week 1 Assessing Need for Change (graded) Think about a problem in your clinical practice. Are the satisfaction scores in your unit low? Does your unit have a higher than average infection rate? What is a problem you see in your clinical practice? What are some of the possible solutions? Why is it important to evaluate the need for change and not just stick with the “it’s the way we always have done it” mentality? Class, you may begin posting in this TD on Sunday, May 3, 2015 for credit Nurse’s Role in EBP (graded) Evidence based practice dates back to Florence Nightingale, yet it took a long time for nurses to conduct nursing research. Why is it important for nurses to have their own body of knowledge? Give a specific example of how bedside nurses contribute to nursing research? Class, you may begin posting in this TD on Sunday, May 3, 2015 for credit week 2 Forming the PICO Question (graded) Form a PICO question that you will use for your change project. Include each element of the PICO question. How did you develop this question? Why is it important to your clinical practice? Appraisal of Evidence (graded) When reviewing a journal article, how do you best determine its credibility and reliability? Why is it important to determine the strength of evidence and how does that affect your implementation of the results into clinical practice? week 3 Feasibility of your Capstone Project (graded) Now that you have identified your capstone project. What is the cost involved to implement your project? Remember that cost isn’t always just money but also time and resources (both tangible and intangible). Will the initial cost pay off in the long run with improved outcomes? Communication Errors (graded) Have you ever played the telephone game when you were younger? Communication can take on a life of its own and the content can often be distorted over time. Give an example in your clinical practice where miscommunication was the root cause of an error. How could this communication error have been prevented? week 4 Patterns of Nursing Care (graded) Your lesson this week discussed patterns of nursing care delivery. In your opinion, what is the most effective nursing care delivery model and why? What are the advantages and disadvantages of your chosen nursing care delivery model? Give specific clinical examples. Discussion of Articles (graded) Discuss the two articles that you read from the Patient Safety and Quality: An Evidence-based Handbook for Nurses website. Give the title and the URL address for each article. How is the information in each article applicable to your practice? week 5 An Ethical Dilemma (graded) Nurses face many ethical issues on a daily basis. Consider the following scenario: Your unit has team nursing. As luck would have it, you and your best friend, Jill, are paired as a team this shift. Jill is a new nurse so you feel this is a great opportunity to take her under your wing a bit and show her the ropes. It is a busy shift and you administered Mr. Smith his insulin dose based on the sliding scale before lunch. You chart your medication administration and continuing caring for your patients. An hour later, Jill comes to you terrified because she forgot to chart the insulin she gave Mr. Smith and realized that you also gave the medication. She rushed to take his blood sugar and it was 115. Mr. Smith felt fine and was eating a candy bar his family had snuck in for him. No harm done, in fact he probably needed the extra insulin to compensate for the candy bar he wasn’t supposed to have, Jill explained. Jill begs you not to report this since she is still on probation. She says that she has learned her lesson and since nothing bad happened, why does anyone need to know? What would you do in this situation? Apply ethical principles to explain the rationale for your decision making process. Core Competencies for Nurses (graded) Explore the website for the Quality and Safety Education for Nurses (QSEN) initiative at .qsen.org/”>http://www.qsen.org. How can these competencies for nurses be implemented into the workplace or professional nursing setting if you are not currently working? week 6 Implementing Change Despite Resistance (graded) Change can be difficult to implement. Now that you are almost finished with your change project, if you were to implement your project in your clinical practice, what type of resistance do you expect from staff? List at least three ways that you can lessen the resistance you may encounter to help ensure the success of your project. Workplace Safety (graded) Select an American Nurses Association (ANA) publication on workplace safety from the ANA. Search the American Nurses Association (ANA) website for workplace safety (.nursingworld.org/MainMenuCategories/WorkplaceSafety/Healthy-Work-Environment”>http://www.nursingworld.org/MainMenuCategories/WorkplaceSafety/Healthy-Work-Environment and select a publication on workplace safety. Review the document (publication), include the URL, and discuss implications for you and your work setting. week 7 Healthcare Policy (graded) Describe a recent health care policy and discuss it’s implication to your personal clinical practice or health care as a whole. Why is it important for nurses to be aware of health care policy? Healthcare Economics (graded) Health care costs are on the rise. What is an example of wasted health care dollars in your clinical practice and how do you propose improving the utilization of these dollars?
