EBNC – Writing your Care Study

You will required to submit a 4,000 work assignment based on a care study on your selected service user. The assignment is worth 100% weighting of the summative assessment for this module

Confidentiality
Please pay careful attention to professional confidentiality in your EBNC assignment and do not disclose the names of patients; staff; Trusts; hospitals; wards or other services where you may have been on placement.
Writing in the first or third person.
The study can use both the first person and third person as appropriate. For example, you can use the first person in the introduction where you outline your specific care study and also in your conclusion where you reflect on your learning from undertaking this study. However, your analysis, discussion and critique of the nursing care can be written in the third person.
Structure of the assignment.
The care study is 4,000 words long, excluding references and appendices. You may want to include assessment tools, care plans or guidelines in your appendix if they think they will enhance your reader’s understanding of your care study. However, do be mindful to anonymise these. I have included a guide for the structure of your assignment that I hope you find useful. This includes an approximate word count for each section, which you may adjust accordingly to suit your own individual care study. As a guide, the minimum amount of references we would expect to see is 15. 

Section Guidance for your Care Study
INTRODUCTION
(200 words approx.)

• Introduce your care study i.e. this care study is based on a patient / service user who I met on my clinical placement in x ward / clinic
• Say how you will maintain confidentiality i.e. change name of patient/service user, area of practice etc.
• Outline the purpose of undertaking your care study e.g. to analyse an episode of nursing care etc. (you should specify here what this episode is e.g. pre-op assessment / community visit / practice nurse appointment / first 12 hrs following admission to ward). By undertaking this care study, I hope to develop a more critical approach to nursing care to inform my future practice etc.
• Outline how you will structure your care study e.g. I will discuss the assessment, planning, implementation and evaluation of their care that will include (you could specify here what aspect of pathophysiology, pharmacology and interprofessional working you will explore). I will then conclude this study by reflecting on what I have learnt as a result of undertaking it.
ASSESSMENT
(900 words approx.)

• Start by introducing your patient/service user (age/diagnosis/ presenting problem/past medical history and the context of care i.e. outpatient’s appointment/home visit/endoscopic procedure)
• Provide details of the holistic nursing assessment carried out i.e. note aspects of physical / social / psychological wellbeing
• You will then need to focus on one or two specific aspects of your assessment and explore these in more detail e.g. pain assessment /diabetes management/pre-op anxiety etc. You can then critique the assessment process, for example, the time/context in which it took place; assessment tools used i.e. reliability / validity; skills of the nurse in assessing the patient e.g. communication skills (verbal / nonverbal) etc.
• Summarise any actual or potential nursing problems identified as a result of this assessment e.g. patient is immobile due to fractured neck of femur (actual problem), as a result the patient is at risk of developing a pressure ulcer and deep vein thrombosis etc. (potential problems)
PLANNING
(900 words approx.)

• Outline the pathophysiology of the medical condition you have selected. Identify any nursing considerations in planning their care as a result of this condition i.e. noting for any particular signs/symptoms to indicate an exacerbation/deterioration or improvement in this condition etc.
• Outline the pharmacology of the specific medication you have selected for your care study, and any key nursing considerations in planning their care e.g. therapeutic doses, noting for side effects/contraindications/drug interactions or any specific instructions for administration etc.
• Briefly summarise the priorities of nursing care for your patient/ service user and how these decisions were made.
IMPLEMENTATION
(900 words approx.) • Now critically discuss the care that was carried out for your patient/service user in relation to a specific problem(s) identified from the assessment. You will need to discuss this care in relation to the evidence base i.e. research evidence / policy / guidelines etc. For example, consider why you did x instead of y? Was the plan of care amended or adapted as time progressed, and if so, why?
• Also consider the input of the interprofessional team i.e. what contribution did they make / or could they have made? Were there any particular benefits / challenges in working as part of an interprofessional team? Was there anyone else that could / should have be involved?
EVALUATION
(900 words approx.) • Consider the evidence the health care professionals used to inform their decision making? Was it appropriate/relevant/ applicable to your patient or service user?
• How was the patient’s/service user’s preferences including in their overall plan of care? Could this have been improved?
• Could the quality pf care have been enhanced or improved in any way and, if so, how?
• What findings/recommendations would you make as a result of reflecting on this care study?
CONCLUSIONS
(200 words approx.) • Conclude by summarising what you did, what you found, what recommendations you have made as a result of undertaking this care study. You could also say how these findings will inform your future nursing practice.

Detailed Assessment Guidance
• This assessment corresponds to all learning outcomes for this module
• Appendices and the reference list are not included in your word count.
• There is a leeway of 10% in the word count.
• Any assessments over the word count +10% will have 10 marks deducted from the overall mark.
Presentation of Work
• Use a font that is easy to read e.g. Ariel, Calibri, Humnst777 or Times New Roman,
• Use font size 11 or 12
• Use 1.5 or double line spacing
• If you have a learning support plan do attach the front sheet at the beginning of your care study