Question 1: Monumental Architecture and Sculpture

The cultures we studied this week produced architecture, earthworks, and monumental sculpture, in addition to smaller works of art. Using your course textbook locate three examples of architecture, earthworks or monumental sculpture from three different cultures listed here: Islamic, Chinese, Japanese, or the Americas.

First, completely identify each structure or sculpture you would like to discuss by listing its name, date, and location.

In a minimum of 3 well-developed paragraphs address the following questions:

1. Who created each work of architecture or sculpture? Who commissioned its creation?
2. What historical events or social or cultural influences affected the creation of each work?
3. How do the visual characteristics of each work contribute to or enhance its message or meaning?

Be sure to explain your ideas clearly and support them by discussing specific details about each work of architecture or monumental sculpture.

Question 2: The Function of Art Objects

Some of the art objects created by the cultures surveyed this week served functional roles in their society. Using your course textbook locate three such objects, one each from the following: Islamic, Asian (Chinese or Japanese), and African.

First, completely identify each object you would like to discuss by listing its name, date, and location.

In a minimum of 2 well-developed paragraphs discuss:

1. What was the function of each object at the time of its creation?
2. What historical events or social or cultural influences affected the creation of each work?
3. How do the visual characteristics of each object contribute to or enhance our understanding of its meaning?

Be sure to explain your ideas clearly and support them by discussing specific details about each work.

Countries around the world take different approaches to addressing health and health care for their citizens. While developing countries have much different needs than industrialized countries, comparing nations that fall into like categories can provide valuable insight into how to improve health care for a populace. Policy analysts at the Commonwealth Fund found that the United States did not perform well compared to similar countries as reported in their study, Mirror, Mirror 2017: International Comparison Reflects Flaws and Opportunities for Better U.S. Health Care. 

Five domains were examined in their study: care process, access, administrative efficiency, equity, and health care outcomes.

Case Assignment

After reviewing the background materials and conducting your own research, examine each of these domains. Discuss what they are and how the United States performed. Provide an analysis of what can be learned from other countries to improve the United States’ performance. Be sure that you are citing more than just the Commonwealth Fund report in supporting your analysis.

Assignment Expectations

1. Conduct additional research to gather sufficient information to justify/support your analysis.
2. Limit your response to a maximum of 5 pages.
3. Support your paper with a minimum of 3 reliable sources.

 

Research the different nursing care facilities in your community. Discuss the pros and cons of the facility in terms of what they offer. Provide a brief report with the following questions:

