NURS 6052 Where in the World Is Evidence-Based Practice? -

NURS 6052 Where in the World Is Evidence-Based Practice?

Sample Answer for NURS 6052 Where in the World Is Evidence-Based Practice? Included After Question

March 21, 2010, was not EBP’s date of birth, but it may be the date the approach “grew up” and left home to take on the world.

When the Affordable Care Act was passed, it came with a requirement of empirical evidence. Research on EBP increased significantly. Application of EBP spread to allied health professions, education, healthcare technology, and more. Health organizations began to adopt and promote EBP.

In this Discussion, you will consider this adoption. You will examine healthcare organization websites and analyze to what extent these organizations use EBP.

RESOURCES

Be sure to review the Learning Resources before completing this activity.
Click the weekly resources link to access the resources.

WEEKLY RESOURCES

To Prepare:

Review the Resources and reflect on the definition and goal of EBP.
Choose a professional healthcare organization’s website (e.g., a reimbursing body, an accredited body, or a national initiative).
Explore the website to determine where and to what extent EBP is evident.

BY DAY 3 OF WEEK 1

Post a description of the healthcare organization website you reviewed. Describe where, if at all, EBP appears (e.g., the mission, vision, philosophy, and/or goals of the healthcare organization, or in other locations on the website). Then, explain whether this healthcare organization’s work is grounded in EBP and why or why not. Finally, explain whether the information you discovered on the healthcare organization’s website has changed your perception of the healthcare organization. Be specific and provide examples.

BY DAY 6 OF WEEK 1

Respond to at least two of your colleagues on two different days by visiting the websites they shared and offering additional examples of EBP or alternative views/interpretations to those shared in your colleagues’ posts.

A Sample Answer For the Assignment: NURS 6052 Where in the World Is Evidence-Based Practice?

Title: NURS 6052 Where in the World Is Evidence-Based Practice?

The enactment and implementation of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) 2010 implored providers to leverage empirical evidence to enhance quality of care, affordability, and accessibility. Research and application of evidence-based practice (EBP) increased tremendously as providers leveraged existing research-backed evidence to attain ACA’s goals. EBP entails the use of conscientious, problem-solving approach in clinical setting or practice. At the core of EBP is integration of best research evidence that incorporates patient preferences in clinical care and decision making by providers and organizations. The qualities of EBP include enhancement of quality care, improvement of patient outcomes, lowering the cost of care, and empowering providers to make better care decisions (Laureate Education, 2018). Therefore, EBP qualities are similar to Quadruple Aim of health care. The Joint Commission (TJC) is an organization that promotes and deploys EBP in its different activities based on information from its website.

The Joint Commission is an autonomous nonprofit whose activities include accrediting and certifying over 20,000 health care organizations as well as programs in the U.S. and even outside it. The organization is considered an international symbol of quality whose accreditation and certification demonstrate a provider’s commitment to satisfying certain performance and quality standards. These standards embrace quality, improved access, affordability, and welfare of the providers. The standards focus on patient safety like the National Patient Safety Goals (NPSGs) that the organization reviews each year. These goals allow organization to benchmark best practices to enhance quality and affordable care to patients (The Joint Commission, 2021). The implication is that these standards are founded and grounded in EBP framework.

The website’s mission statement which is “to improve health care for the public through collaboration with other stakeholders and evaluation of healthcare organizations to inspire them in excelling in provision of safe and effective care of the best quality and value.” The organization’s vision statement also demonstrates EBP as it asserts that “all individuals should experience safest, highest quality, and value-based in all settings.

The Joint Commission’s activities are well anchored in EBP as illustrated through the provision of rationale for every National Patient Safety Goal. For instance, the Goal for Preventing Infection provides a rationale based on evidence from research studies. Through this approach, the commission can benchmark healthcare organizations and providers for best practices to enhance quality, value, and accessibility (Melnyk & Fineout-Overholt, 2018). The commission publishes extensive collection of accreditation guidelines, books and periodicals to ensure that organizations use best practices in care delivery.

After conducting an evaluation of The Joint Commission’s website, I would say that it has altered my perspective about the entity.

