NURS 8302 Discussion Measurement Systems and Methods

NURS 8302 Discussion Measurement Systems and Methods

Sample Answer for NURS 8302 Discussion Measurement Systems and Methods Included After Question

You are a DNP-prepared nurse working at a hospital focused on improving patient satisfaction. After receiving care at your hospital, patients are provided a scorecard to survey their patient experience. The patient surveys range in questions from wait time to effectiveness of care, and these surveys provide your hospital with a scorecard indicating how the hospital is performing against these metrics. Upon reviewing the scorecards, you are able to highlight areas of improvement and areas of success, however, you find the responses are often difficult to analyze, as there are a wide range of responses, and there are many variables.

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The process of constructing a balanced scorecard for the tracking of patient satisfaction can be controversial. For example, a hospital’s patient satisfaction scorecard provides a snapshot of gathered data for the hospital, but the data may be out of context, which makes it difficult to identify specific problems. It is evident that both scorecards and dashboards have a place in the healthcare setting; however, will all organizations and accrediting bodies agree on the aspects of implementation, data analysis, and levels of effectiveness?

For this Discussion, you will explore key indicators involved with the use of scorecards and dashboards for tracking organizational performance. Reflect on a particular healthcare organization or nursing practice with an established scorecard or dashboard measuring patient experience.

To Prepare:

• Review the Learning Resources for this week, and reflect on how a healthcare organization or nursing practice setting uses scorecards and dashboards.
• Select any healthcare organization or nursing practice setting that has an established scorecard or dashboard measuring patientexperience and improvement goals.
• Be sure to obtain an example of the scorecard or dashboard from the healthcare organization or nursing practice setting (you selected) for this Discussion.
• Reflect on how these measurement systems and measurement methods may impact organizational goal setting in the areas of overall performance and financial stability.
• Explore the key indicators involved with scorecards and dashboards, as well as the external quality standards to which they are compared.
• Reflect on what the metrics used in the balanced scorecards and dashboards might mean to your specific organization and/or nursing practice. Has your organization established goals for these or similar metrics and are they currently being met? Why, or why not?

By Day 3 of Week 5

Post a brief description of the healthcare organization or nursing practice setting you selected. Summarize the measures on the scorecard or dashboard in which patient experience of care is measured, tracked, and used to set improvement goals. Be specific. Explain whether goals at your organization are established, for these metrics you reviewed, and whether or not they are currently being met. Then, describe the potential impacts of meeting or not meeting these metrics for your healthcare organization, and explain why. Be specific and provide examples.

By Day 6 of Week 5

Read a selection of your colleagues’ responses and respond to at least two of your colleagues on two different days by expanding upon your colleague’s post or offering an alternative interpretation of the patient experience measures described by your colleague as they might relate to your specific practice or organization.

Note: For this Discussion, you are required to complete your initial post before you will be able to view and respond to your colleagues’ postings. Begin by clicking on the “Post to Discussion Question” link and then select “Create Thread” to complete your initial post. Remember, once you click on Submit, you cannot delete or edit your own posts, and you cannot post anonymously. Please check your post carefully before clicking on Submit!

Submission and Grading Information

NURS 8302 Discussion Measurement Systems and Methods Grading Criteria

To access your rubric:

Week 5 Discussion Rubric

 

Post by Day 3 of Week 5 and Respond by Day 6 of Week 5

 

To Participate in this Discussion:

Week 5 Discussion

NURS 8302 Discussion Measurement Systems and Methods Rubric Detail

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A Sample Answer For the Assignment: NURS 8302 Discussion Measurement Systems and Methods

Title: NURS 8302 Discussion Measurement Systems and Methods

Introduction

As they offer a platform for monitoring, tracking, and identifying areas of improvement on multiple indicators, scorecards and dashboards can be a vital tool for healthcare organizations (Bohm et al., 2021). The numerous initiatives aimed at improving patient experiences are essential to raising the bar for the quality of care provided to patients. Healthcare companies can use scorecards and dashboards to convert their performance objectives into strategic goals. From there, they can assess, monitor, and adjust various actions to make sure the strategic goals are accomplished (Pavoll et al., 2020).

