Proposed Outline of a Discussion Paper

Proposed Outline of a Discussion Paper Introduction Briefly highlight the most salient points of your topic State your main thesis on the topic for discussion Background Provide background information from the literature on your general topic area Definition and Scope Provide a definition of your topic Outline the scope of the topic-does this affect all of Canada, or just your province or your health care region? Explain. How do nurses or the health care system factor into the topic? Benefits and Challenges Describe the benefits to nurses or the health care system Describe the challenges that nurses [or other health care providers] face in this topic What does the literature say about the benefits and challenges? Impact and Implications What is the impact on nurses or the health care system? How will this affect human resource management? What other implications do you foresee; what does the literature say about implications? Recommendations What do you think needs to be done next? Who do you think should be involved? What are the recommendations from the literature? Would you agree or disagree with the literature and why? Conclusion Restate your thesis Provide a summary of your recommendations People very often attempt to accomplish too much in a discussion paper. The usual result of this is a paper that's hard to read, and which is full of inadequately defended and poorly explained claims. So don't be over-ambitious. Don't try to establish any earth-shattering conclusions in your paper.