NURS 8114 Assignment Written Philosophy of Nursing Practice Essay

NURS 8114 Assignment Written Philosophy of Nursing Practice Essay

Sample Answer for NURS 8114 Assignment Written Philosophy of Nursing Practice Essay Included After Question

As you begin your first Assignment in this course, a word about this image. Be aware that this team of smiling health care professionals will greet you with each Assignment and signal that the week involves beginning, developing, or completing a project that spans one or two modules. With each Assignment, aim to maximize your learning experience, to best prepare to lead your own confident and ready team.

Photo Credit: [Steve Hix/Fuse]/[None]/Getty Images

This first Assignment will span Modules 1 and 2. Based on the Discussion in Week 1, you will prepare a written philosophy of nursing practice. You will start this week and continue developing your philosophy as you explore the Module 2 focus on theory applications to nursing. Learning Resources in Weeks 2 and 3, which comprise Module 2, will also support elements to include in your philosophy of nursing practice. Your Assignment is due by Day 7 of Week 3, so plan accordingly.

NURS 8114 Assignment Written Philosophy of Nursing Practice Essay
NURS 8114 Assignment Written Philosophy of Nursing Practice Essay

To prepare:

  • Review the Week 1 Learning Resources, and particularly the handout on writing a philosophy of nursing practice and specificconsiderations in developing a philosophy statement.
  • Search the Walden Library and other sources for additional scholarly resources to support your philosophy of nursing practice.
  • Reflect on your Week 1 Discussion post and comments from colleagues that help to clarify your philosophy of nursing practice.
  • Consider how to be proactive in articulating a philosophy of nursing practice that can guide and support your development as a DNP.
  • Consider how to express the Walden University requirement to be a social change agent within your philosophy.

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The Assignment (3–5 pages)

Develop your written philosophy of nursing practice in a paper of 3–5 pages, plus cover page and references page, to include the following:

  • Apply recommended elements of a philosophy statement.
  • Explain how your philosophy can accommodate your expanded awareness of practice issues as a DNP.
  • Explain how your philosophy reflects or supports advocacy of social change as a DNP.
  • Identify at least two middle range nursing theories and explain how they support your philosophy of nursing practice. Be specific and provide examples.
  • Explain how one or more interdisciplinary theories inform your philosophy of nursing practice. Be specific and provide examples.

Reminder: The College of Nursing requires that all papers submitted include a title page, introduction, summary, and references. The Sample Paper provided at the Walden Writing Center provides an example of those required elements (available at https://academicguides.waldenu.edu/writingcenter/templates/general#s-lg-box-20293632). All papers submitted must use this formatting.

No Assignment submission required for this week.

Submit your Assignment by Day 7 of Week 3.

What’s Coming Up in Module 2!

Photo Credit: [BrianAJackson]/[iStock / Getty Images Plus]/Getty Images

In the next module, you will begin a 2-week exploration of nursing theory. You will expand your familiarity with different types of theories and how they apply to nursing practice. You will also identify a practice issue of particular interest or concern to you that you will address throughout the module. Start now to reflect on practice issues of consequence that you might select.

Module 2 Assignment: Developing Your Philosophy of Nursing Practice

Your Module 2 Assignment is a continuation of the philosophy of nursing practice that you began in Module 1 (Week 1). You will also consider how nursing theory applies to and influences your philosophy of nursing practice.

A Sample Answer For the Assignment: NURS 8114 Assignment Written Philosophy of Nursing Practice Essay

Title: NURS 8114 Assignment Written Philosophy of Nursing Practice Essay

My Nursing Philosophy

The development of an effective nursing philosophy is one of the most important drivers of the high quality of healthcare services. The rapid expansion of globalization processes, frequent changes in the external environment, political tensions, scientific and technological progress, and other phenomena contribute to a high level of uncertainty surrounding the nursing practice (Black, 2022). The abundance of narratives with conflicting implications makes nursing a challenging profession, especially considering the number of obstacles faced by nurses on a regular basis. In this paper, I would like to discuss my nursing philosophy of patient-centered care in an attempt to show that paying attention to patients, ensuring their safety, and educating them on relevant issues related to their diagnosis, treatment options, and lifestyle adjustments could make a significant contribution to patient satisfaction, wellbeing, and quality of life. The discussion paper relies on the social cognitive and self-care deficit theories to illustrate the significance of my nursing philosophy and illustrate how it could be utilized to provide high-quality care to patients.

