Help with Senior project topic

lavenderskies, BSN · Nov 15, 2016

What are the parameters you've been given?

RNNPICU, BSN, RN · Nov 15, 2016

End of life decision making in pediatrics

MHDNURSE · Nov 15, 2016

Hmmmmmmmmm...

A couple thoughts. Could you hook up with the ethics committee at your local hospital and sit in on a discussion/meeting, or shadow them for a week and see how they make decisions or discuss ethical issues regarding pediatrics?

Could you find a family that would be willing to let you spend a few days with them in hospice? Or find a family that lost a child recently willing to let you interview them? You could ask about the nurses they worked with and have the focus of your project be recommendations from families who have lost a child and nursing care or something like that?

llg, PhD, RN · Nov 15, 2016

How to pick a good school paper topic:

1. What are your interests in pediatrics? (Critical care, chronic care, babies, teenagers, etc.?) Saying that you are interested in peds is like saying you are interested in working with adults -- it leaves a wide range of possibilities.

2. Once you have identified a couple of general fields of interest ... review the requirements for your assignment.

3. Then browse the literature on a few of the possible general topics you identified as being interesting to you. Is there lots of literature out there? Will the available literature help you meet the requirements that your instructor has set up for your paper? What are some of the specific topis within those general fields/topics for which there is the best literature?

Step # 3 is the step most people screw up. They don't pay enough attention to it and just pick a topic that sounds good. Then they end up with a topic for which there is insufficient literature to meet the class requirements. So start browsing the literature of general topics that interest you with the requirements of your paper fresh in your mind. Choose a specific topic within one of your general fields of interest for which you can find the material you need to do the paper.

If you can choose a general topic that relates to the type of job you will be seeking, that is great. You can then include it on your resume and demonstrate your genuine interest in the field. I will also give hiring managers something to discuss with you in interviews that you will know a lot about.

Good luck!