Brief description of the nursing practice setting

The nursing practice setting that i  have selected is in-patient psychiatry. I get to care for people with a variety of mental health concerns because I work as an in-patient psychiatric nurse. To address the many mental health conditions that people arrive with, dashboards are used for performance monitoring system and scoreboards are used for performance management system. I get the chance to collaborate with other medical experts in the planning, creation, and execution of patient treatment plans as part of my job in in-patient psychiatry.

 Summary of the Measures on the Scoreboard or Dashboard in which Patient

Experience of Care is measured.

Dashboards and scorecards are crucial instruments for evaluating patients’ experiences in a medical setting. Healthcare businesses can assess patient satisfaction and pinpoint areas for improvement using scorecards and dashboards (Pavoll et al., 2020). Critical data can be examined with the use of scorecards and dashboards, which can then be used to inform quality improvement initiatives aimed at improving the patient experience (Victor & Farooq, 2021).Wait times, treatment effectiveness, and patient satisfaction with provided treatments are a few of the metrics on the scorecard and dashboards where patient experience is tracked in my office. By measuring these indicators, the healthcare environment may assess, track, and monitor how patients are using different services, and then implement improvements.

According to Pavoll et al. (2020), wait times represent the length of time a patient stays in the medical institution between when they arrive at registration and when they are attended to. The patient’s readiness for a particular procedure or treatment is taken into account while calculating the wait time, and this is done until the patient receives the desired service. An integrated electronic health record (EHR) monitoring system is present in the hospital where I work. It keeps track of patients’ lengths of stay in the office, wait times for rooms, wait times for medical attention, and check-out times. Additionally, a survey with questions about wait times is given to the patients to complete. Patients can rate their degree of satisfaction with the wait time on a Likert scale from 1 (not satisfied) to 5 (extremely satisfied) using that provision.

Additionally, patients can report what elements of the service delivery caused delays in receiving treatment; these details are used to improve and modify the system. The information gathered guarantees that the medical facility’s aims and objectives for bettering patient experiences are reached or exceeded.

The target result for this measure is “attend to all patients within 30 minutes after they arrive in the hospital,” according to the scorecard. The tactical objectives to achieve this result are of prior to an appointment, obtain patient information; adopt a patient portal; streamline the clinical workflow; and locate and remove any bottlenecks.

The hospital has a policy of cutting patient wait times to within 30 minutes in the following year in order to facilitate the tracking of this statistic. The healthcare facility can monitor the success of the initiatives implemented to shorten patient wait times thanks to this vital information. The healthcare facility can more easily determine whether it is on track to reduce patient wait times and, if not, what areas or bottlenecks need to be addressed to achieve the desired result thanks to the patients’ continuous feedback (Pavoll et al., 2020).

The effectiveness of the care provided at the medical facility is the second metric. A metric called treatment efficacy is used to determine how well a certain set of interventions, processes, or services affect the patient in the way that is intended. Patients are asked to respond to important questions about the standard of medical care, its cost, its accessibility, and the interpersonal skills of the medical staff caring for them, the openness and efficacy of the communication between the patient and the care provider, and the availability of healthcare professionals (Pavoll et al., 2020).

“To lead in the development, application, and promotion of quality and safe practices to enhance the efficacy of treatment” is the primary goal for this measure. “To offer industry-best medical treatments through the delivery of safe and quality care that leads to measurable improvements in patients’ well-being” is the strategy aim for this metric. The hospital aims to “provide optimal and patient-centered care that is safe, and effective” in order to monitor progress toward the goal. The healthcare institution may more easily determine whether it is on track to provide efficient treatment and, if not, what areas or bottlenecks need to be addressed to reach the desired goal thanks to the patients’ continuous feedback.

Patient satisfaction is the third metric the hospital uses to assess how well patients are experiencing their stay. Patients offer input on a range of topics, including how simple it is to make an appointment, if they would suggest the facility to a colleague based on their experiences, whether they had any trouble making an appointment, and how the staff’s professionalism is rated, among other things. A Likert scale is used to gauge the patients’ overall level of satisfaction. Patients can indicate how satisfied or unsatisfied they are by marking 1 (not satisfied) to 5 (extremely satisfied) as appropriate.

