Benchmark Assignment Future Scope Role and Professional Obligations Paper

Benchmark Assignment: Future Scope, Role and Professional Obligations Paper

Sample Answer for Benchmark Assignment: Future Scope, Role and Professional Obligations Paper Included After Question

Assessment Description

Advanced registered nursing graduates are entering the profession at dynamic time when roles and scope of practice are shifting based on developments in legislation and policy in response to the evolving needs of the health care system. Professional nursing organizations play an important role in making sure the perspectives of advanced registered nurses are heard, and in supporting nurse specialties in their efforts to expand their scope of practice and their full participation throughout the health care system.

For this assignment, you will conduct research on the current scope of practice for your specialty and efforts that are being made to expand that scope and the role of the advanced registered nurse in positively influencing the health care system. Write a 1,250-1,500 word paper that includes the following:

  1. A discussion of the scope of your future role as an advanced registered nurse, including any regulatory, certification, or accreditation agencies that define that scope.
  2. A discussion of three professional nursing organizations that you think are most influential in advancing the scope and influence of advanced nursing. Of these organizations, evaluate the one that you would most like to join. How do its goals and mission fit in with your worldview and philosophy of care? How might membership in this organization improve your practice?
  3. A discussion of a controversial or evolving issue that is most likely to affect your scope of practice or role in the next few years. How do you think this issue could influence the profession and other stakeholders and why does it matter to the advanced registered nurse?

You are required to cite five to 10 sources to complete this assignment. Sources must be published within the last 5 years and appropriate for the assignment criteria and nursing content.

Complete the “APA Writing Checklist” to ensure that your paper adheres to APA style and formatting criteria and general guidelines for academic writing. Include the completed checklist as an appendix at the end of your paper.

Prepare this assignment according to the guidelines found in the APA Style Guide, located in the Student Success Center.

This assignment uses a rubric. Please review the rubric prior to beginning the assignment to become familiar with the expectations for successful completion.

You are required to submit this assignment to LopesWrite. A link to the LopesWrite technical support articles is located in Class Resources if you need assistance.

Benchmark Information 

This benchmark assignment assesses the following programmatic competencies: 

MBA-MSN

MSN-Nursing Education; MSN-Acute Care Nurse Practitioner-Adult-Gerontology; MSN-Family Nurse Practitioner; MSN-Health Informatics; MSN-Health Care Quality and Patient Safety; MSN-Leadership in Health Care Systems; MSN-Public Health Nursing

5.3 Evaluate professional organizations and activities that improve one’s practice and influence advanced nursing practice.

Benchmark Assignment Future Scope Role and Professional Obligations Paper
Benchmark Assignment Future Scope Role and Professional Obligations Paper

Attachments

MSN-APA Writing Checklist-Student.docx

A Sample Answer For the Assignment: Benchmark Assignment: Future Scope, Role and Professional Obligations Paper

Title: Benchmark Assignment: Future Scope, Role and Professional Obligations Paper

The advanced practice registered nurse or APRN position has steadily grown in importance in the United States. This is because the role that they play in plugging the gap between physicians and the population is immense. It is a common fact that the number of physicians practicing is virtually inversely proportional to that of the population they are supposed to be serving. To become an advanced practice nurse, one must complete a rigorous accredited postgraduate course in their specialty. This postgraduate degree is currently recommended to be a PhD as the entry level to practice. NUR 513 – Benchmark – Future Scope, Role, and Professional Obligations Paper. After meeting these educational requirements, the psychiatric-mental health nurse practitioner (PMHNP) for instance has then to be certified by the American Nurses Credentialing Centre (ANCC) (ANCC, N.D.) and receive licensure to practice from the State in which they intend to practice. The role APRNs have come to play has become quite significant, given the fact that . 

Advanced registered nursing graduates are entering the profession at dynamic time when roles and scope of practice are shifting based on developments in legislation and policy in response to the evolving needs of the health care system. Professional nursing organizations play an important role in making sure the perspectives of advanced registered nurses are heard, and in supporting nurse specialties in their efforts to expand their scope of practice and their full participation throughout the health care system. 