NURS 6052 Where in the World Is Evidence-Based Practice

Prior to the research, I never thought that the organization is grounded in EBP. However, I understand now that TJC is a critical player in advancing EBP framework and the Quadruple Aim as advanced by the Institute of Health.

References

Boller, J. (2017). Nurse educators: Leading health care to the quadruple aim sweet spot. Journal

of Nursing Education, 56(12), 707–708. doi:10.3928/01484834-20171120-01

Laureate Education (Producer). (2018). Evidence-based Practice and the Quadruple Aim [Video

file]. Baltimore, MD: Author.

Melnyk, B. M., & Fineout-Overholt, E. (2018). Evidence-based practice in nursing &

healthcare: A guide to best practice (4th ed.). Philadelphia, PA: Wolters Kluwer.

Chapter 1, “Making the Case for Evidence-Based Practice and Cultivating a Spirit of Inquiry” (pp. 7–32)

The Joint Commission (2021). Standards: Measure, assess, and improve your performance.

https://www.jointcommission.org/standards/

The Joint Commission (2021b). National Patient Safety Goals.

https://www.jointcommission.org/standards/national-patient-safety-goals/

A Sample Answer 2 For the Assignment: NURS 6052 Where in the World Is Evidence-Based Practice?

Title: NURS 6052 Where in the World Is Evidence-Based Practice?

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommends cloth face coverings in community-based transmission areas during the U.S. novel coronavirus pandemic. Recent research suggests that asymptomatic and pre-symptomatic patients may transmit the virus without symptoms. The CDC suggests using household items to allow people to wear masks.

The CDC also states that approved fabric face covers are not surgical masks or N-95 respirators. These are essential resources that must remain reserved for healthcare staff and other first responders, as suggested by existing CDC guidelines. (CDC, 2020) Due to changes in existing government guidelines, fabric face coverings were not recommended to avoid virus transmission. In March, the government forced the CDC to publish new and revised coronavirus guidelines.

In 2007, the CDC issued evidence-based practice guidelines and a summary of infection control recommendations to prevent infectious disease transmissions such as SARS, including respiratory protection such as face shield, mask, and goggles as well as gloves and gowns. NURS 6052 Where in the World Is Evidence-Based Practice?

The information I have learned does not reflect evidence-based procedures that nurses have relied on for decades but represents our government’s lack of preparedness and understanding, which in effect seems extremely dangerous.

References

(n.d.). Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19).(2007). Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Guideline for Isolation Precautions: Preventing Transmission of Infectious Agents in Healthcare Settings (2007). Retrieved from https://www.cdc.gov/infectioncontrol/guidelines/isolation/index.htm

Sun, L. (2020, March 19). The Washington Post. CDC, the top U.S. public health agency, is sidelined during coronavirus pandemic. Retrieved June 1, 2020, from https://www.washingtonpost.com/health/2020/03/19/cdc-top-us-public-health-agency-is-sidelined-during-coronavirus-pandemic

A Sample Answer 3 For the Assignment: NURS 6052 Where in the World Is Evidence-Based Practice?

Title: NURS 6052 Where in the World Is Evidence-Based Practice?

Great topic Shawn. Preventing healthcare-associated infections are always a hot topic. Where I work, it’s not a common thing to discuss on a constant basis, however, most of my friends at other hospitals tell me that they constantly have a staff meeting where this issue is mentioned. What I try to focus on a lot at work is hand-washing as this is a global preventative act and a very important step in avoiding the transferring of any infection, even if it’s just a simple cold. RFID are enabled hand sanitizers which are supposed to warn health care workers if they don’t wash their hands before treating a patient. The hand sanitizing dispensers will have a sensor that scans the employee’s badge then transmits the date, time, id and location to the computer. An article I read on RFID- enabled hand sanitizers say there is also sensors that can be put close to the patient’s bed so if the healthcare worker did not sanitize their hands within a certain amount of time before approaching the bedside it would alarm (Swedberg, 2007).