In the upcoming year, the medical center hopes to bring the percentage of patients who are dissatisfied with the treatments they received down to around 20%. The ongoing patient input offers a way to monitor how well different intervention strategies are working to raise patient satisfaction.

Explain whether goals at your organization are established

The organization has SMART targets for each of the measures mentioned above. In terms of patient satisfaction, the hospital hopes to bring the percentage of patients who are dissatisfied with the care they received down to less than 20% within the next year. The objective is to bring down patient wait times to less than thirty minutes throughout the course of the following year. The objective of treatment efficacy is to provide the finest medical care possible to patients by providing safe, high-quality care that improves their well-being in quantifiable ways.

Right now, every objective is being achieved. In the course of a year, the percentage of dissatisfied patients has decreased from 35% to 17%. The average wait time is presently 35 minutes, and many interventions have been implemented to further reduce it to the desired levels.

Furthermore, efforts are well under way to improve the efficacy of care by delivering safe, high-quality care that results in quantifiable improvements in patients’ well-being. These efforts include training and development programs for healthcare professionals, a focus on patient care, the elimination of redundancies, better coordination between departments, and improved provider collaboration. (Orozco, 2019)

Potential Impacts of Meeting These Metric

Patients will be more satisfied and have a better experience if the wait time is cut to 30 minutes after they arrive. Additionally, this will increase confidence in its capacity to provide patients with high-quality, secure, and timely care. Increasing treatment effectiveness will boost patient confidence in the services because they will know that every time they visit the hospital, the interventions they receive will have the intended positive impact.

Furthermore, since patients will know they are in the hands of respectable professionals, this will improve the facility’s reputation. Improving patient satisfaction will lead to improved healthcare outcomes, increased productivity, improved staff morale, improved patient loyalty and retention, and improved reputation (Orozco, 2019).

Conclusion

Dashboards and scorecards are helpful instruments for monitoring and measuring the different elements that go into providing better patient experiences. Monitoring these metrics is essential because it helps healthcare institutions identify areas that require improvement. Three metrics are monitored: treatment effectiveness, wait duration, and patient satisfaction. The hospital has implemented strategies to improve the effectiveness of care and hopes to cut wait times to under 30 minutes. Several strategies are being implemented to increase treatment efficacy, such as improving healthcare personnel’s training and development, prioritizing patient care, reducing duplication of effort, coordinating efforts across departments, and fostering greater provider collaboration. The healthcare facility wants to lower the percentage of patients who are dissatisfied with the services they received to less than 20% within the next year in order to increase patient satisfaction. The majority of these objectives are expected to be completed within the estimated time frames. The hospital is still dedicated to offering patient-centered, secure, efficient, timely, and equitable healthcare services.

 

References

Bohm, V., Lacaille, D., Spencer, N., & Barber, C. E. (2021). A scoping review of balanced

scorecards for use in healthcare settings: development and implementation.

BMJ, Open Quality 10(3), e001293.

Orozco, S. C. (2019).A Quality Improvement Evaluation of Patient Experience Through the

Enhanced Recovery Program.(Doctoral dissertation, Walden University).

Pavoll, A., Camenga, C. F., & Weingart, S. N. (2020). Developing a Hospital Quality Metrics

System and Dashboard.Quality Measures: The Revolution in Patient Safety and

Outcomes, 115-125.

Pavoll, A., Camenga, C. F., & Weingart, S. N. (2020). System and Dashboard.

Quality Measures: The Revolution in Patient Safety and Outcomes, 115.

Victor, S., & Farooq, A. (2021). Dashboard visualization for healthcare performance

management: Balanced scorecard metrics.Asia Pacific Journal of Health Management,16(2), 28-38.

A Sample Answer 2 For the Assignment: NURS 8302 Discussion Measurement Systems and Methods

Title: NURS 8302 Discussion Measurement Systems and Methods

In the realm of healthcare, the adoption of scorecards and dashboards as tools for performance monitoring and management has become increasingly prevalent. Advocates argue that these tools provide a comprehensive view of various indicators, enabling healthcare organizations to identify areas for improvement and elevate the quality of care provided to patients (Bohm et al., 2021). However, an alternative perspective urges caution in relying too heavily on these metrics, emphasizing the need for a nuanced understanding of their limitations and potential unintended consequences.

