Hello Students.

At some point in the first few weeks of this course you will have chosen a topic to write about as the subject of your Pathophysiology Paper.  Relax.  The Final Draft is not due till the very last day of class.  However, your topic needs to be an acute or chronic illness/disease/condition that is covered this quarter in Nursing Care of the Adult II.

The title of your paper will be…..

Contemporary Nursing Care for Patients Diagnosed with  (FILL IN THE BLANK)

and a Summary of three Journal Articles on the Subject

I have attached a copy of the template you will be using for this assignment.  This paper should be in APA format (7th Ed.), and the template attached will suffice this requirement.  So use the template, and include 3 journal references in addition to the textbook used in the course.  Your first step is to find three articles from three peer reviewed journals related to the topic you are interested in writing about.

Caution:  Not magazine articles, not books, not internet websites, not online journals.  I need volume number, issue number, and page numbers, in addition to a copy of all three articles.  Note: WEB MD articles, Wikipedia, health magazines, trade magazines, books, non-peer reviewed online periodicals ARE NOT ALLOWED.  Note:  There is a big difference between an online periodical article and a peer-reviewed journal article found online.  BIG DIFFERENCE.

You want peer reviewed journals only, and I need a copy of each article before you start the journal summary section of your paper.  See attached rubric for details.  An internet link to the articles will suffice, but if I cant access it, the article will not be approved for use.

No sources older than 5 years old allowed (no older than 2016).

Papers are to be written in Times New Roman 12 font, double spaced, 1 inch margins all around, no running head needed

This paper requires

1.) an appropriate cover page (see attached paper template)

2.) a minimum body length (not including the title page and the references page) of 7 pages of text with a maximum length of 12 pages, but please note that turning in a table alone to cover several sections of the rubric will not receive full credit points.  See rubric.  Tables in the paper must be accompanied by some sort of an explanation.  Again, see the attached rubric for grading details.  My advise is write to the rubric, and let it be your guide on what to write.  Keep all the section headings in the template.

3.) a references page with all four appropriate sources cited correctly in alphabetical order (see the attached template and the two videos in the announcements section).  Please use the provided template.  It has the citations created for you.  Substitute your information into the template.  Don’t over-complicate this assignment

Once again, attached herein is the Grading Rubric and a Sample Paper Shell.  In addition, below are some tips you should read if you aim to get all your points.

Please write appropriately.  Do not use the words “I, me, my, he, you, them, she, they, we, us, etc…”  Instead use, “the patient, the researchers, the authors, the participants in the study, etc…”  But not “YOU”.  That’s not the tense we are writing in.  This is not a verbal conversation.  It is a paper.  And get yourself out of the equation and deliver some facts. This is not a paper about you.  It is a paper by you.

In addition, do not use contractions like..”don’t” instead say “do not.”  Do not say “can’t” instead say “cannot”…etc.

Elevate your vocabulary.  Don’t use these simple language words like “put,” as in “put the patient in bed” or “put the thermometer in the mouth.”  Don’t ever, ever use the word “check,” as in “check the patient.”  What does that even mean? “Insert the thermometer in the patient’s mouth (not put).” And for heaven sake, “assess, monitor, evaluate, inspect, observe…” but don’t just “CHECK” on the patient. 

Don’t give me long sentences that can easily be paragraph bulk, like the following example….

                                “The patient may have fever, diarrhea, pain, fatigue, and altered LOC.”

Look how I can turn this one sentence into several sentences.  Instead, how about….

“The patient may exhibit oral temperatures as high as 101.  The condition is compounded by frequent large-volume water stools, which probably contribute to the complaints of body aches that are usually reported. In addition, patients afflicted by this condition usually exhibit general fatigue and confusion, with patients becoming disoriented very quickly.”

See the difference?  I’m saying the exact same thing but better.  Elevate the writing please. Be better.  This is a college paper.  Not a high school paper.  Show me you know what you are talking about.