Briefly describe the aspect of practice/topic observed and the clinical situation. Describe what has led you to choose the practice/topic observed. Examine how a practice may have differed from what was expected, based on previous learning.

NUR1299 Reflective Essay

Word limit: 1000 words (Excluding Reference List)  APA Referencing.

Part of being a Registered Nurse involves the nurse looking at practice critically within the clinical setting. By this we mean to examine practice and to make critical judgements about what is occurring so that there are continuous improvements to the quality of patient care. We have ideals about what should occur, and you may hear your Clinical Nurse Teachers/Facilitators refer to these ideals as ‘best practice’ and or ‘standards’. However, there are many considerations that may affect how these ideals are translated into the quality of care delivered. These may include the socio-political environment, which may affect resourcing, staffing skill mix and training requirements. Staff culture, apathy and/or fatigue may also have a detrimental effect on the quality of care delivered.

This assignment requires you to select an ‘aspect of practice’ observed / experienced in the clinical setting and write a reflective essay on the selected practice aspect / issue you have chosen. The topics will relate to the content discussed in weekly modules, forum discussions and or practical laboratory simulations.

These topics include;

mobility, and falls
hygiene
pressure area and wound care
nutrition and elimination
sleep
psychosocial aspects
infection control
manual handling
medications

The observed ‘aspect of care’ maybe negative and/or positive. As this is a reflective piece based on your perceived and/or personal experiences, it will remain confidential. In preparing your essay you will need to outline the context of the practice aspect and draw conclusions against the available evidence and literature.

The detail is in the marking guide, therefore use the marking guide to direct your assignment.

You may use the headings provided in the marking guide to structure your assignment.

Below are some resources to assist you in your Reflective Essay. The reflection is based on the clinical reflective activity that you are required to complete for each clinical subject within your degree.

Adapted from: Burns, S. and Bulman, C. (2000) (Eds.) Reflective Practice in Nursing: The Growth of the Professional Practitioner (2nd Ed.) Blackwell Scientific Publications, Oxford.

Reflective writing encourages you to reveal your personal thoughts about your life experiences in relation to clinical experiences and the content you are learning about in class, thus enhancing the link between theory and practice.

Instructions:

Introduction (50 words)

Provide a brief introduction outlining the scope and direction of the discussion that follows in the body of the reflective essay.

Description of Event

Briefly describe the aspect of practice/topic observed and the clinical situation. Describe what has led you to choose the practice/topic observed. Examine how a practice may have differed from what was expected, based on previous learning. Please remember to use in-text referencing when writing the reflection. A reminder that all persons and facilities must not be identified however, it is appropriate to identify a person as an RN or EN, for example.

Pseudonyms may also be used.

Identify Clinical Factors that influence the delivery of care.

Consider how clinical environment may have influenced the aspect of care. Particular considerations may relate to resources, training, staff and/or patient factors.

What feeling/ emotions/ thoughts did you have or others experience?

Identify and discuss what you were feeling when observing this practice. Describe how others involved in this interaction may have felt and/or thought? This may include other caregivers, patients and/or family members. Has this influenced your perceptions of ‘self’, ‘ageing’, ‘nursing’ and/or ‘delivery of care’?

What values/beliefs underpin thoughts/feelings experienced?

How has your previous life experience influenced how you felt (experiences, culture, religion and/or relationships with others) when observing the topic/aspects of care? Have your personal values influenced your perceptions of the aspect of care/topic delivered? Please explain how.

Analysis: What sense/ meanings can be made of this situation?

Utilizing course resources and additional literature substantiate your arguments and apply theoretical knowledge to your experiences and/or observations.

What action plan/strategies would you use?

What action plan/strategies based on your review of resources would you utilize to improve aspects of care in the clinical setting? How will this experience influence how you deliver an aspect of care? Consider how you could improve delivery of care in relation to the aspect of care observed.

What conclusions can be drawn?

