Word count 2000 words References; at least 20 The Aim This is to assess how well the student nurse can integrate different concepts which influence professional practice in relation to a public health issue. The concepts will come from legal and ethical, sociological, psychological and nursing framework Guidelines for the academic essay As well as addressing a public health issue the assignment will address the learning outcomes of the module – see front page of the module plan. A failure to address any of these will result in your marks being reduced. •Must provide a brief discussion on Sexually transmitted infections •In this assignment it is important to clarify and explain your understanding of the role of the nurse in relation to the professional issues discussed throughout this module. • How these professional issues impact on patient care should be explored. •You must make reference to how registered nurses are regulated and the importance of this in relation to patient care. • You must demonstrate your understanding of accountability, consent and confidentiality and how they impact on patient care. • Discussion regarding how nursing frameworks/models and the use of the nursing process can develop meaningful care planning is required. Demonstrate an understanding of the importance of recordkeeping. •You must demonstrate the importance of anti-discriminatory practice and the need to value equality and diversity across populations receiving healthcare. • Different types of communication and potential barriers to communication must also be considered. How Students Score Well in PNP Assignments • Assignment guidelines are understood and adhered to (see module plan) • Module specific learning outcomes are addressed (see module plan) • You are advised to focus in depth on one topic area. • This will be based on independent study that goes beyond the lectures and seminars you have attended. • Keep within the word limit 1,800 to 2,200 words. If is outside these limits you will lose marks and if it is significant this may mean a fail. Examples of specific positives: • Titles go on Title and Reference List pages only • Language is fluent and academic. • Work is properly paragraphed with double spacing between each paragraph clearly differentiating one idea from the other (one sentence is not a paragraph) • There is a flow from one idea to the other and work is not disjointed i.e. does not keep going back to previously discussed issues • Full sentences are written i.e. bullets and lists are excluded in an academic essay • Harvard System referencing is used and formatted accurately as per guidelines from Blackboard • A good range of professional and credible websites (e.g. DH, NICE, National Statistics, Health Commission), books and journals (e.g. Nursing Times, Nursing Standard, Advanced Journal of Nursing) are used • Lay (versus professional) websites are avoided to maintain academic credibility e.g. The Sun, NHS Direct, Wikepedia, www.weightlossforall.com, Heat Magazine etc. are unacceptable sources • Check where the media get their health material from e.g. BBC health (online) will often cite the original source and link to it. Access this and rather reference from the original source e.g. Health Commission, Cancer Research UK etc. • References used in the text match those listed on the Reference List page and vice versa i.e. the marker needs to identify where material has been sourced so www.cancerresearch.co.uk is not a full reference – the actual page, year etc. needs to be included as per guidelines • All key issues are identified and discussed rather than one being over-discussed to the detriment of inclusion of other key points • Key issues are discussed in evidence-supported depth versus descriptive/chatty/superficial writing style • The student remembers that he/she is demonstrating their knowledge to the marker so do not assume that “NMC” will be understood. Abbreviations and issues are clearly explained to demonstrate understanding • Irrelevant material (which eats into limited word count) is excluded e.g. long biological explanations would be more likely in Foundations of Care than PNP, hence the importance on focus being module specific. • Evidence/theory is linked to practice e.g. when discussing anti-discrimination as a professional necessity as per the NMC, a specific example might be given thereafter related to the topic focus e.g. nurses will not, therefore, discriminate against an obese patient, even if they may believe that the condition is self-inflicted. The nurse must maintain a neutral but supportive stance. • As with all assignments which will include a succinct introduction giving the reader a clear picture of the intended point of the discussion, so will a conclusion be included, wrapping up main points reached.