Cohort 01/21 BSc(Hons) Nursing – Mental Health Assessment Information

Posted: July 7th, 2022

Assessment Information
Cohort 01/21 BSc(Hons) Nursing – Mental Health
Credits: 20
Semester: 2
2023
Module Leader: Simon Farnworth / Andrew Walsh
Email:
Simon.farnworth@bcu.ac.uk – Working days Tuesday to Thursday
Andrew.Walsh@bcu.ac.uk – Working days Tuesday to Thursday

Overview
Assessment(s) Category Type Scope
1 Coursework Essay 3000 Words

Assessment 1
Summative Assignment – 3,000 word essay
Weighting: 100% of grade achieved
Submission Date: Monday, 07 August 2023 at 12:00
Assessment Title: A critically reflective and critically analytic examination of an episode of care
Assessment Task
This assessment addresses all module Learning Outcomes.
Core task: You will write a 3000 word semi-structured critically reflective and critically analytic essay examining an episode of care from your own nursing experience. The episode must be a case of complex care you were personally involved in where there was a risk to be managed and where you can debate what the quality nursing care should have been. You will write in the first person.
You will structure the assignment using the following headings, indicated topics and approximate word count:
Introduction (300 words: 10%)
Introduce your episode of care and how you will meet the objectives of the assignment
State in what capacity you were involved in the episode of care
Briefly summarise what happened
Explain why you have chosen this episode
State what the risk was in this episode
State what nursing care you are going to examine in the assignment
Evidence-based holistic nursing assessment (600 words: 20%)
In this section consider the person who is receiving nursing care
Write My Essay | Papers Writing Service Online by Essay Hub Experts- Describe their thoughts, feelings & behaviours
Explain how they experienced the episode of care
Give a bio-psycho-social assessment of the person
Briefly discuss relevant history, experiences, environment and life journey
Discuss how those features were possibly presenting in their current thoughts, feelings and behaviours
Consider the role of their family, friends, carers, dependants or significant others and the possible impact upon their current thoughts, feelings and behaviours
Justify assessment of the risk they were presenting with and what nursing care they needed
Critical reflection on self (600 words: 20%)
Critically reflect on your experience of the episode of care
Explore and analyse your thoughts, feelings and behaviours you remember at the time
Explore and analyse how people responded to you and how you responded to others
Explore and focus on your impact on this episode of care
Critical appraisal of evidence (600 words: 20%)
Using appropriate reading from the module, module reading list and your own literature searches:
Apply theory to explain the episode of care
Analyse what the clinical guidelines and evidence tell you should be the correct care for someone with this kind of presentation
Apply the evidence to your episode of care
Critically appraise the underpinning theory and research
Examine the quality of the evidence
Consider the research you have identified in this section and provide a debate on if it would be effective for this particular episode of care, justify your opinion.
Evidence-based nursing interventions (600 words: 20%)
Using appropriate reading from the module, module reading list and your own literature searches:-
Evaluate if the risks were managed appropriately
Evaluate if the nursing care was effective
Analyse the quality of the care given
Debate what factors would increase the quality of the care given
Analyse what improvement mechanisms would be useful
Evaluate if those mechanisms would be effective in this case, considering the wider context this care is delivered in
Conclusion (300 words: 10%)
Summarise your recommendations for this kind of episode of care
Summarise your findings
State the recommendation you have identified in this assignment for this kind of episode of care

