Guidelines for the Scholarly Paper
The student should use the following outline to write a scholarly paper about an experience with a complex medical/surgical case in the
clinical setting. In paragraph format explain the case and include supporting literature or rationales to support the nursing process of
assessment, nursing diagnosis, planning/interventions, and evaluation of patient outcomes. Correct APA format using the “Publication
Manual of the American Psychological Association, 6 ed.” is the expectation.
I. Introduction (15%)
A. Includes a purpose statement (The purpose of this case presentation is to present…). ……………………………….(5%)
B. States why this case is an important learning opportunity……………………………………………………………………………(5%)
C. Provide necessary supportive statistical data on a medical condition. …………………………………………………………(5%)
II. Case (50%) (no patient identifying information is to be used such as hospital or admission dates.
HIPAA rules apply.) (a five point deduction will occur for the inclusion of identifying data)
A. Demographics (age, height, weight, BMI, sex, race [cultural considerations], and occupation)……………………(1%)
B. Admitting medical diagnosis relevant to the presentation…………………………………………………………………………..(1%)
C. Physiological adaptation of the condition(s) (focus on important Pathophysiology concerns, use citations). (1%)
D. Nursing process approach (use of citations will add value to support your statements).
1. Assessment……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..(12%)
a. Vital signs and focused nursing health assessment related to the diagnosis.
b. Medication assessment (lists all medications ordered relevant to the patient’s condition).
c. Laboratory and diagnostic tests related to the condition.
2. Three Nursing Diagnosis and prioritize the most important nursing diagnosis and explain your rationale for your
choice (It is acceptable to combine the planning and implementation phases of the nursing process)……(15%)
3. Planning/Implementation (What relevant care was planned to achieve health care goal? (What did you do for
the priority nursing diagnosis?)……………………………………………………………………………………………………………….(10%)
4. Evaluation (Present nursing actions that were effective and/or ineffective to care goal)………………………….(10%)
a. effective action toward goal outcome.
b. ineffective actions toward goal outcomes (if present).
III. Conclusion (Summarize the case and identify what is unique about this case?) (20%)
IV. Formatting (15%)
The number of pages is a minimum of 5 and a maximum of 10, double spaced, Courier or Times New Roman 12 pt. font size with 1 inch margins
and headings appropriate for the case using APA 6th ed. format. The title page, and the reference page(s) are not counted in the total
number of pages. Data presented in table format is to be included at the end of the paper and will not be counted within the page limit.
Direct quotes may be used to emphasize a thought, provide a definition, or state an author’s position or opinion. Direct quotes are
limited to three (3) or less than 5% of the total word count for the paper. Direct quotes, with quotation marks or a block quote, should
include the author(s), date of publication and page number. If statistics are used, a reference citation should include a page number but
quotation marks are not necessary as this is not a direct quote but a close paraphrase. Paraphrase in your own words to adequately cover
the case. Three or more nursing journal (2014+) articles are the expectation. Points will be deducted for the use of internet websites or
the course text. Name the file Last Name_FI_NUR275_Scholarly Paper (Jarmulowicz_M_NUR275_ScholarlyPaper) and upload to blackboard