Middle Range Theories

Middle-range theories play a major role in social sciences. Unlike “grand theories”, which adopt a deductive research approach in an attempt to advance some general idea, these frameworks start with an empirical phenomenon and address it in a systematic manner. According to Mcewen and Wills (2019), middle-range theories are characterized by a specific focus, operate with a relatively low number of parameters, and address a small number of phenomena. The focus on specific propositions and concepts that can be defined and measured predetermines the growing popularity of middle-range theories in nursing research (Mcewen & Wills, 2019). Because of this reason, it seems justified to refer to such theories in the current discussion paper to illustrate the significance of my nursing philosophy.

Reflection on My Nursing Philosophy

My philosophy of nursing practice is based on the assumption that a patient-centered care approach is capable of providing mutual benefits to nurses and patients. In my experience, unnecessary emergency department (ED) visits and the lack of knowledge of patients’ mental health conditions are critical challenges faced by emergency departments. Hospital staff often does not have the time to properly educate each patient on all the nuances of their diagnosis, home discharge instructions, and continuation of care in the hospital. For example, nurses might not be able to explain in detail all the instructions regarding the administration of meds or the way to change a colostomy bag. Poor communication between healthcare team members regarding such issues undermines the quality of care and results in undesirable outcomes, such as unnecessary ED visits, low patient satisfaction rates, and nurse burnout. I believe that these risks can be mitigated by applying evidence-based practices to improve communication among the healthcare team to better educate patients and improve their safety. The Social Cognitive Theory and Self-Care Deficit Theory offer valuable frameworks for launching and supporting such initiatives.

The Social Cognitive Theory

The social cognitive theory (SCT) is a highly popular theory in social sciences. In the most general view, it could be defined as a framework explaining the effect of individual experiences and various external factors on individual behavior (Strudwick et al., 2016). According to this theory, people usually learn by witnessing the behavior of others in a particular environment or observing changes in their surroundings (Bandura, 2023). It also depicts people as active agents of learning since they not only consume information but also process it in light of their personal attitudes and individual experiences. SCT is of paramount importance for my nursing philosophy because it implies that nurses are in a position to educate patients on relevant aspects of their mental conditions.

One of the key constructs embedded in SCT is the phenomenon of self-efficacy. According to Bandura (2023), self-efficacy refers to the belief that people have full control over their behavior. Addressing self-efficacy is a crucial part of the learning process since it is responsible for the application of new knowledge in practice. The notion of reinforcements, which is another important element of the SCT, also is relevant from this perspective since a combination of positive reinforcements can strengthen an individual’s desire to change their behavior (Aliakbari et al., 2020). SCT offers a convenient and practical framework for maximizing the value of learning by addressing learners’ self-efficacy and applying reinforcements. Both these issues are vital components of my nursing philosophy.

SCT is relevant for understanding the relationships between nurses, physicians, and patients. I believe that healthcare professionals can use SCT to improve patient safety and exchange the best experiences in improving patient education. Pinpointing specific faults committed by members of a unit and demonstrating the appropriate conduct for healthcare team members to watch, learn from, and emulate is an example of how SCT can be utilized to improve patient safety. In addition, individual members of the team can provide direct instruction and feedback to guarantee that the appropriate procedures and education are being followed.

The Self-Care Deficit Theory

The Self-Care Deficit Theory (SCDT) is another construct that is pertinent to my nursing philosophy. This framework emphasizes individual’s capacity to care for themselves (Gligor & Domnariu, 2020). It could be inferred from this theory that healthcare professionals have a responsibility to help patients care for themselves by providing them with the tools and knowledge that are necessary for improving their health and overall wellbeing (Yip, 2021. SCDT might be instrumental in helping patients in emergency rooms and their family members learn how to provide self-care. Such a goal can be accomplished by providing access to resources assisting with self-care, educating patients and family members on the significance of self-care, and creating an environment that supports self-care. These initiatives can improve patients’ health and wellbeing, while also reducing the likelihood of unnecessary emergency department visits in the future.

