Intent

In this assessment, you demonstrate that you can provide an evidence-based conclusion to an uncertain clinical situation. It requires you to search for relevant research, understand levels of evidence, consider the quality of evidence, present the summary of each article, interpret their findings, and reach a conclusion based on your reviewed evidence.

Task: You have been provided with three clinical scenarios. Each scenario indicates an area of clinical uncertainty. Select a scenario that interests you and using your evidenced based practice skills answer the question that follows.

Scenario 1:

In the course of your clinical placement in a surgical ward, you noted inconsistency in wound care. While some nurses use a sterile technique, others employ a clean dressing change technique.

Is clean wound dressing a safe option for dressing of surgical wounds?

Scenario 2:

You are working on a hospital ward where you encounter stroke patients. You notice that some doctors order compression stockings for prevention of deep venous thrombosis while others not.

Should antithrombotic stockings be routinely used for patients with stroke or not?

Scenario 3:

You are working as an RN in an emergency department. A 10-year-old child has been admitted to the department with a diagnosis of exacerbation of asthma secondary to bronchitis. The patient has been prescribed salbutamol.

What is the more effective method of delivery- a nebuliser or a spacer?

Format

Written paper with well-structured paragraphs. Headings can be used if they help structure your work.

Introduction (500 words)

Briefly describe the process you used to answer the question. i.e. how you formulated a searchable question and developed a search strategy. Justify the approach you took in accessing the evidence. Describe the rationale behind the selection of each paper (hint: level of the evidence, quality of the evidence, relevance). Both quantitative and/or qualitative articles can be used, as appropriate to the clinical scenario and question you have developed. It is not necessary to present all the evidence you found (and you have limited word count to do this). The key thing is quality not quantity – so four or five research-based articles are better than a large number of low-level papers. Provide the print screens of the abs

tracts of the papers you have chosen.

Main body of the paper (800 words)

Briefly present each paper and their main findings. What does the research show?

Conclusion (200 words)

This is where you clearly state what you think the answer to your question is and why.

How will you approach your studies? What types of resources are available to you, and how will you access and utilize them? Taking the opportunity to prepare these strategies, tools, and materials will help ensure you can “break ground” without incident and successfully move to the phase where you begin building your vision.

To Prepare:

• Consider your goals for academic accomplishments while a student of the MSN program.
• Reflect on the strategies presented in the Resources for this module.

The Assignment:

In this Assignment, you will continue developing your Academic Success and Professional Development Plan by appending the original document you began in the previous Assignment to develop the second component—academic resources and strategies. To accomplish this:

• Identify and describe at least three academic resources or strategies that can be applied to the MSN program
• Identify and describe at least three professional resources that can be applied to success in the nursing practice in general or your specialty in particular
• Explain how you intend to use these resources, and how they might benefit you academically and professionally.

Discussion: Practicum Professional Development

Objectives: Progress Appraisal

In Week 1, you developed your practicum professional development objectives. How have your experiences thus far in the practicum contributed to your growth as nurse leader-manager or nurse informaticist? What difficulties, if any, have you experienced, and how might this affect the achievement of your objectives?

In this Discussion, you assess your progress toward fulfilling your practicum professional development objectives and consider how you could enhance or alter your activities to achieve your aims.

To prepare:

Reflect on the practicum professional development objectives you developed and outlined in your Practicum Professional Experience Plan in Week 1.

Keeping in mind the practicum activities you have engaged in thus far, consider the following questions:

How have these activities helped to promote your professional development?

Are you satisfied with your progress toward meeting your objectives? If not, what will you do to ensure you achieve them before the end of your Practicum Experience? As a reminder, you must complete all of your practicum hours on or before Day 5 of Week 11.

What challenges or unexpected opportunities have arisen at your practicum site? How has this affected your professional development?

Think about the experiences you may have in the forthcoming weeks. Do you foresee any particular challenges on the horizon? If so, what is your plan for addressing those challenges?

Think about the time you have spent with your Preceptor. How has this time enhanced or changed your understanding of the role and functions of the nurse leader-manager or nurse informaticist?

Post an assessment of your progress toward achieving your practicum professional development objectives, including how your involvement in specific practicum activities has contributed to your development. Explain what you will do to ensure you achieve your objectives by the end of your practicum. Summarize challenges or unexpected opportunities that have arisen, as well as any challenges that you anticipate may arise. Explain how you will address those challenges. Finally, summarize what you have learned about the role and functions related to your specialization through time spent with your Preceptor.

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.

Cipriano, P. F., & Murphy, J. (2011). The future of nursing and health IT: The quality elixir. Nursing Economic$, 29(5), 286–289.

Note: Retrieved from the Walden Library databases.

 

“Technology tools will continue to revolutionize how we plan, deliver, document, review, evaluate, and derive the evidence about care” (p. 289). This article examines how nurses can use information technology to transform nursing and redesign the health care system. It focuses on the use of technology to promote quality and notes that technology can also be used to address challenges in education, research, leadership, and policy.

