Preparing the Assignment

Follow these guidelines when completing each component of the assignment. Contact your course faculty if you have questions.? 

Include the following sections:

• Application of Course Knowledge: Answer all questions/criteria with explanations and detail.
  • Preventive care and screenings are essential components to primary practice. Identify your clinical practicum setting (primary care office) and a population that you typically see (adolescents, women, older adults). Use the US Preventative Services Task ForceLinks to an external site. or HealthyPeople 2030Links to an external site. to describe two preventative care screenings recommended for the identified population.
  • Discuss the preventative care provided at your clinical practicum site by addressing the following:
    • What guidelines do providers use to determine which screenings to offer?
    • How would you describe the quality of the preventative care you have observed? Have you observed disparities or bias in the care provided to different members of the population?
    • How are screening recommendations presented to patients? How do providers address health literacy and the National Standards for Culturally and Linguistically Appropriate Services (CLAS) in Health and Health CareLinks to an external site.  when providing patient education about screenings?
  • Screening opportunities are often missed in vulnerable populations and those with limited access to care. Describe changes you recommend in your practice setting and community to increase the frequency of preventative screenings within vulnerable populations.
• Integration of Evidence: Integrate relevant scholarly sources as defined by program expectations:
  • Cite a scholarly source in the initial post.
  • Cite a scholarly source in one faculty response post.
  • Cite a scholarly source in one peer post.
  • Accurately analyze, synthesize, and/or apply principles from evidence with no more than one short quote (15 words or less) for the week.
  • Include a minimum of two different scholarly sources per week. Cite all references and provide references for all citations.
• Engagement in Meaningful Dialogue: Engage peers and faculty by asking questions, and offering new insights, applications, perspectives, information, or implications for practice.
  • Peer Response: Respond to at least one peer on a topic other than the initially assigned topic.
  • Faculty Response: Respond to at least one faculty post.
  • Communicate using respectful, collegial language and terminology appropriate to advanced nursing practice. 

Jolly George

Barriers to Preventive care

Clinical Practicum Setting:

My clinical practicum is a family primary care practice in Florida. Most patients are aged ? 18 years and come from various socioeconomic backgrounds. They see patients regardless of whether they have insurance or not.

Two Recommended Preventive Care Screenings for the identified population:

Colorectal and cervical screening are two preventive tests suggested by the US Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF). This was an A-grade recommendation. In women aged 21–29, the USPSTF recommends screening for cervical cancer every three years using cervical cytology alone. Every five years with high-risk human papillomavirus (hrHPV) testing alone, or every five years with hrHPV testing in conjunction with cytology (co-testing) for women aged 30 to 65.

The USPSTF recommends colorectal cancer screening in individuals aged 45–75 years. This is recommended. Several methods of colon cancer screening are recommended. Colonoscopy appeared to minimize colorectal cancer mortality in cohort studies. Stool-based testing and direct visualization tests are among the several screening techniques. The guaiac fecal occult blood test, fecal immunochemical test, and stool DNA test are all stool-based assays (USPSTF 2021). Colorectal cancer screening methods that use direct visualization include colonoscopy, computed tomography (CT) colonography, and flexible sigmoidoscopy.

Preventative Care Provided at Practicum:

Primary care must offer non-discriminatory preventative treatments and screening for all patients. In my practicum site, clinicians follow USPTF criteria for screening. All patients receive high-quality preventive screening in the internal medicine clinic where I am presently doing my practicum. Basic health literacy is required to deliver quality public health advice and to comply with recommendations. Engagement between patients and healthcare workers must include health literacy. Screening recommendations are often presented to patients using a combination of verbal communication, written materials, and digital platforms in some cases. The technique may differ depending on the healthcare facility, patient’s history and preferences, and the specific screening under consideration. Healthcare providers explain the importance of particular screenings, the target population for each screening, the procedure involved, and the potential benefits and risks during patient appointments, as well as how providers address health literacy and the National Standards for Culturally and Linguistically Appropriate Services (CLAS) in patient education.

Changes in practice settings to increase preventive screening in vulnerable patients

Nurse practitioners have the essential advantage of teaching at-risk groups by raising their awareness of early signs and symptoms. Available diagnostic methods, such as yearly screening mammograms and community assistance, assist in fostering a positive attitude toward cancer prevention and the promotion of optimal health. I suggest implementing educational interventions targeted at individual needs and enhancing the knowledge of the importance of frequent screening. The use of digital technologies and social messaging applications will aid in increasing patient participation and the spread of accessible cancer-screening programs. A community-based participatory approach in which patients, their families, community stakeholders, and the healthcare team can work together to devise interventions to enhance screening uptake for vulnerable groups may benefit screening patients (Nanda et al., 2020).