The title here must match the title on your title page. Your introduction follows the title of your paper (note that the title is not bolded). Note also that there is no heading that says Introduction. The paragraph or two that follows the title on the first page of your text is assumed to be your introduction. You should start your introduction with a powerful statement or two to stimulate interest. You should identify that the purpose of your paper is to explain the pathophysiological processes of a selected health condition, predict clinical manifestations and complications of the health condition, and correlate lifestyle, environmental, and other influences that will occur in your patient due to a change in their level of wellness. (See the “Purpose” and “Course Outcomes: in your guidelines.) Remember that formal papers are in third person, so no you, I, me, or we until you make a recommendation about your article. In this introduction, you should introduce the disease process that you are writing about in a paragraph of at least 200 words. You should include a description of the disease and the epidemiology of the disease. Epidemiology includes the overall incidence (who gets it) and distribution (where is it seen most often) of your chosen disease topic. An APA formatted citation for where you have found your information should be included. (e.g., “The literature review by Hubert and VanMeter (2018) . . . .” or “Hubert and VanMeter (2018) described posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in nurses, specifically psychiatric nurses, as occurring most frequently.) [Do not quote more than one or two short passages (just several words) if any. Summarize—do not paraphrase or change words in the original (that’s called paraphrasing plagiarism)]. [1-2 well developed paragraphs here should be your minimum here.]
Etiology
This section should include common causes of the disease or condition. Next, discuss the risk factors for the disease or condition. Next, discuss how age, gender, or race might affect your disease or condition. Next discuss how the environment might contribute to your disease or condition. Finally discuss how lifestyle choices might contribute to or reduce your disease or condition. Be sure to properly cite your sources. Summarize information only. (Do not copy it word for word to avoid plagiarism.) {You might say something like this: Hubert and VanMeter (2013) described pain as a subjective symptom in patients. Phantom pain was specifically identified as “pain that is perceived by the person as occurring in the lost limb and usually does not respond to usual pain therapies.” (Hubert and VanMeter 2013, p. 57). [This is about as much as you should ever quote—note the format of the APA citation—and it matches its reference in the reference list below]. [2-3 well developed paragraphs should be your minimum here]
Pathophysiological Processes
In this section, you will need to discuss and describe changes that occur at the cellular, tissue, and/or organ level that contribute to the disease or condition process. Describe any adaptations that the cells undergo or specific body responses to the disease/condition. Try to relate the disease processes to what the nurse might see during assessment (signs and symptoms of the disease). [2-3 well developed paragraphs should be all you need here.]
Clinical Manifestations and Complications
In this section, you will need to describe in detail the physical signs and symptoms that are important in considering the presence of the disease. Identify any signs and/or symptoms that contribute to the diagnosis of the condition. Identify and discuss complications of this disease or condition. Discuss the implications for the patient if their disease or condition is left untreated. [2-3 well developed paragraphs should be your minimum here.]
Diagnostics
Include a list of the common laboratory and diagnostic tests that are being used today to determine the presence of the disease. This can include biopsy. Discuss the significance of test findings for these diagnostic tests. How are these tests telling us what is wrong with the patient? Are the tests always conclusive that one has the disease or condition or are these tests just giving us information that could potentially lead to a diagnosis? [2-3 well developed paragraphs should be all you need here.]
Conclusion
The conclusion should briefly say what was included in the paper. Remember that the introduction is a preview, and this section should contain a summary. In a well-defined and clearly stated way, explain your basic disease or condition, the important points that you should take away when treating patients with this disease process, and how you can educate patients to help prevent this disease or condition (or live well with it.) Your conclusion should reflect your introduction and the main points of your paper. [1-2 well developed paragraphs should be all you need here. ]