While scorecards and dashboards offer a structured approach to converting performance objectives into strategic goals, some critics argue that an overemphasis on these tools may lead to a reductionist view of healthcare quality (Bohm et al., 2021). The complexity of patient experiences and the multifaceted nature of healthcare delivery may not be fully captured by numerical metrics alone (Pavoll, Camenga & Weingart, 2020). In the context of in-patient psychiatry, where patient care extends beyond measurable outcomes to include psychological well-being and therapeutic relationships, a sole reliance on dashboards and scorecards may oversimplify the assessment of success.

The described metrics, such as wait times, treatment effectiveness, and patient satisfaction, undoubtedly provide valuable insights. However, the alternative perspective suggests that these indicators should be complemented by qualitative assessments and patient narratives to capture the full spectrum of patient experiences (Pavoll, Camenga & Weingart, 2020). The potential risk of prioritizing numeric metrics is the inadvertent neglect of aspects that are challenging to quantify but crucial for comprehensive mental health care, such as empathy, trust, and the therapeutic alliance.

Additionally, the establishment of SMART targets for each metric, while providing a clear direction, might inadvertently lead to a focus on meeting specific numerical goals rather than fostering a culture of continuous improvement (Pavoll, Camenga & Weingart, 2020). This could create pressure to achieve targets at the expense of individualized patient care or the well-being of healthcare providers. The alternative perspective emphasizes the importance of maintaining a balance between measurable goals and the intrinsic values of patient-centered care.

In conclusion, while scorecards and dashboards offer valuable insights into healthcare performance, an alternative perspective urges a cautious and balanced approach. It advocates for the integration of qualitative assessments, patient narratives, and a focus on the intrinsic values of healthcare to ensure that the pursuit of numerical metrics does not overshadow the broader goals of patient-centered, compassionate, and individualized care in in-patient psychiatry and beyond.

References 

Bohm, V., Lacaille, D., Spencer, N., & Barber, C. E. (2021). A scoping review of balanced scorecards for use in healthcare settings: development and implementation.  BMJ, Open Quality 10(3), e001293.

Pavoll, A., Camenga, C. F., & Weingart, S. N. (2020). System and Dashboard.  Quality Measures: The Revolution in Patient Safety and Outcomes, 115.