Summary

This discussion paper provided a brief introduction to my nursing philosophy, which is grounded in a commitment to improving the quality of care for patients. I believe that enhanced communication between nurses and patients as well as among healthcare professionals, which can be achieved with the help of the Social Cognitive Theory, can lead to improved patient safety. The theory also might facilitate the exchange of best practices among nurses in regard to patient education. SCT is a highly effective framework that can provide nurses with an opportunity to educate patients on their diagnosis, meds administration instructions, and home discharge by applying reinforcements and appealing to their self-efficacy. A responsibility to help patients care for themselves derives from the Self-Care Deficit Theory. My nursing philosophy suggests that these two theories should be applied together to help nurses communicate with patients, prioritize their self-care needs, and help patients overcome various challenges related to their conditions. In my opinion, these two theories can support the implementation of evidence-based practices to improve patient care.

References

Aliakbari, F., Alipour, F.M., Tavassoli, E., & Sedehi, M. (2020). The effect of empowerment program based on the social cognitive theory on the activity of daily living in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. Journal of Education and Health Promotion, 9, 146. https://doi.org/10.4103%2Fjehp.jehp_752_19

Bandura, A. (2023). Social cognitive theory: An agentic perspective on human nature. Wiley.

Black, B. (2022). Professional nursing: Concepts & challenges. Elsevier Health Sciences.

Gligor, L., & Domnariu, C.D. (2020). Patient care approach using nursing theories – Comparative analysis of Orem’s Self-Care Deficit Theory and Henderson’s model. Sciendo, 25(2), 11-14. https://doi.org/10.2478/amtsb-2020-0019

McEwen, M., & Wills, E. M. (2019). Theoretical basis for nursing. Wolters Kluwer.

Strudwick, G., Booth, R., & Mistry, K. (2016). Can Social Cognitive Theories help us understand nurses’ use of electronic health records? Computers, Informatics, Nursing, 34(4), 169-174. https://doi.org/10.1097/CIN.0000000000000226

Yip, J.Y.C. (2021). Theory-based advanced nursing practice: A practice update on the application of Orem’s self-care Deficit Nursing Theory. Sage Open Nursing, 7, 1-7. http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/23779608211011993

A Sample Answer 2 For the Assignment: NURS 8114 Assignment Written Philosophy of Nursing Practice Essay

Title: NURS 8114 Assignment Written Philosophy of Nursing Practice Essay

In everyday practice, nurses come across different patients with different health problems requiring relevant and up-to-date interventions. As the professional nurse’s role dictates, a nurse should examine the patient holistically to provide medical assistance that matches specific patient needs. Nurses should also develop creative ways of reducing illnesses and related burdens in healthcare organizations, families, and communities. Regardless of their specialties, nurses should be guided in everyday practice by nursing philosophies. They should know what quality health entails, understand patient needs and how patients should be handled. This paper describes my philosophy of nursing practice. Focus areas include how the philosophy accommodates my expanded awareness of practice issues as a DNP, supporting advocacy of social change, and relevant theories supporting and informing my philosophy.

Philosophy of Nursing Practice

Nurses serve in different fields whose care models differ according to experiences, patient needs, and resources, among other factors. Despite situational differences, nurses have goals and envision delivering care in specific ways guided by their philosophies. Cheraghi et al. (2019) described a nursing philosophy as the values, ethics, beliefs, and motivations that inspire nurses to be health care professionals. Personal beliefs represent what motivates nurses to do what they do. I believe that I am the bridge between illness and healing. To achieve the goals that guide my everyday practice, I must serve patients compassionately, empathetically, and in the most patient-centered way possible. My professional and moral role is to promote healing through my skills while advocating for patient needs as situations necessitate.

