Writing Assignment Linking QSEN competencies with a Perioperative Clinical
Experience
Learning Objectives
1. Describe the value of seeing healthcare situations “through patient eyes”.
2. Discuss principles of effective communication.
3. Describe roles of healthcare team member during the perioperative phases.
4. Identify whether evidence-based practice (EBP) was implemented in actual practice.
5. Discuss the value of their and others’ contribution to patient care experience in the care
setting.
6. Discuss the effect of the hospital’s medication administration system’s use on safety.
7. Discuss information input into the electronic health record.
8. Develop scholarly writing skills.
9. Seek necessary resources to complete the assignment.
Strategy Overview
The purpose of this assignment is for the student to write a professional paper, utilize APA formatting,
enhance understanding of hospital systems, and have the opportunity to reflect on a surgical
experience from the patient’s perspective.
First year nursing students are assigned a patient in the preoperative period and are expected to follow
this patient until they have arrived to the postoperative unit. The following day students provide
postoperative care to this same patient. Students are instructed to review the criteria for the paper so
they are familiar with what they are observing for. Students then write a professional paper
addressing all the required components explicitly laid out in the assignment instructions. Students are
encouraged to seek information from staff and clarification from faculty when needed.
This assignment addresses each of the six QSEN competencies. The competency of patient centered
care is met by students remaining with the patient throughout their surgical experience enabling them
to understand the healthcare situation “through patient eyes” and when they evaluate
communication they observe. The competency of teamwork and collaboration is addressed when
students describe the roles of healthcare team members. By reviewing an article and identifying
whether actual practice matched evidence based practice students meet the competency of evidencebased practice. Quality improvement is met when students discuss the value of their and others’
contribution to patient care experience in the care setting. The competencies of safety and
informatics are addressed when students discuss the system used for medication administration.
Students must also discuss the use of the electronic health record in the preoperative period. In all
this assignment allows students to see the patient’s perspective while also being introduced to the
systems perspective of hospital care.
Evaluation Description
This writing assignment is graded using the same rubric student’s use for self evaluation. This
rubric has been submitted under additional materials and is available for review. Each of the 14
categories has a maximum point value that is awarded if the student exceeds expectations for
addressing the required component. The total number of points a student can earn is 129. The
earned points are divided over the total points providing a grade percentage.
This is a new writing assignment that has yet to be implemented. In the past a different
professional paper was coupled with the student’s perioperative clinical experience. That
assignment was lengthier and had criteria that mirrored some care plan components. While
student evaluations and comments supported the need to change the assignment the faculty still
supported having a professional paper. The need for a written assignment is a necessary activity
to aid learners in becoming professional nurses. Their ability to summarize observations and
present information in a clear manner is part of their advancement in academia.
Instruction on APA format is provided in the previous semester. Students often have significant
difficulty applying APA format when writing their papers. While APA is a component of this
writing assignment it is less than10% of the overall grade. This provides the students an
opportunity to apply principles learned without significant detriment to their overall grade.