In-depth Assignment Guidance:
DISCLAIMER
We are inviting you to consider a difficult experience which challenged you and to analyse this. Please be aware that if you disclose things in this assignment which are criminal, abusive or negligent either in your own practice or about practice you have witnessed we will have an obligation to act on this information. This may include sharing information with practice partners, standards boards or external organisations up to and including the police.
Therefore, we would ask you NOT to consider an episode of care which is a serious incident currently under investigation or a current safeguarding concern. The case you discuss should be completely anonymised including the identity of the person, location of the care delivered and the professionals involved. Please do not disclose unreported criminal behaviour or confess to any previously undisclosed practice that would trigger fitness for practice considerations.
DO’S and DON’TS
Introduction:
DO:
Use the first person, eg. “In this essay I will….”
Give the service user in your episode of care a pseudonym eg. “I will refer to the person in this episode of care as “Dave”, not his real name”
Make it clear the context of your experience eg. “I was a student nurse on an acute inpatient unit”
Identify risks and nursing care, eg. “this essay will examine the management of violence in an inpatient setting and the barriers and opportunities for maintaining a therapeutic relationship in this context”
DON’T:
Break confidentiality eg. “I was in Highcroft Hospital….” Or “I was caring for Fred Smith…”
Start giving definitions eg. “Critical reflection is the process of retrospectively examining your actions…”
Evidenced-based Holisitic Nursing Assessment:
DO:
Give the perspective of the person eg. “Dave was angry because he thought we were laughing at him”
Demonstrate an understanding from the person’s perspective and why they behaved in the way they did eg “Dave was newly admitted and did not know staff members, he was surrounded by strangers and was realising for the first time he couldn’t leave the ward because he was detained.”
Explore the person’s bio-psycho-social needs and link them to how they are being expressed in the episode eg. “Dave’s difficulty in trusting others reflects a pattern common amongst those who have experienced….”
Use relevant evidence to support your assessment eg. “Children who survive physical abuse are much more likely to have low self esteem, anxiety, self destructive behaviour, suicidal behaviour and a lack of trusting relationships as adults (Gilbert et al 2007)”
But ensure they remain focused on the person you are discussing eg. “for Dave alcohol was the key to managing his low self esteem and anxiety”
DON’T:
Give a medicalised description eg. “Dave was agitated because he has antisocial personality disorder”
Give a service focused context eg. “Dave was treated with medication because he was detained under the mental health act which allows it”
Give a service perspective of his care eg. “Dave was angry because he was paranoid and impatient, staff were busy”
Give general definitions of key terms without reference to the episode eg. “holistic assessment involves considering a person’s circumstances and history as an important part of their current presentation”
Critical Reflection on Self:
DO:
Say specifically what you said and did eg. “Dave kept asking for his medication but I was waiting for the qualified nurse to return, so I asked him to wait whilst I found them”
Demonstrate and name what you did well or what didn’t go well eg. “I could see Dave was getting agitated, so I lowered my voice and sat down, which de-escalated the situation”
Reflect on what knowledge and personal values influenced what you did and where they came from eg. “I could see Dave’s hands were shaking, I think other people thought he was angry but I wrote about alcohol dependence in an essay in the second year and I was sure this was alcohol withdrawal”
Demonstrate an ability to think about other people’s perspectives in relation to your own eg. “I could see Kevin the nurse looked worried, I think he thought Dave was going to be violent, so he spoke very firmly to him to control the situation”
Include references when referring to specific theory or objective facts eg. “I had learned previously that low blood sugar was a common risk with alcohol withdrawal from the reading I did for my essay (Simpson et al 2016)”
DON’T:
Organise this section with a specific reflective model unless that model is important to your reflective process eg. “I didn’t realise why I reacted that way until I used Brookfield’s (2017) model…”
Give yourself uncritical and unspecific general praise eg. “I have great communication skills, I have always had them, I used good communication skills in this episode of care”
Try to use references for things only you experienced eg. “Dave was angry when he was told he couldn’t go out (Peterson 2020)”
Talk generally about your nursing values and skills without reference to the episode of care eg. “I have always been a people pleaser, I’m very empathetic and I like to help people, I have done volunteer work from an early age”

Critical Appraisal of Evidence:
DO:
Use the module content to answer the question eg. “Dave’s suicide attempt makes sense in light of Joiner’s IPT model”
Use the University library to find your evidence and use peer reviewed evidence
Apply the theory to the person eg. “Dave felt constantly guilty about not being there for his children, he felt the thwarted sense of belonging of not being part of the family unit and had the perceived sense of burdensomeness of every meeting going badly due to his drinking”
Criticise the limitations of the theory eg. “Although the IPT model explains why Dave would feel suicidal, it didn’t help explain why he decided at that time to act on those thoughts…”
Critically analyse the evidence for the theory eg. “The IPT model has relied heavily on postmortem data on a national level, it does not account for regional factors such as higher rates of suicide

________________________
among certain demographics or cultural groups…”
DON’T:
Use non-academic sources eg. websites, blogs, personal opinions
Use outdated or irrelevant sources eg. textbooks from the 1990s, articles unrelated to the topic
Misrepresent or misinterpret the evidence eg. drawing conclusions that are not supported by the research
Evidence-Based Nursing Interventions:
DO:
Evaluate the effectiveness of the nursing interventions provided in the episode of care eg. “The use of de-escalation techniques and providing a calm and supportive environment were effective in managing Dave’s agitation and preventing violence.”
Discuss factors that could improve the quality of care given eg. “Enhanced staff training in communication skills and conflict resolution could improve the quality of care in similar situations.”
Consider the wider context in which the care is delivered eg. “Staffing levels, organizational policies, and the physical environment can all impact the delivery of quality care in an inpatient setting.”
Provide evidence-based recommendations for improving care in similar episodes eg. “Implementing regular training on trauma-informed care and providing appropriate resources for managing substance withdrawal could enhance the quality of care in cases like Dave’s.”
DON’T:
Make general statements without supporting evidence or examples from the episode of care eg. “The care provided was good overall.”
Ignore the potential limitations or challenges in implementing the recommended improvements eg. “Increasing staffing levels may require additional resources and funding.”
Conclusion:
DO:
Summarize your key findings and recommendations in a concise manner eg. “This essay has highlighted the importance of holistic assessment, critical reflection, evidence-based practice, and effective nursing interventions in managing complex care episodes.”
Reiterate the recommendations you have identified for this type of episode of care eg. “To improve outcomes for individuals like Dave, it is crucial to prioritize trauma-informed care, enhance staff training, and create supportive and therapeutic environments.”
DON’T:
Introduce new information or arguments in the conclusion that were not discussed in the main body of the essay.
Provide vague or general statements without clear implications for practice.