NURS 519 is Liberty's MSN elective on end-of-life care. Its written work is a spiritual and a cultural assessment in Week 1, two discussion forums, two question-and-answer sets, two case studies, a research article paper on a pain intervention and a 200-point ethical dilemma paper.
Liberty's catalog lists the course as NURS 519 Strategies for End of Life Care, 3 credit hours; Canvas and the course guide file print it as NURS519.
What NURS 519 covers
The catalog description: The focus of this course is to explore the multifaceted role of caring for the patient who has reached the end of life. Particular attention is given to providing sufficient knowledge to assure that the student will be prepared to facilitate the patient's comfort and quality of life. Other areas include ethical / legal issues, cultural perspectives on death and dying, grief, and death. Course content emphasizes the respectful treatment of the entire individual and the delivery of care with the love of Christ. (Elective course)
The course prepares nurses to support comfort and quality of life at the end of life, with attention to ethical and legal issues, cultural perspectives on death and dying, grief, and care delivered, in the catalog's words, with the love of Christ. The main text is Matzo and Sherman, Palliative Care Nursing; two whole books are also assigned, Golden's Swallowed by a Snake on grief (Week 5) and Callanan and Kelley's Final Gifts on the communication of dying patients (Week 8).
Many of the assignments ask for answers grounded in sources rather than opinion. The question-and-answer sets say so directly, and the case studies and ethical dilemma paper require cited, referenced support in current APA.
Textbook named in the published guide: Callanan & Kelley, Final Gifts (2012). Golden, Swallowed by a Snake (2010). Matzo & Sherman, Palliative Care Nursing (2018). Check the current edition in your Canvas section.
NURS 519 assignments, week by week
Every graded written assignment in the published guide has its own how-to guide below. Quizzes, exams, checklists and class introductions are left out because there is nothing to write.
| Week | Assignment | Points | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Spiritual Assessment | 25 | The template provided (no length set in the guide) |
| 1 | Cultural Assessment | 75 | The template provided (no length set in the guide) |
| 2 | Discussion Board Forum 1 | 100 | Thread at least 500 words |
| 2 | Questions and Answers 1 | 100 | Each answer at least 150 words |
| 3 | Discussion Board Forum 2 | 100 | Thread at least 500 words |
| 4 | Case Study 1 | 100 | 3 to 5 pages, not including the title and reference pages |
| 5 | Case Study 2 | 100 | 3 to 5 pages, not including the title and reference pages |
| 6 | Research Article | 100 | 3 to 5 pages |
| 7 | Ethical Dilemma Paper | 200 | Not set in the guide; follow every step of the model in full |
| 8 | Questions and Answers 2 | 100 | Each answer at least 150 words |
Week 1: Spiritual Assessment
A spiritual assessment completed on the template and questions provided in the course. How to write NURS 519 Week 1 Spiritual Assessment.
Week 1: Cultural Assessment
A cultural assessment completed on the course template, worth three times the spiritual assessment. How to write NURS 519 Week 1 Cultural Assessment.
Week 2: Discussion Board Forum 1
A 500-word thread with two citations and one 250-word reply with a citation, worth 100 points. How to write NURS 519 Week 2 Discussion Board Forum 1.
Week 2: Questions and Answers 1
Answers of at least 150 words each to topic-based questions, supported by outside sources rather than opinion. How to write NURS 519 Week 2 Questions and Answers 1.
Week 3: Discussion Board Forum 2
The second forum: a 500-word thread with two citations and one 250-word reply. How to write NURS 519 Week 3 Discussion Board Forum 2.
Week 4: Case Study 1
A 3 to 5-page answer to the questions on the first provided end-of-life case, supported by readings and peer-reviewed sources. How to write NURS 519 Week 4 Case Study 1.
Week 5: Case Study 2
The second 3 to 5-page case study, due the week Golden's book on grief is read. How to write NURS 519 Week 5 Case Study 2.
Week 6: Research Article
A 3 to 5-page paper on a pain intervention from Matzo and Sherman, answering provided questions about a current research article. How to write NURS 519 Week 6 Research Article.
Week 7: Ethical Dilemma Paper
The largest item in NURS 519: an end-of-life ethical dilemma worked through every step of the course's decision-making model, with 5 recent peer-reviewed articles. How to write NURS 519 Week 7 Ethical Dilemma Paper.
Week 8: Questions and Answers 2
The second question set, in the week Final Gifts is read: answers of at least 150 words each, grounded in sources. How to write NURS 519 Week 8 Questions and Answers 2.
How NURS 519 is graded
The published guide totals 1,010 points. The Ethical Dilemma Paper is the largest item at 200. The two forums, the two question-and-answer sets, the two case studies and the research article paper are 100 each. The cultural assessment is 75, the spiritual assessment 25 and the checklist 10.
| Graded item | Points |
|---|---|
| Ethical Dilemma Paper | 200 |
| Discussion Board Forums (2) | 200 |
| Questions and Answers (2) | 200 |
| Case Studies (2) | 200 |
| Research Article | 100 |
| Cultural Assessment | 75 |
| Spiritual Assessment | 25 |
| Course Requirements Checklist | 10 |
The published scale puts an A at 940 to 1010 points.
Week timing in the published guide: Each course module/week begins on Monday morning at 12:00 a.m. (ET) and ends on Sunday night at 11:59 p.m. (ET). The final module/week ends at 11:59 p.m. (ET) on Friday.
How to approach NURS 519
Read the two assigned books early. Swallowed by a Snake is due as an entire text in Week 5 and Final Gifts in Week 8, alongside other assignments, so starting them in Week 2 or 3 keeps the later weeks manageable.
Choose the ethical dilemma for the Week 7 paper by Week 5: it needs five peer-reviewed articles from the past five years and must follow each step of the course's decision-making model.
Questions students ask
How long are the NURS 519 case studies?
3 to 5 pages each, not including the title and reference pages, answering the questions that follow each provided case, in current APA.
How many sources does the NURS 519 ethical dilemma paper need?
At least five peer-reviewed journal articles written within the past five years, cited in current APA.
Working through NURS 519 now?
Tell us the week and the assignment. A tutor who knows the course replies with a plan for the draft.