Required Texts and Materials:  Smith, M. & Parker, M. (2014). Nursing Theories and Nursing Practice. (4th ed.). Philadelphia, PA: F. A. Davis Company. ISBN-13: 978-0-8036-3312-4 Publication Manual American Psychological Association (APA) (6th ed.).  2009 ISBN: 978-14338-0561-5 Recommended TextMasters, K. (2015). Nursing Theories: A Framework for Professional Practice. (2nd ed.). Burlington, Massachusetts. Jones & Bartlett Learning. ISBN-13: 9781284048353. 

1. Compose a focused paper that explains and describes your healthcare issue or topic from a cultural and ethical perspective of inquiry. (You will cover two perspectives in one paper.)
2. Form and answer two levels of research questions for each inquiry to address your chosen topic.

• Choose a “Level 1 Research Question/Writing Prompt” from both of the lists below to answer in the paper.
• Compose a “Level 2 Research Question/Writing Prompt” for each kind of inquiry that provides detail, specificity, and focus on your inquiry, research, and writing.
• State your research questions in your paper’s introduction.
• Form the body of your paper by answering each research question and support your assertions with evidence (research).
• In the conclusion of the paper, briefly review the issues, research questions, answers, and insights.

1. Level 1 Research Questions/Writing Prompts
   ETHICAL Perspective of Inquiry

• What laws govern or pertain to the issue?
• What ethical obstacles affect how the medical community addresses the issue?
• How do ethical theories apply to the issue?
• How do money, power, and control matters relate to the issue and its treatment?

1. Level 1 Research Questions/Writing Prompts
   CULTURAL Perspective of Inquiry

• Which cultural values and/or norms influence the issue?
• How is the issue addressed differently in varying cultural contexts and situations?
• Which cultures or societies are most affected by the issue? Why?
• Which cultural traditions affect the treatment(s)?

1. Your paper must be five pages in length and reference four to six scholarly, peer-reviewed resources. Be sure to follow current APA Style (e.g., spacing, font, headers, titles, abstracts, page numbering).

Use a provided template to develop a 2-4 page submission in which you research and define a patient, family, or population health problem relevant to personal practice.

Important: Complete this assessment first and complete all other assessments in the order they are presented.

In this assessment, you will lay the foundation for the work that will carry through your capstone experience and guide the practice hours to complete the work in this course. The purpose of this assessment is to allow you to define a patient, family, or population health problem that is relevant to your personal practice and to begin building a body of evidence that will inform your approach to your practice hours, the intervention you design, and the professional product you will deliver.

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: Lead people and processes to improve patient, systems, and population outcomes.     
  • Define a patient, family, or population health problem that is relevant to personal practice.
• Competency 2: Make clinical and operational decisions based upon the best available evidence.     
  • Analyze evidence from the literature and professional sources to define and guide nursing actions related to a health problem.
• Competency 7: Implement patient-centered care to improve quality of care and the patient experience.     
  • Propose strategies to improve patient or population outcomes related to a health problem.
• Competency 8: Integrate professional standards and values into practice.     
  • Reflect on state board nursing practice standards relevant to a selected health problem.
  • Communicate professionally in writing that is clear and logically organized, with correct grammar, spelling, and use of APA style.

Important: Complete this assessment first and complete all other assessments in the order they are presented.

Professional Context

Nurses are leaders in problem identification and solution, planning and implementing patient care strategies to address problems in the home, hospital, and community. This assessment will help you develop a problem statement for a patient, family, or population health concern. 

Instructions

Throughout this capstone course, you will be investigating a patient, family, or population health problem relevant to your practice. For this assessment, you will identify the problem that you will address throughout your clinical practicum in this course, as well as begin to establish your evidence and research base to plan, implement, and share findings related to your project. The Problem Identification Template [DOC] will guide you through development of a problem statement, evidence collection and analysis, and best practices to help you create your implementation plan for the second assessment in this course.

Your submission for this assessment will be the completed template. When working through the template, you may use the resources provided in this course; however, most of your research and search for evidence will be conducted by you. Use the Capella University Library, professional organization and government resources, and relevant organizational best practices as sources of evidence. This is the capstone course for your BSN degree; your goal is to demonstrate your achievement of the program outcomes through your work on this project.

The following are some health issues that would be appropriate for your project:

• Diabetes self-management.
• Hypertension management and prevention.
• Medication reconciliation within a family or group.
• Parkinson’s disease support group.
• Patient family education communication improvements.
• Postoperative home care.

This list is by no means exhaustive. You should choose a patient, family, or population health issue that is relevant to your practice and organization; you must be able to study the problem in your clinical practicum effectively.

Scoring Guide Criteria

Your submission will be assessed based on the following criteria:

• Define a patient, family, or population health problem that is relevant to personal practice.
• Analyze evidence from the literature and professional sources to define and guide nursing actions related to a health problem.
• Propose strategies to improve patient or population outcomes related to a health problem.
• Reflect on state board nursing practice standards relevant to a selected health problem.
• Communicate professionally in writing that is clear and logically organized, with correct grammar, spelling, and use of APA style.

Please identify your relationship to the patient (friend and family) and how you made contact with the individual. Remember to only use the individual’s initials in your assessment to protect privacy.

CORE ELMS

Completion of this course requires a remote rather than a face-to-face clinical practicum. You are required to log your time in the CORE ELMS system just as you have for past courses with clinical interaction. The CORE ELMS link is located in the left-hand navigation pane.

Additional Requirements

• Length of submission: Use the provided template. Most submissions will be 2 to 4 pages. You do not need to include a title page. Be sure to complete the reference page at the end of the template.
• Number of references: Cite a minimum of 5 sources of scholarly or professional evidence that support your central ideas. Resources should be no more than five years old.
• APA formatting: Make sure that in-text citations and reference list follow current APA style.

Portfolio Prompt: Remember to save the assessment to your ePortfolio. After you complete your program you may want to consider leveraging your Portfolio as part of a job search or other demonstration of your academic competencies.

Medical Question. 

Describe the rational drug choice, pharmacokinetics/dynamics, interactions, side effects, monitoring, and patient education for one of the following:

· Eczema

· Psoriasis

· Allergic dermatitis

· Fungal infection (feet, groin, vagina, ringworm)

Include lifespan information (for instance, does treatment differ in a child versus an older adult versus a man versus a female). Include a description of the categories of topical steroids with selection rationale to include cream versus lotion, and so on.

You can include tables in addition to narrative. Integrate two evidence-based articles no older than three years in addition to the course textbook.

Paper should be in four to five well-developed paragraphs (500–700 words total). Use APA formatting and integrate three evidence-based resources to include clinical practice guidelines within the last 5 yrs.