Introduction and Alignment

Lest you be left with the impression, after the previous two exercises, that you are learning a skill set you will never use, you are challenged in this exercise to write about how you would respond if an unexpected outbreak of disease or other health condition were to unexpectedly occur in the kind of workplace where you serve or expect to serve after earning your master’s degree.  You are expected to apply the principles learned in the previous exercise, and to avoid errors of interpretation of information in the setting you are describing.

Upon completion of this assignment, you should be able to:

• Avoid five of the most common methodologic errors and biases that would invalidate an epidemiologic study or investigation.
• Apply epidemiologic skills in your chosen area of specialization in the nursing profession.

Resources

Instructions

1. Review, as needed, any of the resources linked above.
2. In a formal paper, follow the rubric found in the resources and pasted below to describe:
   1. your future career role: nurse practitioner, nurse educator, or nurse administrator, and
   2.  without repeating, yet another outbreak from history and how you would foresee functioning if a major outbreak of infectious disease affected your institution or community, including working with the media and public,
   3. apply the 10-steps of outbreak investigation, and
   4. one way in which this training in avoiding epidemiologic traps might come in handy in helping manage the outbreak.
   5. Mention at least one specific epidemiologic trap.
3. Use scholarly writing skills and APA format.
4. When you have completed your assignment, save a copy for yourself and submit a copy to your instructor using the Dropbox.

4.5 Drobpox: Future Career Goals

Assessment Criteria

Criteria

5 Points

4-3 Points

2-0 Points

Career and likely epidemiological responsibilities.

Provided clear and complete description of career role and relevancy of epidemiology.Described career role but with some ambiguities or inconsistencies.Career goal not present or had to be inferred from other comments.

Outbreaks that could realistically happen.

Accurate and detailed description of a known type of outbreak that could likely occur in the setting and uses statistics to describe its history and current trend of incidence and prevalence.Outbreak described but with inconsistencies, or as unlikely to occur in the setting. Uses statistics to describe history or trend of incidence and/or prevalence.Outbreak not described or description is entirely off base factually. Stats not used to describe the outbreak.

Function in the event of an outbreak.

Describes workable role for this professional in this outbreak, in significant detail, protection of self, staff, other patients, etc.Lacks detail, inappropriate role, or mismatched to type of outbreak. Protection described in a limited fashion.Role not described or has to be inferred from other comments. Protection not addressed.

Working with the media and public.

Describes how to educate the public, gain media cooperation, and gives a full narrative about what the public should do to protect self and others, and how to treat if affected, using language that avoids panic.Description of public or media response lacks detail, or is less than workable. Narrative to public about protecting self and others and steps to treat is sketchy.Reader cannot tell what the student intends to do about public or media response. No narrative regarding how to protect self and others.

Epidemiologic traps.

Correctly identifies one of the epidemiologic traps presented in the course, gives a correct example of it, and a workable strategy to avoid.Description of the epi trap has inconsistencies, or the plan to avoid it has flaws.Example of epi trap, if given, is not correct or unlikely to occur in the setting.

Criteria

10 Points

8-9 Points

7-5 Points

4 Points

Apply the 10 steps of outbreak investigation.

Strongly applies all of the 10 steps model, to this outbreak and incorporates disease specific information into each step.Applies most of the 10 steps model, to this outbreak and incorporates disease specific information into each step.Description of outbreak response model is inconsistent or incomplete; information is lacking.Reader cannot reasonably discern that an outbreak response model is applied.

Criteria

5 Points

4 Points

3-2 Points

1-0 Points

APA format: margins, font, etc.

Less than one correction per page.One to two corrections per page, deduction depends on seriousness of errors.Three to five corrections per page, deduction depends on seriousness of errors.Frequent corrections made; not adhering to graduate level expectations.

Grammar, tense, punctuation, noun/verb agreement sentence structure.

Less than one correction per page.One to two corrections per page, depending on seriousness of errors.Three to five corrections per page, deduction depends on seriousness of errors.Frequent corrections made; not adhering to graduate level expectations.

Total Points

5