While growing up, socializing, and in routine practice, nurses come across situations that require their input to change them positively. Mental health disorders have plagued families and societies for a long time, and the impact of mental illness is profound. At a personal level, physical and emotional health aspects are adversely affected besides mental instability (Morrison-Valfre, 2020). Due to the far-reaching impacts of such illnesses, nurses have a pivotal role in reducing disease burden and promoting healthy living. Their everyday role should be assessing patients holistically and address them wholly to enhance recovery and begin the patient’s journey towards healing and wellness.

Philosophy Accommodating Expanded Awareness of Practice Issues

Philosophies are guiding principles and dictate how nurses approach care and implement their professional roles. Since I believe in holistic care, my philosophy can accommodate my expanded awareness since it allows me to embrace change and integrate new concepts as I continue learning and become more experienced. In today’s health practice, the issue of diversity has dominated care and affects health outcomes depending on how nurses handle it. Patients are diverse in many ways, including culturally, ethnically, and religiously (Harrison et al., 2019). They also come from various regions, and such differences affect how they understand the care process and patient-provider relationship. Promoting holism as a nurse recognizes the need for a detailed analysis of patient needs and factors influencing the development of an illness (Rajabpour & Rayyani, 2019). Such an approach respects diversity, implying that the diverse nature of the patient is respected and integrated into the overall health plan.

The other critical practice issues that I have become more aware of as a DNP include ethics and patient-centeredness. Over time, ethics in care has become more critical as nurses continue handling complex patient matters. For instance, the chances of harming a mentally ill patient are higher than a typical patient due to self-expression challenges. Ethical guidelines provide a framework of nurses’ conduct through challenging situations and ensure that nurses have a moral compass to perform their roles reasonably. Holistic care, the motivation to promote wellness, and treating patients in the most patient-centered way possible are founded on ethics. As a result, my philosophy can accommodate my expanded awareness of practice since it incorporates efforts that promote high levels of care, attention to patients, and avoiding risks.

Supporting Advocacy of Social Change as a DNP

Besides the basic assessment of patients and recommending appropriate treatments, nurses have a critical role as advocates of social change. My philosophy of promoting healing and wellness is rooted in compassion, empathy, and patient-centeredness. To achieve this goal in everyday practice, it is important to be aware of patient needs and be determined to ensure that all needs are addressed appropriately. Generally, social change involves applying appropriate strategies and ideas to develop individuals, communities, and societies (Walden University, 2021). In this case, nurses should be committed to social transformation by using their skills and influence to reduce the illness burden. My commitment as a DNP to promote healthy living through psychiatric care aligns with the basic definition of social change.

As a Walden DNP, I look forward to promoting healing and fighting for patient needs as situations compel. In this case, I will engage in continuous learning and collaborating with appropriate groups to ensure that mental health issues are addressed appropriately in healthcare organizations and communities. The primary focus is issues such as stigmatization, discrimination, and inequality that patients with mental health disorders experience. Such effort coincides with what advocacy for social change represents as the continuous effort to transform societies and communities and ensuring that people live better lives.

Middle-Range Nursing Theories

Theories contain concepts and propositions explaining a phenomenon. Middle-range nursing theories are less abstract and more limited in scope as they address a specific phenomenon. A relevant theory supporting my philosophy of practice is Katharine Kolcaba’s Theory of Comfort, advocating for placing comfort at the forefront of healthcare. Kolcaba described comfort as relief, ease, and transcendence (Gaibor et al., 2021). A patient receiving psychotherapy to overcome depression is receiving relief comfort. Calming the patient through compassionate care leaves them in a state of contentment (ease). Transcendence is enabling the patient to rise above the challenges they are facing. All these elements characterizing the Theory of Comfort are guiding principles of my philosophy of care since patient-centeredness is centered on promoting healing in the most comfortable and patient-friendly way possible. The patients’ needs guide the care process as the nurse develops appropriate interventions to holistically respond to all patient needs.

