NURS 521 is Liberty's MSN course on nursing issues, informatics and technology. Its written work is two discussion boards, a position paper on health care and social media, and a two-part informatics paper worth 400 points together.
Liberty's catalog lists the course as NURS 521 Nursing Issues, Informatics and Technology, 3 credit hours; Canvas and the course guide file print it as NURS521.
What NURS 521 covers
The catalog description: This course prepares students for the rapidly evolving world of health care by addressing topics affecting practice and issues facing future nurse leaders and educators. Changing reimbursement models and their effect on nursing practice will be discussed. Topics related to technology such as tele-health and nursing informatics will be examined. Quality improvement, patient safety, and other topics relevant to contemporary nursing will be explored.
The course looks at the forces changing nursing practice, with informatics at the center: reimbursement models, telehealth, information systems, quality improvement and patient safety. The textbook is Nelson and Staggers, Health Informatics: An Interprofessional Approach, assigned in large blocks of chapters each week.
The informatics paper is the core of the course. In Part 1 you choose one of three critical situations and assess it, identifying the role of informatics with research; in Part 2 you build on that assessment with a plan of action in a care delivery format, written as an implementation policy using informatics applications.
Textbook named in the published guide: Nelson & Staggers, Health Informatics: An Interprofessional Approach (2nd ed.)(2018). Check the current edition in your Canvas section.
NURS 521 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 | Discussion Board 1 | 100 | Thread at least 500 words |
| 3 | Position Paper | 100 | 3 to 5 pages, title and reference pages not counted |
| 4 | Informatics Paper Part 1 | 200 | 5 to 8 pages, title and reference pages not counted |
| 6 | Discussion Board 2 | 100 | Thread at least 500 words |
| 7 | Informatics Paper Part 2 | 200 | 5 to 8 pages, title and reference pages not counted |
Week 1: Discussion Board 1
A 500-word thread on the prompt and two 250-word replies, worth 100 points. How to write NURS 521 Week 1 Discussion Board 1.
Week 3: Position Paper
A 3 to 5-page position paper on health care and social media, with at least 2 scholarly resources. How to write NURS 521 Week 3 Position Paper.
Week 4: Informatics Paper Part 1
Part 1 of the informatics paper: assess one of three critical situations and identify the role of informatics, in 5 to 8 pages with 5 scholarly resources. How to write NURS 521 Week 4 Informatics Paper Part 1.
Week 6: Discussion Board 2
The second discussion board: a 500-word thread and two 250-word replies. How to write NURS 521 Week 6 Discussion Board 2.
Week 7: Informatics Paper Part 2
Part 2 of the informatics paper: a plan of action in a care delivery format, written as an implementation policy using informatics applications. How to write NURS 521 Week 7 Informatics Paper Part 2.
How NURS 521 is graded
The published guide totals 1,010 points. The two informatics papers are 200 each, the position paper 100 and the two discussion boards 100 each, so writing carries 700 points. Three exams (100 each) and the checklist (10) make up the rest.
| Graded item | Points |
|---|---|
| Informatics Paper Part 1 | 200 |
| Informatics Paper Part 2 | 200 |
| Position Paper | 100 |
| Discussion Boards (2) | 200 |
| Exams (3) | 300 |
| 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 521
Read the three situations for the informatics paper as soon as they are available and choose the one with the clearest informatics answer, because Part 2 has to build a full implementation policy on it.
Keep the papers' rules side by side: each informatics paper is 5 to 8 pages with at least five scholarly resources, and the position paper is 3 to 5 pages with at least two, with title and reference pages not counted in any of them.
Questions students ask
How long are the NURS 521 informatics papers?
Each part is 5 to 8 pages in current APA, not counting the title and reference pages, with at least five scholarly resources.
What is the NURS 521 position paper about?
Health care and social media, in 3 to 5 pages with at least two scholarly resources.
Working through NURS 521 now?
Tell us the week and the assignment. A tutor who knows the course replies with a plan for the draft.