What is the Chamberlain Community Café?

The Community Café is a graded weekly discussion forum in Chamberlain's nursing programs. Its purpose is to engage students in interactive dialogue to apply and appraise knowledge. It is graded on both the quality of the initial post and the substance of the peer responses.

How do I get full points on the Community Café?

To get 25/25 points, you must meet all 5 'Application' criteria (detailed initial post, learning summary, question, 2 peer responses) and all 4 'Professionalism' criteria (good grammar, collegial language, citations, posting on 2+ days). The most common mistake is not posting on two separate days .

What is a 'learning summary'?

The 2-3 sentence learning summary is a brief reflection. You should state what you learned from the module readings while preparing your post. Example: 'What I learned this week is how EBP is not just about research, but also includes clinical judgment and patient values. This changed my perspective on...'

Chamberlain Community Café Assignment Guide

Guide to the Community Café Assignment

You have a “Community Café” assignment due Wednesday. This assignment is a key part of your Chamberlain program and is worth 25 points. It is a structured, graded discussion to help you build a learning community and practice professional communication.

It is not just about sharing opinions; it is about applying course knowledge, fostering dialogue, and demonstrating your development as a nursing professional. It directly links to Program Outcomes 2 (Collaboration), 3 (Communication), and 8 (EBP).

This guide is your resource for this assignment. We will break down the rubric, provide a step-by-step guide for your initial post and replies, and include a full sample post. This page shows how our nursing assignment experts approach this task.

Deconstructing the Rubric: What Your Professor Wants

To get 25/25 points, you must understand the two graded sections.

1. Application of Course Knowledge (20 Points / 80%)

This is the main part of your grade. To get all 20 points, you must complete five distinct tasks. Missing any will lower your score.

Answer 1 of the 3 questions with “explanations and detail.”
Include a 2-3 sentence summary of what you learned.
Include a question about concepts that are still unclear.
Post your first peer response by Wednesday, 11:59 p.m. MT.
Post your second peer response by Sunday, 11:59 p.m. MT.

2. Professionalism in Communication (5 Points / 20%)

This section grades the *quality* of your writing and engagement.

Grammar and mechanics are free of errors.
Use “collegial language appropriate to nursing practice.”
Include citations when appropriate.
Post on a minimum of two separate days.

The “two separate days” rule is a common reason students lose points. You cannot post everything on Sunday night and get full credit.

How to Write Your Initial Post (for 20/25 Points)

Your initial post, due Wednesday, must have three parts: the answer, the summary, and the question. Here is how to write each one.

Step 1: Answer the Question “with Explanations and Detail”

This means your answer must have substance. “Detail” is a code word for “use your textbook and cite a scholarly source.”

Do not just give your opinion. Base your answer on the module’s readings.
Do cite your textbook and at least one outside scholarly source to support your claims. This shows you are “incorporating evidence-based practice” (PO 8).
Do aim for 250-300 words for this section alone.

Step 2: Write Your “Learning Summary”

This 2-3 sentence summary is a reflective practice, a key nursing skill. It shows you are thinking about your own learning (PO 5).
Weak Summary: “I learned a lot this week. The readings were interesting.”
Strong Summary: “What I learned from this module is that EBP is not just about research, but also includes clinical judgment and patient values. This changed my perspective on how to apply evidence.”

Step 3: Ask a Good “Unclear Concept” Question

Your question must be genuine and foster dialogue. It shows you are an engaged learner.

Weak Question: “What did you all think?”
Strong Question: “I am still unclear on how to handle a situation where a patient’s values (e.g., refusing a blood transfusion) directly conflict with what EBP shows is the best treatment. How do you prioritize patient autonomy (a core value) when it conflicts with non-maleficence?”

How to Write Your Peer Responses

Your two peer responses are required for the “Application” *and* “Professionalism” grades. They must be “collegial” and “add value.” See our full guide on writing discussion posts for more.

What is “Collegial Language”?

Collegial language is professional, respectful, and collaborative (PO 2). It means using “I” statements and focusing on the *idea*, not the person. For a full breakdown, see this guide on interprofessional communication in healthcare (Schot & Tost, 2023).

Weak vs. Strong Responses

Weak Response (0 points): “I agree with your post. You made some great points about EBP.”

Strong Response (Full points): “This is a great point, [Peer’s Name]. I agree with your analysis of how clinical judgment is a key part of EBP. To add to your idea, a study by [Source] found that nurses who rely *only* on EBP guidelines without clinical judgment may miss patient-specific factors (PO 4). This connects to our reading on SBAR communication (PO 3), as the nurse must be able to clearly communicate *why* they are deviating from the standard path.”

Notice the strong response adds new information, cites a source, and connects to program outcomes (PO 3, PO 4).

Full Sample Community Café Post (500+ Words)

Here is a complete sample initial post and two peer replies. The (fictional) prompt for this week is:

“For this week’s café, choose one: 1) Discuss the relationship between Evidence-Based Practice (EBP) and clinical judgment, 2) Analyze a key barrier to interprofessional communication, or 3) Explain how a nurse leader uses ‘servant leadership’.”

