Regardless of political affiliation, individuals often grow concerned when considering perceived competing interests of government and their impact on topics of interest to them. The realm of healthcare is no different. Some people feel that local, state, and federal policies and legislation can be either helped or hindered by interests other than the benefit to society.

Consider for example that the number one job of a legislator is to be reelected. Cost can be measured in votes as well as dollars. Thus, it is important to consider the legislator’s perspective on either promoting or not promoting a certain initiative in the political landscape.

To Prepare:

• Review the Resources and reflect on efforts to repeal/replace the Affordable Care Act (ACA).
• Consider who benefits the most when policy is developed and in the context of policy implementation.

ASSIGNMENT

· Explain how you think the cost-benefit analysis in terms of legislators being reelected affected efforts to repeal/replace the ACA. 

· Then, explain how analyses of the voter’s views may affect decisions by legislative leaders in recommending or positioning national policies (e.g., Congress’ decisions impacting Medicare or Medicaid).

· Remember, the number one job of a legislator is to be re-elected. 

• Create a strategy map for the Ajo Medical Center as described in the discussion preparation this week.  
• For the discussion, share an image of your strategy map or a description of what you created and provide rationale for why you arranged the strategy map as you did. Discuss whether you found the process of creating a strategy map helpful. Why or why not? Is this something you will use in your role in health care? Explain why you will or will not use this process. 

 

• Title and reference pages do not count toward the total word or page count.
• Textbook and outside sources need to be referenced and cited in the paper.

Essays: (at least 300 words per prompt)

1. Kate is born with features that do not look quite normal. Her eyes are wide-set and slightly slanted. Her nose is short and flat, and she keeps her mouth slightly open. There is a straight crease across her palm, and her fifth digit is unusually short. The doctor tells her parents she has an inherited disorder. If you were the doctor what would you diagnosis Kate with? Discuss the etiology of Kate’s disorder? What is the biggest risk factor for this disorder? How can or will this disorder affect Kate? What test could have been completed to diagnosis this disorder before Kate’s birth?

2. Research one autosomal dominant disease, one autosomal recessive disease, and a sex-linked disease. For each disease discuss: 1. Etiology, 2. Signs and Symptoms, 3. Diagnosis, 4. Treatment and Prevention. Provide additional information from an outside source.

3. A 12-year-old child experiences high fever and chills. He also says that his heart feels like its pounding. Two weeks before these symptoms, the child fell off his bike and skinned his knee. This child also has a history of a heart murmur. What disease should be considered and what is the treatment? What congenital heart disease is associated with heart murmurs?

4. A 59-year-old male calls the paramedics after experiencing an episode of chest pain while shoveling snow. He describes his pain as a crushing, tight feeling that radiates to his left arm and jaw. What type(s) of heart disease is this patient experiencing (explain)? What diagnostic test would you expect the physician to order and why? What is the treatment?

 

As an advanced practice nurse assisting physicians in the diagnosis and treatment of disorders, it is important to not only understand the impact of disorders on the body, but also the impact of drug treatments on the body. The relationships between drugs and the body can be described by pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics.

Pharmacokinetics describes what the body does to the drug through absorption, distribution, metabolism, and excretion, whereas pharmacodynamics describes what the drug does to the body.

Photo Credit: Getty Images/Ingram Publishing

When selecting drugs and determining dosages for patients, it is essential to consider individual patient factors that might impact the patient’s pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic processes. These patient factors include genetics, gender, ethnicity, age, behavior (i.e., diet, nutrition, smoking, alcohol, illicit drug abuse), and/or pathophysiological changes due to disease.

For this Discussion, you reflect on a case from your past clinical experiences and consider how a patient’s pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic processes may alter his or her response to a drug.

To Prepare

• Review the Resources for this module and consider the principles of pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics.
• Reflect on your experiences, observations, and/or clinical practices from the last 5 years and think about how pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic factors altered his or her anticipated response to a drug.
• Consider factors that might have influenced the patient’s pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic processes, such as genetics (including pharmacogenetics), gender, ethnicity, age, behavior, and/or possible pathophysiological changes due to disease.
• Think about a personalized plan of care based on these influencing factors and patient history in your case study.

By Day 3 of Week 1

Post a description of the patient case from your experiences, observations, and/or clinical practice from the last 5 years. Then, describe factors that might have influenced pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic processes of the patient you identified. Finally, explain details of the personalized plan of care that you would develop based on influencing factors and patient history in your case. Be specific and provide examples.

Assignment Content

1. Select a health care setting you want to focus on for your sustainability initiative (e.g., local hospital, veterans hospital, ambulance service, urgent care, nursing home, etc.). 

   Analyze the setting you have selected and break it down to the main departments, employee roles, operating activities, etc. While doing so, brainstorm opportunities to reduce costs or eliminate waste while improving patient care or outcomes.

   Review the list of sustainable initiatives from the list below, and select one that you want to promote for your course project:

   • Energy efficiency
   • Lighting
   • IR scanning
   • Cogeneration
   • Kanban Inventory
   • Device exchange
   • CR pack reformation
   • Device reprocessing
   • Red bag waste reduction
   • Blue wrap recycling
   • Note: Ensure that the opportunity you select correlates with the setting you select. Additionally, if you want to complete a sustainable initiative that is not on the list, obtain approval from your instructor before completing the assignment.

     Identify data sources you might need to collect and analyze for your initiative. Consider contacting people in the industry and at your organization who may be able to help.

     Write a 525- to 700-word proposal of the sustainability initiative you want to promote at the health care setting you selected. Your proposal should:

   • Create a clear vision or mission statement that defines the scope of the initiative and would generate buy-in.
   • Define what outcomes you expect to achieve over time.
   • Be specific with what you can realistically deliver.
   • Cite 3 reputable references to support your assignment (e.g., trade or industry publications, government or agency websites, scholarly works, or other sources of similar quality).

     Format your assignment according to APA guidelines.