Quality Benchmark project

Research & Decide: Choose and begin researching a significant quality issue. It can be anything that you believe is vital to patient safety and/or improving overall quality of care. Reliable research needs to be less than 5 years old ideally. The best research are peer-reviewed journal articles, or are written by respectable organizations and expert professionals.

Topic Examples:

· Hand hygiene, to include nosocomial infections driving healthcare costs

· Medication errors, to include transcription errors or staffing issues. How does fixed hospital budgets fit in?

· Patient falls, to include alarm fatigue or short hospital stays – Who pays the cost if a patient falls while in the hospital?

· Bed sores acquired in the hospital. Who pays if the patient gets a bed sore while at the hospital?

· Misdiagnosis and how that affects short and long-term patient care. How does that affect healthcare costs?

· Issues with patient identification – may tie into treatment errors and billing issues.

· Documentation quality and how it negatively affects reimbursement and drives hospital costs.

· Budget costs limiting up-to-date technology or research-based interventions from being implemented.

· Inter-departmental communication, to include nursing triage and efficient, safe decision-making. Consider if this is an effective use of time management and how it can be improved.

· Staffing ratios – is it really a nursing shortage or just budgetary restrictions? How does this negatively affect quality of care, nursing retention and hospital costs long-term? How does it affect patient and staff satisfaction?

· Integrating mental health into medical. When a patient comes in for a heart transplant, for example, we need to consider depression and anxiety – quality of life issues after discharge, psychosocial issues etc. Dissolve the current system of medical focusing on medical and psych focusing on psych and merge the two for a comprehensive patient overview.

· Managing health care costs and chronic disease. Consider cost of prevention to keep acute from becoming chronic and long-term benefit to our society.

Week 2: Quality Benchmark Project, Part 1.

Part 1 is a minimum of 2-pages, not including title page and reference page. Written in APA format – must follow sample paper provided, or you will get it returned to try again. Late penalties may apply.

· Title Page: Use 7th APA format for this course project. It is located under the module part of the classroom.

· Introduction Paragraph: Why is this issue important, and introduce research using in-text citations. What will the reader learn by reading your paper? Not to exceed one-half of first page.

· Body of Paper: The body of your paper is where you present your reliable research mixed with your professional opinion. Use distinct Level 1 or Level 2 paragraph headings to organize required Part 1 content:

· Description of the quality issue, and why you believe it is significant to health care.

· Research and provide background on your topic.

· Research and examine previous attempts to address this quality issue. Why did it succeed or fail and why do we need to continue to address it today.

You do not need a conclusion for Part 1, as Part 2 will be added to this project as you continue your paper. Part 3 will have your conclusion and end this project.

Week 5: Quality Benchmark Project, Part 2.

An additional 2-pages added to Part 1 for a total of 4(+) pages, not counting title page or reference page. Make sure to include instructor corrections to improve Part 1 prior to adding Part 2.

· Body of Paper, continued: The body of your paper is where you present your reliable research mixed with your professional opinion. Use distinct Level 1 or Level 2 paragraph headings to organize required Part 2 content:

· Research and discuss who has jurisdiction over your quality issue – who has control to make change?

· Who are the stakeholders, investors or decision-makers in this issue and how do they influence this issue?

· What powerbases or resources do you believe are needed to promote change in this quality issue toward improvement?

You do not need a conclusion for Part 2. Part 3 will have your conclusion and end this project.

Week 9: Quality Benchmark Project, Part 3.

An additional 2-pages added to Part 1 & Part 2 for a total of 6(+) pages, not counting title page or reference page. Make sure to include instructor corrections to improve Parts 1 and 2 prior to adding Part 3.

· Body of Paper, continued: The body of your paper is where you present your reliable research mixed with your professional opinion. Use distinct Level 1 or Level 2 paragraph headings to organize required Part 3 content:

· Research and discuss public policy or regulatory procedures that have already addressed this issue.

· How does this quality issue negatively or positively affect nursing practice?

· What are the potential barriers to implementation?

