Assignment 1: Applying Current Literature to Clinical Practice

Literature in psychotherapy differs from other  areas of clinical practice. Generally, there are no clinical trials in  psychotherapy because it is often neither appropriate nor ethical to  have controls in psychotherapy research. This sometimes makes it more  difficult to translate research findings into practice. In your role,  however, you must be able to synthesize current literature and apply it  to your own clients. For this Assignment, you begin practicing this  skill by examining current literature on psychodynamic therapy and  considering how it might translate into your own clinical practice.

                                            To prepare:

Review this week’s Learning Resources and reflect on the insights they provide.

Select one of the psychodynamic therapy articles from the Learning Resources to evaluate for this Assignment. 

Note: In nursing practice, it is not uncommon to review  current literature and share findings with your colleagues. Approach  this Assignment as though you were presenting the information to your  colleagues.
 

                                        The Assignment

In a 5- to 10-slide PowerPoint presentation, address the following:

Provide an overview of the article you selected.

What population is under consideration?

What was the specific intervention that was used? 

Is this a new intervention or one that was already used?

What were the author’s claims?

Explain the findings/outcomes of the study in the article. 

Include  whether this will translate into practice with your own clients. If so,  how? If not, why?

Explain whether the limitations of the study might impact your  ability to use the findings/outcomes presented in the article. 

Support  your position with evidence-based literature.

Note: The presentation should be 5–10 slides, not  including the title and reference slides. Include presenter notes (no  more than ½ page per slide) and use tables and/or diagrams where  appropriate. Be sure to support your work with specific citations from  the article you selected. Support your approach with evidence-based  literature.

Check for plagiarism
 

Research a selected local, national, or global nonprofit organization or government agency to determine how it contributes to public health and safety improvements, promotes equal opportunity, and improves the quality of life within the community. Submit your findings in a 3-5 page report.

As you begin to prepare this assessment, it would be an excellent choice to complete the Nonprofit Organizations and Community Health activity. Complete this activity to gain insight into promoting equal opportunity and improving the quality of life in a community. The information gained from completing this activity will help you succeed with the assessment.

Professional Context

Many organizations work to better local and global communities’ quality of life and promote health and safety in times of crisis. As public health and safety advocates, nurses must be cognizant of how such organizations help certain populations. As change agents, nurses must be aware of factors that impact the organization and the services that it offers. Familiarity with these organizations enables the nurse to offer assistance as a volunteer and source of referral.

This assessment provides an opportunity for you gain insight into the mission, vision, and operations of a community services organization of interest.

Demonstration of Proficiency

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

• Competency 1: Analyze health risks and health care needs among distinct populations.     
  • Explain how an organization’s work impacts the health and/or safety needs of a local community.
• Competency 2: Propose health promotion strategies to improve the health of populations.     
  • Explain how an organization’s mission and vision enable it to contribute to public health and safety improvements.
• Competency 3: Evaluate health policies, based on their ability to achieve desired outcomes.     
  • Assess the impact of funding sources, policy, and legislation on an organization’s provision of services.
• Competency 4: Integrate principles of social justice in community health interventions.     
  • Evaluate an organization’s ability to promote equal opportunity and improve the quality of life within a community.
• Competency 5: Apply professional, scholarly communication strategies to lead health promotion and improve population health.     
  • Write clearly and concisely in a logically coherent and appropriate form and style.

Note: Complete the assessments in this course in the order in which they are presented.

Preparation

Assume you are interested in expanding your role as a nurse and are considering working in an area where you can help to promote equal opportunity and improve the quality of life within the local or global community. You are aware of the work of several nonprofit organizations and government agencies whose work contributes to this effort in some way. You have particular interest in one of these organizations but would like to know more about how it contributes to public health and safety improvements. In addition, you would like to report the results of your research in a scholarly paper that you could submit for publication.

As you begin to prepare this assessment, it would be an excellent choice to complete the Nonprofit Organizations and Community Health activity. Complete this activity to gain insight into promoting equal opportunity and improving the quality of life in a community. The information gained from completing this activity will help you succeed with the assessment.