McKimm, J., & Swanwick, T. (2009). Setting learning objectives. British Journal of Hospital Medicine, 70(7), 406–409.

Note: Retrieved from the Walden Library databases.

 

This article clarifies the terminology associated with learning objectives and explains how learning objectives relate to professional development and the transformation from novice to expert. It also introduces common pitfalls when setting learning objectives and provides suggestions for avoiding them.

Murphy, J. (2011). The nursing informatics workforce: Who are they and what do they do? Nursing Economic$, 29(3), 150–153.

Note: Retrieved from the Walden Library databases.

 

The author examines the nursing informatics workforce, explaining that professionals in this well-established specialty area can play an integral role in transforming health care.

Sørensen, E. E., Delmar, C., & Pedersen, B. D. (2011). Leading nurses in dire straits: Head nurses’ navigation between nursing and leadership roles. Journal of Nursing Management, 19(4), 421–430.

Note: Retrieved from the Walden Library databases.

 

“Successful nursing leaders navigate between nursing and leadership roles while nourishing a double identity” (p. 421). In this article, the authors examine how individuals in key professional roles negotiate between and apply nursing and leadership skills.

Warm, D., & Thomas, B. (2011). A review of the effectiveness of the clinical informaticist role. Nursing Standard, 25(44), 35–38.

Note: Retrieved from the Walden Library databases.

 

The authors investigate the application of specialized knowledge and expertise to facilitate the appropriate use of emerging technologies in clinical settings. They argue for informaticists’ involvement in strategic development and delivery of information management and technology initiatives to promote patient-centered outcomes.

Wilkinson, J. E., Nutley, S. M., & Davies, H. T. O. (2011). An exploration of the roles of nurse managers in evidence-based practice implementation. Worldviews on Evidence-Based Nursing, 8(4), 236–246.

Note: Retrieved from the Walden Library databases.

 

In this article, the authors examine the role nurse managers should play in leading and facilitating evidence-based practice.

Armstrong, P. (2013). Bloom’s taxonomy. Retrieved from http://cft.vanderbilt.edu/teaching-guides/pedagogical/blooms-taxonomy/

 

Vanderbilt University provides this overview of Bloom’s taxonomy. This site also presents the original and updated versions of the taxonomy along with verb suggestions for each level.

Clark, D. (2013). Bloom’s taxonomy of learning domains. Retrieved from http://www.nwlink.com/~donclark/hrd/bloom.html

 

This article addresses three domains of learning: cognitive, affective, and psychomotor.

University of Central Florida, Office of Experiential Learning (n.d.). Writing SMART learning objectives, Retrieved from http://explearning.ucf.edu/registered-students/tips-for-success/writing-smart-learning-objectives/195

 

This blog post focuses on the distinction between learning outcomes and objectives. Consider this information as you develop your practicum professional development objectives this week.

The University of North Carolina at Charlotte, Center for Teaching & Learning. (2013). Writing objectives using Bloom’s taxonomy. Retrieved from http://teaching.uncc.edu/articles-books/best-practice-articles/goals-objectives/writing-objectives-using-blooms-taxonomy

 

This resource outlines elements of Bloom’s Taxonomy.

Document: Practicum Professional Experience Plan (Word Document)

 

Use this form to develop your Practicum Professional Experience Plan as outlined this week.

Document: Practicum Professional Experience Plan (Word Document)

 

Use this form to develop your Practicum Professional Experience Plan as outlined this week.

Document: Practicum Journal (Word Document)

 

During your Practicum Experience, you are  required to submit your time log and three journal entries. You will use this  form to complete your journal reflections.

Document: School of Nursing Practicum Manual: Master of Science in Nursing (MSN): Quarter-Based Programs (PDF)

 

This comprehensive manual outlines all of the requirements for the Practicum Experience.

Clinical Resources

Document: Introduction to Clinical Experiences (PowerPoint)

Document: Practicum Manual (PDF)

Review the Institute of Medicine’s 2010 report “The Future of   Nursing: Leading Change, Advancing Health.” Write a 750-1,000   word paper discussing the influence of the IOM report on nursing   practice. Include the following:

1. Summarize the four messages outlined in the IOM report and     explain why these are significant to nursing practice.
2. Discuss the direct influence the IOM report has on nursing     education and nursing leadership. Describe the benefits and     opportunities for BSN-prepared nurses.
3. Explain why it is     important that a nurse’s role and education evolve to meet the needs     of an aging and increasingly diverse population.
4. Discuss     the significance of professional development, or lifelong learning,     and its relevance in caring for diverse populations across the life     span and within the health-illness continuum.
5. Discuss how     nurses can assist in effectively managing patient care within an     evolving health care system.

Prepare this assignment according to the guidelines found in the APA   Style Guide.