For this assignment, you will conduct research on the current scope of practice for your specialty and efforts that are being made to expand that scope and the role of the advanced nurse in positively influencing the health care system. Write a 1,250-1,500-word paper that includes the following: 

A discussion of the scope of your future role as an advanced registered nurse, including any regulatory, certification, or accreditation agencies that define that scope. NUR 513 – Benchmark – Future Scope, Role, and Professional Obligations Paper.
A discussion of three professional nursing organizations that you think are most influential in advancing the scope and influence of advanced nursing. Of these organizations, evaluate the one that you would most like to join. How do its goals and mission fit in with your worldview and philosophy of care? How might membership in this organization improve your practice?
A discussion of a controversial or evolving issue that is most likely to affect your scope of practice or role in the next few years. How do you think this issue could influence the profession and other stakeholders, and why does it matters to the advanced registered nurse?
You are required to cite five to 10 sources to complete this assignment. Sources must be published within the last 5 years and appropriate for the assignment criteria and nursing content. 

Prepare this assignment according to the guidelines found in the APA Style Guide, located in the Student Success Center. An abstract is not required. 

Course Code  Class Code  Assignment Title  Total Points       
NUR-513  NUR-513-O102  Benchmark – Future Scope, Role, and Professional Obligations Paper  250.0       
             
Criteria  Percentage  Unsatisfactory (0.00%)  Less than Satisfactory (80.00%)  Satisfactory (88.00%)  Good (92.00%)  Excellent (100.00%) 
Content  70.0%           
The Scope of Your Future Role as an Advanced Registered Nurse, Including Any Regulatory, Certification, or Accreditation Agencies That Define That Scope  20.0%  A discussion of the scope of the future role as an advanced registered nurse, including any regulatory, certification, or accreditation agencies that define that scope, is not included.  A discussion of the scope of the future role as an advanced registered nurse, including any regulatory, certification, or accreditation agencies that define that scope, is present, but it lacks detail or is incomplete.  A discussion of the scope of the future role as an advanced registered nurse, including any regulatory, certification, or accreditation agencies that define that scope, is present.  A discussion of the scope of the future role as an advanced registered nurse, including any regulatory, certification, or accreditation agencies that define that scope, is clearly provided and well developed.  A comprehensive discussion of the scope of the future role as an advanced registered nurse, including any regulatory, certification, or accreditation agencies that define that scope, is thoroughly developed with supporting details. 
             
Three Professional Nursing Organizations Identified as the Most Influential in Advancing the Scope and Influence of Advanced Nursing  15.0%  A discussion of three professional nursing organizations identified as the most influential in advancing the scope and influence of advanced nursing is not included.  A discussion of three professional nursing organizations identified as the most influential in advancing the scope and influence of advanced nursing is present, but it lacks detail or is incomplete.  A discussion of three professional nursing organizations identified as the most influential in advancing the scope and influence of advanced nursing is present.  A discussion of three professional nursing organizations identified as the most influential in advancing the scope and influence of advanced nursing is clearly provided and well developed.  A comprehensive discussion of three professional nursing organizations identified as the most influential in advancing the scope and influence of advanced nursing is thoroughly developed with supporting details. 
    NUR 513 – Benchmark – Future Scope, Role, and Professional Obligations Paper         
Evaluate the Professional Organization That Is Most Appealing, Including How Its Goals and Mission Fit in With Worldview, Philosophy of Care, and Ability to Improve Practice (5.3)  15.0%  An evaluation of the professional organization that is most appealing, including how its goals and mission fit in with worldview, philosophy of care, and ability to improve practice, is not included.  An evaluation of the professional organization that is most appealing, including how its goals and mission fit in with worldview, philosophy of care, and ability to improve practice, is present, but it lacks detail or is incomplete.  An evaluation of the professional organization that is most appealing, including how its goals and mission fit in with worldview, philosophy of care, and ability to improve practice, is present.  An evaluation of the professional organization that is most appealing, including how its goals and mission fit in with worldview, philosophy of care, and ability to improve practice, is clearly provided and well developed.  A comprehensive evaluation of the professional organization that is most appealing, including how its goals and mission fit in with worldview, philosophy of care, and ability to improve practice, is thoroughly developed with supporting details. 
             
