Walden NURS3020 2020 January All Weeks Discussions Latest

NURS3020 Health Assessment

Week 2 Discussion

Caring and Ethics in Your Practice

Some things in nursing never change. Caring has been the basic work of nurses from the genesis of nursing.

Caring and nursing are inextricably intertwined. For example, caring is defined as, “feeling and exhibiting concern and empathy for others; showing or having compassion” (The Free Dictionary by Farlex, 2015, para. 2). Nurse is defined by Merriam-Webster (2018) as, “a person who cares for the sick or infirm” (para. 3). As these definitions demonstrate, caring is a feeling that also requires an action.

The theory of the ethics of care has evolved over time between obligation-based ethics and responsibility-based ethics. The former asks, “What obligation, if any, do I have to this person?” In the latter, responsibility-based ethics, the relationship with others is a given. The only question is how to best meet the responsibility for effective care.

According to the Code of Ethics for Nurses, “Optimal nursing care enables the patient to live with as much physical, emotional, social, and religious or spiritual well-being as possible” (American Nurses Association, 2015, p. 2).

Caring is an essential part of patient care. There are four phases of caring. They are attentiveness, responsibility, competence, and responsiveness. Caring requires the nurse to put aside personal biases and prejudices to effectuate the four phases of caring. The four phases of caring suggest that good care demands more than just good intention; good care. It is a practice of combining activities, attitudes, and knowledge of the situation.

To Prepare

Review the Week 2 Discussion Rubric provided in the Course Information area.

Review Chapters 7–10 and 13-17 in the course text.

Review, this week’s Resources.

Review this week’s Writing Resources and Program Success Tools.

Consider types of caring techniques and strategies that can be used during a health assessment.

Think about a time when you had the opportunity to encourage a patient to comply with a health promotion activity, and whether you did so successfully or not.

By Day 3

Post a substantive 2-paragraph response (at least 350 words) to one of the options below. Develop and post cohesive paragraphs, and use evidence to support your ideas.

Cohesive paragraphs

Evidence

What caring techniques/strategy can you use during the health assessment of a patient to encourage the patient’s adherence to a treatment plan?

Describe an instance in your practice when you successfully encouraged a patient to comply with a health promotion activity. If you have not successfully encouraged a patient to comply with a health promotion activity, how might you have done so based on what you know now?

By Day 7

Read two or more of your colleagues’ postings for the Discussion question.

Respond to at least two of your colleagues in one of the following ways:

Expand upon the proposed technique(s).

Suggest an alternative technique to encourage adherence to a treatment plan.

Ask a clarifying question about a colleague’s proposed technique or strategy, or about the instance when your colleague successfully encouraged a patient to comply with a health promotion activity.

 

NURS3020 Health Assessment

Week 3 Discussion

It’s a Small, Small World

Health conditions, including heart disease and respiratory infections, have no borders. What happens in one part of the world has ripple effects through the other parts, including the United States. Technology has created an even smaller world, with nurses in instant contact and eager to share information.

You and your Walden nursing colleagues live and work around this shrinking professional world. Your nursing experience working with diverse populations presents a rich opportunity to share your international health perspectives. This exercise is a growth opportunity in terms of how we see ourselves, the world, and how we interact with our patients during the health interview and health assessment process.

In this week’s Discussion, your stories will illustrate relevant social and cultural differences among yourselves and your patients. The collective experience will expand your individual nursing knowledge; improve upon our cultural humility and perspectives, in order to foster social and culturally-sensitive health interviews and assessments. This, in turn, contributes to safer and higher quality outcomes for your patients. Consider how your sensitive care is expressed through choice of your words, maintaining a distance that is culturally appropriate, and utilizing other techniques to negotiate through established social and cultural values. This leads to patient trust and comfort and a respectful nurse-patient relationship.

To Prepare

Review the Week 3 Discussion Rubric provided in the Course Information area.

Review Chapters 8 and 19-21 in the course text.

Review the article “Many Faces: Addressing Diversity in Health Care,” provided in this week’s Resources.

Review this week’s Writing Resources and Program Success Tools.

By Day 3

Post a substantive 2-paragraph response (at least 350 words) to one of the options below. Develop and post cohesive paragraphs, and use evidence to support your ideas.

Cohesive paragraphs

Evidence

Complete one of the following options (Option One, Option Two, or Option Three). Use the Discussion Rubric to develop your post.

Reflect on your reading from this week, and then address one of the following:

Option One:

Describe an incident, or incidents, in your own nursing practice in which you expressed social or cultural sensitivity in order to elicit a competent health history or assessment. Explain the positive impact your sensitivity had on patient care or collegial efficacy of patient care.

Option Two:

Describe a situation in which the absence of social or cultural sensitivity adversely impacted patient care or collegial efficacy of patient care. How could the situation been handled to produce a more positive outcome during the health interview or assessment?

Option Three:

Describe one or more situations that illustrate social or cultural humility, or insensitivity, among your colleagues in a manner that fostered improved peer cooperation or efficacy of patient care or impeded such care.

By Day 7

Read two or more of your colleagues’ postings for the Discussion question.

Respond to at least two of your colleagues in one of the following ways:

Expand upon their Discussion.

Suggest an alternative to their viewpoint.

Ask a clarifying question about a colleague’s proposed technique or strategy.

