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Assignment: AACN BSN Essentials Paper
Instructions: Submit a paper in which you discuss The AACN Essentials of Baccalaureate Education for
Professional Nursing Practice. The paper should be 5 to 8 double spaced pages in length (NOT including the
title page and references). The paper must be written in APA
format. In your paper, address the following components:
Introduction and Background (Due Week 3)
• Introduction
o State the topics and subtopics
o Obtain the reader’s interest
• Background
o Which organization created The AACN Essentials of Baccalaureate Education for Professional Nursing
Practice?
o What socioeconomic factors contributed to recognizing the need to establish the Essentials?
Purpose and Overview of the Essentials (Due Week 5)
• Purpose
o What is the relationship between the Essentials and baccalaureate nursing education?
o How do the AACN Essentials apply to nursing practice?
o Per the AACN Essentials, what are the roles for the baccalaureate generalist nurse?
• Overview of the Essentials
o Briefly describe each of the Essentials.
o Explain the purpose and value of the critical competencies that are included with the Essentials.
Professional Nursing Practice Discussion and Conclusion (Due Week 8)
• Professional Nursing Practice Discussion
o Discuss the relationship of each topic below with professional nursing practice as outlined by the
AACN Essentials:
 Historical nursing perspectives and current issues
 Implications for nursing practice by providing patient-centered care
 Evidence based practice as a guide for nursing practice and clinical decision making
 Healthcare systems and member roles
 Improving patient care outcomes and ensuring a safe care environment through the use of
information technology
 Quality improvement effects on healthcare systems and patient outcomes
• Conclusion
o Summary of the topic without including new information included
o Concluding ideas are provided and leave an impact on the reader
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BSN Essentials Paper: Guidelines for Submission
 5 to 8 double spaced pages in length (NOT including the title page and references).
o Introduction and Background: 1-2 pages
o Purpose and Overview of the Essentials: 2-3 pages
o Professional Nursing Practice Discussion and Conclusion: 2-3 pages
 Include a minimum of three scholarly/professional peer-reviewed references when writing this paper.
 With the exception of The AACN Essentials of Baccalaureate Education for Professional Nursing Practice,
references used in this paper should be no more than five years old. Exceptions include seminal works,
such as original publications by nurse theorists (classic source).
 Use only scholarly/professional, peer-reviewed references. Do not use Wikipedia or internet sources
that are not officially recognized as authority websites, as such websites are not scholarly sources.
Also, keep in mind that not every .org domain is an authoritative website.
 All papers should be written in current APA format. This paper should include:
o Formal components, such as a title page, and APA formatting with an introductory and conclusion
paragraph that summarizes the key concepts
o APA headers (include page numbers)
o APA formatted headings in the body of the paper
o Appropriate in-text reference citations
o A reference page, in correct APA format.
 Name the paper using the File Naming Protocol. When you save the paper, please name it using the
following format: LastName_N3000_PhilNursing.docx