proposal and PALC 6950 Capstone Project Presentation.
Develop, implement, and evaluate an educational plan that increases palliative care awareness with patients, family caregivers, healthcare providers and professionals, students, consumers, and/or the community-at-large.
| Cohort | Student Name | Mentor | Project Title | Project Type |
| 2020 | Kristen Adelman, BSN, RN, CHPPN, MSPC | Kelly Arora | Educational Intervention Focusing on Self-Awareness and Bias Identification in an Interdisciplinary Pediatric Palliative Care Team | Education |
| 2016 | Kathleen Beaver, MSPC, BSN, RN, CHPN | Elizabeth Holman | Pain Management Educational Intervention for Long Term Care Staff in a Rural Facility | Education |
| 2021 | Julia Besagno, BSN, RN, CPHON, MSPC | Elissa Kolva | Distress in Pediatric Oncology Patients and Their Family Caregivers: An Educational Initiative | Education |
| 2016 | Kacey Boyle, MSPC, BSN, RN, CHPN | Kristin Broadfoot | Whose Job Is It Anyway? Working to Improve Serious Illness Communication Skills across Disciplines | Education |
| 2020 | Craig Brown, MD, MD, FASCRS | K. Barry Platnick | Palliative Care as an Asset: The Impact of an Educational Intervention into Tumor Board Discussions | Education |
| 2021 | Lauren Carter, BSN, RN-BC | Nancy Robertson | MDPOA Education: An Initiative for Bedside Nurses at the Poudre Valley Hospital | Education |
| 2022 | Ann Marie Collier, MD, FAAN, FAES, FAIHM | Regina Fink | Neuropalliative Care: An Educational Presentation for Clinicians | Education |
| 2020 | Randall G. Craig, MD, MS, MSPC | Melissa Palmer | Educating Health Care Professionals in Inner City Health Center about Palliative Care and Hospice
View PDF of project abstract | View PDF of project poster
| Education |
| 2019 | Tristen Dinkel, BSN, RN, CPN, CNRN, MSPC | Nancy Robertson | Integrating Palliative Care in a Rett Program: An Educational Plan | Education |
| 2017 | Brandy Drake, MD, MSPC | Jean Abbott | Educational Intervention to Promote Provider Understanding of DNR Orders and Advance Directives | Education |
| 2020 | Anthony Eidelman, MD, MSPC | Regina Fink and Amos Bailey | Moral Distress by Staff: My patient is suffering and "we can’t keep torturing them” | Education |
| 2016 | Ellen Fulp, PharmD, MSPC, BCGP; NC | Shaun Gleason | Student Pharmacist Perceptions of Palliative Care in the Academic Setting | Education |
| 2018 | Nezha Hamid, MSPC | Julie Swaney | Determining Oncology Nurses’ Knowledge, Perceptions, and Needs about Palliative and Spiritual Care at Hamad Medical Corporation | Education |
| 2018 | Misty D. Lahti, RN, BSN, MSPC | Jean Abbott | Readiness to Engage Advance Care Planning in a Diverse Islamic Community | Community Engagement |
| 2016 | Kathleen Lester, MSPC, BS, BSN, RN-BC | Jean Abbott | Increasing Advance Care Planning in Acute Care Nurses: Have You Had the Conversation? | Education |
| 2018 | Evangeline G. MacMillan, RN, BSN, BA, CHPPN, MSPC | Nancy English | Primary Palliative Care Communication Skills for Practicing Registered Nurses in the Neonatal Intensive Care Setting | Education |
| 2019 | Dora Mueller, BSN, RN, CHPPN, MSPC | Kelly Arora | Advance Care Planning Engagement in a Multi-cultural Faith-based Community of largely Latinx origin | Community Engagement |
| 2020 | Amber Oakes, BSN, RN, CHPN, MSPC | Hareklia Brackett | Conversations Before the Crisis: The Impact of an Educational Intervention on Goals of Care Discussions | Education |
| 2016 | Elizabeth Paramore, MSPC, BSN, RN | Amos Bailey | Closing the Palliative Care Skills Gap by Providing Palliative Care Seminars for Physician Assistant Students | Education |
| 2018 | Misty Roberts, RN, BSN, MSPC CHPN | Katie Morrison | Increasing Resiliency Awareness in Palliative Care Clinicians through a Series of Educational Sessions | Education |
| 2021 | Carri Schnabel, BSN, RN, MSPC | Nancy Robertson | Integrating Palliative Care for Oncology Triage Nurses: An Educational Plan | Education |
| 2018 | Loren Steinfeldt, BSN, RN, MSPC | Kelly Arora | Pain Management Clinic Orientation: Developing an Improved Onboarding Process for Newly Hired Nurses | Education |
| 2018 | Nicole Thurston, MD, MSPC | Amos Bailey | Educational Intervention to Improve Understanding and Willingness to Use Ketamine in Supportive and Palliative Oncology | Education |
Review, critique, synthesize, and integrate evidence (research and non-research sources of evidence) into a plan to change and evaluate clinical practice or policies and procedures in the student's setting.
