Module: NUR6065
M3.1- Nursing Care: Adult
Case Study Assignment Guideline
Learning Outcomes for this module:
Successful completion of this assessment will further your understanding and assess your attainment of:
1. Critically examine the impact of epidemiology, demography and the wider determinants of health, illness and wellbeing
2. Systematically evaluate the results of clinical investigations and assessments, proposing appropriate actions when necessary
3. Critically evaluate the ongoing care and management of a patient with complex health needs using a range of bio-scientific knowledge
4. Evaluate your role as a qualified nurse in co-ordinating evidence based care, working in partnership within the interdisciplinary context, across a range of settings
Assessment method
Written assessment:
A critical examination of the assessment and care related to a specific case study (3000 words).
Rationale for method A nursing case study can provide in-depth analysis and structured learning around clinical processes. A choice of pre-formulated case studies enables you to demonstrate skills of assessment, understanding of investigations and evaluation of ongoing care within a complex care situation, giving you an opportunity to apply theory to practice, whilst gaining important knowledge to provide rationale for your actions and decisions.
Content related to the case studies will be threaded through the taught component of the module to support you in identifying the theory underpinning the care and management of complex care situations.
Throughout the assessment, critical examination of the wider determinants of health and ongoing care and management of complex patients should be demonstrated, supporting attainment of Learning outcomes 1 and 3.
A case study approach also enables you to demonstrate a holistic approach to care, to systematically evaluate clinical investigations and propose actions as well as your role in co-ordinating evidence-based care, supporting attainment of Learning outcomes 2 and 4.
Assessment outline
For this assessment, you need to choose one of the module case studies used within the module, select elements of it to explore and discuss.
The discussion that critically examines the assessment and care related to a specific case study will need to include:
An evidenced based discussion of the epidemiology, or study of the incidence, distribution, patterns and determinants of the case study’s condition (Neurological or cancer), and the impact and implications of this on the individual and wider society. This evidence-based discussion will incorporate an examination of demographical factors related to the case study and how this has influenced health, illness and wellbeing (LO1).
Consideration of a specific example of a selected clinical investigation or assessment from the chosen case study. You will need to critically and analytically explore the chosen element and provide an evidence based rationale for the recommendations for care. Refer to a range of relevant biological, physiological, pathophysiological, pharmacological and nursing care knowledge, to evaluate the care and management of complex health needs. (LO2 and LO3)
An evaluation of your role, as a registered nurse, in the provision of care to the chosen case study, which will centre around an appraisal of communication skills pertinent to the case study, considering interdisciplinary and cross setting working (LO4)
There are four learning outcomes, equally weighted and all must be met.
You will need to structure your assignment appropriately and utilise suitable academic and professional source materials to generate and support your discussion, below provides some guidance.
Introduction
You will need to structure your assignment appropriately with an informative introduction, which provides context for the subsequent discussion, introduces the requirements of the case study and identifies the key problem/issues/elements that you will discuss.
Background
(Learning Outcome 1)
An evidence-based discussion of the epidemiology of the condition and the impact and implications of this on the individual and wider society.
Scrutinize what the impact of the wider determinant of health (socio-economic status or past medical history of the patient for example) is on the chosen case study.
Investigation and Assessment
(Learning Outcome 2)
Introduce and rationalise the clinical investigation or assessment that you are going to discuss from the chosen case study.
Using a range of bio-scientific knowledge (for example, pathophysiology & physiology), to examine the findings of your chosen investigation or assessment.
Make an evidence-based recommendation for care or management of the chosen case study based on your discussion.
Management
(Learning Outcome 3)
Provide an evidence-based evaluation of the management of an ongoing complex health need presented in the chosen case study. This care need can be related to either the chosen clinical investigation or be another distinct element of management of the complex healthcare needs presented in the case study.
A range of biological, pharmacological, pathophysiological, and nursing care knowledge will be used to examine the management of the case study; all these elements must be discussed.
Evaluation of Your Role
(Learning Outcome 4)
Appraise the communication skills specific to an element of the ongoing care and management of your chosen case study of a patient with complex health needs.
Evaluate your role, as a registered nurse, in the care of the selected case study including how you would work in partnership with the interdisciplinary team across a range of settings.
Conclusion
Your conclusion should clearly link back to the critical examination of the assessment and care related to a specific case study. It should summarise and briefly reiterate your main arguments and discussions, reflecting upon the importance of your findings to clinical nursing knowledge and practice.
Submission Guidance When you submit your assignment, you must use the coversheet template available on Moodle.
Use Arial size 12 font with double line spacing.
Use Harvard referencing.
Save and upload your submission as a Word document.
Your completed assignment will be submitted via Moodle through Turnitin similarity checking software. Guidance on how to use and access Turnitin similarity software is available on the module Moodle page.
Additional Assessment Guidance For your assessments at level 6, you will need to demonstrate effective use of resources to support your discussion.
Use current and good quality professional and academic sources to support your discussion, which includes up to date peer reviewed journal publications, primary research, and evidence-based guidelines (e.g., Cochrane and
National Institute of Clinical Evidence [NICE]).
You will also need to demonstrate critical analysis and evaluation skills.
Top tips
Ensure that you understand and have read around your topic before you start writing. The assignment requires critical reasoning where you evaluate what is good, bad, right, wrong, for and against the use of a treatment/management.
Some students like to use headings to help structure the assignment, use these whilst writing but remove them before submission for this assignment.
You must demonstrate a clear academic writing style; however, this does not necessarily mean you have to use the third person term ‘the author’ and can write in the first person ‘I’ for this assignment as you will be considering your role as a soon to be registered nurse.
Refer to your assessment brief frequently; this contains all the information that you need to include in your assignment. You could use this as a checklist to ensure that you meet all the learning outcomes.
This is a level 6 assessment, so please review the level 6 assessment criteria, which is available on the module Moodle page. Feedback and feedforward commentary and your personal development plans from previous years have helped you develop your academic writing skills in preparation for level 6 study.
Use the library resources to help you build upon your academic skills such as finding additional relevant and suitable literature.
Traditionally, you ‘read’ for a degree, and the marking criteria illustrates that integrating reading from a wide range of sources, which is used to promote arguments, is associated with higher grades, so please refer to a suitable and inclusive range of academic and professional source materials.
Engage with all the module resources, which have been, developed to support you in your learning.
Tutorial support is available throughout the module, Moodle and MS Teams learning environments
Assessment Scope
Explanation of the scope and range of the assessment.
3000 words
Case Study