Then, choose the organization or agency you are most interested in researching:

• American Heart Association.
• World Heart Federation.
• Peace Corps.
• American Red Cross.
• Habitat for Humanity.
• United Way.
• Doctors Without Borders.
• The Salvation Army.
• United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF).
• Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA).
• Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
• Department of Homeland Security (DHS).

Note: Remember that you can submit all, or a portion of, your draft research paper to Smarthinking Tutoring for feedback, before you submit the final version for this assessment. If you plan on using this free service, be mindful of the turnaround time of 24–48 hours for receiving feedback.

Instructions

Research your chosen organization and submit a report of your findings.

Document Format and Length

Format your paper using APA style.

• Use the APA Style Paper Template. An APA Style Paper Tutorial is also provided to help you in writing and formatting your paper. Be sure to include:     
  • A title page and references page. An abstract is not required.
  • A running head on all pages.
  • Appropriate section headings.
• Your paper should comprise 3–5 pages of content plus title and references pages.

Supporting Evidence

Cite at least three credible sources from peer-reviewed journals or professional industry publications that support your research findings.

Graded Requirements

The research requirements, outlined below, correspond to the grading criteria in the assessment scoring guide, so be sure to address each point.

• Explain how the organization’s mission and vision enable it to contribute to public health and safety improvements.     
  • Include examples of ways a local and/or global initiative supports organizational mission and vision and promotes public health and safety.
• Evaluate an organization’s ability to promote equal opportunity and improve the quality of life in the community.     
  • Consider the effects of social, cultural, economic, and physical barriers.
• Assess the impact of funding sources, policy, and legislation on the organization’s provision of services.     
  • Consider the potential implications of funding decisions, policy, and legislation for individuals, families, and aggregates within the community.
• Explain how an organization’s work impacts the health and/or safety needs of a local community.     
  • Consider how nurses might become involved with the organization.
• Write clearly and concisely in a logically coherent and appropriate form and style.     
  • Write with a specific purpose and audience in mind.
  • Adhere to scholarly and disciplinary writing standards and APA formatting requirements.

Additional Requirements

Before submitting your paper, proofread it to minimize errors that could distract readers and make it difficult for them to focus on your research findings.

Portfolio Prompt: Remember to save the assessment to your ePortfolio so that you may refer to it as you complete the final capstone course.

Required Resources
Read/review the following resources for this activity:

• Textbook: Chapter 4, 5
• Lesson
• Minimum of 2 scholarly sources (in addition to the textbook)

Instructions
For this assignment, select one of the following options.

• Option 1: Chronicle Adolf Hitler’s rise from failed art student to political speaker to eventually gain control over Germany.
• Option 2: Describe Benito Mussolini’s revival of European Imperialism in North Africa and how he came to be Adolf Hitler’s ally.
• Option 3: Chronicle the rise of extreme militarism in Japan and how it led them to conquer huge chunks of land in Asia and so many islands in the western Pacific basin, and how this led to their conflict with Great Britain and the United States
• Option 4: Describe Joseph Stalin’s rise to total power in the USSR and how his paranoia and desire for total control led to the terrible purges of the 1930s.

Writing Requirements (APA format)

• Length: 2-3 pages (not including title page or references page)
• 1-inch margins
• Double spaced
• 12-point Times New Roman font
• Title page
• References page

For your Assignment, your Instructor will assign you one of the decision tree interactive media pieces provided in the Resources. As you examine the patient case studies in this module’s Resources, consider how you might assess and treat patients presenting symptoms of neurological and musculoskeletal disorders.

Photo Credit: Getty Images/Science Photo Library RF

To Prepare

• Review the interactive media piece assigned by your Instructor. 
• Reflect on the patient’s symptoms and aspects of the disorder presented in the interactive media piece.
• Consider how you might assess and treat patients presenting with the symptoms of the patient case study you were assigned.
• You will be asked to make three decisions concerning the diagnosis and treatment for this patient. Reflect on potential co-morbid physical as well as patient factors that might impact the patient’s diagnosis and treatment.