| Cohort | Student Name | Mentor | Project Title | Project Type |
| 2017 | Jenny Carson, RN, BSN, MSPC | Nancy English | Evidence of Non-Verbal Self-Reported QOL In Medically Complex Children | Evidence-Based Practice |
| 2018 | Sofia Cartagena, RN, BSN, MSPC, CHPN | Nancy Robertson | After-Death Care Protocol: A Final Act of Caring | Evidence-Based Practice |
| 2018 | Peter Rice, PharmD, MSPC | Shaun Gleason | Pharmacologic Review of Medical Aid in Dying | Evidence-based Practice |
| Cohort | Student Name | Mentor | Project Title | Project Type |
| 2019 | Christine Merchant, BSN, RN, CHPN, MSPC | Amos Bailey | Serious Illness as Seen through Visual Art in the Palliative Care Setting | Humanities |
Perform a needs assessment by identifying unmet educational needs or health and healthcare needs of a special population and make changes to meet these unmet needs.
| Cohort | Student Name | Mentor | Project Title | Project Type |
| 2016 | Julie J. Berk, MSPC, MS, PA-C | Judy Knudson | Design and Needs Assessment of Framework for Group Palliative Care Visits for Atypical Parkinsonism | Needs Assessment |
| 2021 | Anne Camerlengo, MD | Maurice Scott | Assessing the Need and Planned Utilization of a New Pediatric Palliative Care Program | Needs Assessment |
| 2018 | Sara Elliott, BScAHN, BNRN, MSPC | Nancy Robertson | Palliative Care Delivery in Rural Newfoundland and Labrador | Needs Assessment |
| 2016 | Lily Gillmor, MSPC, BSN, RN, CHPPN, MSPC | Nancy English | Integrated Bereavement: A Comprehensive Approach to Pediatric Loss | Needs Assessment |
| 2019 | Jennifer Knott Lavagnino, BSN, RN, MSPC | Harri Brackett | Palliative Care in the PICU: A Needs Assessment | Needs Assessment |
| 2017 | Garth Leadbetter, RN, BSN, MSPC | Nancy Robertson | A Palliative Care Needs Assessment of Private Duty Pediatric Nurses | Needs Assessment |
| 2018 | Katrina Leonard, RN, BSN, MSPC | Nancy English | Providing End-of Life Care to Children: A Needs Assessment of Hospice Nurses | Needs Assessment |
| 2017 | Niki Shah, RPh, MSPC | Amos Bailey | Quality-of-Life Needs Assessment in Patients with Severe Chronic Pancreatitis Using a Validated Instrument | Needs Assessment |
| 2016 | Cara Thompson, MSPC, BSN, RN, CHPN | Regina Fink | A Needs Assessment of Community Nurses to Facilitate their Role in Global Palliative Care | Needs Assessment |
| 2021 | Blakely Winner, RN, BSN, HNB-BC, MSPC | Melissa Palmer | Incorporating Nutritional Support in Rural Palliative Care Delivery | Needs Assessment |
Develop a program proposal to enhance clinical care in the student's setting, present the proposal and evaluate the program's success. OR systematically collect information about the activities, characteristics, and results of program in the student's setting; develop a proposal to enhance the program's effectiveness and/or inform decisions about future programming; implement and evaluate program recommendations.
| Cohort | Student Name | Mentor | Project Title | Project Type |
| 2017 | Jamie Benton, MSW, MSPC | Todd Hultman | How Palliative Care Team Composition Affects Program Variables and Outcomes Data | Program Evaluation |
| 2016 | Timothy Holder, MD, MSPC | Nancy Robertson | Palliative Care in the Home Program | Program Development |
| 2021 | Katie Jones, RN, FNP-C, AOCNP, MSPC | Harri Brackett | Role Definition and Training of Volunteers for an In-Home Oncology Palliative Care Program | Program Development |
| 2016 | Deborah Nuccio, MSPC, PA-C | Maurice Scott | Outcomes in Kaiser Colorado Head/Neck Cancer Patients who received Chemo-Radiation Therapy and Palliative Care | Program Evaluation |
| 2016 | Matthew Stinson, MSPC, MPAS, PA-C | Katie Morrison | Compassionate Technology: Palliative Care Telemedicine in the Rural Hospital Setting | Program Development |
Identify a clinical problem and then develop, implement, and evaluate a plan to improve care and patient outcomes for a specific patient population in the student's setting. OR identify a sentinel event that has occurred on the student's setting; develop a plan to remediate the problem; implement and evaluate the plan's ability to prevent or reduce the recurrence of the event.
