Week 1 discussion

Topic 1

The textbook and lectures discussed the professional
characteristics important to nursing Which one characteristic would you say is
the most important and why? Support your answer with references from the
readings or the South University Online Library

Topic 2

Examine the impact that negative stereotypes have had on the
nurse and the profession Describe efforts to build a more professional image
for the nurse and the profession, as well as actions that can be taken to
address negative stereotypes in the media

Week 2 discussion

An Ethical
Perspective

Topic 1

Select an ethical theory or principle that is most congruent
with your ethical views Identify an ethical dilemma presented in your
readings Describe how you could utilize the selected theory to resolve the
ethical dilemma Explain if the selected ethical theory could continue to be
upheld under the circumstances of the dilemma

Topic 2

Examine one of the two models of socialization discussed in
your readings and place yourself in one of the stages Give your rationale for
that placement If none of the models or stages fits your experience, create
your own model (or stage) and share it with the class

Week 3 discussion

Topic 1

To access the South University Online Library, go to Course
Home > Academic Resources > Library > Launch Library Search the
database to identify a nursing research study that could make a difference in
patient care Present the study and discuss the potential impact on nursing
practice and/or patient care

Topic 2

Identify the three phases of the nurse-patient relationship
and discuss how the phases can be helpful in communicating effectively to
patients, patients’ families, and other healthcare professionals Citations
should conform to APA guidelines You may use this APA Citation Helper as a
convenient reference for properly citing resources or connect to the APA Style
website through the APA icon below

Week 4 discussion

Assignment: Professional Characteristics

Assignment: Professional Characteristics

Topic 1

Interview someone from a different cultural background than
your own to learn how he or she perceives illness, including the meaning,
causes, treatment, and feelings associated with both acute and chronic
illnesses Determine how his or her culture tends to view nurses In your
discussion:

Discuss how the perceptions of the interviewee influence his
or her health behavior, including when he or she seeks help and the type of
practitioner he or she consults

Describe how his or her perceptions differ from your own

Describe the strategies you could employ to promote the
delivery of culturally competent care

Topic 2

Which philosophy/conceptual framework/theory/middle-range
theory describes nursing in the way you think about it? Discuss how you could
utilize the philosophy/conceptual framework/theory/middle-range theory to
organize your thoughts for critical thinking and decision making in nursing
practice

Week 5 discussion

Topic 1

Interview someone from a different cultural background than
your own to learn how he or she perceives illness, including the meaning,
causes, treatment, and feelings associated with both acute and chronic
illnesses Determine how his or her culture tends to view nurses In your discussion:

Discuss how the perceptions of the interviewee influence his
or her health behavior, including when he or she seeks help and the type of practitioner
he or she consults

Describe how his or her perceptions differ from your own

Describe the strategies you could employ to promote the
delivery of culturally competent care

Topic 2

Which philosophy/conceptual framework/theory/middle-range
theory describes nursing in the way you think about it? Discuss how you could
utilize the philosophy/conceptual framework/theory/middle-range theory to
organize your thoughts for critical thinking and decision making in nursing
practice

You must proofread your paper. But do not strictly rely on your computer’s spell-checker and grammar-checker; failure to do so indicates a lack of effort on your part and you can expect your grade to suffer accordingly. Papers with numerous misspelled words and grammatical mistakes will be penalized. Read over your paper – in silence and then aloud – before handing it in and make corrections as necessary. Often it is advantageous to have a friend proofread your paper for obvious errors. Handwritten corrections are preferable to uncorrected mistakes.

Use a standard 10 to 12 point (10 to 12 characters per inch) typeface. Smaller or compressed type and papers with small margins or single-spacing are hard to read. It is better to let your essay run over the recommended number of pages than to try to compress it into fewer pages.

Likewise, large type, large margins, large indentations, triple-spacing, increased leading (space between lines), increased kerning (space between letters), and any other such attempts at “padding” to increase the length of a paper are unacceptable, wasteful of trees, and will not fool your professor.

The paper must be neatly formatted, double-spaced with a one-inch margin on the top, bottom, and sides of each page. When submitting hard copy, be sure to use white paper and print out using dark ink. If it is hard to read your essay, it will also be hard to follow your argument.

 

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.