NURS 4303 – Complementary Therapeutic Modalities Scholarly Paper

This paper is worth 20% of your grade

Please remember that this is a scholarly paper. This means that the topic discussed must be strongly evidence based. It is not an opinion paper although opinion can be rendered so long as it is supported by the evidence. I will specifically be looking for critique of the research provided. It must be written in APA format.

Many Complementary & Alternative therapies lie within nursing practice and many do not. Select any therapy of your choice and discuss its implication for nursing practice. Paper to include:

1. Use of therapy in nursing practice (about 2-3 pages)

· Is it nursing practice, practice of medicine or specialty practice and why?

· How is it used?

· How is it thought to work?

· What are the expected results?

· What does it compliment?

· What is its prevalence?

2. Special training, education or licensure required (about 1 paragraph – 1 page)

· Is it covered under the nurse’s scope of practice (as a RN? NP?)

· Do you need a separate license (for example some states require a license to do massage therapy)

· What special training or education is required? (if any)

3. Research or evidence available related to the therapy and its effectiveness (about 5-6 pages)

· Most important part of the paper

· What evidence is there that this therapy works? How good is the evidence? Is it scientific or antidotal?

4. Historical or cultural perspectives (about 1-2 pages)

· Is there any historical or cultural significance to the therapy?

· What population is most likely to use it?

5. Ethical considerations in the use of the therapy (about 1 page)

· Are there any ethical issues with the therapy? What are they and how are they resolved?

· Risks or benefits in using the therapy

Please do not write the paper by simply answering the list of questions. These questions do not always apply to every therapy and are meant only as guidelines to clarify the content for the paper. The first part of the paper should introduce the therapy, provide general information and then how it relates to nursing practice. The second part of the paper should be the most detailed and should review the research on the therapy and provide a critique of the research (not all research is good research). Many of these therapies are poorly researched and rely heavily on custom or history. If your therapy has strong cultural underpinnings you should include this in your paper. Lastly the paper should discuss any ethical implications use of the therapy might have.

General guidelines:

1. APA format (12 font, 1 inch margins, times new roman, correct subtitles)

2. Include title page and reference page

3. No more than 10 pages in length, excluding reference & title page