How do you approach large-scale capstone or practice change projects in a self-paced program?

How do you approach large-scale capstone or practice change projects in a self-paced program?

Large-scale projects are daunting in any academic setting, but FlexPath changes the dynamic significantly. Without fixed deadlines, the responsibility for pacing, structure, and momentum rests squarely on my shoulders. My approach is to treat capstone and practice change projects like major organizational initiatives at work—complete with project charters, Gantt charts, and defined milestones.

For my DNP practice change project, which focused on reducing hospital-acquired infections through evidence-based hand hygiene interventions, I began by mapping out the entire process from proposal to implementation. I set internal deadlines for each stage: literature review completion, IRB approval, pilot launch, data collection, and final evaluation. While I could have rushed through certain phases to finish sooner, I chose to linger in the literature review stage until I was fully confident in my evidence base. That decision paid off when I had to defend my methodology to a skeptical stakeholder group.

FlexPath’s self-paced model also allowed me to align project phases with real-world events. For instance, I paused my academic timeline during a peak flu season when infection rates—and thus project relevance—were at their highest. This alignment gave me richer, more robust data to work with.

The key lesson I’ve learned is that self-paced doesn’t mean unstructured. In fact, large-scale projects demand even more discipline, self-monitoring, and accountability than traditional programs. The flexibility is a gift, but only if paired with a structured personal workflow.