Adult

A review national policy and guidance in the care of adults and their relatives with life threatening or limiting complex healthcare issues. Early recognition and intervention in the management of individuals with severe and/or complex needs. Theoretical concepts that underpin palliative care. Develop understanding and practical application in the use of technology in the management of individuals with severe and/or complex illness. Breaking bad news. Theory and framework related to the grieving process in the event of unexpected illness, terminal diagnosis and/or death of an individual. Moral, ethical, cultural and political principles, concepts and frameworks related to the nursing care of adults and their families with severe, life threatening/limiting and complex needs; brain death criteria, withdrawal of or withholding treatment, conflicts regarding parental refusal of treatment; do-not-resuscitate orders; organ donation. Health promotion and the prevention of further ill health.
An essay of 2,500 words +/- 10% = 2,250 2,750

Introduction (10% - ~250 words) Set the scene why is this topic an important issue and why are you going to consider the evidence. Provide any definitions Refer to any guiding documents such as NICE, DH etc. Identify all the elements or themes that relate to this topic. If there are a number of themes then you should state that owing to limitations of the essay you are going to discuss (x), but limit this to no more than 3. In the main section you should also consider the complexity in the delivery of care in this situation. Where there may be reference to clinical practice ensure that confidentiality is preserved (NMC reference) OPTIONAL BRIEF description of a search strategy such as databases used and search terms.

Main section (80% - 1,800-2,200 words. As a GENERAL guide this equates to approx. 600750 words per theme if you choose 3 themes.) In this section you will critique the evidence/research for each of the themes. For one section (theme) you will consider the barriers or complexity in delivering this care. This complexity may be in delivery of the care itself or in the organisation of this care. It may relate to knowledge, resources, skills, motivation or some other factors that may impact on this care delivery. A level 6 you are required to demonstrate a critical understanding of the research. You should draw on the knowledge and guidance from the dissertation unit to help you in this. You may wish to use the CASP tool in your note taking but it is not recommended you include extent of this detail in such a short essay. I have attached the marking criteria which is taken from your Programme Handbook which is in your BNurs Community Gateway. This is general criteria and not unit specific so this criteria applies to all units at level 6. If you look at the Programme Handbook you can see how the marking criteria increases in expectation as you progress through the years. Thus, you can see how we expect you to improve in your academic ability. It offers some guidance on how will be viewing your work.

Conclusion (10% of words - ~250 words) Review the balance of the evidence and offer a view as to where the best practice evidence and summarise the barriers that may present in providing this evidence.

We recognise that inevitably there will some interpretation of the guidance by seminar leads and in order to smooth out this your seminar lead will be marking your work. There will be a moderation process so we can judge whether there are any general disparities between the markers but this is a more global view rather than individual marks.

I hope this helps and allays some of the confusion or concerns. Finally I know there is a temptation to get through this essay as quickly as possible, I would urge you to take some time in proof reading, especially for spelling mistakes, grammatical errors and ensuring the essay has a logical flow and makes sense. Make sure you have answered the question, i.e. critiqued the evidence related to the topic you have chosen. There should be no missing references or statements that are unsupported. Please also ensure that there is a complete reference list and that you meet the word count criteria. It is easy to lose marks unnecessarily at this level which would be a shame as this essay will count towards your degree classification.

Finally I have taken from your programme handbook the level 6 marking criteria. This is general criteria for all work marked at level 6 but will give you an indication as to what is expected when compared to last year. I would encourage you to look at the level 4,5 and 6 criteria which is in your programme handbook in the BNurs student communities site on Blackboard so you can see how you and your work should be progressing as you move through the years of your programme.