Regulating Professional Practice Discussion

Compare the roles of state board of nursing with the role of professional organizations in regulating professional practice. What are the major methods of credentialing? List the benefits and weaknesses of each method from the standpoint of protecting the public and the protection of the professional scope of practice.

Natural or Man-made Disaster

You are in charge of getting your practice learning site prepared for disasters. Select and describe a natural or man-made disaster that could occur in the county where your practice learning site is located. Include your rationale for why you selected this disaster. Describe what you as the nurse should do by addressing the following: Preparedness: How would you prepare your target population for this type of disaster? Response: You are the only nurse at the scene-what actions would you take? Recovery: How would you handle recovery efforts that are specific to your target population? Include at least 2 scholarly references.

Disaster Management

You are in charge of Disaster Management in Sentinel City. Identify an area in Sentinel City where there is potential for a natural disaster and a second area in the city where a man-made disaster would be likely to occur. Describe the area of the city and the potential disaster. Include a rationale for why you believe this type of disaster could occur at your selected area of the city. What steps should you as the community/public health nurse take to prepare the citizens of Sentinel City for these two potential disasters? Include a list of items the home of your target population should include in a disaster preparedness kit. Include at least 2 scholarly references.

The final project for this course will require you to apply what you have learned through your Windshield Survey of Sentinel City to a target population of your choosing. You will complete your project by comparing data from Sentinel City with similar data from the city where your target population lives. Many of the discussions and assignments throughout this course will build towards the completion of the final project. Your final project will be a 14-20 slide PowerPoint presentation submitted during Week 8. You must view the Final Project Guidelines and Rubric in order to accurately complete this assignment. It is suggested that you do this during the first week of class.

Your final presentation will include 10 parts, which are described in detail below.

I. Introduction
Provide a brief introduction that includes the mission statement, vision, and/or the goals of your practice learning site.

II. Description of Your Target Population
Compose a detailed description of your chosen target population, which is a specific group served by your practice learning site. In this section you will describe the demographic characteristics of your chosen target population, including the population’s socioeconomic status, vital statistics, education level, religion, and occupations. Include a table, graph, and/or figure display that includes relevant demographic data for your target population.

III. Comparison of Sentinel City Demographic Data
Compare the demographic data of Sentinel City with the demographic data from the city where your practice learning site is located. You should present this information in a clear to understand table. You can use the Data Comparison Table provided in Module 2.

IV. Key Informants
Identify 3 key informants in the city where your practice learning site is located and 2-3 questions you would ask them. Examples of key informants include, but are not limited to: political leaders, health care providers, service providers such as mail carriers or shop owners, members of the fire or police departments and long term residents of the community. People who live and work in the community are a rich source of information and can often provide data not found in printed form. Your mentor from your Practice Experience will serve as the 4th key informant. Include specific quotes in response to the questions you asked your mentor that support and/or contradict information cited in the literature.

V. Key Health Concerns or Issues
Present a list of the top 3 health concerns for your target population. Provide a brief description of these concerns and include data from you target population city that supports the rationale for selecting these health concerns. Select one of the three health concerns you identified and state why you decided to develop an intervention that addresses this particular health concern/issue. Include the Healthy People 2020 objective that relates to your identified health concerns.

VI. Community Health Nursing Diagnosis
Develop a community health nursing diagnosis based on your analysis of the demographic and health status data that you gathered, as well as your conversations with the key informants. You may consult with your practice learning site mentor to help you develop this diagnosis.

Your community health nursing diagnosis should be written using the following format (Nies & McEwen, 2011, p. 101):

Increased risk of (disability, disease, etc.) among (community or population) related to (disability, disease, etc.) as demonstrated in or by (health status indicator, or etiological/causal statement).

Examples:

Increased risk of obesity among school age children related to lack of safe outdoor play areas for children as demonstrated by above average BMI rates.

Increased risk of depression among persons with a physical disability related to the lack of handicap accessible facilities and social isolation as demonstrated by high suicide rate

VII A & B. Intervention to Address the Diagnosis

Describe your proposed intervention that will address the community health nursing diagnosis for your target population. You may choose to develop your own intervention, or modify one that was recommended by the Task Force on Community Preventive Services (TFCPS).

To view recommended interventions, visit the TFCPS website and select the topic you plan on addressing for your intervention. (Note: at the bottom of most topic pages on the TFCPS website there is a sample on how to cite the webpage. After reviewing the topics, click the “Resources” tab then click “Fact Sheets”. Here you may find fact sheets to share with your mentor at your practice learning site.)

Whether you modify an existing intervention or develop one of your own, you must discuss why this intervention will or why you needed to modify it because it would not work for your target population. Include advantages, population fit, and barriers in use of the intervention. You should include the long-term goals, two measurable objectives, and the required resources such as: time, equipment, finances, etc. [Note: you are not required to carry out your intervention but may present it to your practicum site mentor]