A Controversial or Evolving Issue That Is Most Likely to Impact Scope of Practice or Role in the Next Few Years, Including How This Issue Could Influence the Profession and Other Stakeholders and Why It Matters to the Advanced Registered Nurse  15.0%  A discussion of a controversial or evolving issue that is most likely to impact scope of practice or role in the next few years, including how this issue could influence the profession and other stakeholders and why it matters to the advanced registered nurse, is not included.  A discussion of a controversial or evolving issue that is most likely to impact scope of practice or role in the next few years, including how this issue could influence the profession and other stakeholders and why it matters to the advanced registered nurse, is present, but it lacks detail or is incomplete.  A discussion of a controversial or evolving issue that is most likely to impact scope of practice or role in the next few years, including how this issue could influence the profession and other stakeholders and why it matters to the advanced registered nurse, is present.  A discussion of a controversial or evolving issue that is most likely to impact scope of practice or role in the next few years, including how this issue could influence the profession and other stakeholders and why it matters to the advanced registered nurse, is clearly provided and well developed.  A comprehensive discussion of a controversial or evolving issue that is most likely to impact scope of practice or role in the next few years, including how this issue could influence the profession and other stakeholders and why it matters to the advanced registered nurse, is thoroughly developed with supporting details. 
             
Required Sources  5.0%  Sources are not included.  Number of required sources is only partially met.  Number of required sources is met, but sources are outdated or inappropriate.  Number of required sources is met. Sources are current, but not all sources are appropriate for the assignment criteria and nursing content.  Number of required resources is met. Sources are current, and appropriate for the assignment criteria and nursing content. 
             
             
Organization and Effectiveness  20.0%           
Thesis Development and Purpose  7.0%  Paper lacks any discernible overall purpose or organizing claim.  Thesis is insufficiently developed or vague. Purpose is not clear.  Thesis is apparent and appropriate to purpose.  Thesis is clear and forecasts the development of the paper. Thesis is descriptive and reflective of the arguments and appropriate to the purpose.  Thesis is comprehensive and contains the essence of the paper. Thesis statement makes the purpose of the paper clear. 
             
Argument Logic and Construction  8.0%  Statement of purpose is not justified by the conclusion. The conclusion does not support the claim made. Argument is incoherent and uses noncredible sources.  Sufficient justification of claims is lacking. Argument lacks consistent unity. There are obvious flaws in the logic. Some sources have questionable credibility.  Argument is orderly, but may have a few inconsistencies. The argument presents minimal justification of claims. Argument logically, but not thoroughly, supports the purpose. Sources used are credible. Introduction and conclusion bracket the thesis.  Argument shows logical progressions. Techniques of argumentation are evident. There is a smooth progression of claims from introduction to conclusion. Most sources are authoritative.  Clear and convincing argument that presents a persuasive claim in a distinctive and compelling manner. All sources are authoritative. 
             
Mechanics of Writing (includes spelling, punctuation, grammar, language use)  5.0%  Surface errors are pervasive enough that they impede communication of meaning. Inappropriate word choice or sentence construction is used.  Frequent and repetitive mechanical errors distract the reader. Inconsistencies in language choice (register) or word choice are present. Sentence structure is correct but not varied.  Some mechanical errors or typos are present, but they are not overly distracting to the reader. Correct and varied sentence structure and audience-appropriate language are employed.  Prose is largely free of mechanical errors, although a few may be present. The writer uses a variety of effective sentence structures and figures of speech.  Writer is clearly in command of standard, written, academic English. 
             