They have been using these systems in Europe for quite some time; I am interested to see if this new process will aid in hand hygiene compliance for healthcare providers in the United States. Nonetheless, basic hand washing goes a long way and it’s important to constantly remind staff of just how dangerous it can be if we avoid this since the truth is that we can get lazy. A study done in Nigeria revealed that nurses in the study setting had good knowledge of infection control, but not fully reflected in the level of their practice of infection control (Eqwuenu & Okanlawan, 2014). I see this all the time at work where I will go into the staff bathroom after an employee and notice that the sink is dry and wasn’t used. I’ve had my encounters after having to address this with them, which hasn’t always been pleasant but it’s my responsibility to ensure I keep prevention a priority. NURS 6052 Where in the World Is Evidence-Based Practice?

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Reference:

Eqwuenu, S., & Okanlawan, F. (2014). Infection control: nurses’ knowledge and practice of universal precaution in Delta State, Nigeria. African Journal Medical Science, 43(2), 127-134. Retrieved from https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25474987

Swedberg, C. (2007). Patient-safety center tests RFID-enabled hand sanitizers. Retrieved from RFID Journal: http://www.rfidjournal.com/articles/view?5142/2

A Sample Answer 4 For the Assignment: NURS 6052 Where in the World Is Evidence-Based Practice?

Title: NURS 6052 Where in the World Is Evidence-Based Practice?

Sia, thank you for your informative post. Before reading, I honestly had no idea that the RFID enabled hand sanitizers existed. It would be interesting to see the cost vs benefit analyses on utilizing them in health care facilities. According to an article I found, an “electronic hand hygiene system with monitoring and reminding device was reported to be able to increase the hand hygiene compliance up to 60%,” (Wan et al., 2014). Increasing the compliance of hand hygiene may justify the cost of installing and utilizing this technology. Our health care facility utilizes reminder signs on the doors and conduct patient surveys, of course this has some disadvantages. At my facility, the infection control nurse handed out surveys to each patient to complete with questions asking whether the provider and nurse washed or sanitized their hands in front of the patient. Patients weren’t completing them and most used them as a patient complaint form to address other issues. My thought is that using this technology would be far more accurate than surveys that rely on honest participation. Great post!

References

Y. Wan, T. S. Stombaugh and N. Wang, “Human-subject tracking and localization for a hand hygiene monitoring system,” 2014 Ubiquitous Positioning Indoor Navigation and Location Based Service (UPINLBS), Corpus Christ, TX, 2014, pp. 128-132, doi: 10.1109/UPINLBS.2014.7033719.

A Sample Answer 5 For the Assignment: NURS 6052 Where in the World Is Evidence-Based Practice?

Title: NURS 6052 Where in the World Is Evidence-Based Practice?

Thank you for your insights into the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommendations on the use of face masks to decrease the spread of COVID-19. I wanted to highlight the importance of the CDC and their role in guiding national policy and other health related initiatives. The CDC’s mission is to protect Americans from a wide range of health threat categories through the use of critical science and provision of health information (Center for Disease Control and Prevention, 2019). This is done through extensive research and review of health care practices, health risk behaviors, and outcomes, etc. Many health care organizations, accrediting institutions and reimbursement bodies base their own policies on CDC recommendations. However, there are still gaps between what has been proven to be effective through research and what is actually being implemented. In order to address the need for ongoing surveillance of public health practices, the CDC has developed Prevention Status Reports (PSR) which is a performance evaluation system to highlight state and federal level implementation of policies that are evidenced based, and use the results to encourage further improvements (Young, Lowry, Mumford & Graaf, 2018). States are graded and compared, with the intent to push for further modifications of policy to better reflect evidence-based practices. NURS 6052 Where in the World Is Evidence-Based Practice?

Center for Disease Control and Prevention. (2019). Mission, role and pledge. Retrieved June 3,

2020 from https://www.cdc.gov/about/organization/mission.htm

Young, A. C., Lowry, G., Mumford, K., & Graaf, C. (2018). CDC’s Prevention Status Reports:

Monitoring the Status of Public Health Policies and Practices for Improved Performance

and Accountability. Journal of Public Health Management & Practice, 24(2), 121–128.

https://doi-org.ezp.waldenulibrary.org/10.1097/PHH.0000000000000507

A Sample Answer 6 For the Assignment: NURS 6052 Where in the World Is Evidence-Based Practice?