· Conclusion Paragraph – No new information introduced in conclusion. Tie up all the main points in one solid, well developed paragraph, and leave reader in awe of your awesomeness. :)

Course Number: Course Name

Professor

Date

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Example Student Paper Template (centered, bolded, omit colon)

Start with an introduction to your paper. Do not use a header for the introduction. It will speak for itself. This is your chance to grab the reader’s attention, and make the reader excited to read on. Discuss the topics you will address in the paper, being careful not to give away the punch line too soon. It’s a great idea to introduce topic with a little research. Don’t go too crazy on the research just introduce the research. The introduction paragraph should not be longer than one-half page. The American Psychological Association (APA) format requires knowledge and skill in concise, clear written communication (APA, 2020). This APA format is taken from the 7th ed. APA book (2020), which is the required format for Denver College of Nursing (DCN). The last sentence of the introduction should highlight the paper and tell the reader what to expect. For example: This paper will explain how to successfully structure a student paper using APA formatting. Implementing this as your final sentence will lead the reader forward eagerly (APA, 2020, pp. 75-76).

General Paper Format (Level 1 heading, omit colon)

Professional Paragraphs (Level 2 heading, omit colon)

Your paper should have a title page, introduction paragraph, body, concluding paragraph, and reference page. The minimum length of your professional paper does not count the title page and the reference page (APA, 2020, pp. 61-67). Do not use an abstract, author note, or running header for student papers. A professional paragraph should not be too short, too long, fragmented, or choppy (APA, 2020, p. 115). Each paragraph needs five-space tab indenting. Your paper must be consistently double spaced. Use Times New Roman, 12-point font with one-inch margins on all sides. Every page, including the title and reference page, requires a page number to the top right corner in the header section of the page (APA, 2020, pp. 44-47).

Paragraph Headings

Organize your paper content using the rubric and project description. Paragraph headings are required to organize and separate paper requirements. Level 1 and Level 2 headings will break up your paper into readable sections. You may use both Level 1 and Level 2, or just Level 1 to organize your paper. You may not use Level 2 without first using Level 1 headings. Level 1 heading is centered, while Level 2 is far left justified. Both headings are bolded and fragmented. It is not a sentence, so do not use punctuation at the end of your heading, such as a colon or period and do not underline the heading (APA, 2020, pp. 47-49).

Grammar and Mechanics

Correct grammar, punctuation, spelling, spacing, and sentence structure are also essential components of scholarly writing. Always spell check your paper prior to submission. If you use singular pronouns, you need to use singular nouns. Additionally, avoid singular and pleural in the same paragraph. Refer to yourself in third person and in active voice. “This writer instructed” should be used in academic writing. Reflection papers and opinion papers can be written in first person, “I instructed the patients” if assignment specifies this tense (APA, 2020, pp. 117-125).

Numbers

Spell out numbers one through nine. Use “numerals to express numbers 10 and above” (APA, 2020, pp. 178-179). There are exceptions to this rule. You may use numbers that precede a unit of measurement, such as 5-mg dose or 3 cm wound. You may use numbers to represent statistical or mathematical functions, such as 0.33 of the sample or 3 times as many. Use “numbers to represent time, dates, ages, scores, and points on a scale,” such as 5 days, 12:30 a.m., 2-year-olds, or $5 compensation (APA, 2020, pp. 178-179). Use a number after a noun, such as year 1, or grade 4.

Academic Integrity

Plagiarism

If you use a resource in your writing (in any way), and do not cite it with a proper citation this is considered plagiarism. This includes self-plagiarism, so if you have written a paper for a previous course you would have to cite your work as a prior submission or re-write the paper (APA, 2020, 254-257). At DCN, the use of chatGPT, or similar artificial intelligence (AI) programs, for any submitted assignment is a violation of academic integrity and is considered plagiarism. Penalties for the use of AI to generate your assignments may include a written warning with possible disciplinary action, including dismissal from the course.

Similarity

Unicheck is a similarity software used by DCN. When you submit your student paper, it will automatically run through the Unicheck software. This software will generate a similarity report showing possible plagiarism. It will give you a color code once the software has completed its cycle. Click on that color code and the report will generate. Review that report and make sure all items highlighted for similarity are updated with in-text citations for paraphrase, summary, or direct quote. Once you provide a citation, re-submit the paper and Unicheck will generate a new report with a lower score. Keep doing this until the score is < 24%. If you properly cite your sources, you will not flag for high similarity. Your instructor will give you more information on Unicheck and accessing your similarity report.