             
Format  10.0%           
Paper Format (Use of appropriate style for the major and assignment)  5.0%  Template is not used appropriately or documentation format is rarely followed correctly.  Template is used, but some elements are missing or mistaken; lack of control with formatting is apparent.  Template is used, and formatting is correct, although some minor errors may be present.  Template is fully used; There are virtually no errors in formatting style.  All format elements are correct. 
             
Documentation of Sources (citations, footnotes, references, bibliography, etc., as appropriate to assignment and style)  5.0%  Sources are not documented.  Documentation of sources is inconsistent or incorrect, as appropriate to assignment and style, with numerous formatting errors.  Sources are documented, as appropriate to assignment and style, although some formatting errors may be present.  Sources are documented, as appropriate to assignment and style, and format is mostly correct.  Sources are completely and correctly documented, as appropriate to assignment and style, and format is free of error. 
             
Total Weightage  100%           

A Sample Answer 2 For the Assignment: Benchmark Assignment: Future Scope, Role and Professional Obligations Paper

Title: Benchmark Assignment: Future Scope, Role and Professional Obligations Paper

 An advanced practice registered nurse (APRN) refers to any individual who has a master or doctoral degree in any nursing field.  APRNs are mostly primary care providers who are always at the forefront of ensuring the public receive preventive care services (Swan et al., 2015). They are charged with chronic disease management, illness diagnosis, advising the public on health issues and keeping themselves updated through continuous education. This paper aims to present the future role of a nurse educator, outline three professional nursing organizations and discuss an evolving issue in nursing and its effect on the scope of practice.

Future Nursing Role

The anticipated future role is that of a nurse educator. In the role, clinical abilities will be combined with responsibilities related to documenting outcomes of the educational process, evaluating learning, teaching and guiding learners, developing programs of study and designing curricula (Englebright, 2017). Additionally, the role will cover helping students and practicing nurses establish learning limitations, strengths and needs as well as selecting learning opportunities that support their strengths and overcome limitations. The duties will also revolve around writing grant proposals, peer-reviewing materials, and speaking at nursing conferences.  Lastly, it is expected that advising students, engaging in leadership roles that add value to the academic community, and engaging in scholarly work will also fall in the future scope of practice.Benchmark Assignment  Future Scope, Role and Professional Obligations Paper

Regulations and Certifications

Venturing into the nursing educator career requires one to acquire a master’s degree covering topics like student counseling, curriculum development adult education techniques and principles of learning (Trinkoff et al., 2015). Secondly, one can earn a

doctoral degree and if the postgraduate degree is not related to nursing education, one can obtain a Certification for Nurse Educators after being in employment for two years or more. The certification is offered by The National League for Nurses after one completes their masters or doctoral degree. The certification is not mandatory but it indicates that one has excelled in the field of nurse education and offers more work opportunities (Trinkoff et al., 2015). It is also essential to accrue clinical experience by working in various healthcare settings to help in learning challenges inherent in nursing.  A nurse educator is expected to possess excellent communication skills, exhibit an ability to critically think and solve problems, adapt to potentially challenging situations and display creativity.

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Professional Nursing Organizations

American Nurses Association.

American Nurses Association is an organization that advocates for the interest of the 4 million registered nurses in the USA.  Its members come from all the fifty states and it began in 1896. The organization ensure that the nursing practice standards are enhanced, support a working environment that is safe and ethical, reinforces the nurses’ health and wellness and advocates on various healthcare issues (ANA, 2018). As a way of supporting registered nurses, they lobby Congress on issues that affect nurses. It is the mandate of the organization to expand the role of RN and APRN as well as source federal funding to support nurse’s training and education. Their duties also revolve around workplace violence, Medicare reform, and safe staffing. Members enjoy an online library that provides research and information, member-only webinars, top nursing journals and a platform to network with fellow nurses (ANA, 2018).