After reflecting on the aspect of care/chosen topic, what you have learnt from the course content? What could have been improved in this situation? How will this experience make you a better nurse?

Reference List (separate page)

Please cut and paste the marking rubric on a new page after your reference list.

Student Name Student Number;
MARKING RUBRIC Assignment 1 NUR1299 Semester 2 2018 Reflective Essay
Description- Identifies relevant aspect of care relating to weekly topics.	Relevant aspect of care/topic not identified. No incorporation of resource materials	Relevant aspect of care/topic minimally identified. Minimal incorporation of resource materials.	Aspect of care/topic identified, with a reason as to why it was chosen. Incorporation of resource materials and literature.	Aspect of care identified with an excellent description and rationale for choice. Critical comparison to resource materials/relevant literature.
	0	0.5	1	1.5
Identifies Clinical Environmental factors that influence care delivery.	Environmental factors not considered.	Environmental factor considered and briefly articulated.	Environmental factors considered, with an explanation on how this has influenced care delivery.	Environmental factors considered, with an explanation on how this has influenced care delivery. Substantiated by relevant resource materials.
	0	0.5	1	1.5
Identifies feelings/emotions and links to values and beliefs	Feelings and emotions not articulated. Values and beliefs not included.	Identifies feelings / emotions of self but not others. Identifies values and beliefs of self or others or society.	Identifies feelings / emotions of self and others. Identifies values and beliefs of self, others and society. Describes how personal values influenced patient interactions and aspects of care.	Identifies feelings / emotions of self and others demonstrating insight into the situation from multiple perspectives. Describes how personal values influence perception of care aspect/topic/care delivered. Describes how this interaction has altered personal perceptions.
	0.5	1	2	3
Analysis and conclusions Applies relevant theories and concepts from the course materials	Poor to minimal application of theory from within the course material applied to the situation Poor to minimal evidence of further	Limited knowledge of theory from within the course applied to the situation Limited evidence of further	Good knowledge of theory from within the course applied to the situation Good use of the evidence/literature	Very good to excellent knowledge of theory from within the course and the relevant evidence applied to the situation Very good to excellent use of the

and the evidence to the situation	reading/literature review		reading/literature review	applied to the situation.	evidence/literature applied to the situation
	0-3		4	6	8
Identifies actions and plans strategies from the theory (course work) to inform future practice as a registered nurse	Poor to minimal evidence of development of links between theory and practice used to inform future practice.		Limited evidence of development of links between theory and practice used to inform future practice.	Good evidence of development of links between theory and practice used to inform future practice.	Strong evidence of development of links between theory and practice used to inform future practice
	0-3		4	6	8
Student Name: Student Number:
Academic writing	No Introduction/ Conclusion Numerous errors • Typographical • Punctuation • Grammatical • Referencing Does not conform to expected academic standards and scholarly conventions, No proof reading evident Does not conform to APA referencing style Under word limit, greater than 20 % Over word limit, greater than 20 %		Introduction or Conclusion Many errors • Typographical • Punctuation • Grammatical • Referencing Some evidence of expected academic standards and scholarly conventions, needs further proof reading Attempts to conform to APA referencing style, however does not apply style consistently Under word limit, greater than 20 % Over word limit, greater than 20 %	Introduction and Conclusion – no new information. Minimal (5 or less) errors • Typographical • Punctuation • Grammatical • Referencing (material cited correctly) Mostly presented in accordance with expected academic standards and scholarly conventions Mostly conforms to APA referencing style stated 3 or less errors Sources are mostly cited accurately Within word limits	Introduction (establishes assignment outline) and Conclusion –Reiterates mains points – no new information Correct grammar, spelling, punctuation, citation of references Presented in accordance with expected academic standards and scholarly conventions, proof reading evident Conforms to academic referencing style stated (1 typo allowed) Within word limits
	0-1		2	3	4
COMMENT: Marker:					/26
Student Name:		Student Number: