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Assignment 3:

Practicum Journal and Time Log

“A vital part of the reflective process is to plan for changes in your behavior.”

 

— Somerville & Keeling, 2004.

 

Being a reflective practitioner enables NPs to identify weaknesses and target professional development in order to address these weaknesses. In turn, this increases the NPs’ ability to provide the best care to patients and their families. Reflection also affords the NP time to consider communication and their efforts toward creating a culture of mutual support with colleagues, a characteristic that is essential to successful NP practice (Somerville & Keeling, 2004).

Each week you will complete a Journal Entry and Time Log that prompts you to reflect on your Practicum Experiences and how they relate to your Professional Goals and Self-Assessment of Clinical Skills. This week you will begin documenting your Practicum Experiences in your Practicum Journal.

Somerville, D., Keeling, J. (2004). A practical approach to promote reflective practice within nursing. Nursing Times, 100(12), 42–45. Retrieved from http://www.nursingtimes.net/Journals/2012/11/30/v/l/x/040323A-practical-approach-to-promote-reflective-practice-within-nursing.pdf

To prepare

For this course’s Practicum Experience, address the following in your Practicum Journal:

From your perspective, explain the role of nurse practitioners in clinical settings

Develop goals and objectives for the Practicum Experience in this course

 

Create a proposed timeline of practicum activities based on your practicum requirements.

honeyguide bird

As their names imply, the honeyguide bird and the honey badger both share an affinity for honey. Honeyguide birds specialize in finding beehives but struggle to access the honey within. Honey badgers are well-equipped to raid beehives but cannot always find them. However, these two honey-loving species have learned to collaborate on an effective means to meet their objectives. The honeyguide bird guides honey badgers to newly discovered hives. Once the honey badger has ransacked the hive, the honey guide bird safely enters to enjoy the leftover honey.

Much like honeyguide birds and honey badgers, nurses and health professionals from other specialty areas can—and should—collaborate to design effective programs. Nurses bring specialties to the table that make them natural partners to professionals with different specialties. When nurses take the requisite leadership in becoming involved throughout the healthcare system, these partnerships can better design and deliver highly effective programs that meet objectives.

In this Assignment, you will practice this type of leadership by advocating for a healthcare program. Equally as important, you will advocate for a collaborative role of the nurse in the design and implementation of this program. To do this, assume you are preparing to be interviewed by a professional organization/publication regarding your thoughts on the role of the nurse in the design and implementation of new healthcare programs.

To Prepare:

· Review the Resources and reflect on your thinking regarding the role of the nurse in the design and implementation of new healthcare programs.

· Select a healthcare program within your practice and consider the design and implementation of this program.

· Reflect on advocacy efforts and the role of the nurse in relation to healthcare program design and implementation.

The Assignment: (2–3 pages)

In a 2- to 3-page paper, create an interview transcript of your responses to the following interview questions:

· Tell us about a healthcare program, within your practice. What are the costs and projected outcomes of this program?

· Who is your target population?

· What is the role of the nurse in providing input for the design of this healthcare program? Can you provide examples?

· What is your role as an advocate for your target population for this healthcare program? Do you have input into design decisions? How else do you impact design?

· What is the role of the nurse in healthcare program implementation? How does this role vary between design and implementation of healthcare programs? Can you provide examples?

· Who are the members of a healthcare team that you believe are most needed to implement a program? Can you explain why?

Children’s Mental Health Program

Medicare 

COMPLETE CORRECT ANSWERS FOR QUESTIONS 11-20
11.   People who receive Medicare
 
12.   Ralph is assigning diagnosis and procedure codes for a 35-year-old patient from New Mexico, who has hypertension and end-stage renal disease. Would this patient qualify for Medicare?
 

13.   The first prepaid health insurance plans in the United States were
 

14.   Which of the following is the largest privately underwritten health insurance contract in the world?
 

 

 

15.   A provider is classified as a/an
 

 

16.   Tom is billing an emergency room visit for a Medicaid patient who’s being seen for a wellness visit. Which one of the following statements is true as a result of the Balanced Budget Act?
 

17.   Dr. Singer is working within a reimbursement system in which the insurance is billed after all the treatment has been given to the patients. What is the main reason that the doctor orders more tests, exams, and procedures under this system?
 

18.   With a PPO, the beneficiary has the ability to
19.   Physician-hospital organizations (PHOs) are also called _______ organizations.
 

20.   Mrs. Fang is a 72-year-old retired school teacher who has been hospitalized for pneumonia. What type of insurance is most likely being used to pay for her hospital stay?

 

 

 

agency’s nursing documentation

In 400 words

Discussion Topic:

Assume you are working with an implementation team in installing a new nursing documentation system for a home health agency. Historically, all of the agency’s nursing documentation was recorded in paper form. The agency has little computerization beyond basic registration information and has no IT staff.

Members of the implementation have made recommendations for installing a new nursing documentation system. Included in the list of recommendations are:

  • The system needs to take into account the State Nursing Practice Act.
    • The system has to include reflect state laws governing the scope of nursing practice.
  • Nurses should be involved in the workflow setup for all medication tasks, including:
    • drug interactions
    • medication failures
    • allergies
  • There should be visit notes template that both nurses and doctors have to approve.
    • Will there be specific notes that only the nurses will approve?
  • Nurses would like to determine how telephone calls are entered into the system.

Create a post, explaining fully, your answer to the questions below.

  • Based on the information learned in the unit readings, would you include the nurse’s recommendations or do you have recommendations of your own? Justify your decision with supportive material.

evolving technology and continuous changes

As a professional nurse, you are expected to apply your expertise to patient care. On occasion, you will also be expected to share that expertise.

With evolving technology and continuous changes to regulations designed to keep up these changes, there is usually a need to share information and expertise to inform colleagues, leadership, patients, and other stakeholders.

In this Assignment, you will study a recent nursing informatics-related healthcare policy, and you will share the relevant details via a fact sheet designed to inform and educate.

To Prepare:

  • Review the Resources on healthcare policy and regulatory/legislative topics related to health and nursing informatics.
  • Consider the role of the nurse informaticist in relation to a healthcare organization’s compliance with various policies and regulations, such as the Medicare Access and CHIP Reauthorization Act (MACRA).
  • Research and select one health or nursing informatics policy (within the past 5 years) or regulation for further study.

The Assignment: (1 page)

Create a 1-page fact sheet that your healthcare organization could hypothetically use to explain the health or nursing informatics policy/regulation you selected. Your fact sheet should address the following:

  • Briefly and generally explain the policy or regulation you selected.
  • Address the impact of the policy or regulation you selected on system implementation.
  • Address the impact of the policy or regulation you selected on clinical care, patient/provider interactions, and workflow.
  • Highlight organizational policies and procedures that are/will be in place at your healthcare organization to address the policy or regulation you selected. Be specific.

literature review

While the implementation plan prepares students to apply their research to the problem or issue they have identified for their capstone change proposal project, the literature review enables students to map out and move into the active planning and development stages of the project.

A literature review analyzes how current research supports the PICOT, as well as identifies what is known and what is not known in the evidence. Students will use the information from the earlier PICOT Statement Paper and Literature Evaluation Table assignments to develop a 750-1,000 word review that includes the following sections:

  1. Title page
  2. Introduction section
  3. A comparison of research questions
  4. A comparison of sample populations
  5. A comparison of the limitations of the study
  6. A conclusion section, incorporating recommendations for further research

An abstract is not required.

Shortness of Breath and cough

need 1 reply comment to each post with a credible sources, citation and years above 2013 in APA format.

Post 1

CHIEF COMPLAINT: Shortness of Breath and cough

Subjective:  Pt presents with complaints of shortness of breath and productive cough.  Pt relates he is coughing up thick green sputum with occasional bloody sputum. Pt relates that he has increased shortness of breath with walking.  Patient relates that he is also short of breath at rest. Pt also relates that he has had some chills and sweats and felt like he may have a fever.  He states that he has taken Tylenol for those symptoms.

Objective: Temperature 100.9, Respiratory rate 20, Heart rate 82, Blood pressure right arm 128/70, Oxygen saturation 89% on room air, Weight 210 pounds, EKG shows normal sinus rhythm, Chest radiograph

Assessment:  Skin is warm and moist. Thorax is symmetrical with diminished breath sounds with rales and expiratory wheezes throughout, negative for rhonchi. Wet productive cough noted during exam. Heart is regular sinus rhythm with rate of 82. Good S1, S2; negative S3 or S4 and negative for murmur. Abdomen protuberant with normoactive bowel sounds auscultated in all four quadrants. No pedal edema noted. 2+ dorsalis pedis pulses bilaterally. Neurologic: Patient is awake, alert and oriented to person, place and time. Chest radiograph shows infiltrate in the right middle lobe.

Priority diagnosis includes 1. Pneumonia 2. Myocardial Infarction 3. Pulmonary embolism   4. Congestive Heart Failure 5. Asthma

1. Pneumonia: The patient presents with productive cough and shortness of breath with exertion.  Patient has elevated temperature and low oxygen saturations along with diminished breath sounds, rales and expiratory wheezes which are all consistent symptoms with community acquired pneumonia. (Lynn, 2017).  Chest radiograph shows right middle lobe infiltrate which is also consistent with pneumonia. (Kaysin and Viera, 2016).

2. Myocardial Infarction: The patient presents with shortness of breath and low oxygen saturations.  Pt states that his shortness of breath is worse with exertion but is present at rest also.  Dyspnea is a frequent associated symptom with MI. (Lawesson, Thylen, Ericsson, Swahn, Isaksson and Angerud, 2018). The patient did have an EKG completed that revealed a normal sinus rhythm at a rate of 80 with no obvious signs of ectopy.  Evaluation of troponin level would assist in ruling out MI as a diagnosis for this patient. (Berliner, Schneider, Welte and Bauersachs, 2016).

3. Pulmonary Embolism: Dyspnea is the primary symptom for patients with PE. (Garcia-Sanz, Pena-Alvarez, Lopez-Landeiro, Bermo-Dominguez, Fonturbel and Gonzalex-Barcala, 2014). Onset of dyspnea with PE is typically sudden and further history for this patient related to onset of symptoms.  Evaluation of any extremity pain and swelling, D-dimer or chest angiography would also assist in determining if this was a more likely diagnosis. (Berliner, Schneider, Welte and Bauersachs, 2016).

4. Congestive Heart Failure: Dyspnea is also a common symptom with congestive heart failure.  Fatigue, diminished exercise tolerance and fluid retention are also common symptoms of CHF. (Berliner, Schneider, Welte and Bauersachs, 2016). The patient has rales noted upon auscultation which could be consistent with congestive heart failure however coupled with the remainder of the exam including productive cough with thick green sputum and fever, CHF would not be the primary diagnosis. Further evaluation of extremities of abdomen and extremities for signs of fluid retention would be indicated as well as labs such as BNP.

5. Asthma: The patient has expiratory wheezes and shortness of breath which are both consistent with asthma; however the patient also has fever and productive cough which are not consistent asthma symptoms. (Huether and McCance, 2017).

Plan: Not indicated

References

Arcangelo, V. P., Peterson, A. M., Wilbur, V. & Reinhold, J. A.  (Eds.). (2017). Pharmacotherapeutics for advanced practice: A practical approach (4th ed.). Ambler, PA: Lippincott Williams & Wilkins.

Ball, J. W., Dains, J. E., Flynn, J. A., Solomon, B. S., & Stewart, R. W. (2015). Seidel’s guide to physical examination (8th ed.). St. Louis, MO: Elsevier Mosby.

Berliner, D., Schneider, N., Welte, T., & Bauersachs, J. (2016). The Differential Diagnosis of Dyspnea. Deutsches Aerzteblatt International113(49), 834. doi:10.3238/arztebl.2016.0834

Debasis, D., & David C., H. (2009). Chest X-ray manifestations of pneumonia. Surgery Oxford, (10), 453. doi:10.1016/j.mpsur.2009.08.006

Dains, J. E., Baumann, L. C., & Scheibel, P. (2016). Advanced health assessment and clinical diagnosis in primary care (5th ed.). St. Louis, MO: Elsevier Mosby.

García-Sanz, M., Pena-Álvarez, C., López-Landeiro, P., Bermo-Domínguez, A., Fontúrbel, T., & González-Barcala, F. (2014). Original article: Symptoms, location and prognosis of pulmonary embolism. Revista Portuguesa De Pneumologia20194-199. doi:10.1016/j.rppneu.2013.09.006

Post  2

S:

Chief Complaint: “I am having chest pain at this time”

History of Present Illness: Pleasant, Caucasian male experiencing an acute onset of sharp, constant chest pain when taking a deep breath.  Denies any alleviating factors. Yesterday his wife noticed his RT leg was edematous with erythema, denies any injury. Recently he returned from a vacation with an 8-hour plane ride. The patient was not asked if his pain radiated or if he had nausea or dizziness.

Past Medical History: Denies taking any medications. Allergies, surgeries, past medical conditions “not provided.” History of cancer or deep vein thrombosis not provided.

Social History: Married

Review of symptoms:

General: Feels short of breath when taking a deep breath, also having sharp lower RT rib pain.

Cardiovascular: Experiencing tachycardia. Peripheral edema started yesterday in RT lower leg.

Pulmonary: Reports having sharp pain when taking a deep breath with no relief measures noted. Complains of dyspnea with productive hemoptysis cough this morning.

Gastrointestinal: “not provided.”

O:

VS: BP 148/88 RT arm; P 112 and irregular; R 32 and labored; T 97.9 orally; Pulse Ox 90% on RA; His current weight is stable at 210 pounds.

General: Well-nourished, a well developed Caucasian male who is alert and cooperative. He is a good historian and answers questions appropriately. Patient sitting upright at the side of the cot appears anxious with labored breathing. Guarding noted in the anterior, distal RT rib area.

Cardiovascular: Skin is pallor, cool and diaphoretic. Heart rate is tachycardic. S1 and S2 irregular with no S3, S4, or murmur auscultated. RT calf with erythema, 2+ edema, warmth, and tender with palpation. LT leg with no edema, tenderness, or erythema noted. Bilateral 2+ dorsalis pedis pulse. Telemetry showing a sinus arrhythmia.

Gastrointestinal: Protuberant abdomen with active bowels x 4 quadrants.

Pulmonary: LT Lung clear to auscultation, RT middle and lower lobes with diminished breath sounds. No rales, rhonchi, or wheezing auscultated. Respirations labored. Respiratory excursion symmetrical.

Diagnostic results: CXR, ECG, venous doppler studies and ultrasound for DVT, V/Q scan, CT of the chest, labs- sputum culture, cardiac enzymes. Telemetry.

A:

Differential Diagnosis:

1.) Pulmonary Embolism

2.) Pneumonia

3.) Lung Cancer

4.) Myocardial Infarction

5.) Cardiac Arrythmia

P: “not required”

Evidence and Justification of Differential Diagnosis and Diagnostic Tests

Gruettner J. et al. (2015) report the Wells risk score assesses the history of a previous

DVT or PE in a patient. Assessment of tachycardia, recent surgeries or immobilization,

observation of DVT signs, an alternative diagnosis less likely than pulmonary embolism,

hemoptysis, and cancer are gathered.  Each area is assigned a score and the calculated total score

interprets the probability of having a pulmonary embolism. The patient calculated score

indicated a pulmonary embolism even though the history of cancer was unknown.

The diagnostic test of a CT angiography was found to be successful in the diagnosis of a

pulmonary embolism with Gruettner J. et al. (2015) research. The D-dimer, ABG, EKG, and

computed tomography showed little value in the diagnosis (Gruettner J. et al., 2015).

Dains, J. E., Baumann, L. C., & Scheibel, P. (2016) indicate pneumonia causes the

Application of Quality and Safety Concepts

Please, No Plagiarized Work

Topic: Case Report: Application of Quality and Safety Concepts

In this assignment, learners are required to write a case report addressing the personal knowledge and skills gained in this course and potentially solving an identified practice problem.

General Guidelines:

Use the following information to ensure successful completion of the assignment:

· Doctoral learners are required to use APA style for their writing assignments.

· This assignment requires the inclusion of at least three additional scholarly research sources related to this topic, and at least one in-text citation from each source.

· You are required to submit this assignment to LopesWrite.

Directions:

Construct a case report (2,500-3,000 words/approximately 10-12 pages) that includes a problem or situation consistent with a DNP area of practice.

1. Review the AHRQ and the IOM report (“To Err Is Human” and “Crossing the Quality Chasm”) to develop the case report.

2. Apply quality and/or safety concepts to describe the understanding of the problem or situation of focus.

3. Apply one or more quality and/or safety concepts to the recommended intervention or solution being proposed.

4. Develop the case report across the entire scenario from the identification of the clinical or health care problem through the proposal for an intervention, implementation, and evaluation using an appropriate research instrument.

5. Describe the evaluation of the selected research instrument in the case report.

6. Lastly, explain in full the tenets, rationale for selection (empirical evidence), and clear application using the language of quality and/or safety within the case report.

Case Report Requirements:

In addition, your case report must include the following:

1. Introduction with a problem statement.

2. Brief literature review.

3. Description of the case/situation/conditions explained from a theoretical perspective.

4. Discussion that includes a detailed explanation of the synthesized literature findings.

5. Summary of the case.

6. Proposed solutions to remedy gaps, inefficiencies, or other issues from a theoretical approach.

7. Identification of a data collection instrument to evaluate the proposed solution along with a description of how the instrument could be evaluated.

8. Conclusion.

You are required to complete your assignment using real-world application. Real-world application requires the use of evidence-based data, contemporary theories, and concepts presented in the course. The culmination of your assignment must present a viable application in a current practice setting. For more information on parameters for practice immersion hours, please refer to the DNP resources in the DC Network.

Study Materials

Read Chapter 6 in Outcome Assessment in Advanced Practice Nursing 4e.

https://www.gcumedia.com/digital-resources/springer-publishing-company/2017/outcome-assessment-in-advanced-practice-nursing_4e.php

Tucker, C., Arthur, T., & Roncoroni, J. (2013). Patient-centered, culturally sensitive health care. American Journal of Lifestyle Medicine9(1), 63-77. doi:10.1177/1559827613498065

https://journals-sagepub-com.lopes.idm.oclc.org/doi/full/10.1177/1559827613498065

Park, Y., & Martin, E. G. (2018). Geographic disparities in access to nursing home services: Assessing fiscal stress and quality of care. Health Services Research53, 2932-2951. doi:10.1111/1475-6773.12801

https://lopes.idm.oclc.org/login?url=https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=ccm&AN=130899122&site=ehost-live&scope=site

Barsell, J., Everhart, R. S., Miadich, S. A., & Trujillo, M. A. (2018). Examining health behaviors, health literacy, and self-efficacy in college students with chronic conditions. American Journal of Health Education49(5), 305-311.

https://doi-org.lopes.idm.oclc.org/10.1080/19325037.2018.1486758

Nguyen, T. H., Park, H., Han, H-R., Chan, K. S., Paasche-Orlow, M. K., Haun, J., & Kim, M. T. (2015). State of the science of health literacy measures: Validity implications for minority populations. Patient Education & Counseling98(12), 1492-1512. doi:10.1016/j.pec.2015.07.013

https://www-sciencedirect-com.lopes.idm.oclc.org/science/article/pii/S0738399115300215?via%3Dihub

Pronovost, P. J., Cleeman, J. I., Wright, D., & Srinivasan, A. (2016). Fifteen years after To Err is Human: A success story to learn from. BMJ Quality & Safety25(6), 396. doi:10.1136/bmjqs-2015-004720

https://lopes.idm.oclc.org/login?url=https://search-proquest-com.lopes.idm.oclc.org/docview/1793871405?accountid=7374

Mitchell, I., Schuster, A., Smith, K., Pronovost, P., & Wu, A. (2016). Patient safety incident reporting: A qualitative study of thoughts and perceptions of experts 15 years after “To Err is Human.” BMJ Quality & Safety25(2), 92. doi:10.1136/bmjqs-2015-004405

https://lopes.idm.oclc.org/login?url=https://search-proquest-com.lopes.idm.oclc.org/docview/1778837381?accountid=7374

Califf, R. M., Robb, M. A., Bindman, A. B., Briggs, J. P., Collins, F. S., Conway, P. H., & Sherman, R. E. (2016). Transforming evidence generation to support health and health care decisions. The New England Journal of Medicine375(24), 2395-2400. doi:10.1056/NEJMsb1610128

https://lopes.idm.oclc.org/login?url=https://search-proquest-com.lopes.idm.oclc.org/docview/1849409554?accountid=7374

AHRQ: Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality. (n.d.). Health literacy measurement tools (revised).

http://www.ahrq.gov/professionals/quality-patient-safety/quality-resources/tools/literacy/index.html

Explore the National Committee for Quality Assurance website.

http://www.ncqa.org/

Institute of Medicine. (1999). To err is human: Building a safer health system. Washington, DC: National Academy Press.

http://www.nationalacademies.org/hmd/~/media/Files/Report%20Files/1999/To-Err-is-Human/To%20Err%20is%20Human%201999%20%20report%20brief.pdf

Institute of Medicine. (2001). Crossing the quality chasm: A new health system for the 21st century. Washington, DC: National Academy Press.

http://www.nationalacademies.org/hmd/~/media/Files/Report%20Files/2001/Crossing-the-Quality-Chasm/Quality%20Chasm%202001%20%20report%20brief.pdf

Explore the Patient Centered Medical Home: Resource Center page on the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality website.

http://www.pcmh.ahrq.gov/

Explore the Primary Care Collaborative website.

http://www.pcpcc.org/

Explore the Health Literacy page on the National Network of Libraries of Medicine website.

http://nnlm.gov/outreach/consumer/hlthlit.html

Explore the Health Literacy Online page on the Office of Disease Prevention and Health Promotion website.

http://www.health.gov/healthliteracyonline/

Nursing Theory Analysis Paper

Nursing Theory Analysis Paper

Overview/Description:

The purpose of this assignment is to describe, evaluate and discuss application of a nursing grand or mid-range theory. This assignment also provides the learner an opportunity to connect theory and research to nursing phenomena. Learners will develop an 8-10 page paper (excluding the title page and references) using APA style to address the elements listed below.

Theory/Author Name and Background

  1. Select a Grand or Mid-Range Theory that is appropriate to your practice setting.
  2. Describe the theorist’s background in detail and discuss how their experiences have impacted the theory development.
  3. Examine crucial references for the original and/or current work of the theorist and other authors writing about the selected theory.
  4. Identify the phenomenon of concern or problems addressed by the theory.