National League for Nursing

The National League Nursing is a premier organization that represent faculty and leaders in nursing education. NLN ensures that its members access network opportunities, nursing research grants, and professional development and public policy initiatives (NLN, 2019). The organization ensures that nurse educators’ accesses significant educational and leadership opportunities. As a member one receives premium discounts on NLN annual conference, leadership programming, scholarly writing retreat, NLN bookstore, faculty development webinars, and Certified Nurse Educator examination fees. Membership also allows one to enjoy complimentary subscriptions like the NLN peer-reviewed, research journal, NLN print newsletter, and data related to nursing schools, program enrollment, and graduation.  Lastly, one gets a chance to participate in NLN community in terms of networking with progressive leaders in nursing education, joining committee to enhance leadership skills, promoting nursing profession through the Government Affair Action Center, volunteering with a local NLN constituent league, applying for NLN grants and scholarships and exercising voting privilege (NLN, 2019).

Professional Nurse Educators Group

Professional Nurse Educators Group (PNEG) refers to a virtual network of educators whose goals is the lifelong learning of professional nurses. The group consists of faculty from nursing schools, staff development professionals, entrepreneurs and continuing nursing education professionals (Mead, 2019). The group aims at supporting and encouraging their members as a way of promoting best practices in the delivery of nursing care. The goal is achieved through the formation of a community among professional nurse educators, members’ collaboration, developing networking platforms, providing mentorship to new people in nurse education, holding annual conferences, honoring and recognizing members who have impacted the field of nursing professional development and bridging the gap between academic nursing education, continuing nursing education an staff development (Mead, 2019).

Organization to Join

The organization of choice is the National League for Nurses. The selection stems from the alignment of the organization goals with the personal philosophy. The philosophy is providing compassionate, holistic, competent, optimal and empathetic care by teaching others on the nursing discipline (Felicilda-Reynaldo & Utley, 2015). The organization would help in practice through its network opportunities, professional development opportunities and nursing research grants (NLN, 2019). NLN desire to ensure that nurse educators access significant educational and leadership opportunities is a great motivation because it is a platform to actualize the desire to become competent as a nurse educator.

Evolving issue

Nursing Shortage

An evolving problem is the nursing shortage. Statistics indicate that the shortage may hit 340, 000 by the year 2020 (Snavely, 2016). The major cause of the shortage is the influx of patient into the health system, educational bottlenecks, and retirement of the baby boomers. There is also a delay in filling the nursing positions to match the increased demand. The nursing schools across the country cannot meet the rising demand for care after the healthcare reform.

The effect of nursing shortages can be felt across the healthcare system. Nurses have increased work especially in the emergency rooms which are always overcrowded. The effects are increased wait times for patients and increased chances of nurses making mistakes due to pressure (Buerhaus, Skinner, Auerbach & Staiger, 2017). Patients risk being discharged prematurely and the mortality may also increase. Doctors are also strained as they try to lower the amount of time spent on patients to optimize profit and balance the needs of the hospitals and insurance companies. Healthcare institutions are also negatively impacted as they must offer competitive salaries to attract nurses. Overworked nurses are experiencing burnout and frustration increasing the turnover rates and costing the healthcare industry an annual loss of $4.2 million.

Nurse shortage is important for the advanced practice nurse because they are among the qualified personnel who can boost the faulty members needed in nursing education. They are in charge of educating aspiring nurses to help in meeting the increased demands and replace the retiring baby boomers. Teaching positions require a higher level of education and experts in the field (Squires et al., 2017). There is a shortage of nurse educators in underserved areas which limit the accessibility of nursing school to potential students. The APRNs have the necessary skills and qualification and can fill up faculties and help aspiring nurses actualize their dreams thereby reducing the nursing shortage.