| Cohort | Student Name | Mentor | Project Title | Project Type |
| 2020 | Paul Ammatelli, MD, MSPC | Melissa Palmer | Improving Palliative Care Outcomes for Patients with Alzheimer’s Disease and Related Dementias and Family Caregivers | Quality Improvement |
| 2017 | Elizabeth Belanger- Shugart, ANP, MSPC | Katie Morrison | Developing Nurses as Palliative Care Advocates through Education | Quality Improvement |
| 2020 | Isaac A. Bohannon, MD | Melissa Palmer | Increasing Essential Palliative Care Delivery Within an Outpatient Multidisciplinary Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis Clinic | Quality Improvement |
| 2017 | Carol Curran, MD, MSPC | Maurice Scott | Inpatient Palliative Care in a Rural Community Hospital: A Needs Assessment Survey | Quality Improvement |
| 2018 | Dana Coutts, PA-C, MSPC | Maurice Scott | Early Outpatient Palliative Care Referral for Ischemic Stroke Survivors | Quality Improvement |
| 2017 | Brandy Drake, MD | Jean Abbott | Educational Intervention to Promote Provider Understanding of DNR Orders and Advance Directives | Quality Improvement |
| 2020 | Kimberly A. Indovina, MD, FACP, FHM, MSPC | Nancy Robertson | Improving Familiarity with Palliative Care through Interdisciplinary Clinician Education | Quality Improvement |
| 2022 | Julie L. Jones, MD, FACP, MSPC | Ellen Willard | Early Integration of Palliative Care in Patients Diagnosed with COPD | Quality Improvement |
| 2020 | Daniel Khodabakhsh, MD | Melissa Palmer | Improving Symptom Management and Quality of Life Outcomes in a Community Palliative Care Practice in the Mojave Desert | Quality Improvement |
| 2020 | Magda Lenartowicz, MD, MSPC | Regina Fink | Preventing Falls in Hospice: A Quality Improvement Initiative | Quality Improvement |
| 2021 | Lawren Love, MD | Maurice Scott | Development of an Evidence-Based Treatment Pathway to Improve Dyspnea Management and Oxygen Utilization in a Hospice Organization | Quality Improvement |
| 2018 | Amber Maniates, MSPAS, PA-C, MSPC | Harri Brackett | Know Patients’ Preferences: Completing Medical Scope of Treatment (MOST) Forms in Persons with Advanced Cancer | Quality Improvement |
| 2020 | Shivani Bhatia Martin, MD, FACP, MSPC | Julie Swaney | Recognizing and Addressing Spiritual Concerns for Advanced Cancer Patients as Hospitalists | Quality Improvement |
| 2021 | Oana Petcu, MD, MSPC | Amos Bailey | Educating Intensive Care Unit Health Care Professionals about Early Palliative Care and Hospice Referral | Quality Improvement |
| 2019 | K. Barry Platnick, MD, MSPC | Jon Treem | Pre-operative Comprehensive Care Clinic (PCCC) for Patients with Advanced Cancer | Quality Improvement |
| 2016 | Adonica Racicot, MSPC, BSN, RN, OCN | Todd Hultman Regina Fink | Normalizing Palliative Care for Advanced Cancer Patients Through Education and Consistent Exposure | Quality Improvement |
| 2020 | Devjit Roy, MD, MAS, FHM, FAAFP, CHCQM, MSPC | Maurice Scott | Determining Patients’ Preferences: Educating Health Care Providers About Completing Medical Scope of Treatment (MOLST) and eMOLST Forms in Seriously Ill Persons | Quality Improvement |
| 2020 | Erin Salvador, MD, MSPC | Amos Bailey | Palliative Care in an Urban Community Health Center Setting: A Needs Assessment | Quality Improvement |
| 2021 | Jeff Sung, MD | Katie Morrison | Screening Admitted Patients for Palliative Care Needs in the Emergency Department | Quality Improvement |
| 2021 | Lynne M. Yancey, MD, FACEP | Jeanie Youngwerth | Using an EHR Cognitive Computing Model to Identify Emergency Department Patients Who May Benefit from Palliative Care Intervention | Quality Improvement |