NR393 Nursing History Week 1 Assignment Course Project Phase 1: Selected Nurse Information
NR 393 Nursing History Week 1 Assignment Course Project Phase 1: Selected Nurse Information
Purpose:
The purpose of this course project is for learners to explore how living nurses are making nursing history, apply lessons from nursing history, and analyze the impact of this project on nursing history today.
The nurse that I chose to discuss from the 19th century is Louisa May Alcott. According to Judd & Sitzman, Alcott was a volunteer during the Civil War and was known for her “Hospital Sketches, a humorous work based on her experiences” (Judd & Sitzman, pg. 82). Louisa May Alcott was a famed writer for her novel Little Women as well as other poems, short stories, and thrillers but it was her account of her Civil War experiences, Hospital Sketches that confirmed Alcott’s desire to be a serious writer. The National Museum of Civil War Medicine discusses that during her time at the Union Hotel Hospital in Georgetown, Louisa as well as the many other nurses at that facility conducted to care tirelessly for the civilians injured or sickly during this time, she wrote “Though often homesick, heartsick and worn out, I like it – find real pleasure in comforting tending and cheering these poor souls who seem to love me, to feel my sympathy though unspoken, and acknowledge my hearty goodwill in spite of the ignorance, awkwardness, and bashfulness which I cannot help showing in so new and trying a situation” (Civil War Med, 2016).
These comments, to me, are the utmost real feeling as I feel during my working day. With working, nurses experience very interesting encounters with their patients, and I found that she utilized her writing abilities to account for the interesting situations very amusing considering I’ve told stories to my friends about patients or doctors (without divulging information and breaking HIPAA) that proved comical. One writing called Nurse Tribe “recounted her altercation with arrogant and old-fashioned surgeons who resented the interference of an untrained female interloper and recalled warm friendships and rewarding working partnerships with others” (Civil War Med, 2016). Louisa incorporated methods originally introduced by Florence Nightingale to improve cleanliness in the hospital she worked at to improve patient recovery. Louisa started her journey as a writer and then went into the field of nursing to help those who needed care, and introduced the comic side of nursing to the field by recounting her experiences, which adds to the idea that I feel is true, nurses have a sick sense of humor.
References:
Judd, D., & Sitzman, K. (2014). A history of American nursing: Trends and eras (2nd ed.). Burlington, MA: Jones & Bartlett.
National Museum of Civil War Medicine. (2016) Louisa May Alcott. Retrieved from www.civilwarmed.org/alcott/
It amazes me how much, in terms of medicine and technology, that we have advanced over just the last 100 years! From 1MB computers being over the size of a house to us carrying devices in our pockets that seem to just have endless memory. In my current practice, I actually use both EMR and paper charting and have experienced the EMR going down and needing to transition to paper.
As far as paper charting, I think that some of the pros are that it’s just easier – there is no searching for a certain box to click or where to input this piece of data. The paper charting systems I have worked with are pretty straight forward and organized for a body-wide assessment. Writing in a quick nursing note can cover everything you need without needing to check off what seems like hundreds of little boxes. However, there are some cons as well. Legibility is probably the biggest one for me. Not everyone has perfect penmanship, and if you can’t read the notes, they might as well be useless. There is also the concern about paper orders getting confused, again due to bad penmanship or inaccurate use of abbreviations. If that piece of paper gets misplaced, thrown away, or soiled with food and/or water/liquid, it is also destroyed. With paper charting, there isn’t a backup save feature so you can get that information back – so you have to be careful and aware when dealing with paper charting. Another con would be room to chart – I tend to write comprehensive, complete notes, and they can often take up more space on the paper charting than I may be able to afford. With EMR, that isn’t a concern. While the EMR may be a little more time consuming, at least until you get used to the program you are using, there are some definite positives. It is nice when doing an assessment that there are drop-down boxes that can prompt or remind you to ask certain questions, for a more complete exam. Having things all in one place, such as medication list or past medical history. There isn’t a need to go searching through a paper chart when it is under its own little tab on the computer. Of course, there is always the nursing notes tabs that allow you to chart whatever you need in, for me, what is like a word document. There is also not a concern for running out of space, like with paper. However, when the EMR or computer systems go down, we always need to make sure that we have a back-up paper system! I know at the SNF/s I work at, the MAR’s automatically print if the system crashes for any reason, and they print the most recent one saved into the system, and the charting systems are pretty good about updating quickly when orders are input.
