ASSIGNMENT

Length: 4 pages.

Written communications in nursing incorporates the use of evidence or research published in the literature from scholarly references. Scholarly references are defined as work which is peer reviewed and published in a professional journal. For example, any of the literature in the Library, would be considered scholarly references. Using published research to support the viewpoint of nursing, especially in cases being made for change, will enhance the argument.

An annotated bibliography is a list of resources you anticipate using to support your argument. Developing an annotated bibliography will help you organize your research. To create a purposeful annotated bibliography, the following information should be included: the specific citation, a brief summary or paragraph about the article, and how it pertains to your research question.

Instructions:

This is a 3 step project:

1. Identify a change
2. Find 6 articles
3. Write an annotated bibliography for each article

Read the detailed instructions below carefully.

Step 1: Write 3-4 sentences answering the following questions:

• Identify and describe a recent change occurring in your workplace. It could be a change in the levels of staffing, a change in policy, such as time off or tuition reimbursement, a change in use of equipment or supplies, a change in charting/computerized medical records, etc.

• Describe the change in 4 sentences. 1 of the sentences should address the rationale for the change.

Step 2: Begin researching scholarly articles from the Library from the past 5 years related to the change issue identified in Step 1.

• Complete a 6 columns table of the references found including the following:

• Author last name, first initial
• (Year)
• Title of article.
• Title of Publication,
• Volume # (Issue #)
• Pages of the article
• A minimum of 6 scholarly references are needed to complete this assignment; you may find more.

SAMPLE

Change Issue: Low census staffing policy

Currently, staff go home when the patient census is low based on tenure, so that the same staff are continually going home resulting in a lower paycheck for these nurses. The proposed change is to rotate all staff to leave when the census is low, regardless of tenure so the burden of potentially lower pay is shared among the entire staff, and not the same few.

Step 3: This step requires the development of an annotated bibliography for each of the 6 articles listed for step 2. This step should be 6 paragraphs total (one for each article summarized and analyzed) and approximately 450-700 words in 2- 3 double spaced pages.

Consider the following in 450-700 words (6 paragraphs total) in 2-3 double spaced pages:

• Summarize the main points for each of the 6 references (within the last five years) from Step 2 each in its own paragraph.
• Use the MEAL method of writing where each paragraph contains a minimum of 4 sentences and where:
• M= Main point
• E= an Example and/or Evidence (citation)
• A= Analysis and refers to what was significant about the article and how the article was related to the change topic you selected.
• L= Link or transition to the main topic
• Be sure to include at least 1 analysis sentence about each reference in that paragraph.
• Remember to cite each article appropriately (Author Last Name, Year) and include an APA formatted reference page. (See p. 49 of the APA 6th edition).