Lyme Disease Case Study

A 38-year-old male had a 3-week history of fatigue and lethargy with intermittent complaints of headache, fever, chills, myalgia, and arthralgia. According to the history, the patient’s symptoms began shortly after a camping vacation. He recalled a bug bite and rash on his thigh immediately after the trip. The following studies were ordered:

Studies

Results

Lyme disease test,

Elevated IgM antibody titers against Borrelia burgdorferi (normal: low)

 

Erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR),

30 mm/hour (normal: ≤15 mm/hour)

Aspartate aminotransferase (AST),

32 units/L (normal: 8-20 units/L)

Hemoglobin (Hgb),

12 g/dL (normal: 14-18 g/dL)

Hematocrit (Hct),

36% (normal: 42%-52%)

Rheumatoid factor (RF),

Negative (normal: negative)

Antinuclear antibodies (ANA),

Negative (normal: negative)

Diagnostic Analysis

Based on the patient’s history of camping in the woods and an insect bite and rash on the thigh, Lyme disease was suspected. Early in the course of this disease, testing for specific immunoglobulin (Ig) M antibodies against B. burgdorferi is the most helpful in diagnosing Lyme disease. An elevated ESR, increased AST levels, and mild anemia are frequently seen early in this disease. RF and ANA abnormalities are usually absent.

Critical Thinking Questions

1. What is the cardinal sign of Lyme disease? (always on the boards)

2. At what stages of Lyme disease are the IgG and IgM antibodies elevated?

3. Why was the ESR elevated?

4. What is the Therapeutic goal for Lyme Disease and what is the recommended treatment.

Students much review the case study and answer all questions with a scholarly response using APA and include 2 scholarly references. Answer both case studies on the same document and upload 1 document to Moodle.

Case Studies will be uploaded to Moodle and put through TURN-It-In (anti-Plagiarism program)

APA format 2 pages long 3 references Please answer question 2 only 

  

Organizational Framework

1. Identify the type of organizational framework and curriculum development approach that is most applicable to your program.
2. Develop an organizational framework/approach that aligns with the following parameters:
   • It is congruent with the setting’s mission, vision, and philosophy.
   • It mirrors the academic needs of your intended nursing students, as well as the trends and regulations applicable to your setting and curriculum focus. 

REPLY QUOTE EMAIL AUTHOR 

 

Write a 4-5 page evidence-based proposal to support the need for a nurse informaticist in an organization who would focus on improving health care outcomes.

As you begin to prepare this assessment, you are encouraged to complete the Team Perspectives of the Nurse Informaticist activity. Completion of this will help you succeed with the assessment as you explore the nurse informaticist’s role from the different perspectives of the health care team. Completing activities is also a way to demonstrate engagement.

Nurses at the baccalaureate level in all practice areas are involved in nursing informatics through interaction with information management and patient care technologies. Nurses must not only demonstrate knowledge of and skills in health information and patient care technologies, but also how to use these tools at the bedside and organizational levels. Moreover, nurses need to recognize how information gathered from various health information sources can impact decision making at the national and state regulatory levels.

Demonstration of Proficiency

By successfully completing this assessment, you will demonstrate your proficiency in the course competencies through the following assessment scoring guide criteria:

• Competency 1: Describe nurses’ and the interdisciplinary team’s role in informatics with a focus on electronic health information and patient care technology to support decision making.
  • Define nursing informatics and the role of the nurse informaticist.
  • Explain how the nurse collaborates with the interdisciplinary team, including technologists, to improve the quality of patient care.
  • Justify the need for a nurse informaticist in a health care organization.
• Competency 2: Implement evidence-based strategies to effectively manage protected health information.
  • Explain evidence-based strategies that the nurse and interdisciplinary team can use to effectively manage patients’ protected health information (privacy, security, and confidentiality).
• Competency 5: Apply professional, scholarly communication to facilitate use of health information and patient care technologies.
  • Follow APA style and formatting guidelines for citations and references.
  • Create a clear, well-organized, and professional proposal that is generally free from errors in grammar, punctuation, and spelling.