• What is the basic rate for room, board, and services (it’s a good idea to get this information in writing)?
• What services are covered by this rate?
• Are there other services available and how much do they cost?
• What are the payment policies?
• What is the refund policy if someone leaves before the end of a month?
• What is the policy for rate increases?
• How long has the current administration been in place?
• Is there enough staff available to meet my needs?
• Is there frequent staff turnover?
• Is some level of nursing care provided (RN, LPN, Nursing
• Assistant)? How often is it available?
• Who will help me with medications if I need it (e.g. reminding me to take them, opening the bottle)?
• Can someone administer medications to me if I can’t take them myself (e.g. applying medication to my skin, putting a pill in my mouth)?
• Can someone help me if I need special care (e.g. caring for a wound)?
• What happens if I have an emergency? Can I get help right away?
• Are staffs suitably dressed, personable, and outgoing?
• Do the staff members treat residents with respect and dignity?
• Do staff members treat each other in a professional manner?
• What language does most of the staff speak?
• What type of help with personal care is available (e.g. bathing, dressing)?
• How flexible is the schedule for receiving help with personal care?
• What, if any, transportation services are available? (e.g. medical appointments, shopping, religious services).
• Will staff arrange for activities (e.g. hair appointment, concert)?
• How does the home support and accommodate personal hobbies?
• Are there regularly planned activities that I will enjoy?
• Will I be able to attend religious services of my choice?
• Can I bring my pet with me when I move?
• When can I have visitors?
• Are there shops, a library, a park, or other amenities within walking distance?
• Is the home close to activities I enjoy?
• Is the home on a bus line?
• Is there an outside area to sit, walk, or garden?
• Are there shops, a library, a park, or other amenities within walking distance?
• Is the home close to activities I enjoy?
• Is the home on a bus line?
• Is there an outside area to sit, walk, or garden?
• Is the floor plan easy to follow?
• Are doorways, hallways, and rooms accommodating to wheelchairs and walkers?
• Are there hand rails to help with walking and in the bathroom?
• Are cupboards and shelves easy to reach?
• Are there nonskid floors and firm carpets to assist walking?
• Does the home have good natural and artificial lighting?
• Is the home clean, free of odors, and well heated and cooled?
• Does the home meet my standards of cleanliness?
• Is the home free from obvious environmental hazards?
• Are the home’s rooms clean, safe, and adequate for my needs?
• Will I have free use of common areas, such as the kitchen, activity rooms, toilet facilities, dining room, or grounds?
• Can I smoke in my room or in common areas?
• What furniture is provided?
• Can I bring along some of my furniture or other personal items?
• Can I adjust the temperature of my room?
• Is there a sit-down shower?
• Can I have my own personal phone line or internet connection?
• Are emergency procedures clearly posted?
• Am I able to lock my room and/or are there locked areas in each room for personal valuables?
• Is the food pleasing, nutritious, adequate, and attractively served?
• What if I don’t like what is being served?
• Can I cook in my room?
• Are snacks available?
• Are there specific meal times or are they flexible?
• Is there a refrigerator available to store my personal food?
• Will the home meet my dietary or cultural food preferences?
• Can I request special foods?
• Do other residents socialize with each other and appear happy and comfortable?
• Do residents speak favorably of the facility?
• Do the residents look like people I want to live with?
• How are room changes and roommate concerns addressed?
• Is there a resident group that meets?
• Do any of the other residents have a history of violent or other problem behaviors? How are these situations handled by staff?

 

Draft a written proposal and implementation guidelines for an organizational policy that you believe would help lead to an improvement in quality and performance associated with the benchmark metric for which you advocated action in Assessment 1.

Introduction

Note: Each assessment in this course builds on the work you completed in the previous assessment. Therefore, you must complete the assessments in this course in the order in which they are presented.

In advocating for institutional policy changes related to local, state, or federal health care laws or policies, health leaders must be able to develop and present clear and well-written policy and practice guidelines change proposals that will enable a team, unit, or the organization as a whole to resolve relevant performance issues and bring about improvements in the quality and safety of health care.

As a master’s-level health care practitioner you have a valuable viewpoint and voice to bring to discussions about policy development, both inside and outside your care setting. Developing policy for internal purposes can be a valuable process toward quality and safety improvement, as well as ensuring compliance with various health care regulatory pressures. This assessment offers you an opportunity to take the lead in proposing such changes.

Demonstration of Proficiency

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

• Competency 2: Analyze relevant health care laws and regulations and their applications and effects on processes within a health care team or organization.
  • Propose a succinct policy and guidelines to enable a team, unit, or the organization as a whole to implement recommended strategies to resolve the performance issue related to the relevant local, state, or federal health care policy or law.
• Competency 3: Lead the development and implementation of ethical and culturally sensitive policies that improve health outcomes for individuals, organizations, and populations.
  • Recommend ethical, evidence-based strategies to resolve a performance issue related to health care policy or law.
• Competency 4: Evaluate relevant indicators of performance, such as benchmarks, research, and best practices, for health care policies and law for patients, organizations, and populations.
  • Explain the need for creating an organizational policy or practice to address a shortfall in meeting a prescribed metric benchmark. 
• Competency 5: Develop strategies to work collaboratively with policy makers, stakeholders, and colleagues to address environmental (governmental and regulatory) forces.
  • Analyze the potential effects of environmental factors on recommended strategies.
  • Propose stakeholders and groups that would need to be involved in further development and implementation of the recommended strategies, policy, and guidelines.
• Competency 6: Apply various methods of communicating with policy makers, stakeholders, colleagues, and patients to ensure that communication in a given situation is professional, clear, efficient, and effective.
  • Communicate a proposed policy and guidelines and recommended strategies in a professional and persuasive manner, writing content clearly and logically, with correct use of grammar, punctuation, and spelling.
  • Effectively support arguments with relevant sources, correctly formatting citations and references using current APA style.