Title: NURS 6052 Where in the World Is Evidence-Based Practice?

It is good to know that you are already a member of the American Association of Nurse Practitioners (AANP) and using them as one of the resources. It is also relevant to really dig into how they conduct research or may have implemented additional research on the competencies of practicing Advanced Practitioners (AP).

Evidence-based practice (EBP) is an essential component of professional nursing, a crucial competency for healthcare providers, and a basic force in Magnet hospitals and results in better patient outcomes and higher levels of nursing autonomy. Fostering EBP within organizations requires strong infrastructure, including nursing leadership and human and material resources. (Newhouse, Dearholt, Poe, Pugh, & White, 2007).

On the other hand, although it is widely known that evidence-based practice (EBP) improves healthcare quality, reliability, and patient outcomes as well as reduces variations in care and costs, it is still not the standard of care delivered by practicing clinicians across the globe. Adoption of specific EBP competencies for nurses and advanced practice nurses (APN) who practice in real-world healthcare settings can assist institutions in achieving high-value, low-cost evidence-based health care. The aim of this study was to develop a set of clear EBP competencies for both practicing registered nurses and APNs in clinical settings that can be used by healthcare institutions in their quest to achieve high performing systems that consistently implement and sustain EBP. National EBP leaders developed an initial set of competencies for practicing registered nurses and APNs through a consensus-building process. Linking evidence to action incorporation of these competencies into healthcare system expectations, orientations, job descriptions, performance appraisals, and clinical ladder promotion processes could drive higher quality, reliability, and consistency of healthcare as well as reduce costs. Research is now needed to develop valid and reliable tools for assessing these competencies as well as linking them to clinician and patient outcomes. (Melnyk, Gallagher-Ford, Long, & Fineout-Overholt, 2014).

References

Newhouse, R. P., Dearholt, S., Poe, S., Pugh, L. C., & White, K. M. (2007). Organizational change strategies for evidence-based practice.

Journal of Nursing Administration, 37(12), 552-557. DOI:0.1097/01.NNA.0000302384.91366.8f.

Melnyk, B. M., Gallagher-Ford, L., Long, L. E., & Fineout-Overholt, E. (2014). The establishment of evidence-based practice competencies for

practicing registered nurses and advanced practice nurses in real-world clinical settings: Proficiencies to improve healthcare quality,

reliability, patient outcomes, and costs. Worldview on Evidence-Based Nursing, 11(1), 5-15. DOI:10.1111/wvn.12021.

A Sample Answer 7 For the Assignment: NURS 6052 Where in the World Is Evidence-Based Practice?

Title: NURS 6052 Where in the World Is Evidence-Based Practice?

; the evidence-based practice may also be perceived as a conscientious and meticulous problem-solving approach to the delivery of quality care. Today, most healthcare institutions are involved in the application of evidence-based practices to enhance patient outcomes (Valizadeh et al., 2020). Incorporating evidence-based practices in healthcare processes provides medical professionals with the scientific evidence to make informed decisions and stay updated on the new medical protocols. Through EBP interventions, nurses have been able to patients’ chances of survival. World Health Organization is involved in the application of evidence-based practices in different ways (WHO values charter, 2020). Apart from the use of data to promote best practices and emergency operations, the organization is involved in undertaking research processes to determine the best interventions that can be applied to transform the management of patients (Collaborative et al., 2017). The organization has also established problem-solving approaches and guidelines that healthcare professionals can follow to deliver quality care and ensure effective patient outcomes. However, one of the questions I would ask is the organization’s commitment to engage in the quality improvement processes in the delivery of quality care.

References

Collaborative, I. M., Buckwalter, K. C., Cullen, L., Hanrahan, K., Kleiber, C., McCarthy, A. M., … & Tucker, S. (2017). Iowa model of evidence-based practice: Revisions and validation. Worldviews on Evidence-Based Nursing, 14(3), 175-182. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/28632931/

Valizadeh, L., Zamanzadeh, V., Babaei, N., & Avazeh, M. (2020). Challenges and strategies for implementing evidence-based practice in nursing: A systematic review. Research in Medical Education, 12(3), 55-67. https://rme.gums.ac.ir//browse.php?a_code=A-10-1057-1&sid=1&slc_lang=en

WHO values charter. (2020). World Health Organization website: https://www.who.int/docs/default-source/documents/values-charter-en.pdf?Status=Temp&sfvrsn=4ed75cec_12

A Sample Answer 8 For the Assignment: NURS 6052 Where in the World Is Evidence-Based Practice?

