BSN Capstone Projects Guide - Best nursing program capstone project ideas

What Is the Purpose of a BSN Capstone Project?

Most BSN programs require you to complete a final project to receive a degree. BSN capstone projects are supposed to help you transition from being a nursing student to becoming a registered nurse. Capstone projects require you to demonstrate independent research skills, leadership, and problem-solving, as well as evidence-based critical thinking and decision-making. Therefore, the primary goal of any capstone project is to improve your clinical environment through practical work experience. In other words, your project must solve a specific problem using the knowledge and skills you gained throughout the BSN program.

Why Most BSN Capstone Projects Ideas Don't Work

Most schools give a free choice of a BSN project topic, leaving students floundering to find a good idea and submit a proposal. Without any prior experience, most nurses in training fail on their first try because their ideas are: 

• Purely theoretical. Problem-solving is the core of a capstone project, so historical overviews and literature analyses won't cut it. Instead of looking for ideas in books, look around you during clinicals and note the biggest issues you see. One of them can become your topic. 
• Extremely generic. Nurses working overtime is a problem, but it's too broad to address in a capstone project on a nationwide scale. Narrow the issue by focusing on a single ward and the most efficient way to reduce overtime in this environment.
• Outdated or irrelevant. The problem of illegible handwriting was made obsolete by the electronic medical record, and the same is true for many issues you'll find dotted across sloppy topic lists. Instead, look for the current problems, like pandemic response, vaccination mandates, opioid epidemic, etc. Researching these issues will be much more exciting and will earn you extra points with the advisor.

To give you a better idea of what your paper may look like, check out a couple of BSN nursing capstone project examples below.

BSN Capstone Project Examples

Unfortunately, nursing schools and scientific repositories usually focus on MSN projects or DNP projects, so finding good BSN capstone project examples can be problematic. Still, we've located a couple of excellent papers you can use as a guide, though remember to adhere to your school's guidelines and requirements regarding word count, structure, formatting, etc.

A Capstone Project: A way to Integrate Knowledge and Empower Students to Become Change Agents in the Practice Setting

Analysis of Student Perceptions of Service Learning and Global Health Impact 

How to Choose a BSN Capstone Project Topic?

Unless your academic supervisor provides a topic, you will need to develop a unique idea on your own, which can be excruciating if you have no idea where to start. Try answering the three questions below honestly, and then sneak a peek at our list of ideas, and you'll have your topic in ten minutes flat.

1. What Are Your Academic and Career Plans?

If you have a perfect job lined up, it's logical to tie your capstone project to the problems pertaining to your future posting. For example, before applying to a nursing home position, you should consider BSN capstone project ideas about patient falls and other common elderly patient issues. And if your plans include an MSN, DNP, or PhD program, you need to focus on research and contributing new knowledge to the field. If possible, pick a topic you can expand on in a thesis or dissertation.

If your plans are subject to change, think of what motivated you to join the nursing field in the first place. Consider your best and worst experiences during clinicals. Remember the toughest questions that had you burning the midnight oil. Any topic that gets your heart pumping and your eyes sparkle with excitement is an excellent idea for a capstone project.

Finally, be realistic about your timeframe and writing ability. If you're running late and desperately need to complete the project without professional BSN capstone help, go with the topic you're most familiar with. This way, you'll save time on research and writing, even if your project may seem a bit bland and generic.

BSN Capstone Projects Topics

After you answer the questions above, pick the category that fits your study area best and browse the topics we've come up with to spark your creativity.

General BSN Capstone Ideas

If you're at a complete loss where to start looking for a solid capstone topic, consider one of the ideas below. They are universal, fit for most disciplines and specialties, and will work wonders for your academic portfolio regardless of your career plans.