Benchmark Assignment: Future Scope, Role and Professional Obligations Paper Conclusion

APRNs are nurses with masters and doctoral degrees. They serve as primary care providers and ensures that preventive care reaches the public. The personal future role is that of a nurse educator that will cover teaching and guiding learners as well as developing programs of study.  To achieve this objective, there is a need to complete either a masters or doctoral course, get a certification and accrue clinical experience. The objectives can be met by joining organizations like ANA, NLN, and PNEG. However, the ideal organization that aligns with personal philosophy is NLN due to its capability to foster competency in the field of nurse educators.  An evolving problem that would require great input from APRN revolves around nurse shortage. It is a looming problem that can be handled by the APRN who have the right education and qualification to join various faculties.

Advanced registered nursing graduates are entering the profession at dynamic time when roles and scope of practice are shifting based on developments in legislation and policy in response to the evolving needs of the health care system. Professional nursing organizations play an important role in making sure the perspectives of advanced registered nurses are heard, and in supporting nurse specialties in their efforts to expand their scope of practice and their full participation throughout the health care system.

For this assignment, you will conduct research on the current scope of practice for your specialty and efforts that are being made to expand that scope and the role of the advanced nurse in positively influencing the health care system. Write a 1,250-1,500-word paper that includes the following:

A discussion of the scope of your future role as an advanced registered nurse, including any regulatory, certification, or accreditation agencies that define that scope.
A discussion of three professional nursing organizations that you think are most influential in advancing the scope and influence of advanced nursing. Of these organizations, evaluate the one that you would most like to join. How do its goals and mission fit in with your worldview and philosophy of care? How might membership in this organization improve your practice?
A discussion of a controversial or evolving issue that is most likely to affect your scope of practice or role in the next few years. How do you think this issue could influence the profession and other stakeholders, and why does it matters to the advanced registered nurse?
You are required to cite five to 10 sources to complete this assignment. Sources must be published within the last 5 years and appropriate for the assignment criteria and nursing content.

Prepare this assignment according to the guidelines found in the APA Style Guide, located in the Student Success Center. An abstract is not required.

This assignment uses a rubric. Please review the rubric prior to beginning the assignment to become familiar with the expectations for successful completion.

You are required to submit this assignment to LopesWrite. Please refer to the directions in the Student Success Center.

Lopes Write Policy

For assignments that need to be submitted to Lopes Write, please be sure you have received your report and Similarity Index (SI) percentage BEFORE you do a “final submit” to me.

Once you have received your report, please review it. This report will show you grammatical, punctuation, and spelling errors that can easily be fixed. Take the extra few minutes to review instead of getting counted off for these mistakes.

Review your similarities. Did you forget to cite something? Did you not paraphrase well enough? Is your paper made up of someone else’s thoughts more than your own?

Visit the Writing Center in the Student Success Center, under the Resources tab in LoudCloud for tips on improving your paper and SI score.

Late Policy

The university’s policy on late assignments is 10% penalty PER DAY LATE. This also applies to late DQ replies.

Please communicate with me if you anticipate having to submit an assignment late. I am happy to be flexible, with advance notice. We may be able to work out an extension based on extenuating circumstances.

If you do not communicate with me before submitting an assignment late, the GCU late policy will be in effect.

I do not accept assignments that are two or more weeks late unless we have worked out an extension.

As per policy, no assignments are accepted after the last day of class. Any assignment submitted after midnight on the last day of class will not be accepted for grading.

Communication

Communication is so very important. There are multiple ways to communicate with me:

Questions to Instructor Forum: This is a great place to ask course content or assignment questions. If you have a question, there is a good chance one of your peers does as well. This is a public forum for the class.

Individual Forum: This is a private forum to ask me questions or send me messages. This will be checked at least once every 24 hours.

