The Impact of Poor Communication on Medical Errors

The fragmentation of our care delivery system is a fundamental contributor to the poor overall performance of the United States health care system. In our fragmented system:

 

• Patients and families navigate unassisted across different providers and care settings, fostering frustrating and dangerous experiences;

 

• Poor communication and lack of clear accountability for a patient among multiple providers leads to medical errors, waste, and duplication;

 

• The absence of peer accountability, quality improvement infrastructure, and clinical information systems foster poor overall quality of care; and

 

• High cost, intensive intervention is rewarded over higher value primary care, including preventive medicine and the management of chronic illness.

 

The student will choose one of the four issues listed above and then a specific topic/population for their paper.

 

The student will identify and describe three specific examples from either their work, personal, volunteer, or clinical/practicum experience/ setting/environment that illustrate the issue.

 

Use the literature to further explain, support, or refute the issues identified. A minimum of 8 and maximum of 12 research articles from peer-reviewed journals which are no more than 5 years old are used for this support.

 

Students must write this formal paper using the APA Manual 7th ed. (2019). The APA Manual provides direction for grammar, use of punctuation, citation of in-text sources, reference formatting, use of headings, and typing guidelines

 

Questions to your faculty member are encouraged and welcome at any time.

 

*Consider a visit to the Writing Center if you are having difficulty – NOTE: they do not assist with APA format.

 

 

 

Must Have

 

Presence of critical thinking, not just literature reporting

 

A clear indication that the writer has thought about the issues from a variety of perspectives

 

Synthesis, integration, and application of the material, not merely summarization through quotations or citations, should be apparent

 

Before writing the paper, the student must apply the correct formatting to the entire document (See You Tube video for step-by-step

instructions)

 

Content of Paper

• Introduction to the paper

 

• Purpose statement (e.g. tells the reader the specific focus of the paper and what to expect as they read the paper)

 

• Explain the issue

 

• Discuss 3 specific examples related to the your life experience that illustrates your chosen issue

 

• Identify and discuss challenges and/or opportunities and ethical issues you envision for the advanced practice registered nurse related to the topic and examples you

provided

 

• Discuss local, state, or federal regulations or policies past, present, or future that may affect the delivery of care

related to this topic and the examples you provided

 

· Describe, in detail, your personal position regarding the topic.

 

• Support your position with relevant findings in the literature. If your position differs from what is reported in the literature present a logical defense of your viewpoint.

 

• Conclusion to the paper

 

 

Paper Mechanics

· Cover page with properly formatted running head and page numbers (see APA manual for proper formatting)

· Paper’s pages properly formatted with headers and page numbers (see APA manual)

 

· This paper does not require an abstract or author’s notes

 

· 15 written pages’ maximum including cover page, references and appendices. The reader stops reading at the end of page 15

 

· Minimal use of direct quotes

 

· Paraphrasing is acceptable. Paraphrasing means restating in your own words. Re-arranging sentences or changing a few words requires a citation of the source. (See the APA Manual and Marquette Academic Honesty Policy for assistance. You can also test your paper by running it through Turnitin)

 

· Minimum of 8 references. References must be from peer reviewed sources. (See the APA Manual for proper formatting)

 

· Each reference must be in the context of the paper

 

· References should be no more than 3-5 years old

 

· The paper should be written in a scholarly manner

-Introduction

-Purpose statement

-Professional Practice Examples

-Challenges and Opportunities (Ethical Issues if applicable)

-State and Federal Policies

-Position Statement

-Supporting Literature

-Conclusion

-References

 

• Remember, librarians can be your best friend

• Review the sample paper located in Module One of the course.

• There are no extensions given for the final paper due to the number of weeks allowed to complete this assignment. However, do not hesitate to ask questions as they arise.

• Consider a visit to the Writing Center if you:

• Have never written a graduate level paper before

• Are having difficulty writing succinctly and cohesively