| Course | NR 452 Capstone Course |
|---|---|
| Week | 1 |
| Paper type | Discussion post with one reply |
| Length | About 540 words |
| Format | Discussion post with APA 7 citations |
| School | Chamberlain University |
| Program | BSN (pre-licensure) |
| Updated | October 2026 |
Free sample paper for NR 452 Week 1
Week 1 Discussion: The Problem I Would Take On First
Compression Sleeves That Were On the Leg but Not On
Initial Post
During my medical-surgical rotation last term, on a 30-bed surgical unit where I spent eight day shifts, I kept noticing the same thing: patients who had orders for sequential compression devices to prevent blood clots had the sleeves on their calves, but the pump at the foot of the bed was off, unplugged or disconnected from the tubing. It happened most after a patient had been up to the chair or the bathroom. The sleeves went back on the legs, but nobody reconnected the tubing or restarted the pump.
I did not count formally, but on the four shifts when I paid attention, I checked my own two or three patients each hour for about the first half of the shift, and on most of those checks at least one patient with an order had sleeves on and a pump that was not running. When I asked my nurse, she said it happens all the time and that patients often unplug the pump because it is noisy or because they want to walk. Nobody on the unit was doing anything wrong on purpose. The pump just did not travel with the patient, and the sleeves looked like they were working.
I think this is the size of a problem one change could reach. It is narrow: one device, one moment in the day when it goes wrong, which is after a patient returns to bed. It matters because a device that is not running does not prevent anything; in a large trial in immobile stroke patients, intermittent pneumatic compression reduced proximal deep vein thrombosis compared with no compression, and the benefit depends on the device running (CLOTS Trials Collaboration, 2013). And an observational study of these devices in intensive care found that many were applied or operated incorrectly when nurses checked (Elpern et al., 2013). I could describe this again seven weeks from now from memory, because I watched it happen on almost every shift.
My question for the group is whether this is really a nursing practice problem or an equipment problem. If the pump cannot go with the patient to the chair, is the fix a new check at a particular moment, or is it a different device? I would like to hear from anyone who saw portable battery-powered pumps used on their rotation.
Reply to a Classmate
Your observation about call lights left out of reach after patients were repositioned sounds like the same kind of problem as mine: something that works in bed stops working at the moment of a transition. I wonder whether both are really about the same missing step, a check of the room after any transfer, and whether one small habit, such as a quick look at the call light, the pump and the bed alarm every time a patient is settled back into bed, could address several of these at once. On my unit, nobody owned that moment. The aide who helped the patient to the chair was often not the one who helped them back. Did you notice who usually settled the patients you were watching?
References
CLOTS Trials Collaboration. (2013). Effectiveness of intermittent pneumatic compression in reduction of risk of deep vein thrombosis in patients who have had a stroke (CLOTS 3): A multicentre randomised controlled trial. The Lancet, 382(9891), 516-524. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0140-6736(13)61050-8
Elpern, E., Killeen, K., Patel, G., & Senecal, P. A. (2013). The application of intermittent pneumatic compression devices for thromboprophylaxis. American Journal of Nursing, 113(4), 30-36. https://doi.org/10.1097/01.NAJ.0000428736.48428.10
NR 452 Week 1 instructions, in plain terms
The first NR 452 discussion asks you to describe a problem you saw in clinical practice that you might carry through the capstone. The usual list includes one observation from a rotation, how often you saw it, why it matters, why it is the right size for a capstone, a source and a reply to a peer. Build the post on what you actually saw, with the number of shifts. Make a smaller, defensible claim instead of quoting a national rate. Name the moment when the problem happens. Use one or two sources for specific jobs, such as showing the device works when used. Close with a question that tests whether the problem belongs to nursing, and connect your reply to a classmate's observation by the moment both problems occur.
How this NR 452 Week 1 example is built
The post opens on the surgical rotation and the repeated sight of sleeves on calves with pumps not running. The second paragraph describes checking two or three patients each hour for half the shift on four shifts and records what the nurse said about patients unplugging pumps and walking. The third argues the problem is narrow and matters, citing the CLOTS 3 trial on compression effectiveness and Elpern and colleagues on how often devices are applied correctly. The fourth asks whether the fix is a nursing check or new equipment. The reply links a classmate's call lights left out of reach after repositioning to the same moment of returning to bed, and asks who owns that moment.
Reading the NR 452 Week 1 grading rubric
Discussion grading in the pre-licensure capstone generally covers the prompt elements, a clearly described problem, honest evidence from observation, significance, appropriate scope, peer engagement and APA, with timely posting. Instructors check scope first, which the post satisfies by narrowing to one device and one moment. The problem is credited because it rests on what the writer saw. Evidence scores for an honest description of an informal check rather than an invented rate. Significance earns points through two sources, each doing one job. The closing question invites classmates to test the problem. The reply is credited for linking two observations by a shared moment. Two references complete APA.
NR 452 Week 1 help from the desk
Most points in this post are lost on scale: problems such as staffing or communication cannot be reached by one change in eight weeks. Another loss is claiming a rate from an informal check, which instructors catch quickly. Students also describe problems that reflect being new to a unit rather than a real practice gap, skip why the problem matters or reply with agreement only. Writing about a unit you only rotated through is expected. Keep the problem narrow this early; it can be refined next week. A citation helps if it does a specific job. If you noticed something on a rotation that kept happening, describe it and an NR 452 opening post can be sized to one change.
Get a NR 452 Week 1 example written to your instructions
Send the Week 1 prompt as your classroom words it, plus a few lines about the setting you were placed in, and a custom example is written to that prompt and returned inside 24 to 48 hours. The first one is free. What you personally witnessed on those shifts is not something any other person can supply for you.
More NR 452 papers and pre-licensure samples
- NR 452 Week 2: Problem Statement
- NR 452 Week 3: Literature Matrix
- NR 452 Week 4: Evidence Appraisal
- NR 452 Week 5: Change Proposal
- NR 452 Week 6: Implementation Plan
- NR 452 Week 7: Evaluation Plan
- NR 452 Week 8: Capstone Paper
- NR 103 Week 1: Why Nursing Discussion Post
- NR 341 Week 1: Competing Priorities Discussion Post
- NR 222 Week 1: What Is Health? Discussion Post
- NR 328 Week 1: Parent-Reported History Post
NR 452 Week 1 questions, answered
Can I write about a unit I only rotated through?
That is the ordinary case on this course, and the post works provided the account stays inside what you genuinely saw. Give the number of shifts instead of implying a year of them, describe the service by type, and let the frequency you report be the frequency you counted. Instructors marking pre-licensure work already know the writer was a guest on that floor.
How narrow should the problem be this early?
Narrow enough that one change could plausibly reach it and you could still picture it in detail during the last week. If the answer to what would change involves a new post, a purchase or a rewritten policy, the topic will outgrow the session before the middle of it. A single recurring step that goes wrong on one kind of unit is the size that finishes.
Does the opening post need a citation?
Usually one, occasionally none, and the instructions settle it. Where a source is asked for, its work is to show the problem has been written about elsewhere, not to establish that you saw it happen. Where replies carry points of their own, they often carry a citation rule of their own too, so read that line before posting either piece.
Where can I find a free NR 452 Week 1 sample paper?
The complete Week 1 post on compression pumps that were not running, with the observation, the scope argument, the closing question, the classmate reply and two references, is laid out here.
What moment does the NR 452 Week 1 post identify as the problem?
The return to bed after a patient has been up, when compression sleeves stay on but the pump is not restarted because it did not travel with the patient.