Assignment: The Doctoral Degree

Assignment: The Doctoral Degree

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Assignment: The Doctoral Degree

The Doctoral Degree and Professional Nursing PracticeIn response to the continuous changes in health care today nurses are charged with staying well informed on many rapidly evolving aspects of patient care. They are also expected to contribute to the improvement of health care quality. Engaging in doctoral education is an admirable way to position oneself for accomplishing this goal and it can lead to new professional opportunities.Why did you decide to enroll in graduate school? What informed your decision to pursue your chosen degree? How will earning this degree influence your career?This week you consider the characteristics of various programs including the DNP and the PhD. The focus of the DNP degree is on clinical practice whereas the focus of the PhD is on research. In conjunction with other professional colleagues DNP- and PhD-prepared nurses often collaborate to analyze critical issues and find appropriate ways to address them.This first Discussion provides an opportunity for you to examine what it means to earn a doctorate and how your selected degree program relates to your professional goals.To prepare:By tomorrow 5/31/17 post 550 words essay in APA format with 3 references from the list below that include the level one heading as numbered below:Posta cohesive response that addresses the following:1) What does it mean to be a nurse with a practice or research doctorate? What are the expectations associated with this degree? How might this be different for a nurse who holds a different degree?2) How do these considerations relate to your motivation to pursue a doctoral degree right now?Required ReadingsZaccagnini M. E. & White K. W. (2014). The doctor of nursing practice essentials: A new model for advanced practice nursing (2nd ed.). Sudbury MA: Jones & Bartlett. [Vital Source e-reader][For DNP students ONLY]Imagining the DNP Role (pp. xviixxviii)This reading introduces and defines the DNP degree with a particular emphasis on the aim to provide high-level preparation for the advanced practice of nursing.Houser J. (2015). Nursing research: Reading using and creating evidence (3rd ed.). Burlington MA: Jones & Bartlett.[For PhD students ONLY]Chapter 1 The Importance of Research as Evidence in NursingThis chapter describes nursing research its evolution and its application in nursing practice.American Association of Colleges of Nursing (AACN). (2006). The essentials of doctoral education for advanced nursing practice. Washington DC: Author. Retrieved from http://www.aacn.nche.edu/DNP/pdf/Essentials.pdf[For DNP students ONLY]Introduction (pp. 37)This section of an AACN document focuses on how the practice-oriented DNP degree complements and relates to the research-oriented PhD and other degrees.Cleary M. Hunt G. E. & Jackson D. (2011). Demystifying PhDs: A review of doctorate programs designed to fulfill the needs of the next generation of nursing professionals. Contemporary Nurse: A Journal for the Australian Nursing Profession 39(2) 273280.

Assignment: The Doctoral Degree

Assignment: The Doctoral Degree

Note: You will access this article from the Walden Library databases.[For PhD students ONLY]Conn V. S. (2014). Prepare to launch: Optimizing doctoral education to ensure career success. Western Journal of Nursing Research 36(1) 35.Note: You will access this article from the Walden Library databases.Conn V. S. Zerwic J. Rawl S. Wyman J. F. Larson J. L. Anderson C. M. Markis N. E. (2014). Strategies for a successful PhD program: Words of wisdom from the WJNR editorial board. Western Journal of Nursing Research 36(1) 630.Note: You will access this article from the Walden Library databases.[For PhD students ONLY]Foster R. L. (2012). Doctoral education and the future of nursing. Journal for Specialists in Pediatric Nursing 17(2) 7778.Note: You will access this article from the Walden Library databases.Sperhac A. M. & Clinton P. (2008). Doctorate of nursing practice: Blueprint for excellence. Journal of Pediatric Health Care 22(3) 146151.Note: You will access this article from the Walden Library databases.[For DNP students ONLY]This article provides background on the development of the DNP degree illustrates its necessary competencies and evaluates the value of a DNP degree as well as challenges to its validity.Required MediaLaureate Education (Producer). (2012g). Welcome to Walden [Video file]. Retrieved from https://class.waldenu.eduNote: The approximate length of this media piece is 2 minutes.In this media program the president of Walden University welcomes you to the Walden learning community and shares examples of how Walden students are making a difference in their communities. She also describes how Waldens Welcome Center supports you as a new student and makes it easier for you to connect with Walden when you have a question or need information.Laureate Education (Producer). (2011b). Introduction: The doctor of nursing practice [Video file]. Retrieved from https://class.waldenu.eduNote: The approximate length of this media piece is 15 minutes.In this media presentation Dr. Joan Stanley discusses how the DNP degree evolved. In addition Dr. Linda Beechinor and Dr. Susan Stefan share their experiences completing the DNP degree and explain how it has influenced their nursing careers.

You must proofread your paper. But do not strictly rely on your computer’s spell-checker and grammar-checker; failure to do so indicates a lack of effort on your part and you can expect your grade to suffer accordingly. Papers with numerous misspelled words and grammatical mistakes will be penalized. Read over your paper – in silence and then aloud – before handing it in and make corrections as necessary. Often it is advantageous to have a friend proofread your paper for obvious errors. Handwritten corrections are preferable to uncorrected mistakes.

Use a standard 10 to 12 point (10 to 12 characters per inch) typeface. Smaller or compressed type and papers with small margins or single-spacing are hard to read. It is better to let your essay run over the recommended number of pages than to try to compress it into fewer pages.

Likewise, large type, large margins, large indentations, triple-spacing, increased leading (space between lines), increased kerning (space between letters), and any other such attempts at “padding” to increase the length of a paper are unacceptable, wasteful of trees, and will not fool your professor.

The paper must be neatly formatted, double-spaced with a one-inch margin on the top, bottom, and sides of each page. When submitting hard copy, be sure to use white paper and print out using dark ink. If it is hard to read your essay, it will also be hard to follow your argument.

ADDITIONAL INSTRUCTIONS FOR THE CLASS

Discussion Questions (DQ)

Initial responses to the DQ should address all components of the questions asked, include a minimum of one scholarly source, and be at least 250 words.
Successful responses are substantive (i.e., add something new to the discussion, engage others in the discussion, well-developed idea) and include at least one scholarly source.
One or two sentence responses, simple statements of agreement or “good post,” and responses that are off-topic will not count as substantive. Substantive responses should be at least 150 words.
I encourage you to incorporate the readings from the week (as applicable) into your responses.
Weekly Participation

Your initial responses to the mandatory DQ do not count toward participation and are graded separately.
In addition to the DQ responses, you must post at least one reply to peers (or me) on three separate days, for a total of three replies.
Participation posts do not require a scholarly source/citation (unless you cite someone else’s work).
Part of your weekly participation includes viewing the weekly announcement and attesting to watching it in the comments. These announcements are made to ensure you understand everything that is due during the week.
APA Format and Writing Quality

Familiarize yourself with APA format and practice using it correctly. It is used for most writing assignments for your degree. Visit the Writing Center in the Student Success Center, under the Resources tab in LoudCloud for APA paper templates, citation examples, tips, etc. Points will be deducted for poor use of APA format or absence of APA format (if required).
Cite all sources of information! When in doubt, cite the source. Paraphrasing also requires a citation.
I highly recommend using the APA Publication Manual, 6th edition.
Use of Direct Quotes

I discourage overutilization of direct quotes in DQs and assignments at the Masters’ level and deduct points accordingly.
As Masters’ level students, it is important that you be able to critically analyze and interpret information from journal articles and other resources. Simply restating someone else’s words does not demonstrate an understanding of the content or critical analysis of the content.
It is best to paraphrase content and cite your source.
LopesWrite Policy

For assignments that need to be submitted to LopesWrite, 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.