Scenario

For this assessment, assume you are a nurse attending a meeting of your state’s nurses’ association. A nurse informaticist conducted a presentation on her role and its impact on positive patient and organizational outcomes in her workplace. You realize that your organization is undergoing many technological changes. You believe this type of role could provide many benefits to your organization.

You decide to pursue proposing a nurse informaticist role in your organization. You speak to your chief nursing officer (CNO) and human resources (HR) manager. These individuals ask you to prepare a 4–5 page evidence-based proposal to support the new role. In this way, they can make an informed decision as to whether the addition of such a role could justify the return on investment (ROI).  They need your proposal before an upcoming fiscal meeting.​

Preparation

To successfully prepare for this assessment, you will need to complete these preparatory activities:

• Review assessment resources and activities.
• Conduct independent research on the nursing knowledge and skills necessary to interact with health information and patient care technology.
  • Focus your research on current resources available through peer-reviewed articles, professional websites, government websites, professional blogs, wiki pages, job boards, et cetera.
  • Consult the BSN Program Library Research Guide for help in identifying scholarly and authoritative sources. 
• Interview peers in your network who are considered information technology experts.
  • Ask them about how information technology advances are impacting patient care at the bedside, at the organizational level, and beyond.

Proposal Format

The Chief Nursing Officer (CNO) and Human Resources (HR) manager have asked you to include the following headings in your proposal and to be sure to address the bullets underneath each heading: 

Nursing Informatics and the Nurse Informaticist

• What is nursing informatics?
• What is the role of the nurse informaticist?

Nurse Informaticists and Other Health Care Organizations

• What is the experience of other health care organizations with nurse informaticists?
• How do these nurse informaticists interact with the rest of the nursing staff and the interdisciplinary team?

Impact of Full Nurse Engagement in Health Care Technology

• How does fully engaging nurses in health care technology impact:
  • Patient care?
  • Protected health information (security, privacy, and confidentiality)?
  • Workflow?
  • Costs and return on investment?

Opportunities and Challenges

• What are the opportunities and challenges for nurses and the interdisciplinary team with the addition of a nurse informaticist role?
  • How can the interdisciplinary team collaborate to improve quality care outcomes through technology?

Summary of Recommendations

• What are 3–4 key takeaways from your proposal about the recommended nurse informaticist role that you want the CNO and the HR manager to remember?

Additional Requirements

• Written communication: Ensure written communication is free of errors that detract from the overall message.
• Submission length: 4–5 double-spaced pages, in addition to a title page and references page.
• Font: Times New Roman, 12 point.
• Citations and References: Cite a minimum of 3 current scholarly and/or authoritative sources to support your ideas. In addition, cite a minimum of 1 current professional blog or website to support your central ideas. Current means no more than five years old. 
• APA formatting: Be sure to follow APA formatting and style guidelines for citations and references. For an APA refresher, consult the Evidence and APA page on Campus.

Portfolio Prompt: Save your presentation to your ePortfolio. Submissions to the ePortfolio will be part of your final capstone course.

 

To Prepare:

• Review the Congress website provided in the Resources and identify one recent (within the past 5 years) proposed health policy.
• Review the health policy you identified and reflect on the background and development of this health policy.

Post a description of the health policy you selected and a brief background for the problem or issue being addressed. Explain whether you believe there is an evidence base to support the proposed policy and explain why. Be specific and provide examples.

The Assignment: (2–3 pages)

In a 2- to 3-page paper, create an interview transcript of your responses to the following interview questions:

• Tell us about a healthcare program, within your practice. What are the costs and projected outcomes of this program?
• Who is your target population?
• What is the role of the nurse in providing input for the design of this healthcare program? Can you provide examples?
• What is your role as an advocate for your target population for this healthcare program? Do you have input into design decisions? How else do you impact design?
• What is the role of the nurse in healthcare program implementation? How does this role vary between design and implementation of healthcare programs? Can you provide examples?
• Who are the members of a healthcare team that you believe are most needed to implement a program? Can you explain why?