Online learning program for MSN is designed to assist students in the nursing profession make a difference in the field of health care. When selecting a profession, it is crucial to first consider the passion towards the course. It is also important to reassess your strengths, where you would like to see yourself in the next 5 years, and the group you prefer working with (Alquwez, 2020). In the discussion post written by Romeo, the author has made it clear the type of work setting he prefers. At Walden University, there are about eight distinct specializations. A practitioner can either work as a specialty nurse or nurse practitioner.
The desire to offer better care to family and patients is indeed a good mantra to start with. However, many people believe that nurse practitioners are limited to family practice only. That is not always the case with nursing profession (Vos, Boonstra, Kooistra, Seelen & Offenbeek, 2020). The university offers different nurse specializations. Each specialty offers the student an opportunity to take on extra responsibilities including examining patients, diagnosing illness, providing treatment, and prescribing medications. By choosing one of the specialty, Romeo has demonstrated the wish to focus on nursing education.
Regardless of the choice a person takes, specialization in the nursing profession is crucial as it helps to differentiate a practitioner in the field and aligns one’s interests with career goals. NLN is one organization that supports strategies for improving patient outcomes through effective collaboration and communication. The organization provides students with the opportunity to explore the most current health topics in collaboration with experts who serve as leaders in the healthcare system. Discussion Examining Nursing Specialties NURS 6003
References
Alquwez, N. (2020). Examining the Influence of Workplace Incivility on Nurses’ Patient Safety Competence. Journal of Nursing Scholarship, 52, 3, 292-300.
Vos, J. F. J., Boonstra, A., Kooistra, A., Seelen, M., & Offenbeek, M. (2020). The influence of electronic health record use on collaboration among medical specialties. Bmc Health Services Research, 20, 1, 1-11.
Peer Response
Hello O…, I agree with your response to Romeo with the increased demand for primary care services across the country and the number of new primary care graduates dwindling. States may need to look for an alternative supply of primary care providers especially in rural and underserved inner city areas. The demographics and economics of these locations present exacerbating challenges like accessibility, quality, and cost to the U.S. healthcare system. (Barnes et al., 2018) To overcome the short supply of many locals want to utilize nurse practitioners (NP) as one method to alleviate these challenges. Evidence supports the notion that nurse practitioners provide care comparable to physicians in terms of quality, utilization, and satisfaction metrics.
One particular specialty where the implementation of a (NP) could make immediate impact to the area is home-based primary care practices. Some research data shows approximately 93% of Medicare spending is for beneficiaries with multiple chronic conditions (Poghosyan et al., 2019). Costs of poorly coordinated or delayed care for this vulnerable population are staggering—not just measured in dollars and cents but overall psychosocial burdens of poor health and diminished quality of life. A key to solve this dilemma is offering to fill Home-based primary care (HBPC) practices with (NP) which can offer an effective way to meet the needs of older adults who find it difficult, if not impossible, to leave home for medical care with an overall cost saving to Medicare. According to
(Wolff-Baker & Ordona, 2019) Nurse practitioners (NPs) provide more than 825,000 HBPC visits per year.
References
Barnes, H., Richards, M. R., McHugh, M. D., & Martsolf, G. (2018). Rural and nonrural primary care physician practices increasingly rely on nurse practitioners. Health Affairs, 37(6), 908–914. https://doi.org/10.1377/hlthaff.2017.1158
Poghosyan, L., Timmons, E. J., Abraham, C. M., & Martsolf, G. R. (2019). The economic impact of the expansion of nurse practitioner scope of practice for Medicaid. Journal of Nursing Regulation, 10(1), 15–20. https://doi.org/10.1016/s2155-8256(19)30078-x
Wolff-Baker, D., & Ordona, R. (2019). The expanding role of nurse practitioners in home-based primary care: Opportunities and challenges. Journal of Gerontological Nursing, 45(6), 9–14. https://doi.org/10.3928/00989134-20190422-01
Learning Resources
Required Readings
Bickford, C. J., Marion, L., & Gazaway, S. (2015). Nursing: Scope and standards of practice, third edition – 2015. Retrieved from http://ebooks.iospress.nl/publication/12524
Cherry, B., Caramanica, L, Everett, L. Q., Fennimore, L., & Elaine, S. (2019). Leveraging the power of board leadership in professional nursing organizations. JONA: The Journal of Nursing Administration, 49(11), 517-519.