Preparation

After reviewing your benchmark evaluation, senior leaders in the organization have asked you to draft a policy change proposal and practice guidelines addressing the benchmark metric for which you advocated action.

In their request, senior leaders have asked for a proposal of not more than 2–4 pages that includes a concise policy description (about one paragraph), practice guidelines, and 3–5 credible references to relevant research, case studies, or best practices that support your analysis and recommendations. You are also expected to be precise, professional, and persuasive in justifying the merit of your proposed actions.

When creating your policy and guidelines it may be helpful to utilize the template that your current care setting or organization uses. Your setting’s risk management or quality department could be a good resource for finding an appropriate template or format. If you are not currently in practice, or your care setting does not have these resources, there are numerous appropriate templates freely available on the Web.

You may also find it useful to have worked through the Problem Identification and Policy Development | Transcript media piece. This activity could be useful in refining your understanding about aligning policy development to address specific problems.

Instructions

The senior leadership has stressed that they hope you are precise and professional in your proposal, as well as persuasive in demonstrating the merit of your proposed actions. They have stressed that the following must be addressed in your proposal.

Note: The tasks outlined below correspond to grading criteria in the scoring guide.

In your proposal, senior leaders have asked that you:

• Explain why a change in organizational policy or practice guidelines is needed to address a shortfall in meeting a performance benchmark prescribed by applicable local, state, or federal health care laws or policies.
  • What is the current benchmark for the organization? What is the numeric score for the underperformance?
  • How might the benchmark underperformance be affecting the quality of care being provided or the operations of the organization?
  • What are the potential repercussions of not making any changes?
• Recommend ethical, evidence-based strategies to resolve the performance issue.
  • What does the evidence-based literature suggest are potential strategies to improve performance for your targeted benchmark?
  • How would these strategies ensure improved performance or compliance with applicable local, state, or federal health care laws or policies?
  • How would you propose to apply these strategies in the context of your chosen professional practice setting?
  • How would you ensure that the application of these strategies is ethical and culturally inclusive?
  • Does your policy encompass the key components of your recommendations?
• Analyze the potential effects of environmental factors on your recommended strategies.
  • What regulatory considerations could affect your recommended strategies?
  • What organizational resources could affect your recommended strategies (for example, staffing, finances, logistics, and support services)?
  • Are your policy and guidelines realistic in light of existing environmental factors?
• Propose a succinct policy and guidelines to enable a team, unit, or the organization as a whole to implement recommended strategies to resolve the performance issue related to the relevant local, state, or federal health care policy or law.
• Identify colleagues, individual stakeholders, or stakeholder groups who should be involved in further development and implementation of your proposed policy, guidelines, and recommended strategies.
  • Why is it important to engage these colleagues, individual stakeholders, or stakeholder groups?
  • Do your proposed guidelines help colleagues, individual stakeholders, or stakeholder groups understand how to implement your proposed policy?
  • How might engaging these colleagues, individual stakeholders, or stakeholder groups result in a better organizational policy and smoother implementation?
  • Are your proposal and recommended strategies realistic, given the care team, unit, or organization you are considering?
• Communicate your proposed policy, guidelines, and recommended strategies in a professional and persuasive manner.
  • Write clearly and logically, using correct grammar, punctuation, and mechanics.
• Integrate relevant sources to support your arguments, correctly formatting source citations and references using current APA style.
  • Did you cite an additional 3–5 credible sources to support your analysis and recommendations?