1. Implementing social media health self-tracking to empower patients' self-care
2. Developing a discharge checklist for RNs to reduce readmissions
3. Developing a transgender cultural competence toolkit for nurses
4. Using video simulation to enhance nurse-patient communication
5. Enhancing patient involvement in decision-making to improve healthcare outcomes
6. Redesigning scheduling to reduce nurse overtime and increase patient satisfaction
7. Developing a violence risk assessment tool for emergency departments
8. Implementing early depression screening for post-stroke patients
9. Analyzing the possibilities for reducing the length of stay for thyroidectomy patients
10. Improving patient self-care compliance through follow-up appointments

Nursing Informatics BSN Capstone Topics

Technology is changing the world, and healthcare is no exception. If you're excited about electronic medical records, data analytics, or wearable technology, one of the ideas below will surely catch your eye:

1. Implementing mobile health apps to improve healthcare outcomes in rural areas
2. Assessing the efficiency of simulation in emergency nurse training
3. Implementing data security procedures to protect patients' personal information
4. Integrating wearable technology into patient discharge routine to reduce the readmission rate
5. Analyzing data breach risks in a hospital ward
6. Patient education on the benefits of robotic surgery to reduce preoperative anxiety
7. Automated nursing staff scheduling to enhance job satisfaction and reduce overtime
8. Statistical analysis for evaluating healthcare outcomes by nurse-to-patient ratios
9. Implementing electronic medical records for enhanced patient transfer between facilities
10. Analyzing human error related to incomplete patient records
11. Women's Health BSN Capstone Ideas

Whether you're headed for midwifery, obstetrics, or a neonatal ward, women's health is a fascinating subject with lots of room for improvement. Below you'll find a few ideas to get your creative juices flowing:

1. Quantifying blood loss during delivery to prevent complications
2. Enhancing the discharge nurse role to improve the postpartum experience
3. Implementation of breastfeeding classes for working mothers
4. Reducing hypothermia risk in neonatal infants
5. Assessing the need for a lactation consultant during the night shift
6. Improving the antibiotic intervention timing for high-risk neonatal infants
7. Addressing perinatal anxiety and depression during the Covid-19 pandemic
8. Developing a mindfulness-based cognitive intervention for postpartum depression
9. Implementing discharge training to reduce the postpartum readmission rate
10. Reducing postpartum maternal falls through communication and training programs

Patient Falls BSN Capstone Topics

Patient falls are the most common cause of incident reports across all wards and facilities. While elderly patients comprise the majority of the risk group, they are not the only ones at risk of exacerbating existing conditions by falling. If you wish to tackle this ever-present issue, consider one of the capstone project ideas below:

1. Custom environment assessment and modification to prevent patient falls
2. Analyzing the factors contributing to falls in the mental health wards
3. Developing a standardized communication plan for fall prevention education
4. Introducing physical exercise to prevent falls among the elderly patients
5. Establishing a ward-wide safety culture to reduce the number of patient falls
6. Analyzing non-pharmacological interventions for fall prevention
7. Experimenting with the frequency of fall prevention activities for maximum efficiency
8. Recruiting a multidisciplinary team for fall management
9. Developing a patient toolkit to address fall risks at home
10. Assessing the role of nursing leadership in preventing patient falls

Public Health BSN Capstone Ideas

Public health research can be a great way to extend your reach if you wish to breach the hospital walls and help as many people as possible. Below you'll find our shortlist of ideas dealing with policy analysis, community healthcare initiatives, educational materials, and more:

1. Developing online healthcare classes for high school students
2. Enhancing medication side effects documentation in home health
3. Establishing a community healthcare program to address substance abuse during pregnancy
4. Implementing a standardized outreach program to increase the vaccination rate
5. Developing an education program for parents and caretakers to prevent abusive head trauma among children
6. Improving health literacy to combat false perceptions of healthcare in the face of new pandemics
7. Implementing an educational program to emphasize the risks of child obesity
8. Developing a remote triage system via phone or video conference
9. Addressing the language barrier between nursing staff and foreign patients
10. An overview of the basic principles of the population healthcare policy

When It’s Time to Seek Professional BSN Capstone Project Writers

You have your topic. Now what?

First, we recommend you check out our capstone project writing guide. It will shed light on the peculiarities of this assignment and share multiple expert tips to make the process smoother. If the guide doesn't help, make the most of our BSN nursing paper writing service. Share your topic and instructions, and we'll match you with the best writer on our team. Whether you need help with editing and proofreading, want us to deal with individual chapters of the project, or the whole thing, we have your back. So reach out today to get capstone writing help asap.