In nursing education, two early assessments—NURS FPX 4900 Assessment 1 and NURS FPX 4060 Assessment 1—lay the foundation for effective clinical leadership and coordinated patient care. These assessments challenge students to think beyond daily tasks and focus on the broader issues affecting patient outcomes and healthcare delivery.
NURS FPX 4900 Assessment 1: Identifying a Clinical Problem for Improvement
The first step toward quality improvement is recognizing a gap in practice. In NURS FPX 4900 Assessment 1, students are tasked with selecting a clinical or organizational issue that impacts patient safety, quality of care, or workflow efficiency.
This assessment focuses on:
Choosing a relevant, evidence-based clinical problem
Providing background data to support the problem’s significance
Outlining how the issue affects patients, staff, and the healthcare system
Examples of commonly explored topics include high hospital readmission rates, falls in elderly patients, delays in discharge planning, or gaps in communication during shift changes. By conducting a preliminary analysis, students begin the process of thinking critically, engaging with literature, and preparing to design a meaningful intervention in later stages of the capstone project.
NURS FPX 4060 Assessment 1: Exploring the Role of the Nurse in Care Coordination
While identifying problems is key, nurses must also understand how to work across teams and settings to solve them. In NURS FPX 4060 Assessment 1, the focus shifts to care coordination—the process of ensuring patients receive the right care, at the right time, in the right setting.
Key learning objectives in this assessment include:
Understanding the nurse’s role in collaborating with interdisciplinary teams
Identifying barriers to effective care transitions
Evaluating how social determinants of health impact patient needs and outcomes
Students explore how effective communication and coordination between providers can reduce errors, improve patient satisfaction, and support long-term health goals. This is especially important for patients with chronic illnesses or those moving between hospital, home, and community-based care.
Connecting the Assessments: Problem Solving with Purpose
When viewed together, NURS FPX 4900 Assessment 1 and NURS FPX 4060 Assessment 1 represent two critical aspects of nursing practice: identifying what needs to change, and understanding how to navigate the healthcare system to make that change happen.
A student might, for instance, identify inadequate discharge planning as a clinical problem in 4900, and then examine how poor care coordination affects patient outcomes in 4060. This integrated learning approach encourages students to think systemically—recognizing that solving healthcare challenges requires both critical thinking and collaborative practice.
Conclusion
The early stages of nursing capstone and care coordination coursework set the stage for transformational learning. Through problem identification and care coordination, students build the skills necessary to lead improvements in quality, safety, and patient experience. These assessments aren't just academic—they mirror the real-world responsibilities of nurses who act as both advocates and innovators in today’s healthcare landscape.
