Initial Discussion Post: Choose one of the primary source documents from the topic list below. Using the primary source reading, answer the following questions. Use this template provided to complete the assignment.

1. Context (25 points):
   1. Name of the document you chose to analyze
   2. Who is the creator of the document?
   3. Briefly describe the creator of the document. (To answer this question, you may need to use information obtained from the introduction to the source, or other course materials such as the Lib Guide, Intellipath, or your Instructor.)
   4. When and where was the document created? (Again, you may need to use information obtained from the introduction to the source, or other course materials such as the Lib Guide, Intellipath, or your Instructor.)
2. Summary (30 points):
   1. Write a brief summary of the source. (What is the topic or issue of the source? What are the creator’s main points about that topic? What is one interesting thing said in this source?) 
3. Connections (30 points):
   1. How does this source connect to the Unit 4 Learning Material? How does it help you better understand that moment in American History? (Here you want to think about how this source fits into the other material for the unit in the Lib Guide, Intellipath, or your Instructor.)
      Does this source support what you already know about the topic? If so, how? Or does this source change the way you think about this topic? If so, how?
4. Issue Today (25 points)
   1. Identify how the issue in the document relates to American life today. You will want to use specific examples to explain your points. Reagan, R. (1981). Remarks on Signing the Economic Recovery Tax Act of 1981 and the Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1981, and a Question and Answer Session with Reporters. Retrieved from The American Presidency Project: https://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/documents/remarks-signing-the-economic-recovery-tax-act-1981-and-the-omnibus-budget-reconciliation

Bush, G. H. (1990). Iraqi Aggression in Kuwait. Speech before the United Nations General Assembly. (See PDF)

Buchanan, P. J. (1992). Address to the Republican National Convention. Retrieved from American Yawp http://www.americanyawp.com/reader/29-the-triumph-of-the-right/pat-buchanan-on-the-culture-war-1992/

Reagan, R. (1987). Tear Down this Wall. Retrieved from The History Place: Great Speeches Collection: http://www.historyplace.com/speeches/reagan-tear-down.htm

Throughout the course, students will engage in weekly reflection and scholarly activities. These assignments are presented in Topic 1 to allow students to plan ahead, and incorporate the deliverables into the Individual Success Plan if they so choose.

The weekly reflective journals and scholarly activities will not be submitted in LoudCloud each week; a final, culminating submission will be due in Topic 10. No submission is required until Topic 10.

Professional Capstone and Practicum Reflective Journal

Students are required to maintain weekly reflective narratives throughout the course to combine into a final, course-long reflective journal that integrates leadership and inquiry into current practice as it applies to the Professional Capstone and Practicum course. This course-long journal assignment will be due in Topic 10.

In each week’s entry, you should reflect on the personal knowledge and skills gained throughout the Professional Capstone and Practicum course. Your entry should address a variable combination of the following, dependent on the specific practice immersion clinical experiences you encountered that week:

1. New practice approaches
2. Intraprofessional collaboration
3. Health care delivery and clinical systems
4. Ethical considerations in health care
5. Population health concerns
6. The role of technology in improving health care outcomes
7. Health policy
8. Leadership and economic models
9. Health disparities

In the Topic 10 submission, each of the areas should be addressed in one or more of the weekly entries.

This reflection journal also allows students to outline what they have discovered about their professional practice, personal strengths and weaknesses that surfaced, additional resources and abilities that could be introduced to a given situation to influence optimal outcomes, and finally, how they met competencies and course objectives.

Scholarly Activities

Throughout the RN-to-BSN program, students are required to participate in scholarly activities outside of clinical practice or professional practice. Examples of scholarly activities include attending conferences, seminars, journal club, grand rounds, morbidity and mortality meetings, interdisciplinary committees, quality improvement committees, and any other opportunities available at your site, within your community, or nationally.

You are required to post one scholarly activity while you are in the BSN program, which should be documented by the end of this course. In addition to this submission, you are required to be involved and contribute to interdisciplinary initiatives on a regular basis.

In Topic 10, you will submit a summary report of your scholarly activity. You may use the “Scholarly Activity Summary” resource to help guide this assignment.