The other appropriate theory is Jean Orlando’s Deliberative Nursing Process Theory. In routine care, nurses converse with patients to ensure that the care plan is understood. However, some issues may emerge during the process and affect outcomes adversely. According to Orlando, patient participation is critical in the nursing process. The nurse’s role is to assess and meet the patient’s immediate needs for help (Zerwekh & Garneau, 2020). The in-depth assessment is founded on the tenet that all patient behavior can be reflecting the need for help. Due to the helpless nature of the patient, the primary mandate of a nurse is to determine the patient’s distress and act accordingly (Smith & Gullett, 2020). Orlando’s goal of care coincides with my nursing philosophy since the focus is on the patient. In mental health care and other practice areas, healthcare providers can only determine immediate patient’s needs and respond to them if they are compassionate and empathetic, as my philosophy suggests.

Interdisciplinary Theory

Interdisciplinary theories apply to nursing and other areas such as sociology, education, and psychology. A suitable theory under this segment is the social learning theory of Albert Bandura. The primary tenet of social learning theory is that people learn behaviors by observing and imitating (Deming & Johnson, 2019). Desired and undesired traits can be learned socially. In mental health and other areas, patients learn a lot by examining healthcare providers’ behavior. They also learn and copy what they see in mental health support groups and their immediate environments. Due to the profound impacts of socially learned behavior, nurses should structure the nursing process in a way that gives the patient confidence and hope in healing. Nurses should also link patients with appropriate support groups and other resources where they can learn safe and appropriate behaviors that enhance recovery and promote healthy living.

In conclusion, nurses provide care guided by skills, experience, philosophies, and theories. As discussed in this paper, my philosophy is using the necessary skills and experience to address patient needs compassionately, empathetically, and in the most patient-centered way possible. My role also encompasses promoting healing and using my skills and influence to advocate for patient needs. My philosophy supports advocacy of social change as a DNP since it is rooted in reducing the illness burden to transform individuals, communities, and societies. Theories supporting and informing my philosophy include Katharine Kolcaba’s Theory of Comfort, Jean Orlando’s Deliberative Nursing Process Theory, and Albert Bandura’s social learning theory.

References

Cheraghi, F., Yousefzadeh, M. R., & Goodarzi, A. (2019). The role and status of philosophy in nursing knowledge, insight and competence. Journal of Clinical Research in Paramedical Sciences8(2). doi: https://dx.doi.org/10.5812/jcrps.90762

Deming, P., & Johnson, L. L. (2019). An application of Bandura’s social learning theory: A new approach to deafblind support groups. JADARA42(4), 5. https://nsuworks.nova.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=2537&context=jadara/

Gaibor, D. M., Auquilla, J. Y., Sinche, N. P., & Paredes, N. V. (2021). Stories of the elderly in relation to Katharine Kolcaba’s Theory (Chillanes-Ecuador). Journal of Advanced Pharmacy Education & Research| Jan-Mar11(1), 49. https://japer.in/storage/models/article/JFVPzYs0La6sVQLS38exY5cCA4siLPl7EbP8tlsBD2Shy0UbRYcuCw2mhlMV/stories-of-the-elderly-in-relation-to-katharine-kolcabas-theory.pdf

Harrison, R., Walton, M., Chauhan, A., Manias, E., Chitkara, U., Latanik, M., & Leone, D. (2019). What is the role of cultural competence in ethnic minority consumer engagement? An analysis in community healthcare. International Journal for Equity in Health18(1), 1-9. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12939-019-1104-1

Morrison-Valfre, M. (2020). Foundations of mental health care. Mosby.

Rajabpour, S., & Rayyani, M. (2019). The relationship between Iranian patients’ perception of holistic care and satisfaction with nursing care. BMC Nursing18(1), 1-7. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12912-019-0374-7

Smith, M. C., & Gullett, D. L. (2020). Nursing theories and nursing practice. F.A. Davis Company.

Walden University. (2021). Vision, mission, and goals. https://catalog.waldenu.edu/content.php?catoid=179&navoid=65155

Zerwekh, J. A., & Garneau, A. Z. (2020). Nursing today: transition and trends. Mosby.

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