Discussion: Dissemination of Scholarship Related to the Practicum Project
According to Freemantle and Watt (1994), “effective dissemination encompasses more than just the distribution and diffusion of information. It involves the processes by which target groups become aware of, receive, accept and utilize information.” (p. 133).
Think about your Practicum Project. Which groups would find your project findings, conclusions, and recommendations most valuable? Why? How might your focus differ if you were delivering a presentation at a professional conference versus at your practicum site? What would you emphasize if you were publishing an article in a peer-reviewed journal related to your specialization as opposed to in an online forum with a wider healthcare readership?
In this Discussion, you analyze your Practicum Project in terms of conventional means of scholarly dissemination: presentations, posters, and publication.
To prepare:
Reflect on your Practicum Project.
Speak with various individuals, especially those in your practicum setting, about presentations or poster sessions they have given and/or publications they have authored. Ask which organizations or journals they would recommend you consider for dissemination based on your Practicum Project topic.
Consider the following questions related to dissemination:
Who is your target audience? Who would be most interested in your project findings, conclusions, and recommendations? Consider how the needs or dispositions of the intended audience may inform your choice of dissemination method.
Which method of dissemination would you choose to convey the findings, conclusions, or recommendations from your Practicum Project? What are the relative benefits and challenges of giving a presentation, sharing your findings through a poster session, and/or publication?
Consider various nursing, health care, informatics, and leadership and management organizations and journals. What is one organization or journal you would select for your presentation or publication?
What are some potential challenges? Evaluate what you could do to promote the possibility that your presentation, poster, or manuscript would be accepted.
Conduct a search of the literature using the Walden Library and other reliable sources. Locate two or more articles published in peer-reviewed journals within the last five years that relate to your Practicum Project. These articles should demonstrate the significance of the topic for nursing leadership and management or nursing informatics. Note: These articles may also help you determine if your project findings are related to an area that will contribute to a more comprehensive literature base.
Post a brief description of your Practicum Project, including the anticipated outcomes and implications for nursing practice in your specialty area. Explain why your results warrant dissemination. Describe your target audience, and explain which method of dissemination you would use as well as the organization or journal you would choose for sharing findings related to your Practicum Project. Support your response with at least two citations from the literature.
Read a selection of your colleagues’ responses.
Respond to at least two of your colleagues on two different days, using one or more of the following approaches:
Ask a probing question, substantiated with additional background information, evidence, or research.
Share an insight from having read your colleagues’ postings, synthesizing the information to provide new perspectives.
Validate an idea with your own experience and additional research.
Required Readings
Note: To access this week’s required library resources, please click on the link to the Course Readings List, found in the Course Materials section of your Syllabus.
Alspach, G. (2010). Converting presentations into journal articles: A guide for nurses. Critical Care Nurse, 30(2), 8–15.
Note: Retrieved from the Walden Library databases.
 
The authors recognize the value of disseminating evidence-based practice in promoting quality care. They address how this can be done using posters.
Forsyth, D. E., Wright, T. L., Scherb, C. A., & Gaspar, P. M. (2010). Disseminating evidence-based practice projects: Poster design and evaluation. Clinical Scholars Review, 3(1), 14–21.