Echevarria, I. M. (2018). Make connections by joining a professional nursing organization. Nursing, 48(12), 35–38.
Truant, R., & Chan, R. J. (2017). Future ready: Strengthening oncology nursing leadership in the context of professional oncology nursing organizations. Canadian Oncology Nursing Journal, 27(1), 2-4.
Walden University. (n.d.). Master of Science in Nursing (MSN). Retrieved November 14, 2018, from https://www.waldenu.edu/masters/master-of-science-in-nursing
Document: Academic Success and Professional Development Plan Template (Word document)
Choose among the following to review your specialization’s Scope and Standards of Practice or Competencies:
American Nurses Association. (2015). Nursing informatics: Scope and standards of practice (2nd ed.). Silver Spring, MD: Author.
“The Scope of Nursing Informatics Practice: Functional Areas of Nursing Informatics” (pp. 18–39)
Nursing Education
Website: Competencies for the Academic Nurse Educator
National League for Nursing. (2019). Nurse educator core competency. Retrieved from http://www.nln.org/professional-development-programs/competencies-for-nursing-education/nurse-educator-core-competency
Note: The competencies for the Academic Nurse Educator do not encompass the competencies or scope and standards of practice for the Nursing Professional Developer. The set of competencies associated with that specific role within the Nurse Education specialization will be examined in future competencies throughout your specialization program of study.
Nurse Executive
Website: Nurse Executive Competencies
American Organization for Nursing Leadership. (2015). AONL Nurse Executive competencies. Retrieved from https://www.aonl.org/resources/nurse-leader-competencies
Public Health Nursing
Website: Public Health Nursing Competencies
Quad Council Coalition. (2018). Community/Public Health Nursing [C/PHN] competencies. Retrieved from http://www.quadcouncilphn.org/documents-3/2018-qcc-competencies/
American Nurses Association. (2013). Public health nursing: Scope and standards of practice (2nd ed.). Silver Spring, MD: Author.
Walden University MSN Core Nursing courses – Generic information for success:
- Being graduate level adult learners – It is very unlikely that you will experience the quantity of or detailed guidance as in the announcements received in this course. Being so: Read the course announcements thoroughly and completely. Read the course announcements at least daily for any updates. Going forward the Instructors may post items at any time throughout the day or night. I have unfortunately received emails throughout this course with questions for which the information was previously addressed within the announcements. Again, reading the course announcements is imperative for your success.
- The utilization requirement of APA within assignments will increase as you progress to courses that are considered “writing intense”. The APA requirement within discussions will remain as you experienced within this course. This course is not considered writing intense. Familiarize yourself with the correct usage of APA 7th edition. It is within every graded item, within every Nursing course going forward. Familiarize yourself and utilize the Walden resources for APA assistance. I have diligently posted links to those resources several times during this course.
- Use ONLY your Walden student email for communication with any Walden University representative. When communicating with your Instructor ALWAYS include your course number and section. Within this course I posted in the announcements numerous times your specific course number and section, as well asked that you include that information when emailing me. Sadly, I received emails that did not include this information, this delayed my assisting you as I had to request your course number and section. This alerts me that course announcements were not being thoroughly and completely reviewed. Going forward it is highly unlikely Instructors will respond to any email other than your Walden student email as email not in Walden origin routinely gets flagged as spam then deleted. Also be fully aware that Instructors required to respond to any email other than your designated Walden Student email.
- Be mindful if you do not participate in any Walden course during the 1st week (Day 1 through Day 7) – you will be removed from the course by Walden University regardless of your excuse. Your Instructor has no control over this – it is university policy!
- The grading of any assignment cannot proceed by your Instructor unless you submit your assignments via SafeAssign, then in BlackBoard. Traditionally a -0- score will be awarded, with no resubmission availability. At the Graduate level, you are responsible for your work being submitted per instructions AND grading rubric parameters and due date/time. Again, I strongly encourage you to submit your assignments before Day 7 to ensure yourself sufficient time to seek assistance and correct the issue. Remember SafeAssign Drafts and SafeAssign are different!
- For Discussions – There is a six (6) day period (Monday, Day 1 through Saturday, Day 6) allowed for the Discussion participation. No allowances for participation will be made outside of the six (6) Discussion active period. Any submitted post outside of the 6-day active discussion period will not be graded and you will receive a -0- score.
