DQ1 Does equating status with authority cause confusion? Why or why not?   DQ2 As a professional nurse, what are some ways in which you are able to reach out to members of the community who do not have access to healthcare reform?

DQ1 What stood out to you after exploring the Sigma Theta Tau website?   DQ2 Do you describe yourself as a lifelong learner? If so, why do you feel it is important?

DQ1 How does the registered nurse use guided research in the clinical setting?   DQ2 Explore your clinical site and relate one quality improvement (QI) study currently being analyzed. What is benchmarked in the study? What role does the nurse play in the QI study?

After completing this week’s Practicum Experience, reflect on a patient who presented with abdominal pain. Describe the patient’s personal and medical history, drug therapy and treatments, and follow-up care.   All SOAP notes must be signed and each page must be initialed by your preceptor. When you submit your SOAP Notes, you should include the […]

In addition to Journal Entries, SOAP Note submissions are a way to reflect on your Practicum Experiences and connect these experiences to your classroom experience. SOAP Notes, such as the ones required in this course, are often used in clinical settings to document patient care. Please refer to the Seidel, et. al. book excerpt and […]

As a future advanced practice nurse, it is important that you are able to connect your classroom experience to your Practicum Experience. By applying the concepts that you study in the classroom to clinical settings, you enhance your professional competency. Each week, you will  reflect on your Practicum Experiences and relate them to the material […]

Diagnosing Integumentary Disorders When entering examination rooms, advanced practice nurses often immediately begin assessing patients by looking for external abnormalities such as skin irritations or cloudy eyes. By making these simple observations, they can determine how to proceed with their patient evaluations. During the patient evaluation, advanced practice nurses will use initial observations to guide […]

Examining Endocrine, Metabolic, and Hematologic Disorders   In the United States, 25.6 million adults age 20 years or older have diabetes (American Diabetes Association, 2011). If not properly treated and managed, these millions of diabetic patients are at risk for several alterations including heart disease, stroke, kidney failure, neuropathy, and blindness. Proper treatment and management […]

Diagnosing Neurological Disorders As an advanced practice nurse, you will likely observe patients who experience neurological disorders. Challenging to the diagnosis of neurological disorders is the realization that many manifestations of disease may not be overt physically.   For this Discussion, consider the following three case studies of patients presenting with neurological disorders.   Case […]

Urinary Frequency   Urinary frequency is a genitourinary disorder that presents problems for adults across the lifespan. It can be the result of various systemic disorders such as diabetes, urinary tract infections, enlarged prostates, kidney infections, or prostate cancer. Many of these disorders have very serious implications requiring thorough patient evaluations. When evaluating patients, it […]