01 Feb This week’s graded discussion

Week 1 Discussion

The Affordable Care Act

This week’s graded discussion topic relates to the following Course Outcome (CO).

• CO1 Apply leadership concepts, skills, and decision making in the provision of high-quality nursing care, healthcare team management, and the oversight and accountability for care delivery in a variety of settings. (PO 2)

Healthcare reform is a term that is ever present in our practice settings and will not disappear any time soon.

1. Share with the class implementation of the Affordable Care Act in your organization. (If you are not working as a nurse, think about what was happening when you were a prelicensure student).

2. How did your fellow healthcare workers react to implementation of the ACA?

3. How were citizens in your community impacted?

Week 2 Discussion

AACN Essentials Self-Assessment and Patient-Centered Care

This week’s graded discussion topic relates to the following Course Outcomes (COs).

• CO1 Apply leadership concepts, skills, and decision making in the provision of high-quality nursing care, healthcare team management, and the oversight and accountability for care delivery in a variety of settings. (PO 2)

• CO7 Apply leadership concepts in the development and initiation of effective plans for the microsystems and system-wide practice improvements that will improve the quality of healthcare delivery. (POs 2 and 3)

Download the Week 2 Self-Assessment of the AACN Essentials (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site.. Follow the directions on the form. Note your total score. Next, review this article:

Kramer, M., Schmalenberg, C., Maguire, P., Brewer, B., Burke, R., Chmielewski, L., … Meeks-Sjostrom, D. (2009). Walk the talk: Promoting control of nursing practice and a patient-centered culture. Critical Care Nurse, 29(3), 77–93. https://chamberlainuniversity.idm.oclc.org/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=edswsc&AN=000266533800011&site=eds-live&scope=site (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site.

After you have completed your self-assessment, answer the following questions:

1. If you are willing, please share your total score on the AACN Essentials Self-Assessment. If you do not wish to share your score, give a general description of your current KSA levels.

2. Candidly identify and share with your classmates areas where knowledge, skills or abilities (KSAs) are lacking?

3. Describe the relationship between the AACN Essentials and your new-found knowledge about Patient Centered Care. Are there opportunities for you to improve?

Week 3 Discussion

Conflict and Collaboration

This week’s graded discussion topic relates to the following Course Outcomes (COs).

• CO2 Implement patient safety and quality improvement initiatives within the context of the interprofessional team through communication and relationship building. (PO 3)

• CO3 Participate in the development and implementation of imaginative and creative strategies to enable systems to change. (PO 7)

Please watch the video and listen to the dialogue before posting.

Frightened Nurse

At times the needs of our families conflict with our work responsibilities. Could this possibly be the underlying issue here?

1. Explain the conflict resolution skills displayed by the leader in the scenario. On a scale of 1-10, how would you rate those of the leader.

2. How might earlier collaboration have been beneficial?

3. Some organizations utilize non Registered Nurses in the Case Manager role. What additional skills, knowledge and attributes would the BSN-prepared Registered Nurse bring to case management in this scenario?

Week 4 Discussion

Transformational Nursing Leaders

This week’s graded discussion topic relates to the following Course Outcome (CO).

• CO7 Apply leadership concepts in the development and initiation of effective plans for the microsystems and system-wide practice improvements that will improve the quality of healthcare delivery. (POs 2 and 3)

Review Appendix A, Sections I–V in Finkelman (2016).

1. Select one of the sections and share how your chief nurse executive demonstrates expertise in these competencies. Your comments should be about the “highest nursing leader” in your organization. Typically this is the leader who represents nurses and nursing to the governing board.

2. In your own words, explain the differences between a transactional nursing leader and a transformational nursing leader. What one is more like your Nurse Executive?

3. Describe how the Nurse Executive “leads the charge” for transformational leadership in an organization where you work or have done prelicensure clinical experiences.

Week 5 Discussion

Patient Outcomes

This week’s graded discussion topic relates to the following Course Outcome (CO).

• CO5 Apply improvement methods, based on data from the outcomes of care processes, to design and test changes to continuously improve the quality and safety of healthcare. (PO 8)

Review the story at the link below before posting to the discussion:

Rau, J. (2015). Half of nation’s hospitals fail again to escape Medicare’s readmission penalties. Kaiser Health News. Retrieved from http://khn.org/news/half-of-nations-hospitals-fail-again-to-escape-medicares-readmission-penalties/ (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site.

After you have finished, consider how you would respond to the following situation:

Your local hospital has received notice from CMS (Centers for Medicare and Medicaid) regarding their readmission rates.

1. As a BSN prepared nurse, you have been asked to serve as a consultant to suggest a new Quality (Performance) Improvement process for ONE of the areas of deficiency. Write some brief steps (suggestions) for improvement as you contemplate accepting the consulting opportunity.

2. Share practice improvements utilized from your own clinical nursing experiences that have led to enhanced patient outcomes.

Week 6 Discussion

Civility in the Workplace

This week’s graded discussion topic relates to the following Course Outcome (CO).

• CO6 Develop a personal awareness of complex organizational systems, and integrate values and beliefs with organizational mission. (PO 7)

Complete the Clark Workplace Civility Index Assessment (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site..

After you are finished, read the assigned article:

Lachman, V. D. (2015). Ethical issues in the disruptive behaviors of incivility, bullying, and horizontal/lateral violence. Urologic Nursing, 35(1), 39-42. Retrieved from https://chamberlainuniversity.idm.oclc.org/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=c9h&AN=100927729&site=eds-live&scope=site (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site.

Next watch the video by clicking on the link below.

Cultural Diversity in the Workplace

Transcript (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site.

Reflect on what you observed in the video as you answer the following:

1. Based on what you observed, what leadership skills should you, as Masaya’s preceptor, model for your fellow coworkers to promote his acceptance into the work-group or team.

2. Does incivility seem to be an issue in the scenario?

3. Describe any common themes you discovered among the article, the video and the Civility Index

4. Share how you may improve your score on the index based on what you have read.

Week 7 Discussion

Our Future Leaders

This week’s graded discussion topic relates to the following Course Outcome (CO).

• CO5 Apply improvement methods, based on data from the outcomes of care processes, to design and test changes to continuously improve the quality and safety of healthcare. (PO 8)

In Huston’s (2010) brief, but impressive article (required reading this week), the author outlines several leadership competencies that EVERY nurse leader will need for 2020. That year is not too far in the future, is it?

1. Select one of the eight leadership competencies Huston described and relate it to your own leadership of nurses and nursing. This should promote a robust discussion as we come from different clinical and nonclinical perspectives.

2. Discuss how the BSN-prepared nurse can assist a nurse leader in the budgeting process by contributing data readily available to the staff nurse.

Huston, C. (2010). What skills will the nurse leaders of 2020 need? (2010). Kai Tiaki Nursing New Zealand, 16(6), 14–15. Retrieved from https://chamberlainuniversity.idm.oclc.org/login?url=https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=ccm&AN=105060080&site=ehost-live&scope=site (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site.

Week 8 Discussion

Closing the Loop

This week’s graded discussion topic relates to the following Course Outcome (CO).

• CO6 Develop a personal awareness of complex organizational systems, and integrate values and beliefs with organizational mission. (PO 7)

Complete the Week 8 AACN Essentials Self-Assessment (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site..

1. Compare your scores from Week 2 to Week 8.

2. Describe how far have you come and how much further do you wish to go in improving your competencies during the next two years of practice.

Next, review the Course Outcomes as listed in the Syllabus. Select one of the course outcomes and share with your classmates how you feel you have achieved the outcome and how you will utilize the essentials and course outcomes in your practice setting.