- Faculty cannot accept or grade any assignment or discussion through email.
- Do not wait until Day 7 to begin or submit your assignment. Assignments are due Day 7. At the Graduate level, you are responsible for your work being submitted per instructions, grading rubric parameters and due date and time. Being so = I strongly encourage you to submit your assignments well before Day 7 to ensure yourself sufficient time to seek assistance and correct any issue encountered. I have purposely made myself available to you each day including weekends and responded to you within 12 to 24 hours. Be mindful, Instructors are not required to respond to you on a daily basis. Going forward your Instructors will respond to your Contact the Instructor communications and emails within the required 48 hours’ time period.
- As a graduate level student, Instructors will not reach out to you to ensure your assignments/discussions are completed and submitted correctly. As a graduate level adult learner, it is your responsibility to ensure that your discussions and assignments are completed and submitted timely and correctly. As an adult learner, you need to take the initiative and reach out to your Instructor immediately when you encounter an issue. You were offered an online orientation by Walden University – Did you participate in that orientation? If not, I strongly suggest you contact your advisor and make arrangements.
- If you experience technical issues, please utilize your resources and contact the Walden Customer Care Team or Walden IT for assistance. Going forward you will encounter several PowerPoint presentations, Walden Templates within your future courses at Walden University, as well be required to submit multiple items with a single submission.
- Understand the Time Zones at Walden University and the applicable conversion. Your course calendar is in Eastern Time as is the time/date stamp of submission/participation for your discussions and assignments. Going forward all of your future Nursing courses require that your Discussions, any Quiz or Assignment will continue to be due submitted in Mountain Time.
- Have a computer and Internet backup plan. What will you do if your computer crashes or your Internet is not working? Computer/Internet/work issues are your responsibility. Allowances will not be made due to these issues causing a lack of participation or missed deadline, rather a -0- score will be awarded. Save your work on a flash or hard drive. Know where you can go to access the Academic Skills Center as it is an excellent resource to assist in your success.
- For Assignments – Only prior communication with AND Instructor approval will late assignments be considered for grading. Assignments submitted late will be deducted 4% daily until Day 5 OR may deduct the entire 20% regardless of time/day of late submission. This is at the discretion of each Instructor and will vary course-by-course. After Day 5, in any course, the assignment will be scored a -0-.
- Be familiar with how to access and utilize the Walden resources. I posted the most useful and frequently utilized resources numerous times within the course announcements.
- Ensure your discussions have a substance, depth and breadth, critical analysis, and reflection element within the grading rubric. In short – if your discussion Main Post does not closely compare to the discussion exemplar located within the course resources and announcements posted within this course your grade will be drastically reduced.
- Know who and where to submit any documentation if necessary, for allowances for any late or missed assignments. Remember Instructors are not permitted to accept any medical documentation. Discussion Examining Nursing Specialties NURS 6003
- Know who your advisor is and how to contact them.
- Know where and how to locate your student feedback. This course is 6 weeks in duration – In Week 5 I received emails inquiring as to “I see my grade but don’t know why points were deducted” – It was sadly apparent the feedback being provided was not being reviewed by those students. Your numeric score and student feedback are in different locations – this was addressed in the course announcements. If you cannot locate or have not located your student feedback for discussions and assignments – I strongly encourage you to contact the Customer Care Team as you have missed a tremendous amount of information.
Student Resources: Here is a partial listing of Walden University resources that have been shared with you during this course. You will frequent these as you progress throughout your future courses. Again, I strongly recommend that you bookmark each of these for your future courses.
Rubric Detail
Select Grid View or List View to change the rubric’s layout.
Content
Name: NURS_6003_Module06_Week10_Discussion_Rubric
Grid View
List View
Excellent Good Fair Poor
Main Posting
Points Range: 45 (45%) – 50 (50%)
Answers all parts of the discussion question(s) expectations with reflective critical analysis and synthesis of knowledge gained from the course readings for the module and current credible sources.
Supported by at least three current, credible sources.
Written clearly and concisely with no grammatical or spelling errors and fully adheres to current APA manual writing rules and style.