Title: NURS 6052 Where in the World Is Evidence-Based Practice?

Evidence based practice (EBP) has impacted the healthcare setting drastically. According to Johns Hopkins University (2022), EBP is defined as the technique used to review data, analyze the data that has been found through experimental studies, and translate the data into the latest scientific experiments.This has advanced nursing practice in numerous ways, one of these ways are infection control and the spread of disease within the hospital. Just a few short years ago, the world was hit with something that was unimaginable. COVID-19 raged through cities, states, and countries and without EBP, there would have been limited information about N -95 masks and no way to know that these masks provide 25 times more protection than a surgical mask (The Ohio State University, 2020). This study lead to N-95 masks being mandated to be worn by healthcare professionals at the bedside which not only protected the provider, but their families and other patients as well.

World Health Organization

The World Health Organization (WHO) is an organization that uses science to create a healthier outcome for all people, no matter the location. This is possible do to the building of relationships between people, communities, and countries. Some of the key areas of the WHO are improving health outcomes for health coverage, health emergency coverage, access to medicine and other health products, science research, and data analytics (WHO, 2022a).

Evidence Based Practice and the WHO

Evidence based practice plays a large part in this organization. Although the webpage never specifically mentions the words “evidence based practice”, the “About WHO” page discusses the use of science to contribute to the overall health of the world population. There is also a section that breaks down the data that researchers and scientists have came up with to change the way that we implement and do things during our nursing practice. Organizations, like the WHO, use “The 5 A’s of evidence based practice” which include ask the question, access the information, appraise the evidence, apply the information, and audit the impact (Deakin University, n.d.).Using this model makes it easier to see the importance of the topic and how it impacts the healthcare field.

This organization is deeply grounded with EBP, as it affects everything they do. EBP can be found on any page of the website because of the discussions of what is happening in the world and the steps they are taking to correct or be a positive influence in the mist of turmoil.

Knowledge Gained

The knowledge I have gained throughout the research I have done on The World Health Organization’s website is not completely what I thought they were about. Although I knew that they helped to research what we as professionals could do to make things better for patients, I did not understand the depth of research they do. For instance, through the war that was raging in Ukraine, the WHO used their office to ensure the disruptions to healthcare were at a minimum, the delivery of medical devices were still a possibility, and health care providers remained safe so they could deceiver health care to others (WHO, 2022b).

Deakin University.(2022). An Introduction to Evidence-based Practice.

Retrieved from https://deakin.libguides.com/c.php?g=895365&p=6448403

Links to an external site.

The Johns Hopkins University. (2022). Evidence-Based Practice. Center for

Nursing Inquiry. Retrieved from

https://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/nursing/center-nursing-inquiry/

Links to an external site.

The Ohio State University.(2020, April 3). Evidence-based Tips for

Healthcare Workers Regarding the Use of Masks. Retrieved from

https://fuld.nursing.osu.edu/sites/default/files/covid19

Links to an external site..

evidence_based_tips_for_healthcare_workers_regarding_the_use_

of_masks.pdf

World Health Organization (WHO). (2022a). Our Work. Retrieved from

https://www.who.int/our-work

Links to an external site.

World Health Organization (WHO). (2022b). Ukraine emergency. Retrieved

from https://www.who.int/emergencies/situations/ukraine-emergency

A Sample Answer 9 For the Assignment: NURS 6052 Where in the World Is Evidence-Based Practice?

Title: NURS 6052 Where in the World Is Evidence-Based Practice?

Hello everyone! I’m extremely excited about starting a new semester and getting to learn more about evidence-based practice! I can’t wait to read everyone’s discussion postings and get to know a little more about you all. I am a tad nervous about starting this class, but I have faith that things will go smoothly.

