Need topic for a paper

[cdoesc]

I am an RN whoose going back to school for my BSN. I have a "change" paper due, it's suppose to be about something a staff nurse could change, such as a policy about med pass times. Any thoughts?

[GingerSue]

How about - include a course about rehab so that nurses will know

that clients don't have to be sent to LTC in a wheelchair for the rest

of their lives - instead, clients can benefit by going to a rehab facility where many can progress and be able to walk again in order to return to their own home (with some supports through rehab and other community resources).

[fmrnicumom]

Is there anything you're passionate about? An area you find particularly interesting? Something you've seen that you thought should be changed? Does it have to be within a certain topic or can you choose?

[cdoesc]

Is there anything you're passionate about? An area you find particularly interesting? Something you've seen that you thought should be changed? Does it have to be within a certain topic or can you choose?

I'm starting to think what needs to be changed is the way we educate our patients. Do we all do a good job or do patients just say they understand because they are overwhelmed?

[Daytonite, BSN, RN]

Hi, and welcome to allnurses.

I was an ADN who went back for my BSN 20 years ago, so I want to give some guidance here. You are going to be graded on how you approach this as well as what idea for a "change" you come up with as well as how you are going to accomplish it. I have two words for you:

nursing process

You need to approach this like a care plan. Or, if that doesn't set well in your mind, just think of it as a problem solving mission because that's what the nursing process is about--solving problems. And, that is what this assignment is asking you to do. Identify a problem and solve it by suggesting changes (you might recognize this in another lingo if I said "interventions").

Follow the 5-step nursing process in the sequence the steps occur.

Step #1 - Assess. Look around you. If your assignment is to change a policy, pull the policy manual and see what policies you have. Do you know what they are? Are people following them? Watch and ask around. Policies that aren't being followed are a problem. The question that has to be determined is why people don't follow them. Or, policies sometimes need to be updated because industry information or standards have changed. For staff nurses--look at their job descriptions and the procedures that accompany those. When I worked on QA committees all we had to do was take the steps of any procedure and watch the nurses perform it. It was almost never performed 100% as the procedure was written down. Why? Everyone has their own ideas or might have been taught a different way how something was to be done. So, just watch what the staff nurses are doing and talking about, particularly when they take breaks.

Step #2 - Determine the problem. This is where you look at your data and analyze it. Sometimes the problem will just jump out at you and you will know that is what you need to zone in on. This is what will need changing.

Step #3 - Planning. Goal; strategies to fix the problem. How you are going to accomplish this change.

Step #4 - Implement the Plan. Most staff don't like change, so you may have some obstacles to overcome here. You might need to plan for some creative ways to put the plan into action so staff nurses will buy into it. The last thing you need is people who will sabotage the change.

Step #5 - Evaluation. How are you going to measure whether or not your change is going to work? Have something in mind.