Important information for writing discussion questions and participation

Welcome to class

Hello class and welcome to the class and I will be your instructor for this course. This is a -week course and requires a lot of time commitment, organization, and a high level of dedication. Please use the class syllabus to guide you through all the assignments required for the course. I have also attached the classroom policies to this announcement to know your expectations for this course. Please review this document carefully and ask me any questions if you do. You could email me at any time or send me a message via the “message” icon in halo if you need to contact me. I check my email regularly, so you should get a response within 24 hours. If you have not heard from me within 24 hours and need to contact me urgently, please send a follow up text to

I strongly encourage that you do not wait until the very last minute to complete your assignments. Your assignments in weeks 4 and 5 require early planning as you would need to present a teaching plan and interview a community health provider. I advise you look at the requirements for these assignments at the beginning of the course and plan accordingly. I have posted the YouTube link that explains all the class assignments in detail. It is required that you watch this 32-minute video as the assignments from week 3 through 5 require that you follow the instructions to the letter to succeed. Failure to complete these assignments according to instructions might lead to a zero. After watching the video, please schedule a one-on-one with me to discuss your topic for your project by the second week of class. Use this link to schedule a 15-minute session. Please, call me at the time of your appointment on my number. Please note that I will NOT call you.

Please, be advised I do NOT accept any assignments by email. If you are having technical issues with uploading an assignment, contact the technical department and inform me of the issue. If you have any issues that would prevent you from getting your assignments to me by the deadline, please inform me to request a possible extension. Note that working fulltime or overtime is no excuse for late assignments. There is a 5%-point deduction for every day your assignment is late. This only applies to approved extensions. Late assignments will not be accepted.

If you think you would be needing accommodations due to any reasons, please contact the appropriate department to request accommodations.

Plagiarism is highly prohibited. Please ensure you are citing your sources correctly using APA 7th edition. All assignments including discussion posts should be formatted in APA with the appropriate spacing, font, margin, and indents. Any papers not well formatted would be returned back to you, hence, I advise you review APA formatting style. I have attached a sample paper in APA format and will also post sample discussion responses in subsequent announcements.

Your initial discussion post should be a minimum of 200 words and response posts should be a minimum of 150 words. Be advised that I grade based on quality and not necessarily the number of words you post. A minimum of TWO references should be used for your initial post. For your response post, you do not need references as personal experiences would count as response posts. If you however cite anything from the literature for your response post, it is required that you cite your reference. You should include a minimum of THREE references for papers in this course. Please note that references should be no more than 5 years old except recommended as a resource for the class. Furthermore, for each discussion board question, you need ONE initial substantive response and TWO substantive responses to either your classmates or your instructor for a total of THREE responses. There are TWO discussion questions each week, hence, you need a total minimum of SIX discussion posts for each week. I usually post a discussion question each week. You could also respond to these as it would count towards your required SIX discussion posts for the week.

I understand this is a lot of information to cover in 5 weeks, however, the Bible says in Philippians 4:13 that we can do all things through Christ that strengthens us. Even in times like this, we are encouraged by God’s word that we have that ability in us to succeed with His strength. I pray that each and every one of you receives strength for this course and life generally as we navigate through this pandemic that is shaking our world today. Relax and enjoy the course!

Hi Class,

Please read through the following information on writing a Discussion question response and participation posts.

Contact me if you have any questions.

Important information on Writing a Discussion Question

  • Your response needs to be a minimum of 150 words (not including your list of references)
  • There needs to be at least TWO references with ONE being a peer reviewed professional journal article.
  • Include in-text citations in your response
  • Do not include quotes—instead summarize and paraphrase the information
  • Follow APA-7th edition
  • Points will be deducted if the above is not followed

Participation –replies to your classmates or instructor

  • A minimum of 6 responses per week, on at least 3 days of the week.
  • Each response needs at least ONE reference with citations—best if it is a peer reviewed journal article
  • Each response needs to be at least 75 words in length (does not include your list of references)
  • Responses need to be substantive by bringing information to the discussion or further enhance the discussion. Responses of “I agree” or “great post” does not count for the word count.
  • Follow APA 7th edition
  • Points will be deducted if the above is not followed
  • Remember to use and follow APA-7th edition for all weekly assignments, discussion questions, and participation points.
  • Here are some helpful links
  • Student paper example
  • Citing Sources
  • The Writing Center is a great resource