Since I live in Des Moines, Iowa, the healthcare organization website I chose to review was the Iowa Healthcare Association (IHCA). The mission of the Iowa Healthcare Association is “Empowering members. Improving Lives” (Iowa Healthcare Association, 2021). The Iowa Healthcare Association partners with the American Healthcare Association (AHCA), the National Center for Assisted Living (NCAL), and the National Association for Homecare & Hospice. According to the IHCA (2021), their goals include include quality and regulatory outcomes, providing advocacy and education to members, being a leading policy voice, developing solutions for workforce challenges, supporting members in providing care, being a strong political voice, and lastly, improving member reimbursement outcomes.

Evidence-based practice (EBP) refers to a “method by which practitioners across the healthcare professions review and assess the most current, highest-quality research to inform their delivery of care”, with the three components of evidence-based practice being the utilization of the best external evidence, drawing on individual clinical expertise, and considering patient values and expectations (University of Saint Augustine for Health Sciences, 2020). It’s critical that healthcare staff apply EBP to their practice, as it allows for the best patient outcomes. When a nurse is up-to-date on research and evidence, they can provide patients with the best quality of care as well as teach patients about their medical conditions and treatment (Nevada State College, 2020).

When reviewing the Iowa Healthcare Association’s website, there was a large quantity of evidence-based practice. EBP could be found in their goals and mission. For example, one of their goals is to provide the latest education and leadership information to members. Keeping members up-to-date on the latest and greatest healthcare information falls into the definition of evidence-based practice by allowing research to guide one’s delivery of care. IHCA members are offered an enormous amount of educational resources, with one of my favorites being all of the upcoming educational events one can register for. Some of the upcoming events in the month of March include ICD-10 Coding Essentials for Skilled Nursing Homes, MDS 3.0 Update Class, and the Spring Quarterly Educational Conference. Lastly, another spot that evidence-based practice appeared on the IHCA website was under the Coronavirus (COVID-19) Resources, which included information in regards to the most current data, resources, and recommendations from reliable sources, such as the Iowa Department of Public Health and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Some of the resources available included information on staffing, visitors, testing, reporting, reimbursement, regulatory changes, infection control, and communications (Iowa Healthcare Association, 2021).

After thoroughly browsing through the IHCA’s website, I can confidently say that their work is grounded in evidence-based practice because their website includes numerous, reliable sources, up-to-date educational information for professionals, and lists of councils and committees for professionals to join and be a part of, which would only further one’s individual clinical expertise, which is a component of evidence-based practice. The information that I have found on the Iowa Healthcare Association’s website has swayed me to view their organization in a positive and supportive light. I love that they have resources to support healthcare workers, such as the “Member Action Center”, which provides healthcare workers with advocacy tools to help staff reach out to legislation and get their voice heard, as well as a chatroom for members to share ideas and problem solve. I plan on becoming a member of the IHCA after reviewing their website!

