Week 1: Nursing Theory
Purpose
The purpose of the graded collaborative discussions is to engage faculty and students in an interactive dialogue to assist the student in organizing, integrating, applying, and critically appraising knowledge regarding advanced nursing practice. Scholarly information obtained from credible sources as well as professional communication are required. Application of information to professional experiences promotes the analysis and use of principles, knowledge, and information learned and related to real-life professional situations. Meaningful dialogue among faculty and students fosters the development of a learning community as ideas, perspectives, and knowledge are shared.
Through this discussion, the student will demonstrate the ability to:
- Demonstrate logical and creative thinking in the analysis and application of a theory to nursing practice. (PO 2 and 5) Weeks 2, 6
- Examine broad theoretical concepts as foundational to advanced nursing practice roles. (PO 1 and 2) Weeks 1, 2, 4
- Analyze theories from nursing and relevant fields with respect to the components, relationship among the components, and application to advanced nursing practice. (PO 1) Weeks 4, 6
Requirements:
Discussion Criteria
Integration of Evidence: The student post provides support from a minimum of one scholarly in-text citation with a matching reference andassigned readings or online lessons, per discussion topic per week.
What is a scholarly resource? A scholarly resource is one that comes from a professional, peer-reviewed publication (e.g., journals and government reports such as those from the FDA or CDC).
Contains references for sources cited
Written by a professional or scholar in the field and indicates credentials of the author(s)
Is no more than 5 years old for clinical or research articles
What is not considered a scholarly resource?
Newspaper articles and layperson literature (e.g., Readers Digest, Healthy Life Magazine, Food, and Fitness)
Information from Wikipedia or any wiki
Textbooks
Website homepages
The weekly lesson
Articles in healthcare and nursing-oriented trade magazines, such as Nursing Made Incredibly Easy and RNMagazine (Source: What is a scholarly article x; Created 06/09 CK/CL Revised: 02/17/11, 09/02/11 nlh/clm)
Can the lesson for the week be used as a scholarly source?
Information from the weekly lesson can be cited in a posting; however, it is not to be the sole source used in the post.
Are resources provided from CU acceptable sources (e.g., the readings for the week)?
Not as a sole source within the post. The textbook and/or assigned (required) articles for the week can be used, but another outside source must be cited for full credit. Textbooks are not considered scholarly sources for the purpose of discussions.
Are websites acceptable as scholarly resources for discussions?
Yes, if they are documents or data cited from credible websites. Credible websites usually end in .gov or .edu; however, some .org sites that belong to professional associations (e.g., American Heart Association, National League for Nursing, American Diabetes Association) are also considered credible websites. Websites ending with .com are not to be used as scholarly resources.
Professionalism in Communication: The post presents information in logical, meaningful, and understandable sequence, and is clearly relevant to the discussion topic. Grammar, spelling, and/or punctuation are accurate.
Preparing the Assignment
For many students enrolled in NR501, this is an initial course for nursing theory. So, let’s have a debate. Is nursing theory important to the nursing profession? In particular, is it important for nurse practitioners? Does theory inform nurse practitioner practice? If you believe that it is important, explain why it is useful. If you do not believe that it is useful, explain why nursing theory is not necessary to the profession?
Integration of Evidence: Assigned readings or online lesson and at least one outside scholarly source are included. The scholarly source is:
1) evidence-based, 2) scholarly in nature, 3) published within the last 5 years
Reflection: write 1-2 paragraphs reflecting on your learning for the week. Guiding questions are provided or you may write about what you felt was most significant to you for the week.
What were the most important concepts you learned in week 1? Why are these concepts important? How will they prepare you for your future role as a nurse practitioner? In what ways do you feel prepared for your new role? In what ways do you feel unprepared?
