Assessing the Problem: Technology, Care Coordination, and Community Resources Considerations

In a 5-7 page written assessment, determine how health care technology, coordination of care, and community resources can be applied to address the patient, family, or population problem you’ve defined. In addition, plan to spend approximately 2 direct practicum hours exploring these aspects of the problem with the patient, family, or group you’ve chosen to work with and, if desired, consulting with subject matter and industry experts. Document the time spent (your practicum hours) with these individuals or group in the Core Elms Volunteer Experience Form. Report on your experiences during the second 2 hours of your practicum.

Introduction

As a baccalaureate-prepared nurse, you’ll be positioned to maximize the use of technology to achieve positive patient outcomes and improve organizational effectiveness. Providing holistic coordination of patient care across the entire health care continuum and leveraging community resource services can lead both to positive patient outcomes and to organizational improvements.

Preparation

In this assessment, you’ll determine how health care technology, coordination of care, and community resources can be applied to address the health problem you’ve defined. Plan to spend at least 2 direct practicum hours working with the same patient, family, or group. During this time, you may also choose to consult with subject matter and industry experts.

To prepare for the assessment:

• Review the assessment instructions and scoring guide to ensure that you understand the work you will be asked to complete and how it will be assessed.
• Conduct sufficient research of the scholarly and professional literature to inform your assessment and meet scholarly expectations for supporting evidence.
• Review the Practicum Focus Sheet: Assessment 3 [PDF], which provides guidance for conducting this portion of your practicum.

Note: Remember that you can submit all, or a portion of, your draft assessment to Smarthinking for feedback, before you submit the final version. If you plan on using this free service, be mindful of the turnaround time of 24–48 hours for receiving feedback.

Instructions

Complete this assessment in two parts.

Part 1

Determine how health care technology, the coordination of care, and the use of community resources can be applied to address the patient, family, or population problem you’ve defined. Plan to spend at least 2 practicum hours exploring these aspects of the problem with the patient, family, or group. During this time, you may also consult with subject matter and industry experts of your choice. Document the time spent (your practicum hours) with these individuals or group in the Core Elms Volunteer Experience Form. Use the Practicum Focus Sheet: Assessment 3 [PDF] provided for this assessment to guide your work and interpersonal interactions.

Part 2

Report on your experiences during the second 2 hours of your practicum.

• Whom did you meet with?
  • What did you learn from them?
• Comment on the evidence-based practice (EBP) documents or websites you reviewed.
  • What did you learn from that review?
• Share the process and experience of exploring the effect of the problem on the quality of care, patient safety, and costs to the system and individual.
  • Did your plan to address the problem change, based upon your experiences?
  • What surprised you, or was of particular interest to you, and why?

CORE ELMS

Update the total number of hours on the NURS-FPX4900 Volunteer Experience Form in CORE ELMS.

Requirements

The assessment requirements, outlined below, correspond to the scoring guide criteria, so be sure to address each main point. Read the performance-level descriptions for each criterion to see how your work will be assessed. In addition, note the additional requirements for document format and length and for supporting evidence.

• Analyze the impact of health care technology on the patient, family, or population problem.
  • Cite evidence from the literature that addresses the advantages and disadvantages of specific technologies, including research studies that present opposing views.
  • Determine whether the evidence is consistent with technology use you see in your nursing practice.
  • Identify potential barriers and costs associated with the use of specific technologies and how those technologies are applied within the context of this problem.
• Explain how care coordination and the utilization of community resources can be used to address the patient, family, or population problem.
  • Cite evidence from the literature that addresses the benefits of care coordination and the utilization of community resources, including research studies that present opposing views.
  • Determine whether the evidence is consistent with how you see care coordination and community resources used in your nursing practice.
  • Identify barriers to the use of care coordination and community resources in the context of this problem.
• Analyze state board nursing practice standards and/or organizational or governmental policies associated with health care technology, care coordination, and community resources and document the practicum hours spent with these individuals or group in the Core Elms Volunteer Experience Form.
  • Explain how these standards or policies will guide your actions in applying technology, care coordination, and community resources to address care quality, patient safety, and costs to the system and individual.
  • Describe the effects of local, state, and federal policies or legislation on your nursing scope of practice, within the context of technology, care coordination, and community resources.
  • Explain how nursing ethics will inform your approach to addressing the problem through the use of applied technology, care coordination, and community resources.
  • Document the time spent (your practicum hours) with these individuals or group in the Core Elms Volunteer Experience Form.
• Support main points, assertions, arguments, conclusions, or recommendations with relevant and credible evidence.
• Apply APA style and formatting to scholarly writing.

Additional Requirements

• Format: Format your paper using APA style. Use the APA Style Paper Template. An APA Style Paper Tutorial is also provided to help you in writing and formatting your paper. Be sure to include:
  • A title page and reference page. An abstract is not required.
  • A running head on all pages.
  • Appropriate section headings.
• Length: Your paper should be approximately 5–7 pages in length, not including the reference page.
• Supporting evidence: Cite at least five sources of scholarly or professional evidence that support your central ideas. Resources should be no more than five years old. Provide in-text citations and references in APA format.
• Proofreading: Proofread your paper, before you submit it, to minimize errors that could distract readers and make it more difficult for them to focus on its substance.

Competencies Measured

By successfully completing this assessment, you will demonstrate your proficiency in the course competencies through the following assessment scoring guide criteria:

• Competency 4: Apply health information and patient care technology to improve patient and systems outcomes.
  • Analyze the impact of health care technology on a patient, family, or population problem.
• Competency 5: Analyze the impact of health policy on quality and cost of care.
  • Analyze state board nursing practice standards and/or organizational or governmental policies associated with health technology, care coordination, and community resources and document the practicum hours spent with these individuals or group in the Core Elms Volunteer Experience Form.
• Competency 6: Collaborate interprofessionally to improve patient and population outcomes.
  • Explain how care coordination and the utilization of community resources can be used to address a patient, family, or population problem.
• Competency 8: Integrate professional standards and values into practice.
  • Support main points, assertions, arguments, conclusions, or recommendations with relevant and credible evidence.
  • Apply APA style and formatting to scholarly writing.