Today, nurses are so heavily trained on the EMR that they forget that we always have to know how to paper chart as well, and I fully believe that our new nurses, whether in school or at their first jobs, need to be fully educated on the do’s and don’t’s of paper charting. There is nothing worse than doing a night shift and the scheduled computer updates shut your entire floor or facility down – and you don’t know where the paper charting forms are, or how to fill them out! I feel like with the EMR, it’s kinda self-explanatory, as everyone is so adapted to the use of computers and cell phones in our everyday lives. However, I have seen many newer nurses have complete panic attacks because they are unaware of knowing how to use the fallback of paper charting.
Thanks to Richards, we are able to communicate with our team members, as well as the patient’s family and friends, through a charting system, which has become a crucial area to a nurse’s success in the field. When I think about what she would think today – I fully believe the technology would be kind of a shock – but for her to see what her works 150 years ago have allowed for today, she would be proud.
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Course Outcomes:
This course project enables the student to meet the following course outcomes:
CO2: Apply lessons from nursing history to today’s professional nursing practice. (PO4)
CO4: Analyze the impact of nursing history on professional nursing roles today and in the future. (PO7)
This part enables the student to meet the following course outcome:
CO2: Apply lessons from nursing history to today’s professional nursing practice. (PO4)
Overview of NR393 Course Project:
There are three parts to the NR393 Course Project
Phase 1: Selected Nurse Information due end of Week 1
Phase 2: Conversation with the Selected Nurse due end of Week 3
Phase 3: Reflection Paper due end of Week 6
Carefully review the instructions, templates, and rubrics for each of the three parts as you begin this Course Project
Directions for Phase 1:
Select one registered nurse that you know who is creating nursing history today to be the subject of this course project.
This RN must have at least 10 years of RN licensure.
The nurse could be a family member, friend, colleague, acquaintance, manager, former instructor, or other nurse who is creating, delivering, or influencing the practice of nursing in your area. Do not select a former or current patient.
Remember that all nurses are making nursing history today in their own ways, not just the nurses writing books or leading large health systems in innovative change.
Clearly explain to the selected nurse that statements made in the Phase 2 Conversation for this project will be recorded (audio, video, and/or written) and submitted to the instructor for scoring purposes. The interview is not intended for public access. The conversation will be about the Selected Nurse’s:
memories of nursing and nursing education;
contributions to nursing related to leadership, provision of care, and/or evidence-based practice; and
persons or events that have influenced the nurse’s professional practice.
Select a date, time, and location to conduct the Conversation with the selected nurse to be scheduled between Saturday of Week 2 or during Week 3.
NOTE: Do NOT conduct Phase 2: Conversation with the Selected Nurse until you receive feedback (in course Grades area for Phase 1 Selected Nurse Information) from your instructor about approval of the nurse you have selected.
View the Phase 1: Selected Nurse Information Tutorial (Links to an external site.)
Download and use the Phase 1: Selected Nurse Information Template (required) linked in the Templates section below
Submit Phase 1 assignment on required Phase 1 template via Canvas by due date.
Template:
NR393 Course Project Phase 1: Selected Nurse Information Template (Download here (Links to an external site.))
Best Practices:
Use the template provided. If the template is not used, a deduction will be applied.
Carefully review the directions, required template, tutorial, and rubric.
Please use your browser’s File setting to save or print this page.
Spell check for spelling and grammar errors prior to final submission.
Use the rubric as a final check prior to submission to ensure all content is clearly addressed.
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.