 

NURS3020 Health Assessment

Week 4 Discussion

Promoting Nutrition in Older Adults

Older adults are the fastest growing age group in North America. This demographic is expected to continue for the next several decades and has demanded increased attention to promoting and supporting their health and well-being.

Nurses must be adept in nutrition assessment and education and guiding older adults in their self-management and care activities. Each nurse needs to understand valid information sources as they relate to patient’s health literacy skills.

Patients over the age of 65 are at an increased risk for lower levels of health literacy. Health literacy is believed to be a stronger predictor of health outcomes than are social and economic status, education, gender, and age.

A nurse must know how to overcome multiple barriers when caring for a patient with low health literacy. Mistrust is one barrier. When the nurse is different from the patient in terms of age, ethnicity, education, and socio-economic status, the patient may have difficulty asking questions or be reluctant to disclose personal information.

To Prepare

Review the Week 4 Discussion Rubric provided in the Course Information area.

Review Chapters 12 and 22  in your course text.

Review the Writing Resources and Program Success Tools.

Review this week’s Writing Resources and Program Success Tools.

Using the Nursing Databases in the Walden Library, seek out a professional article that was published within the past 5 years pertaining to one of the three Discussion options below. Some topics to look for might include:

Nutrition and age groups

Abdominal differences

Reaching a higher level of care

Health promotion and patient centered care

Ethics

Population health

From the article, pick out three important key points or “take-a-ways.” Be sure to cite and reference the professional article selected along with other sources of evidence.

By Day 3

Post a substantive response (at least 350 words) to one of the following options. Be sure to use evidence from the readings and include in-text citations. Utilize essay-level writing practice and skills, including the use of transitional material and organizational frames. Use the writing resources and the Discussion Rubric to develop your post.

Evidence

In-text citations

Essay-level

Transitional material

Organizational frames

Option One:

In the text, you read about the various types of nutritional assessments that can be utilized during the health history and assessment process. From a professional article you selected, describe one effective nutritional assessment that can be used specifically for an older individual in outpatient care clinics, hospitals, or long-term facilities.

Option Two:

As older adults live longer, they may have more than one chronic disease. Or, they may have a health problem that can lead to another condition or injury if not properly managed. The older adult requires careful nutritional management to ensure proper care and improve or maintain quality of life. From the professional article you selected, describe the unique nutritional needs of this population.

Option Three:

With the rapid population increase of older adults and the surge in online health information, efforts targeted at older adults and their health literacy are both relevant and crucial to promoting and supporting overall health. From the professional article you selected, describe effective nurse strategies aimed to improving the health literacy of this population.

Use the Walden Writing Center to help you cite ly: http://academicguides.waldenu.edu/writingcenter/apa/citations

Use the Nursing Research Databases in the Walden Library to search for professional articles: http://academicguides.waldenu.edu/nursingresearch

Learn how to evaluate resources in the Walden Library: http://academicguides.waldenu.edu/library/evaluating

 

NURS3020 Health Assessment

Week 5 Discussion

Patient-Centered Care—At First Contact

Nurses and patient-centered care (PCC) go hand-in-hand. Nurses enjoy taking care of patients in a holistic, personalized, relationship-based way that honors the patients’ preferences, needs, and values. In its landmark book, Crossing the Quality Chasm (2001, p. 40), the Institute of Medicine (IOM) defined patient-centered care as “…providing care that is respectful and responsive to individual patient preferences, needs, and values—ensuring that patient values guide all clinical decisions.”

This is the last week in which we are reviewing health assessment techniques. We end by covering cognitive assessments and musculoskeletal and neurological examinations. The purpose of this discussion is for you to reflect on your relationships with your patients and to identify ways that you can strengthen your PCC approaches beyond health interviews and assessments.

As you move forward in the program, you will learn more about encouraging patients to be engaged at every level of care design and implementation within the health care system. After all, PCC is connected to improved quality and patient outcomes, and you will learn more about that too!

To Prepare

Review the Week 5 Discussion Rubric provided in the Course Information area.

Review Chapters 5, 23, and 24 in the course text.

Choose two of the six dimensions of patient-centered care (PCC), listed below, on which to focus for this Discussion.

Think about how you might implement the two dimensions you selected into your health interview and assessment process in order to improve quality in patient collaboration and outcomes.

Respect for patients’ values, preferences, and expressed needs

Coordination and integration of care through collaboration and teamwork

Accessibility and free flow of information, communication, and education

Physical comfort

Sensitivity to non-medical and the spiritual dimension of care (emotional support)

Involvement of family and friends

By Day 3

Post a substantive 3-paragraph response (at least 350 words) discussing the selected dimensions of patient-centered care.

Be sure to use evidence from the readings and include in-text citations. Utilize essay-level writing practice and skills, including the use of transitional material and organizational frames. Use the writing resources and the Discussion Rubric to develop your post.

Evidence

In-text citations

Essay-level

Transitional material

Organizational frames

Define the two dimensions of patient-centered care that you selected.

Describe how your implementation of the two dimensions in your health interview and assessment will improve quality in patient collaboration and outcomes.

By Day 7

Read two or more of your colleagues’ postings for the Discussion question.

Respond to at least two of your colleagues in one of the following ways:

Expand upon their Discussion.

Suggest an alternative to their viewpoint.

Ask a clarifying question about a colleague’s proposed technique or strategy.