Demonstrate logical and creative thinking in the analysis and application of theory to nursing practice.

Week 2 Assignment: Reflective Essay
Guidelines with Scoring Rubric
Purpose
Nursing knowledge is classified in a variety of ways, one of which is Carper’s Patterns of Knowing (Carper, 1978). Carper’s framework offers a lens through which the nurse can reflect upon insights acquired through empirical, ethical, personal, and aesthetic knowledge (Carper, 1978). Through intentional reflection using Carper’s Patterns of Knowing, nurses can process experiential learning and knowledge acquired through practice. The purpose of this assignment is to reflect upon a specific practice situation and better understand the professional knowledge and insights obtained through that experience.

Course Outcomes
Through this assessment, the student will meet the following Course Outcomes:

Demonstrate logical and creative thinking in the analysis and application of theory to nursing practice. (CO #1)
Examine broad theoretical concepts as foundational to advanced nursing practice roles. (CO #3)

Total Points Possible
This assignment is worth 100 points.
Due Date
Submit your file by 11:59 p.m. MT Sunday at the end of Week 2.
Requirements
Criteria for Content

Think of a surprising or challenging practice situation in which you felt underprepared, unprepared, or uncomfortable.
Select an important nursing issue/topic that was inherent to the identified situation.
As a method of refection, use Carper’s Patterns of Knowing to analyze the situation. In a two- to three-page paper address the following:

Briefly explain the situation
Identify the nursing issue inherent in the identified situation
What do you think was the underlying reason for the situation? (Esthetics)
What were your thoughts and feeling in the situation? (Personal)
What was one personal belief that impacted your actions? (Ethics)
What evidence in nursing literature supports the nursing importance of the identified issue? (Empirical)
What new insights did you gain through this reflective practice opportunity?

Preparing the paper
Submission Requirements

Application: Use Microsoft Word 2013™ to create the written component of this assessment.
Length:

The paper (excluding the title page and reference page) should be at least two but no more than three pages.

A minimum of two (2) scholarly literature sources must be used.
Submission: Submit your file to the Canvas course site by the due date/time indicated.

Best Practices in Preparing the Reflective Essay
The following are best practices in preparing this reflective essay.

Review directions thoroughly.
Follow assignment requirements.
Make sure all elements on the grading rubric are included.
Rules of grammar, spelling, word usage, and punctuation are followed and consistent with formal, scholarly writing.
Because the paper is a reflective essay, first person is acceptable for this assignment.
Title page, running head, body of paper, and reference page must follow APA guidelines as found in the 6th edition of the manual. This includes the use of headings for each section of the paper except for the introduction where no heading is used.
Ideas and information that come from scholarly literature must be cited and referenced correctly.
A minimum of two (2) scholarly literature sources must be used.
Abide by CCN academic integrity policy.

Grading Criteria
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