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Content

Name: NURS_8302_Week5_Discussion_Rubric

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		Excellent 90–100	Good 80–89	Fair 70–79	Poor : 0–69
Main Posting: Response to the Discussion question is reflective with critical analysis and synthesis representative of knowledge gained from the course readings for the module and current credible sources.		Points Range: 40 (40%) – 44 (44%) Thoroughly responds to the Discussion question(s). Is reflective with critical analysis and synthesis representative of knowledge gained from the course readings for the module and current credible sources. No less than 75% of post has exceptional depth and breadth. Supported by at least three current credible sources.	Points Range: 35 (35%) – 39 (39%) Responds to most of the Discussion question(s). Is somewhat reflective with critical analysis and synthesis representative of knowledge gained from the course readings for the module. 50% of the post has exceptional depth and breadth. Supported by at least three credible references.	Points Range: 31 (31%) – 34 (34%) Responds to some of the Discussion question(s). One to two criteria are not addressed or are superficially addressed. Is somewhat lacking reflection and critical analysis and synthesis. Somewhat represents knowledge gained from the course readings for the module. Cited with fewer than two credible references.	Points Range: 0 (0%) – 30 (30%) Does not respond to the Discussion question(s). Lacks depth or superficially addresses criteria. Lacks reflection and critical analysis and synthesis. Does not represent knowledge gained from the course readings for the module. Contains only one or no credible references.
Main Posting: Writing		Points Range: 6 (6%) – 6 (6%) Written clearly and concisely. Contains no grammatical or spelling errors. Adheres to current APA manual writing rules and style.	Points Range: 5 (5%) – 5 (5%) Written concisely. May contain one to two grammatical or spelling errors. Adheres to current APA manual writing rules and style.	Points Range: 4 (4%) – 4 (4%) Written somewhat concisely. May contain more than two spelling or grammatical errors. Contains some APA formatting errors.	Points Range: 0 (0%) – 3 (3%) Not written clearly or concisely. Contains more than two spelling or grammatical errors. Does not adhere to current APA manual writing rules and style.
Main Posting: Timely and full participation		Points Range: 9 (9%) – 10 (10%) Meets requirements for timely, full, and active participation. Posts main Discussion by due date.	Points Range: 8 (8%) – 8 (8%) Meets requirements for full participation. Posts main Discussion by due date.	Points Range: 7 (7%) – 7 (7%) Posts main Discussion by due date.	Points Range: 0 (0%) – 6 (6%) Does not meet requirements for full participation. Does not post main Discussion by due date.
First Response: Post to colleague’s main post that is reflective and justified with credible sources.		Points Range: 9 (9%) – 9 (9%) Response exhibits critical thinking and application to practice settings. Responds to questions posed by faculty. The use of scholarly sources to support ideas demonstrates synthesis and understanding of learning objectives.	Points Range: 8 (8%) – 8 (8%) Response has some depth and may exhibit critical thinking or application to practice setting.	Points Range: 7 (7%) – 7 (7%) Response is on topic and may have some depth.	Points Range: 0 (0%) – 6 (6%) Response may not be on topic and lacks depth.
First Response: Writing		Points Range: 6 (6%) – 6 (6%) Communication is professional and respectful to colleagues. Response to faculty questions are fully answered, if posed. Provides clear, concise opinions and ideas that are supported by two or more credible sources. Response is effectively written in standard, edited English.	Points Range: 5 (5%) – 5 (5%) Communication is mostly professional and respectful to colleagues. Response to faculty questions are mostly answered, if posed. Provides opinions and ideas that are supported by few credible sources. Response is written in standard, edited English.	Points Range: 4 (4%) – 4 (4%) Response posed in the Discussion may lack effective professional communication. Response to faculty questions are somewhat answered, if posed. Few or no credible sources are cited.	Points Range: 0 (0%) – 3 (3%) Responses posted in the Discussion lack effective communication. Response to faculty questions are missing. No credible sources are cited.
First Response: Timely and full participation		Points Range: 5 (5%) – 5 (5%) Meets requirements for timely, full, and active participation. Posts by due date.	Points Range: 4 (4%) – 4 (4%) Meets requirements for full participation. Posts by due date.	Points Range: 3 (3%) – 3 (3%) Posts by due date.	Points Range: 0 (0%) – 2 (2%) Does not meet requirements for full participation. Does not post by due date.
Second Response: Post to colleague’s main post that is reflective and justified with credible sources.		Points Range: 9 (9%) – 9 (9%) Response exhibits critical thinking and application to practice settings. Responds to questions posed by faculty. The use of scholarly sources to support ideas demonstrates synthesis and understanding of learning objectives.	Points Range: 8 (8%) – 8 (8%) Response has some depth and may exhibit critical thinking or application to practice setting.	Points Range: 7 (7%) – 7 (7%) Response is on topic and may have some depth.	Points Range: 0 (0%) – 6 (6%) Response may not be on topic and lacks depth.
Second Response: Writing		Points Range: 6 (6%) – 6 (6%) Communication is professional and respectful to colleagues. Response to faculty questions are fully answered, if posed. Provides clear, concise opinions and ideas that are supported by two or more credible sources. Response is effectively written in standard, edited English.	Points Range: 5 (5%) – 5 (5%) Communication is mostly professional and respectful to colleagues. Response to faculty questions are mostly answered, if posed. Provides opinions and ideas that are supported by few credible sources. Response is written in standard, edited English.	Points Range: 4 (4%) – 4 (4%) Response posed in the Discussion may lack effective professional communication. Response to faculty questions are somewhat answered, if posed. Few or no credible sources are cited.	Points Range: 0 (0%) – 3 (3%) Responses posted in the Discussion lack effective communication. Response to faculty questions are missing. No credible sources are cited.
Second Response: Timely and full participation		Points Range: 5 (5%) – 5 (5%) Meets requirements for timely, full, and active participation. Posts by due date.	Points Range: 4 (4%) – 4 (4%) Meets requirements for full participation. Posts by due date.	Points Range: 3 (3%) – 3 (3%) Posts by due date.	Points Range: 0 (0%) – 2 (2%) Does not meet requirements for full participation. Does not post by due date.
Total Points: 100

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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