Complementary and Alternative Therapies in Nursing Scholarly Paper Guidelines

1. Students create a scholarly paper outline. The following detail what is to be included in the outline:

I. Introduction: Introduce the topic that you have chosen to work on with one peer. Provide two paragraphs to introduce the topic using a minimum of 3–5 peer-reviewed references in the introduction.

II. Significance to Nursing: Explain why this particular CAM nursing therapy is important to nursing and create a patient scenario that illustrates how this CAM nursing therapy uniquely improves the patient in the scenario and why (for example, music therapy is useful in calming babies in the NICU—how and why does this help). Provide 3–5 additional references in the significance to support your claims.

III. Nursing Theorist or Theoretical Underpinning for this CAM: Pick a nursing theorist or a religious basis, such as Hinduism or Buddhism, to relate to your chosen CAM. Explain how this may be a good fit or if the religious practices have historical underpinnings that help the nurse understand the CAM better. Tie this theorist or religion to your patient in the scenario and what was useful. Add one precaution in using this particular CAM that the nurse needs to know. Use two references here.

IV. Conclusion: Tie it all together: the scenario, theoretical or religious beliefs, how the CAM improved the life of the patient, and recommendations for future uses. This should be 2–3 paragraphs minimum.

 Students meet and develop the paper content together.

 Students write individual unique papers using guidelines that are in the rubric.

 Paper should have minimum of 5 references.

 Paper length should be 8–10 pages.

 Choose a theorist that correlates to your chosen therapy.

Explain the theorist and why you chose this particular person. The theorist may be outside of nursing and is an expert on your complementary therapy.

Complementary and Alternative Therapies in Nursing Scholarly Paper Guidelines: Your paper is to be written on a scholarly level with strict adherence to APA Guidelines and must be fully supported by primary resources and theoretical articles of a scholarly nature. You will include a title page, table of contents, and reference list. The body of the paper will start with an introduction and end with a conclusion, followed by references. Use headings and subheadings as appropriate to maintain organization of your paper (see APA Manual). You are required to use the headings of the Culture Paper Guidelines. You are required to adhere to APA format.

The body of the paper (not counting the title page, table of contents, and reference list) should be 8–10 pages in length. You are not required to include an abstract of the paper. As with all assignments, you are required to adhere to academic integrity. See the Academic Integrity section of our NU 635 Course Syllabus.