A brief guide to setting out your ASSIGNMENT using a fictionalised Annexe B proficiency:
The second-year practice module haa a critically reflective self-assessment, for specific details about your cohort’s module assessment brief and learning outcomes please review the other information within the PRNP2101 module BlackBoard under the ‘Assessment tab’.
You can choose from writing an assignment or producing a narrated PowerPoint presentation.
This is an example of how you might set out your assignment using the Driscoll Model of Reflection using a fictionalised NMC proficiency.
Proficiency 007.4.7: assesses needs for a hot beverage appropriately and determines the individual’s preferences regarding tea, coffee, hot chocolate, malted milk drink, hot fruit squash and uses sugar and / or milk in accordance with individual choice (NMC 2019)
Introduction: (approx. 10% of overall word count).
State which proficiency selected with rationale for choice, where proficiency lists a number of different skills focus on one, i.e.
Within this critically reflective assignment I will be looking at proficiency ‘007.47:
‘assesses needs for a hot beverage appropriately and determines the individual’s preferences regarding tea, coffee, hot chocolate, malted milk drink, hot fruit squash and uses sugar and / or milk in accordance with individual choice’ (NMC 2019, p.101)
Fromthis proficiency I will be focusing on making a nice cup of tea to the patient’s individual taste as I am a coffeedrinker and have never made a cup of tea before.
I have selected the Driscoll (1994) reflective model to explore the development of this proficiency as it is simple
and easy to follow, Wedgbury (2020, p.007) explains that it is a good model for student nurses to use as it is
‘straightforward, clear and memorable’. (fictional reference!!)
‘Nurses are required to make cups of tea on a regular basis (Glengarrie, 2015) and it is considered an essential skill in times of stress, anxiety or upset (Yorkshire, 2019). Tea-drinking has long been recognised as being comforting in times of national crisis (Churchill, 1942). However, with the rise of ‘coffee-culture’ tea as the drink of choice is in decline (Costa, 2020), that notwithstanding tea remains the first-line treatment for emotional shock (Wedgbury, 2020, Yorkshire, 2019, Glengarrie, 2015) and student-nurses must be proficient in this essential skill (NMC 2019). I have never undertaken tea making before and have never encountered it. I do not know how you decide which tea-bag to use and when you might use loose tea leaves instead…’
How you feel about that, any concerns? anything you anticipate may be difficult?
‘I am nervous about making the drink too milky and am worried that the patient may not like it’.
What other skills might you use to help you develop this proficiency?
‘I do know what a Burco hot water boiler looks like and I have used a kettle when making coffee…’
Maybe you are looking forward to learning about this…? You need to use a tool to help you self-assess your starting point, then you can talk about it here. SWOT analysis (1970) / Lasater’s Adapted Clinical Skill Rubric (2007) / KVETS Model (2019) –write a synopsis of your assessment or you can include this in an appendix if you wish but if you do write about it in the main body of the text.
So What: Write about what you have learnt about and practised, when.
‘I first encountered this proficiency in a skills class where we used the procedure from ClinicalSkills.net (2019) to
make a colleague a nice cup of tea’ My partner was very particular about the strength of the brew and the
amount of milk that she preferred, and my first attempt was too weak and milky….’
If you also had an opportunity to practice in placement then also write about this,
‘Whilst in practice in an older adult ward I had the opportunity to observe my Practice Assessor a couple of times before I then practised this under supervision….’ Many of the patients preferred a hot malted milk drink or coffee so I only had two further attempts at practising this, however I do feel a little more confident now’
If didn’t have an opportunity to practice write why that was the case, what else did you do instead?
‘I was in a community setting and visiting patients in their own homes therefore I did not have the opportunity to make tea but I was able to talk to patients whilst they made their own cup of tea and I asked them to explain what they were doing and why they made their tea that way. I then looked at the Trust Policy (NHS Trust, (2018) Name Withheld) and learnt that…..’
Undertake a literature review and look at the underpinning theory from reliable sources and evidence. What have you learnt from this…?
‘PGTips-Monkey (2016) explains that it is essential to use freshly boiled water in order to steep the tea-bag sufficiently, whilst Tetley (2019) goes further arguing that filtered boiled water makes a ‘fresher’ cup of tea. Both authors are in agreement that length of time steeping is important to achieve the correct strength of brew (PGTips-Monkey, 2016, Tetley 2019). The NICE Guidelines (2017) state that…..’
‘Having learnt and practised this skill, I feel much more confident in my tea-making skills, I have also learnt from
reading the evidence base that……
I feel confident that I have improved my proficiency as I made a cup of tea for my Practice Assessor and she gave me positive feedback that it met her personal preferences. I plan to practice making more tea to different personal tastes from weak through to builders-brew and I will ask my patients for feedback. I plan to complete an ‘episode of care’ utilising this proficiency in my next placement if there is an opportunity to practice this.’
Conclusion: (approx. 10% of overall word count).
A summary of your learning journey from novice working towards proficiency and expert practice. Think about how using reflection helps nurses improve their own skills/ knowledge and proficiency and what have you gained or learnt from this process.
