| Course | NU480CL Four Spheres BSN Capstone Practicum |
|---|---|
| Unit | Unit 9 |
| Paper type | Staff education handout |
| Length | About 520 words, 4 pages double-spaced |
| Format | APA 7 student paper |
| School | Purdue University Global |
| Program | BSN (prelicensure) |
| Updated | October 2026 |
Free sample paper for NU480CL Unit 9
Ninety Seconds Between Arrival and Assessment: A One-Sided Staff Education Handout for Admitting Nurses in a Composite Rehabilitation Facility, Giving the Three Screen Items, a Short Function Reference, the Notification Wording and a Reply for Families
[Student Name]
Purdue University Global
NU480CL: Four Spheres BSN Capstone Practicum
Unit 9 Staff Education Handout
[Instructor Name]
[Date]
The facility and wording are composite; the function scale is described in paraphrase with its source, not reproduced, and the screen supports rather than replaces clinical judgment.
Purpose, in One Line
To make sure patients with serious illness are asked early what matters most to them.
The Three Items, Any One Positive
1. The surprise question: would a death within the coming year surprise you? If the answer is no, the item is positive. The question is simple and imperfect; it is a prompt, not a prediction (Downar et al., 2017).
2. Serious illness with two or more hospital stays in the last six months, such as heart failure, lung disease, advanced dementia, cancer or dialysis.
3. Function at or below [50] percent on the Palliative Performance Scale.
Function Reference, in Brief
The Palliative Performance Scale rates function from 100 percent, fully active, down in steps of ten, using walking, activity, self-care, intake and alertness (Anderson et al., 1996). At about 50 percent, a person is mainly sitting or lying, needs considerable help with self-care and cannot do most activities. Use the scale card in the admission binder for the full levels.
Notification, Word for Word
Message to the attending clinician and social worker: "Goals screen positive for [patient] in room [__], admitted [date]. Items: [list]. Please offer a goals-of-care discussion before the first team care meeting."
The nurse's job is to notice and notify; the conversation belongs to the team, and the decision belongs to the patient.
If a Family Member Asks
"Your [relative]'s team asks this of anyone with certain long-term conditions, so we can learn early what matters most to them. It does not predict anything. The social worker and doctor will arrange a time this week."
What the Screen Is Not
It is not a code status decision, a hospice referral or a judgment that therapy should stop. Most patients who screen positive continue rehabilitation.
Where It Goes
Complete the three items in the admission assessment within [48] hours. Evening arrivals after [1700]: the day nurse completes it the next morning.
Why It Matters
Without a screen, goals are often discussed only after a crisis, such as a readmission or a sudden decline at night. Asking in the first days gives patients and families time to think, ask questions and choose, while the patient can still speak for themselves.
Common Mistakes to Avoid
1. Waiting for the attending to see the message; the social worker is copied so someone acts within days.
2. Telling a family the screen is done for everyone; it is done for everyone, but positive only for some.
3. Skipping the function item because the patient is new; use the admission transfer notes and your own first look.
Questions
Ask the hall's nurse manager or the social worker.
References
Anderson, F., Downing, G. M., Hill, J., Casorso, L., & Lerch, N. (1996). Palliative Performance Scale (PPS): A new tool. Journal of Palliative Care, 12(1), 5-11. https://doi.org/10.1177/082585979601200102
Downar, J., Goldman, R., Pinto, R., Englesakis, M., & Adhikari, N. K. J. (2017). The "surprise question" for predicting death in seriously ill patients: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Canadian Medical Association Journal, 189(13), E484-E493. https://doi.org/10.1503/cmaj.160775
The Purdue Global NU480CL Unit 9 instructions
Unit 9 commonly asks students to create an education product for staff who will carry the capstone change forward after the placement ends. Instructions often require a clear purpose, accurate content supported by evidence, a format suited to the audience and setting, plain language and a reference list. Some prompts allow a handout, poster or short slide set and ask for a brief rationale for the format. Expect to cite the tools you describe and to paraphrase rather than reproduce copyrighted scales. Keep the site composite and limit the product to what staff can use at the moment they need it. Most instructors also want a line telling staff whom to contact with questions.
Inside the NU480CL Unit 9 example
The sample handout fits one page. It opens with the purpose in one line, then the three screen items as a numbered list, citing the review of the surprise question. A short function reference paraphrases the Palliative Performance Scale with its source. The notification message is written word for word. The highlighted sentence says the nurse's job is to notice and notify while the decision belongs to the patient. A section gives a reply for families, and a margin note explains that families remember how they first heard of the screen. Short sections follow on what the screen is not, where it is recorded, why it matters, mistakes to avoid and whom to ask.
NU480CL Unit 9 rubric: what earns full points
Education product rubrics in NU 480CL usually give points for accuracy, evidence, audience fit, clarity, usability and references. Accuracy points depend on describing tools correctly and within their limits. Evidence points go to citing the sources behind each item. Audience points reward a format matched to the moment of use, here the minutes after an admission arrives. Clarity points require plain words and short sections. Usability points go to word-for-word scripts staff can copy. Reference points need APA 7 entries for every tool. Handouts that include what to say to families, and what the screen does not mean, often score highest because they prevent the errors staff are most likely to make.
Common NU480CL Unit 9 mistakes, and how to avoid them
Staff handouts often try to teach everything, so they run to several pages that nobody reads at the bedside. Another gap is reproducing a copyrighted scale instead of paraphrasing it with a citation. Some handouts give the purpose but no exact wording for messages or family questions. Others overstate a tool's accuracy. Decide when staff will read the handout and cut it to fit that moment. Write the messages out in full, paraphrase scales with their sources and add a line on what the change is not. Test the draft by timing a colleague reading it, and revise anything they had to read twice. Ask one evening nurse and one day nurse to try it, since the two shifts meet the screen at different moments and may stumble on different lines.
Get an NU480CL Unit 9 example written to your instructions
A handout is shaped by who reads it and when, so describe the audience and the moment of use along with the project's key steps. Add the Unit 9 instructions and rubric, plus any tool whose permission terms apply. One side for staff and a short rationale for the instructor return within 24-48h, the first custom sample free of charge. The paper above is an original model document written by our desk, not a submitted student paper and not an official Purdue University Global document.
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- NU480CL Unit 7: Mid-Placement Conference Summary
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NU480CL Unit 9 questions, answered
Where can I find a free NU480CL Unit 9 sample paper?
The full NU480CL Unit 9 staff education handout is on this page, giving admitting nurses three screen items, the notification wording and a family reply on one side of a page, with two sources. Your own handout can follow the same layout.
What are the three items on the admission goals screen?
The surprise question, serious illness with two or more recent hospital stays and a function score at or below 50 percent on the Palliative Performance Scale.
Can a staff handout reproduce a published scale?
Usually not without permission, so the handout paraphrases the scale's levels and cites the source.
What should a nurse tell a family about a positive screen?
That the team asks this of people with certain long-term conditions to learn early what matters to them, that it is not a prediction and when the conversation will happen.
How long should the NU480CL Unit 9 handout be?
One side of letter paper, readable in about ninety seconds, is usually the right length for bedside use.