Theory Description

  1. Explain whether the theory uses deductive, inductive or retroductive reasoning. Provide evidence to support your conclusion.
  2. Describe the major concepts of the theory. How are they defined? (theoretically and/or operationally) Is the author consistent in the use of the concepts and other terms in the theory?
  3. Interpret how the concepts are defined. Implicitly or explicitly?
  4. Examine the relationships (propositions) among the major concepts.

Evaluation

  1. Identify explicit and implicit assumptions (values/beliefs) underlying the theory. On what assumptions does the theory build?
  2. Examine if the theory has a description of the four concepts of the nursing metaparadigm. If so, how are they explained in the theory? If the metapardigm is not explained, what elements do you see as relevant to the theory and why?
  3. Discuss the clarity of the theory. Did it have lucidness and consistency?

Application

  1. Examine how the theory would guide nursing actions.
  2. Describe specifically how you can use this theory in your area of nursing (Practice, Education, Informatics or Administration).

Download the Theory Critique Template.

APA Style/FormatImage of page 2

NURSING THEORY ANALYSIS PAPER3the theory, it is through the close nurse-patient ties created that nurses get vital information that enables them to take better care of their patients (Parker & Smith, 2010). It through the healthy inter-personal relation between a nurse and the patient that helps the nurse create a therapeutic environment vital in patients’ recovery

Mission, Vision, and Personal Goals

I need a positive argument based in this discussion question. Respond to this argument in one or more of the following ways:

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.

Offer and support an alternative perspective using readings from the classroom or from your own research in the Walden Library.

Validate an idea with your own experience and additional research.

Make a suggestion based on additional evidence drawn from readings or after synthesizing multiple postings.

Expand on your colleagues’ postings by providing additional insights or contrasting perspectives based on readings and evidence.

Use references

Mission, Vision, and Personal Goals

I have been a nurse for five years and spent a great deal of time thinking about my future role in nursing. I debated the pros and cons from the available list of master’s degree specialty tracks in nursing. At first, I thought that I might do nursing leadership as I enjoy leadership, but I changed my mind after realizing that I could lead change in any master’s degree role. I am passionate about psychiatry and decided on the psychiatric mental health nurse practitioner specialty track.

Over the course of a few months, I researched different universities and was drawn to Walden University. I liked that they offered a master’s degree in my specialty track as many universities have moved to the doctorate level. Also, I noticed that Walden had all the required accreditations that I was looking for in a university. After reading the Walden School of Nursing (SON) mission and vision statement, I realized that we have commonalities. According to the Walden University SON (2012), their mission is to thoroughly prepare graduates to transform society. The mission statement speaks to me as I would like to transform individuals and the community by providing high quality, cost effective, and relevant care.

Also, the Walden University program outcomes state that graduates will “apply their learning to specific problems and challenges in their workplace and professional settings” (Walden University, 2011, para. 5). This statement aligns with my objectives. I would like to earn more than a degree; I would like to apply knowledge gained, synthesize new practices, and implement it into nursing practice.

Incorporation of Social Change

Positive social change is a process for improving the daily lives of individuals, communities, and society. According to Walden University (2011), positive social change results in an enhancement of human and social conditions. I concur with this position and I would like to do the same in my community. I have taken my nursing practice as far as I can with my current education and scope. My plan for positive social change in my future practice is to look at an individual holistically to figure out how I can address social conditions preventing effective treatment. For example, “stable housing has been linked to recovery from addictions” (Knickman & Kovner, 2015, p. 165). This statement validates an existing hypothesis synthesized in my daily nursing practice. A lack of housing for chemically dependent individuals results in frequent inpatient readmissions. Positive social change will occur if the above-mentioned social condition can be addressed.

References

Knickman, J. R., & Kovner, A. R. (2015). Health Care Delivery in the United States (11th ed.). New York, NY: Springer Publishing.

Walden University. (2011). Student publications: Vision, mission, and goals. Retrieved from http://catalog.waldenu.edu

Walden University College of Health Sciences. (2012). About the school. Retrieved from http://www.waldenu.edu/colleges-schools/school-of-nursing/about