Grading Rubric Guidelines DQ

Performance Category	10	9	8	4	0
Scholarliness Demonstrates achievement of scholarly inquiry for professional and academic decisions.	Provides relevant evidence of scholarly inquiry clearly stating how the evidence informed or changed professional or academic decisions Evaluates literature resources to develop a comprehensive analysis or synthesis. Uses valid, relevant, and reliable outside sources to contribute to the threaded discussion	Provides relevant evidence of scholarly inquiry but does not clearly state how the evidence informed or changed professional or academic decisions. Evaluates information from source(s) to develop a coherent analysis or synthesis. Uses some valid, relevant, reliable outside sources to contribute to the threaded discussion.	Discusses using scholarly inquiry but does not state how scholarly inquiry informed or changed professional or academic decisions. Information is taken from source(s) with some interpretation/evaluation, but not enough to develop a coherent analysis or synthesis. Little valid, relevant, or reliable outside sources are used to contribute to the threaded discussion. Demonstrates little or no understanding of the topic.	Discusses using scholarly inquiry but does not state how scholarly inquiry informed or changed professional or academic decisions. Information is taken from source(s) without any interpretation/evaluation. The posting uses information that is not valid, relevant, or reliable	No evidence of the use of scholarly inquiry to inform or change professional or academic decisions. Information is not valid, relevant, or reliable
Performance Category	10	9	8	4	0
Application of Course Knowledge – Demonstrate the ability to analyze, synthesize, and/or apply principles and concepts learned in the course lesson and outside readings and relate them to real-life professional situations	Posts make direct reference to concepts discussed in the lesson or drawn from relevant outside sources; Applies concepts to personal experience in the professional setting and or relevant application to real life.	Posts make direct reference to concepts discussed in the lesson or drawn from relevant outside sources. Applies concepts to personal experience in their professional setting and or relevant application to real life Interactions with classmates are relevant to the discussion topic but do not make direct reference to lesson content	Posts are generally on topic but do not build knowledge by incorporating concepts and principles from the lesson. Does not attempt to apply lesson concepts to personal experience in their professional setting and or relevant application to real life Does not demonstrate a solid understanding of the principles and concepts presented in the lesson	Posts do not adequately address the question posed either by the discussion prompt or the instructor’s launch post. Posts are superficial and do not reflect an understanding of the lesson content Does not attempt to apply lesson concepts to personal experience in their professional setting and or relevant application to real life	Posts are not related to the topics provided by the discussion prompt or by the instructor; attempts by the instructor to redirect the student are ignored No discussion of lesson concepts to personal experience in the professional setting and or relevant application to real life
Performance Category	5	4	3	2	0
Interactive Dialogue Replies to each graded thread topic posted by the course instructor, by Wednesday, 11:59 p.m. MT, of each week, and posts a minimum of two times in each graded thread, on separate days. *(5 points possible per graded thread)*	Exceeds minimum post requirements Replies to each graded thread topic posted by the course instructor, by Wednesday, 11:59 p.m. MT, of each week, and posts three or more times in each graded thread, over three separate days. Replies to a post posed by faculty and to a peer Summarizes what was learned from the lesson, readings, and other student posts for the week.	Replies to each graded thread topic posted by the course instructor, by Wednesday, 11:59 p.m. MT, of each week, and posts a minimum of two times in each graded thread, on separate days Replies to a question posed by a peer Summarizes what was learned from the lesson, readings, and other student posts for the week.	Meets expectations of 2 posts on 2 different days. The main post is not made by the Wednesday deadline Does not reply to a question posed by a peer or faculty	Has only one post for the week Discussion posts contain few, if any, new ideas or applications; often are a rehashing or summary of other students’ comments	Does not post to the thread No connections are made to the topic
	Minus 1 Point	Minus 2 Point	Minus 3 Point	Minus 4 Point	Minus 5 Point
Grammar, Syntax, APA Note: if there are only a few errors in these criteria, please note this for the student in as an area for improvement. If the student does not make the needed corrections in upcoming weeks, then points should be deducted. Points deducted for improper grammar, syntax and APA style of writing. The source of information is the APA Manual 6th Edition	2-3 errors in APA format. Written responses have 2-3 grammatical, spelling, and punctuation errors. Writing style is generally clear, focused, and facilitates communication.	4-5 errors in APA format. Writing responses have 4-5 grammatical, spelling and punctuation errors. Writing style is somewhat focused.	6-7 errors in APA format. Writing responses have 6-7 grammatical, spelling and punctuation errors. Writing style is slightly focused making discussion difficult to understand.	8-10 errors in APA format. Writing responses have 8-10 grammatical, spelling and punctuation errors. Writing style is not focused, making discussion difficult to understand.	Post contains greater than 10 errors in APA format. Written responses have more than 10 grammatical, spelling and punctuation errors. Writing style does not facilitate communication. The student continues to make repeated mistakes in any of the above areas after written correction by the instructor
	0 points lost				-5 points lost
Total Participation Requirements *per discussion thread*	The student answers the threaded discussion question or topic on one day and posts a second response on another day.				The student does not meet the minimum requirement of two postings on two different days
Early Participation Requirement *per discussion thread*	The student must provide a substantive answer to the graded discussion question(s) or topic(s), posted by the course instructor (not a response to a peer), by Wednesday, 11:59 p.m. MT of each week.				The student does not meet the requirement of a substantive response to the stated question or topic by Wednesday at 11:59 pm MT.