Additional Requirements

• Structure: Include a title page and reference page.
• Length: 2–4 pages should be sufficient for presenting a thorough and concise evaluation, not including your  titles and reference pages.
• References: Cite 3–5 current scholarly or professional resources.
• Format: Use APA style for references and citations.
  • You may wish to refer to the following APA resources to help with your structure, formatting, and style:
    • APA Style and Format.
    • APA Paper Tutorial.
    • APA Paper Template.
• Font: Times New Roman font, 12 point, double-spaced for narrative portions only.

Grading Rubric:

1.  Explain the need for creating an organizational policy or practice to address a shortfall in meeting a prescribed metric benchmark. 

Passing Grade:  Explains the need for creating an organizational policy or practice to address a shortfall in meeting a prescribed metric benchmark, acknowledging costs and benefits both of changing and of not changing the policy or practice. 

2.  Recommend ethical, evidence-based strategies to resolve a performance issue related to health care policy or law. 

Passing Grade:  Recommends ethical, evidence-based strategies to resolve a performance issue related to health care policy or law, and identifies areas of uncertainty or knowledge gaps. 

3.  Analyze the potential effects of environmental factors on recommended strategies. 

Passing Grade:  Analyzes the potential effects of environmental factors on recommended strategies, and proposes mitigation or potential responses to those factors. 

4.  Propose a succinct policy and guidelines to enable a team, unit, or the organization as a whole to implement recommended strategies to resolve the performance issue related to the relevant local, state, or federal health care policy or law. 

Passing Grade:  Proposes a succinct policy and guidelines to enable a team, unit, or the organization as a whole to implement recommended strategies to resolve the performance issue related to the relevant local, state, or federal health care policy or law; makes explicit links to evidence that supports the soundness of the proposal. 

5.  Propose stakeholders and groups that would need to be involved in further development and implementation of the recommended strategies, policy, and guidelines. 

Passing Grade:  Proposes stakeholders and groups that would need to be involved in further development and implementation of the recommended strategies, policy, and guidelines, and suggests collaboration strategies. 

6.  Communicate proposal in a professional and persuasive manner, writing content clearly and logically, with correct use of grammar, punctuation, and spelling. 

Passing Grade:   Proposal is professional, effective, and insightful; content is clear, logical, and persuasive; grammar, punctuation, and spelling are without errors. 

7.   Effectively support arguments with relevant sources, correctly formatting citations and references using current APA style. 

Passing Grade:  Effectively supports arguments with relevant sources, correctly formatting citations and references using current APA style. Citations are free from errors. 

 

Research Project: Case Study

Choose a real health care organization to study. Interview 1 key leader who is involved in the organization’s health care delivery. Based on questions asked and answers given, the report will summarize the questions and answers and then present detailed information evaluating the following:

• Interdepartmental interaction, communications, team building activities and conflict resolution techniques, ethics and workplace diversity programming, proposed operational changes, and how these changes may impact operations and budgets

Click here for relevant resource articles for this unit.

For a resource guide on using the online library to search for references, please click here.

Please submit your assignment.

For assistance with your assignment, please use your text, Web resources, and all course materials.

Your assignment will be graded in accordance with the following criteria. Click here to view the grading rubric.

This assignment will also be assessed using additional criteria provided here.

 10 pages + at least 7 scholarly or peer-reviewed references.

 

ssignment Objectives

Assess communications channels vertically and horizontally in organizations and the implications.

Compose a plan to deal with issues in ethics and workplace diversity.

Differentiate between existing operations and proposed operational changes, including influences to operations and budgets.

Explain the differences between internal and external departmental interaction and how each can be controlled and monitored to achieve desired outcomes.

Plan team building activities and conflict resolution to overcome barriers to performance.