Refinement of a Nursing Concern
Purpose
This assignment provides the opportunity for the student to continue work on a previously identified area or phenomenon of interest related to their MSN specialty track. Week Two’s assignment builds upon the identified area of interest by developing an overview of the evidence-based practice (EBP) project and the PCIOT/PICo question. This assignment initiates the evidence-based practice proposal that is continued throughout the entire course with each assignment adding components of the research process.
Course Outcomes
This assignment enables the student to meet the following course outcomes:
CO#1 Integrate evidence-based practice and research to support advancement of holistic nursing care in diverse healthcare settings. PO 1
CO#2 Integrate knowledge related to evidence-based practice and person-centered care to improve healthcare outcomes. PO 2, 5
CO#4 Develop knowledge related to and evidence-based practice as a basis for designing and critiquing research studies. PO 1, 2, 3, 5
Due Date: Sunday 11:59 PM MT at the end of Week Two
Total Points Possible: 150 points
Requirements
Description of the Assignment
This assignment builds on the identification of a nursing concern from NR 500 and the application of a nursing theory to the selected concern from NR 501. For this course, the selected concern and nursing theory then serve as a foundation to the identification of PICOT/PICo. Identification of the literature search strategy is also required.
Criteria for Content
1. Overview of Selected Evidenced-based Practice Project: This section provides a foundation to the MSN EBP scholarly project. It should contain the following elements:
· Explain the relationship between research and evidenced-based practice (EBP)
· Distinguish how EBP is different from research
· Explain the contribution of EBP to professional nursing
· Identify your MSN Program Specialty Track and practice focus
· Explain how EBP promotes change within your future practice setting
2. Identification of the Nursing Concern to be Improved: This section provides a comprehensive discussion of the selected nursing concern. It should contain the following elements:
· Explain the selected nursing concern in detail
Refinement of a Nursing Concern
ADDITIONAL INSTRUCTIONS FOR THE CLASS
Discussion Questions (DQ)
- Initial responses to the DQ should address all components of the questions asked, include a minimum of one scholarly source, and be at least 250 words.
- Successful responses are substantive (i.e., add something new to the discussion, engage others in the discussion, well-developed idea) and include at least one scholarly source.
- One or two sentence responses, simple statements of agreement or “good post,” and responses that are off-topic will not count as substantive. Substantive responses should be at least 150 words.
- I encourage you to incorporate the readings from the week (as applicable) into your responses.
Weekly Participation
- Your initial responses to the mandatory DQ do not count toward participation and are graded separately.
- In addition to the DQ responses, you must post at least one reply to peers (or me) on three separate days, for a total of three replies.
- Participation posts do not require a scholarly source/citation (unless you cite someone else’s work).
- Part of your weekly participation includes viewing the weekly announcement and attesting to watching it in the comments. These announcements are made to ensure you understand everything that is due during the week.
APA Format and Writing Quality
- Familiarize yourself with APA format and practice using it correctly. It is used for most writing assignments for your degree. Visit the Writing Center in the Student Success Center, under the Resources tab in LoudCloud for APA paper templates, citation examples, tips, etc. Points will be deducted for poor use of APA format or absence of APA format (if required).
- Cite all sources of information! When in doubt, cite the source. Paraphrasing also requires a citation.
- I highly recommend using the APA Publication Manual, 6th edition.
Use of Direct Quotes
- I discourage overutilization of direct quotes in DQs and assignments at the Masters’ level and deduct points accordingly.
- As Masters’ level students, it is important that you be able to critically analyze and interpret information from journal articles and other resources. Simply restating someone else’s words does not demonstrate an understanding of the content or critical analysis of the content.
- It is best to paraphrase content and cite your source.
LopesWrite Policy
- For assignments that need to be submitted to LopesWrite, please be sure you have received your report and Similarity Index (SI) percentage BEFORE you do a “final submit” to me.
- Once you have received your report, please review it. This report will show you grammatical, punctuation, and spelling errors that can easily be fixed. Take the extra few minutes to review instead of getting counted off for these mistakes.
- Review your similarities. Did you forget to cite something? Did you not paraphrase well enough? Is your paper made up of someone else’s thoughts more than your own?
- Visit the Writing Center in the Student Success Center, under the Resources tab in LoudCloud for tips on improving your paper and SI score.
Late Policy
- The university’s policy on late assignments is 10% penalty PER DAY LATE. This also applies to late DQ replies.
- Please communicate with me if you anticipate having to submit an assignment late. I am happy to be flexible, with advance notice. We may be able to work out an extension based on extenuating circumstances.
- If you do not communicate with me before submitting an assignment late, the GCU late policy will be in effect.
- I do not accept assignments that are two or more weeks late unless we have worked out an extension.
- As per policy, no assignments are accepted after the last day of class. Any assignment submitted after midnight on the last day of class will not be accepted for grading.
Communication
- Communication is so very important. There are multiple ways to communicate with me:
- Questions to Instructor Forum: This is a great place to ask course content or assignment questions. If you have a question, there is a good chance one of your peers does as well. This is a public forum for the class.
- Individual Forum: This is a private forum to ask me questions or send me messages. This will be checked at least once every 24 hours.