Subject: Question 1: EBP and Clinical Judgment

Hello everyone,

This post addresses the first question on the relationship between Evidence-Based Practice (EBP) and clinical judgment.

In modern nursing, it is easy to view EBP and clinical judgment as opposing forces. EBP is the “conscientious use of current best evidence in making decisions about patient care” (Melnyk & Fineout-Overholt, 2019, p. 3). It is a formal, top-down process based on research. Clinical judgment is the “bottom-up” decision-making process based on a nurse’s intuition, experience, and direct observation of the patient. However, the readings show they are not in conflict; they are two essential parts of a single process (PO 8). The EBP model itself is a triad: it is the integration of (1) the best available research, (2) the nurse’s clinical expertise, and (3) the patient’s values and preferences. Clinical judgment is the *process* a nurse uses to apply the EBP evidence to a specific, unique patient.

For example, EBP guidelines may state that a specific antihypertensive is the first-line treatment for a patient’s condition. However, the nurse, using clinical judgment, may observe that the patient has a history of non-compliance with complex medication schedules. The nurse’s judgment is that a “perfect” but complex EBP plan will fail. Therefore, the nurse collaborates with the provider to select a different, EBP-supported medication that has a simpler dosing schedule, thereby honoring the patient’s preferences and limitations (PO 4). Clinical judgment is the “bridge” that connects the science of EBP to the art of patient-centered care (Tanner, 2017).

Learning Summary
What I learned from this module is that EBP is not a rigid “cookbook” for nurses to follow. Instead, EBP *requires* active clinical judgment to be applied safely, and our role as nurses is to be the final advocate who tailors the evidence to our specific patient’s needs and values.

Unclear Concept Question
How do we, as new nurses, develop the confidence to use our “clinical judgment” to question an EBP guideline when our judgment is, by definition, not yet based on deep experience?

References

Melnyk, B. M., & Fineout-Overholt, E. (2019). *Evidence-based practice in nursing & healthcare: A guide to best practice* (4th ed.). Wolters Kluwer.

Tanner, C. A. (2017). Clinical judgment: An essential element of evidence-based practice. *Worldviews on Evidence-Based Nursing*, *14*(2), 77–78. https://doi.org/10.1111/wvn.12213

Sample Peer Responses

Response 1 (Due Wednesday):

Hi [Student Name], this is a great analysis of EBP and clinical judgment. I agree with your point that they are not opposing forces. Your example of the antihypertensive medication was a perfect illustration of how a nurse uses judgment to apply EBP in a patient-centered way. To add to your post, I found a source that discusses how interprofessional communication (PO 3) is critical here. According to Schot and Tost (2023), many errors occur when nurses *have* good clinical judgment but fail to communicate it effectively to the provider using a structured tool like SBAR. This shows that EBP, judgment, and communication are all linked. Great post!

References

Schot, E., & Tost, O. (2023). Interprofessional communication in healthcare: An integrative review. *Journal of Interprofessional Education & Practice*, *32*, 100654. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.xjep.2023.100654

Response 2 (Due Sunday):

Hi [Student Name], your unclear question is excellent, and it’s something I’ve also been thinking about. How *do* new nurses build that confidence? The Iowa Model of EBP (Buckwalter et al., 2020) we read about seems to rely on experienced nurses. I think this is where collaboration (PO 2) and professional development (PO 5) come in. A new nurse can demonstrate good judgment by knowing *when* to ask questions and by seeking out a mentor. A 2024 study on reflective practice found that structured mentorship is a key factor in helping new graduates “bridge the theory-practice gap” and build clinical judgment (Jetha et al., 2024). So, maybe the answer to your question is that a new nurse’s best judgment is knowing to *not* act alone.

References

Buckwalter, K. C., Cullen, L., Hanrahan, K., Kleiber, C., & McCarthy, A. M. (2020). The Iowa model of evidence-based practice to promote quality care. *American Journal of Nursing*, *120*(4), 50–59. https://doi.org/10.1097/01.NAJ.0000659106.33112.3c

Jetha, S., McInnis, C., & Stuart, M. (2024). The role of mentorship in bridging the theory-practice gap: A scoping review. *BMC Medical Education*, *24*(1), 180. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12909-024-05151-5

How Our Experts Write Your Community Café Posts

The Community Café is a weekly, 25-point assignment. Missing one can damage your grade, but finding the time between clinicals and other benchmarks is hard. This is where our services are most helpful.

1. Model Discussion Posts (Initial & Replies)

This is our most popular service for Chamberlain students. You send us your weekly Café prompt. A DNP or MSN-prepared writer will:

Write a 100% original, 300-500 word initial post.
Include all three required parts: the detailed answer, the learning summary, and the unclear question.
Integrate and cite 2-3 scholarly sources in perfect APA 7 style.
We can also write your two peer responses, ensuring they are substantive, collegial, and add new value.

2. Nursing Assignment & EBP Help

The Community Café is just one part of your grade. Our top-rated nursing writers can provide model papers for all your major assignments, including EBP papers, case studies, and capstone projects.

Chamberlain Community Café Assignment Guide