Points Range: 40 (40%) – 44 (44%)
Responds to the discussion question(s) and is reflective with critical analysis and synthesis of knowledge gained from the course readings for the module.
At least 75% of post has exceptional depth and breadth.
Supported by at least three credible sources.
Written clearly and concisely with one or no grammatical or spelling errors and fully adheres to current APA manual writing rules and style.
Points Range: 35 (35%) – 39 (39%)
Responds to some of the discussion question(s).
One or two criteria are not addressed or are superficially addressed.
Is somewhat lacking reflection and critical analysis and synthesis.
Somewhat represents knowledge gained from the course readings for the module.
Post is cited with two credible sources.
Written somewhat concisely; may contain more than two spelling or grammatical errors.
Contains some APA formatting errors.
Points Range: 0 (0%) – 34 (34%)
Does not respond to the discussion question(s) adequately.
Lacks depth or superficially addresses criteria.
Lacks reflection and critical analysis and synthesis.
Does not represent knowledge gained from the course readings for the module.
Contains only one or no credible sources.
Not written clearly or concisely.
Contains more than two spelling or grammatical errors.
Does not adhere to current APA manual writing rules and style.
Main Post: Timeliness
Points Range: 10 (10%) – 10 (10%)
Posts main post by day 3.
Points Range: 0 (0%) – 0 (0%)
Points Range: 0 (0%) – 0 (0%)
Points Range: 0 (0%) – 0 (0%)
Does not post by day 3.
First Response
Points Range: 17 (17%) – 18 (18%)
Response exhibits synthesis, critical thinking, and application to practice settings.
Responds fully to questions posed by faculty.
Provides clear, concise opinions and ideas that are supported by at least two scholarly sources.
Demonstrates synthesis and understanding of learning objectives.
Communication is professional and respectful to colleagues.
Responses to faculty questions are fully answered, if posed.
Response is effectively written in standard, edited English.
Points Range: 15 (15%) – 16 (16%)
Response exhibits critical thinking and application to practice settings.
Communication is professional and respectful to colleagues.
Responses to faculty questions are answered, if posed.
Provides clear, concise opinions and ideas that are supported by two or more credible sources.
Response is effectively written in standard, edited English.
Points Range: 13 (13%) – 14 (14%)
Response is on topic and may have some depth.
Responses posted in the discussion may lack effective professional communication.
Responses to faculty questions are somewhat answered, if posed.
Response may lack clear, concise opinions and ideas, and a few or no credible sources are cited.
Points Range: 0 (0%) – 12 (12%)
Response may not be on topic and lacks depth.
Responses posted in the discussion lack effective professional communication.
Responses to faculty questions are missing.
No credible sources are cited.
Second Response
Points Range: 16 (16%) – 17 (17%)
Response exhibits synthesis, critical thinking, and application to practice settings.
Responds fully to questions posed by faculty.
Provides clear, concise opinions and ideas that are supported by at least two scholarly sources.
Demonstrates synthesis and understanding of learning objectives.
Communication is professional and respectful to colleagues.
Responses to faculty questions are fully answered, if posed.
Response is effectively written in standard, edited English.
Points Range: 14 (14%) – 15 (15%)
Response exhibits critical thinking and application to practice settings.
Communication is professional and respectful to colleagues.
Responses to faculty questions are answered, if posed.
Provides clear, concise opinions and ideas that are supported by two or more credible sources.
Response is effectively written in standard, edited English.
Points Range: 12 (12%) – 13 (13%)
Response is on topic and may have some depth.
Responses posted in the discussion may lack effective professional communication.
Responses to faculty questions are somewhat answered, if posed.
Response may lack clear, concise opinions and ideas, and a few or no credible sources are cited.
Points Range: 0 (0%) – 11 (11%)
Response may not be on topic and lacks depth.
Responses posted in the discussion lack effective professional communication.
Responses to faculty questions are missing.
No credible sources are cited.
Participation
Points Range: 5 (5%) – 5 (5%)
Meets requirements for participation by posting on three different days.
Points Range: 0 (0%) – 0 (0%)
Points Range: 0 (0%) – 0 (0%)
Points Range: 0 (0%) – 0 (0%)
Does not meet requirements for participation by posting on 3 different days.
Total Points: 100
Name: NURS_6003_Module06_Week10_Discussion_Rubric Discussion Examining Nursing Specialties NURS 6003