Vignette Student Response Questions and Answers
Vignette 24: Osteoarthritis (OA)
A 57-year-old male construction worker comes to the clinic with a chief complaint of pain in his right hip. The pain has progressively gotten worse over the last 2 months and he has been having trouble sleeping. There is little pain in the morning, but he is a bit stiff. The pain increases as the day wears on.  has taken acetaminophen without any relief but states that the ibuprofen does work a little bit. He is anxious since the hip pain has limited his ability to work and he is afraid that his boss will fire him if he cannot perform his usual duties. There is no history of past trauma or infection in the joint. Past medical history noncontributory. Social history without history of alcohol, tobacco, or illicit drug use. Physical exam remarkable for decreased range of motion of the right hip. BMI 34 kg/m^2. Radiographs in the office demonstrated asymmetrical joint space narrowing of the right hip with osteophyte formation. Several areas of the hip showed bone-on-bone contact with loss of the articular cartilage. The APRN tells the patient he has osteoarthritis (OA) and refers the patient to an orthopedist for evaluation of his need for a total hip replacement.
Question:
Describe how osteoarthritis develops and forms and distinguish primary osteoarthritis from secondary arthritis.   
<Type your response here>

Nursing/ Medicine Research Article Critique
A research critique demonstrates your ability to critically evaluate an investigative study. For this
assignment, choose an original or primary research study related to nursing or medicine. The
purpose of this assignment is to review a research study in-depth and to decide whether or not it
is a valid research study that can be used in practice. It is your written evaluation of the study,
not just a summary of the study.
The body of your paper should follow APA Style guidelines, and it should 4–6 pages doublespaced plus a cover page and reference list. The full article must be attached to the critique for Note: Because submission of the article is part of the assignment requirements and is necessary
for grading, any assignment submitted without the accompanying article will be considered
incomplete. An incomplete assignment will be initially assigned a zero. The student has the
opportunity to submit the article to complete the assignment. However, if it is submitted after the
due date and time, the late penalty will apply. After five days, submissions will not be accepted,
as per University policy, and the grade will remain a zero.
Articles used for one assignment cannot be used for the other assignments. (Students should
find new research articles for each assignment.)
The selected articles should be original research studies. Review articles, concept analysis,
meta-analysis, meta-synthesis, integrative review, and systemic review should not be used.
Mixed-methods studies should not be used.
Your critique should include the following:
Research Problem/Purpose
Describe the problem as it is presented in the study.
State the purpose of the research.
Have the investigators placed the study problem within the context of existing nursing or
healthcare knowledge?
Will the study solve a problem relevant to nursing?
Review of the Literature (may be part of the author’s introduction or conclusion)
Identify the concepts explored in the literature review.
Are the references current in relation to the publication date of the study? If not, what are the
possible reasons for using older sources?
Theoretical Framework
Do the authors identify their overall assumptions or a theoretical framework for the study? Are
these assumptions appropriate for the study?
Does the research draw only on nursing theory, or does it draw on theory from other disciplines?
If a formal theory is not identified, suggest one (preferably a nursing theory) that might be
suitable for the study. Various nursing theories can be found at http://www.nursingtheory.org/theories-and-models/
Variables/Hypotheses/Questions/Assumptions
What is the research question or the hypothesis? Is it clearly stated or implied?
What are the independent and dependent variables in the hypothesis or research question?
Are the variables clearly defined so that the reader understands the researchers’ interpretation of
the variables?
Is the dependent variable concrete and measurable?
Methodology
What type of design (quantitative, qualitative) was used in this study?
Was inductive or deductive reasoning used in this study?
State the sample size and study population, sampling method, and study setting.
Did the investigator choose a probability or non-probability sample?
Describe how the independent variable was tested or surveyed in the study.
Describe how the dependent variable was measured.
Discuss the reliability and the validity (quantitative) or the credibility (qualitative) of the
measurement tools.
How were ethical considerations addressed? What ethical considerations were necessary for this
type of study?
Data Analysis
What data analysis method was used?
How were the results in the study presented to the reader?
Discuss at least one (1) finding from the authors’ results and relate it to the dependent variable of
the study.
Summary/Conclusions, Implications, and Recommendations
What are strengths and limitations of the study other than those stated by the authors?
Can the researcher generalize the findings to other populations? Explain.
What is the significance of the findings and conclusions for you in your personal nursing