By Day 7 of Week 8

Write a 1- to 2-page summary paper that addresses the following:

• Briefly summarize the patient case study you were assigned, including each of the three decisions you took for the patient presented.
• Based on the decisions you recommended for the patient case study, explain whether you believe the decisions provided were supported by the evidence-based literature. Be specific and provide examples. Be sure to support your response with evidence and references from outside resources.
• What were you hoping to achieve with the decisions you recommended for the patient case study you were assigned? Support your response with evidence and references from outside resources.
• Explain any difference between what you expected to achieve with each of the decisions and the results of the decision in the exercise. Describe whether they were different. Be specific and provide examples.

Complex Regional Pain Disorder
White Male With Hip Pain

BACKGROUND

This week, a 43-year-old white male presents at the office with a chief complaint of pain. He is assisted in his ambulation with a set of crutches. At the beginning of the clinical interview, the client reports that his family doctor sent him for psychiatric assessment because the doctor felt that the pain was “all in his head.” He further reports that his physician believes he is just making stuff up to get “narcotics to get high.”

SUBJECTIVE

The client reports that his pain began about 7 years ago when he sustained a fall at work. He states that he landed on his right hip. Over the years, he has had numerous diagnostic tests done (x-rays, CT scans, and MRIs). He reports that about 4 years ago, it was discovered that the cartilage surrounding his right hip joint was 75% torn (from the 3 o’clock to 12 o’clock position). He reports that none of the surgeons he saw would operate because they felt him too young for a total hip replacement and believed that the tissue would repair with the passage of time. Since then, he reported development of a strange constellation of symptoms including cooling of the extremity (measured by electromyogram). He also reports that he experiences severe cramping of the extremity. He reports that one of the neurologists diagnosed him with complex regional pain syndrome (CRPS), also known as reflex sympathetic dystrophy (RSD). However, the neurologist referred him back to his family doctor for treatment of this condition. He reports that his family doctor said “there is no such thing as RSD, it comes from depression” and this was what prompted the referral to psychiatry. He reports that one specialist he saw a few years ago suggested that he use a wheelchair, to which the client states “I said ‘no,’ there is no need for a wheelchair, I can beat this!”

The client reports that he used to be a machinist where he made “pretty good money.” He was engaged to be married, but his fiancé got “sick and tired of putting up with me and my pain, she thought I was just turning into a junkie.”

He reports that he does get “down in the dumps” from time to time when he sees how his life has turned out, but emphatically denies depression. He states “you can’t let yourself get depressed… you can drive yourself crazy if you do. I’m not really sure what’s wrong with me, but I know I can beat it.”

During the client interview, the client states “oh! It’s happening, let me show you!” this prompts him to stand with the assistance of the corner of your desk, he pulls off his shoe and shows you his right leg. His leg is turning purple from the knee down, and his foot is clearly in a visible cramp as the toes are curled inward and his foot looks like it is folding in on itself. “It will last about a minute or two, then it will let up” he reports. Sure enough, after about two minutes, the color begins to return and the cramping in the foot/toes appears to be releasing. The client states “if there is anything you can do to help me with this pain, I would really appreciate it.” He does report that his family doctor has been giving him hydrocodone, but he states that he uses is “sparingly” because he does not like the side effects of feeling “sleepy” and constipation. He also reports that the medication makes him “loopy” and doesn’t really do anything for the pain.

MENTAL STATUS EXAM

The client is alert, oriented to person, place, time, and event. He is dressed appropriately for the weather and time of year. He makes good eye contact. Speech is clear, coherent, goal directed, and spontaneous. His self-reported mood is euthymic. Affect consistent to self-reported mood and content of conversation. He denies visual/auditory hallucinations. No overt delusional or paranoid thought processes appreciated. Judgment, insight, and reality contact are all intact. He denies suicidal/homicidal ideation, and is future oriented.

Diagnosis: Complex regional pain disorder (reflex sympathetic dystrophy)

Decision Point One

Select what you should do:

Savella 12.5 mg orally once daily on day 1; followed by 12.5 mg BID on day 2 and 3; followed by 25 mg BID on days 4-7; followed by 50 mg BID thereafterAmitriptyline 25 mg po QHS and titrate upward weekly by 25 mg to a max dose of 200 mg per dayNeurontin 300 mg po BEDTIME with weekly increases of 300 mg per day to a max of 2400 mg  

PLEASE PAY ATTENTION TO MY CASE STUDY

five references not more than 5 years

Zero plagiarism