Evidence-Based Writing

It is vital for professional student papers at this level of education to follow strict 7th ed. APA format (2020). This is very different than Modern Language Association (MLA) format many have used in prior institutions. DCN requires your primary sources to be reliable. This starts with picking a reliable and professional source. A reliable source is one that has been written within the past five years or less. For secondary or supportive sources, they can be older than five years as long as you meet the minimum primary sources required for your paper. Peer reviewed journal articles are considered the most scholarly and respected sources. Webpage articles must be research-based, reliable, scholarly, and professional in nature. For your paper to be professional, research needs to be cited in your text throughout. Your paper should be rich in research, proven both by using quotations as well as paraphrasing or summarizing. Your professional opinion should tie it all together using complex thinking (APA, 2020, p. 253-278).

In-Text Citations

In-text citations proving research in your writing is the core to success with student papers. In-text citations will prove to the reader that your paper is reliable. There are two types of in-text citations. The parenthetical in-text citation goes at the end of the sentence (Johnson & Smith, 2023). Note the use of punctuation. The period goes after the parenthetical in-text citation. The narrative in-text citation is written within the sentence. According to Johnson and Smith (2023), write a narrative citation like this. Note the difference in the use of the ampersand (&) with the parenthetical citation vs. narrative citation (APA, 2020, 262-263).

Paraphrasing or Summarizing a Source

There are many different ways of formatting, but I recommend keep it simple. Format your in-text citations different ways for variety. If your article doesn’t show an author and the organization or agency is the author, format it like this (Mayo Clinic, 2023). For two authors, format like this (Johnson & Smith). For more than two authors, format your in-text citation like this (Mason et al., 2023) or According to Mason et al. (2023)… If your resource does not list a year, you may use n.d. like this (Mason et al., n.d.). There are many more ways to format citations located in the 7th ed. APA book that you can dig into (APA, 2020, pp. 269-270).

Quoting a Source

Approximately 20% of your in-text citations may be a direct quote taken from a reliable source. The remainder 80% of your in-text citations may be paraphrased or summarized into your own words. For all quotes, a paragraph or a page number is required. “You can put your author, organization, or agency, year, and paragraph or page number at the end of your sentence like this” (Johnson & Smith, 2023, p. 2). If your source does not have a distinct page number, start at the top of your article and count down to the paragraph you found your quote and use the paragraph number like this (Johnson & Smith, 2023, para. 2). See this and other examples of how to format quotes in the APA book (pp. 269-272).

Block Quotation

If your quote is 40 or more words, you must put it in a freestanding block of text and omit the quotation marks. Start a block quotation on a new line and indent the block using a five-space tab from the left margin.

A long quotation does not require quotation marks as the indenting identifies it as a quote. This quote will also require consistent double spacing with the citation at the end of the paragraph. As a general rule, avoid long quotes but sometimes the material is just too good to pass up. As for all quotes, you will need a para. or p. # to show where you obtained this information.

A block quotation may contain 2 indented paragraphs, although it is not recommended. If you add a second paragraph, indent the second paragraph a five-space tab. For block quotes, please note the period goes before the in-text citation. (APA, 2020, pp. 272-273)

Reference Page

The reference page starts on a separate page and keeps consistent double spacing. Use a Level 1 heading to write the word references, bolded and centered on the page and omit a colon. All references listed must be used in-text throughout the paper. If you don’t cite your source in-text, you may be flagged for plagiarism. References must be listed in alphabetical order and use hanging indent format. That means the first line is flush to the 1-inch margin, while the remaining lines are indented 0.5. Consult appendix below for step-by-step directions to properly set the hanging indent feature. If you manually set the reference hanging indent format, you risk losing format when uploading the assignment for grading (APA, 2020, p. 303). Some sources are considered unreliable or unstable. In this case, you would use retrieved on dates to show when you used the article in case the author updates it (APA, 2020, p. 290). Make sure your weblinks are not broken and do not use a period at the end of a weblink (APA, 2020, pp. 298-300).

Retrieval Dates