Week 1: Professionalism and Social Media
Social media plays a significant role in the lives of nurses in both their professional and personal lives. Additionally, social media is now considered a mainstream part of the process for recruiting and hiring candidates. Inappropriate or unethical conduct on social media can create legal problems for nurses as well as the field of nursing.
Login to all social media sites in which you engage. Review your profile, pictures and posts. Based on the professional standards of nursing, identify items that would be considered unprofessional and potentially detrimental to your career and that negatively impact the reputation of the nursing field.
In 500-750 words, summarize the findings of your review. Include the following:
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Describe the posts or conversations in which you have engaged that might be considered inappropriate based on the professional standards of nursing.
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Discuss why nurses have a responsibility to uphold a standard of conduct consistent with the standards governing the profession of nursing at work and in their personal lives. Include discussion of how personal conduct can violate HIPAA or be considered unethical or unprofessional. Provide an example of each to support your answer.
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Based on the analysis of your social media, discuss what areas of your social media activity reflect Christian values as they relate to respecting human value and dignity for all individuals. Describe areas of your social media activity that could be improved.
Prepare this assignment according to the guidelines found in the APA Style Guide, located in the Student Success Center. An abstract is not required.
Week 2: Benchmark - Effective Approaches in Leadership and Management
In this assignment, you will be writing a 1,000-1,250 word paper describing the differing approaches of nursing leaders and managers to issues in practice. To complete this assignment, do the following:
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Select an issue from the following list: bullying, unit closers and restructuring, floating, nurse turnover, nurse staffing ratios, use of contract employees (i.e., registry and travel nurses), or magnet designation.
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Describe the selected issue. Discuss how it impacts quality of care and patient safety in the setting in which it occurs.
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Discuss how professional standards of practice should be demonstrated in this situation to help rectify the issue or maintain professional conduct.
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Explain the differing roles of nursing leaders and nursing managers in this instance and discuss the different approaches they take to address the selected issue and promote patient safety and quality care. Support your rationale by using the theories, principles, skills, and roles of the leader versus manager described in your readings.
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Discuss what additional aspects mangers and leaders would need to initiate in order to ensure professionalism throughout diverse health care settings while addressing the selected issue.
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Describe a leadership style that would best address the chosen issue. Explain why this style could be successful in this setting.
Use at least three peer-reviewed journal articles other than those presented in your text or provided in the course.
Week 3: Executive Summary
In this assignment, you will propose a quality improvement initiative from your place of employment that could easily be implemented if approved. Assume you are presenting this program to the board for approval of funding. Write an executive summary (750-1,000 words) to present to the board, from which the board will make its decision to fund your program or project. Include the following:
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The purpose of the quality improvement initiative.
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The target population or audience.
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The benefits of the quality improvement initiative.
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The interprofessional collaboration that would be required to implement the quality improvement initiative.
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The cost or budget justification.
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The basis upon which the quality improvement initiative will be evaluated.
Week 4: Organizational Culture and Values
Prepare a 10-15 slide PowerPoint presentation, with speaker notes, that examines the significance of an organization's culture and values. For the presentation of your PowerPoint, use Loom to create a voice-over or a video. Refer to the Topic Materials for additional guidance on recording your presentation with Loom. Include an additional slide for the Loom link at the beginning, and an additional slide for References at the end.
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Outline the purpose of an organization's mission, vision, and values.
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Explain why an organization's mission, vision, and values are significant to nurse engagement and patient outcomes.
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Explain what factors lead to conflict in a professional practice. Describe how organizational values and culture can influence the way conflict is addressed.
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Discuss effective strategies for resolving workplace conflict and encouraging interprofessional collaboration.
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Discuss how organizational needs and the culture of health care influence organizational outcomes. Describe how these relate to health promotion and disease prevention from a community health perspective.
Week 5: Health Organization Evaluation
Research a health care organization or network that spans several states with in the United States (United Healthcare, Vanguard, Banner Health, etc.). Assess the readiness of the health care organization or network you chose in regard to meeting the health care needs of citizens in the next decade.
Prepare a 1,000-1,250 word paper that presents your assessment and proposes a strategic plan to ensure readiness. Include the following:
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Describe the health care organization or network.
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Describe the organization's overall readiness based on your findings.
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Prepare a strategic plan to address issues pertaining to network growth, nurse staffing, resource management, and patient satisfaction.
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Identify any current or potential issues within the organizational culture and discuss how these issues may affect aspects of the strategic plan.
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Propose a theory or model that could be used to support implementation of the strategic plan for this organization. Explain why this theory or model is best.
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