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KYN107 Faculty of Health & Social Care

Introducing Professional Practice and Knowledge

Assessment Guide 2010

SUP 02289 3

*SUP022893* Copyright ª 2010 The Open University 1.1

lPre-Registration Nursing Programme Common Foundation Programme

Contents

1 Introduction 5

2 About KYN107 assessment 5

2.1 How your learning is assessed 5

2.2 Continuous assessment 6

2.3 Cut-off dates for assessed work 7

2.4 Submitting your assignments 8

2.5 Help with the eTMA system 9

2.6 Learning outcomes and assessment 10

3 The tutor-marked and computer-marked assignments and guidance 11

3.1 TMA 01 12

3.2 TMA 02 14

3.3 TMA 03 17

3.4 TMA 04 20

4 Making the most of assessment work 22

4.1 Reading question titles carefully 22

4.2 Planning your time and your ideas 22

4.3 Writing your TMAs 24

4.4 Using your own and other people’s words 25

4.5 Using your experience 27

4.6 Confidentiality 31

4.7 Avoiding discriminatory language 32

4.8 Referencing 33

5 Marking guidelines (to be read by tutors and students) 43

5.1 Grading 43

5.2 Criteria for marking and writing assignments 44

5.3 Marking grid 45

6 The examinable component 48

6.1 End-of-module project: the reflective account 50

Appendix 1 Referencing your Portfolio or journal 51

Appendix 2 KYN107 learning outcomes for assignments 52

Appendix 3 iCMA guidance 54

1 Introduction 5

1 Introduction

This Assessment Guide provides three kinds of information:

1 an outline of how your work on the module will be assessed, including deadlines and marking procedures

2 details of the four tutor-marked assignments (TMAs) for the module (TMAs 01–04) and guidance on how they should be tackled

details of the three computer-marked assignments (iCMAs)

details of the examinable component at the end of the module

3 general guidance on how to make the most of your assessed work.

We suggest you read through this guide quickly at an early stage in the module, to get an idea of the assessed work that is expected of you and when you need to complete it. You are not, of course, expected to be ready to tackle the assignments at this stage, but it is best to familiarise yourself with the assessment procedures earlier rather than later.

2 About KYN107 assessment

2.1 How your learning is assessed There are two types of assessed work:

1 assignments, which you write during the year as you work through the module (continuous assessment) – there are four TMAs and three of them include a short-answer computer-marked assignment (iCMA)

2 an examinable component at the end of the module comprising a Portfolio of practice and an end-of-module project which is a short reflective account.

The average of your continuous assessment scores (known as OCAS or overall continuous assessment score) is put together with your examinable component score (OES or overall examinable score) to give your overall score for the module. The continuous assessment and the examinable component are equally weighted and, to pass the module, you have to pass both. To be sure of passing the module, you need to achieve a score of at least 40 per cent for your OCAS and at least 40 per cent for your OES. If you pass the module you will be given a graded module result. For KYN107 there are four grades of pass: distinction, pass, fail and bad fail (for further information see Section 5 of this guide and the Assessment Handbook for Undergraduate Level Modules, which is available through StudentHome). The assessment for the module has been designed with the following three aims.

6 Assessment Guide 2010

1 To enable you to demonstrate the achievement of a range of knowledge, understanding and skills in keeping with both the module learning outcomes and the NMC outcomes, which you must achieve to enter the branch programme.

2 To support your work on the module, by providing a focus and structure for your studies, plus opportunities to put your learning into practice and to receive feedback that will help you to develop your understanding and skills.

3 To promote your development as an independent, reflective and critical learner and practitioner.

2.2 Continuous assessment The continuous assessment consists of four tutor-marked assignments (TMAs), corresponding to the four blocks of study which make up the module. You must tackle all four assignments to complete the module. Three of the assignments have a Part B comprising a short-answer computer-marked assignment (iCMA).

The marks for continuous assessment are distributed as follows.

TMA 01 15%

TMA 02 20% (Part A) iCMA 41 10% (Part B)



Each TMA consists of a written essay and two have options, as follows.

TMA number Word length Number of options

01 800–1000 1

02 1000–1200 2

03 1000–1200 2

04 1000–1200 1

Each iCMA consists of short-answer questions, as follows.

iCMA number Number of questions

41 (Part B of TMA 02) 15




Some modules have a substitution rule, which means you are given a substitution score (based on your other assignment scores) for any assignment that you do not submit. Please note that there is no substitution arrangement for any of the assignments in KYN107. This means that it is in your interest to send in some work for every assignment.

The purpose of TMAs is to enable you to establish a dialogue with your module tutor. They give you an opportunity to present arguments, develop and evaluate ideas, analyse examples, and so on. Your module tutor will give you detailed comments on your work, react to your ideas, judge the force of your arguments, identify particular strengths and make suggestions for developing your work. Your tutor may draw your attention to parts of the module material or to other points of view and will give you general guidance. In addition, your tutor will assess your assignments but you should not regard this as the main reason for doing them.

Whatever mark you receive, your module tutor will suggest how your work could be improved. If you are unhappy about your mark, or you don’t understand the comments fully, you should contact your tutor. If you are still not satisfied with the mark given, you may appeal by following the procedures given in your Undergraduate Assessment Handbook. However, it is important, to remember that writing is a skill that continues to improve with practice.

Please note that occasionally we select students’ work for staff development exercises. If your work is selected for this purpose, it will be made anonymous, so that neither you nor any individual or agency can be identified. If you do not want your work used for this purpose, please include a note stating this with your assignment submission.

