Information for Research Papers, Reports, Essays, Presentations, and Speeches

Research has become a valued part of many nursing school programs with nursing students needing to present a variety of presentations and research papers on a variety of topics. Another somewhat recent development is more demand on students to find a special type of credible information called evidence-based practice information/articles. There are different levels of evidence-based practice information. A variety of sources are listed on the "Nursing Topics" web page to help Nursing and Allied Health students find credible peer-reviewed journal articles, including articles based on evidence-based practice. It seems that a majority of Nursing and Allied Health classes ask the students to cite according the APA Manual SIXTH EDITION, so the articles listed on the various the Nursing Topics web pages will be presented according to the the American Psychological Association Manual.

Some of the following topics are disorders while some are ethical issues that healthcare professionals will face. The information for the disorders will include articles about the etiology, diagnosis, prognosis, treatment, and other aspects of the disorders that nursing and allied health professionals will likely have to know in order to help patients. However, the articles about ethical issues will include information on how different issues can effect the patient, the family, healthcare workers, and the medical institution.

Family Presence during Resuscitation

Family presence during a loved one's resuscitaton means that the family is actually present to view ALL that takes place during the health care worker's attempt to revive the patient. For anyone that has actually witnessed such a situation, all that takes place during this time can be VERY EMOTIONAL to all involved, to put it mildly. There are many questions that have to be answered when developing a policy to allow or not to allow the presence of the family during resuscitation. Legalities, religion, culture, and diversity are only some of the issues to consider. Most of the following articles are from peer-reviewed journals AND many of them are considered by many teachers as evidence-based practice information. Remember, that your teacher has the final word on which articles are acceptable. The articles are cited according to APA Manual 6th edition.

Healthcare Reform and End-of-Life Care

Healthcare is one of the most important topics that concerns Americans. There have been plenty of attempts to increase the affordability and quality of healthcare. Healthcare reform to some degree continues on various levels of government. The following scholarly journal articles cover the subject of healthcare reform relating to end-of-life care. The following articles are cited according to APA Manual 6th edition.

Pain Assessment for the Nonverbal Patient

The introduction to the "Assessing Pain in Nonverbal Older Adults" article may say it best by saying "Because pain is a subjective experience, pain assessment relies heavily on verbal self-report. However, self-report may be difficult or impossible in nonverbal critically ill older adults who are intubated, sedated, or unconscious; or older adults with communication and cognitive impairments, such as aphasia/dysphasia, language barriers, dementia, delirium, intellectual disabilities, traumatic brain injury, and/or deaf or severe hearing impairment. As a result, they are unable to verbally convey and describe pain, placing them at greater risk for non- and under-assessment."

However, it is not just older adults for various reasons who may be nonverbal. There are plenty of reasons why many patients, young and old, are not able to communicate their condition to the healthcare professional. The following scholarly journal articles provide a variety of information about pain assessment for the nonverbal patient. The articles are cited according to APA Manual 6th edition.

Professional Boundaries

There are a variety of situations where the healthcare professional should be aware of professional boundaries. The following journal articles provide information on how professional boundaries can help the healthcare professional, other members of the healthcare team, and the patient. The articles are cited according to APA Manual 6th edition.

The Role of the Informatics Nurse

Nursing Informatics is the "science and practice (that) integrates nursing, its information and knowledge, with management of information and communication technologies to promote the health of people, families, and communities worldwide." (IMIA Special Interest Group on Nursing Informatics 2009). The articles are cited according to APA Manual 6th edition.

Social Media and Healthcare

One of the articles listed titled Social Media: A Review and Tutorial of Applications in Medicine and Health Care says it best about social media and healthcare by stating "In medicine and health care, a large number of stakeholders (eg, clinicians, administrators, professional colleges, academic institutions, ministries of health, among others) are unaware of social media's relevance, potential applications in their day-to-day activities, as well as the inherent risks and how these may be attenuated and mitigated.” The articles are cited according to APA Manual 6th edition.

Violence in the Healthcare Workplace

Workplace violence has been an issue in a variety of places of employment for many years. The healthcare workplace is not immune to violence in different forms by different people. The articles are cited according to APA Manual 6th edition.