2.3 Cut-off dates for assessed work It is important to be aware of the assignment cut-off dates and to meet them. These are the dates by which your module tutor must receive the assignments. If you think you cannot submit your assignment by the cut-off date, contact your tutor in advance. Your tutor can discuss the problem with you and may agree to authorise an extension.

The University has a final cut-off date for all modules. In exceptional circumstances only, you may ask your tutor for an extension up to the University’s final cut-off date. If you submit your assignment after this date you will not receive a score. Your tutor may mark your assignment in order to give you feedback but will put L (meaning ‘late’) in the score box.

The cut-off dates have been planned to fit as well as possible with your work on KYN107 and the accompanying theory module, KYN101. They also allow time for feedback and for you to complete your assignments before you turn your attention to the examinable component. iCMAs are only open for a prescribed period of time. Your tutor cannot grant an extension for iCMAs.


The cut-off dates for TMAs 01–04, iCMAs 41–43, and the examinable component for 2010–11 are as follows.

TMA 01 19 January 2011

TMA 02 and iCMA 41 13 July 2011

TMA 03 and iCMA 42 14 September 2011

TMA 04 and iCMA 43 2 November 2011

Examinable component* 18 January 2012

* Discussed in detail in Section 6.

2.4 Submitting your assignments You are expected to submit your tutor-marked assignments (TMAs) online. You will need to produce your assignments using word processing software and submit them using the electronic TMA (eTMA) system.

The benefits of submitting your TMAs online include 24-hour submission direct to the University and immediate confirmation of receipt. Once marked, your TMA will be available for you to download with your tutor’s comments.

Before using the eTMA system to send your first assignment make sure you do a practice run using the dummy TMA 00 – this ensures that any problems will not cost you marks.

Using the eTMA system

When submitting TMAs online you must remember the following:

l You can only submit one file. If your TMA consists of more than one file, you must zip these together. You can use any zip or compression software that creates a file with a .zip extension.

l Your eTMA must be submitted in a format that is readable, that is, it must have a .doc or .rtf extension.

l You must ensure that the file you submit is complete (make sure you save and close the file before you start the submission process), and that you have sent the right file.

l Your TMA file must be no more than 2MB. If your file is bigger than this you should zip it to reduce the size.

To submit your TMA online, go to your StudentHome page and follow the instructions in the ‘Guide to assessment’ section. Further information about policy and procedure are in your Assessment Handbook which you can access from StudentHome.


Submission deadlines

You must ensure that your TMA is received by your tutor, or that you have received a submission receipt, no later than 12 noon on the cut-off date. There is a grace period of 12 hours so any assignments received by midnight will still be accepted.

If there are good reasons why you think you can’t meet a cut-off date you must contact your tutor before the cut-off date to request an extension. Further information about the policy and procedure for extensions is in the Assessment Handbook which you can access from StudentHome.

2.5 Help with the eTMA system If you have any problems call the OU Computing Helpdesk. Don’t be shy about going back to the Helpdesk for more explanation – call them back as many times as it takes to sort out your problem.

If you have tried to send your eTMA without success, and have spoken to the Helpdesk several times without resolving the problem, you can send your eTMA by email. If you need to use the email route, follow the instructions in the Assessment Handbook.

Similarly, if the online submission route is not available – which is rare – you can submit your TMA via an email address. This submission route isn’t immediate, however, and you will need to wait for an email confirming that it has been successfully received. You must not submit your TMA by email directly to your tutor.

Last resort – post your eTMA

If all efforts to send your eTMA have failed, including using email, and if the Helpdesk has not been able to resolve the problem, you can send a paper/printed copy by post to your tutor. If you need to use this route, follow the instructions in the Assessment Handbook. This must only be done with your tutor’s approval, so you should contact your tutor first.

Proof of receipt

If you send your TMA by post you should get proof of posting from a post office. If you submit online you must keep your receipt code in case you need to prove successful submission – if you do not get an on-screen receipt when you submit online, you cannot assume that the submission has been successful and you should submit your TMA again.

Completing iCMAs

The iCMAs consist of multiple choice and other types of questions which will assess your knowledge and understanding of anatomy and physiology and your numeracy skills. The iCMA guidance can be found in Appendix 3. See Section 3 for further details.


iCMA submission deadlines

You must ensure that you have submitted your iCMA online, no later than 23:59 hours on the cut-off-date.

Practice ‘dummy’ iCMA (iCMA 00)

The ‘dummy’ or practice-run iCMA will be available from the start of KYN107 for you to try out as many times as you want to. As with the dummy TMA, you should allow time for this practice before the first iCMA (iCMA 41) is due.

Interactive questions directed from the course materials

In addition to the ‘dummy’ iCMA, you will also gain practice in answering interactive questions as directed from the activities in the module materials in Blocks 2, 3 and 4. These iCMAs are known as Practice iCMAs and are formative in nature: that is, they do not count towards your continuous assessment or the end-of-module assessment. Rather, they give you the opportunity to practise and self-assess your developing level of knowledge and understanding of anatomy and physiology and your numeracy skills. These formative questions also prepare you for the iCMAs (which are always preceded by the number 4) which are part of your summative assessments in this module.

2.6 Learning outcomes and assessment The module learning outcomes set out in general terms the knowledge, understanding and skills that you should be able to demonstrate as a result of studying KYN107. The assignments give you opportunities to demonstrate that you have achieved the outcomes.

The guidance for each assignment (see Section 3) indicates which outcomes are being assessed. When marking your assignment, your tutor will be looking for evidence that you have achieved these outcomes.

Not all of the module learning outcomes are assessed in the assignments. Some are assessed in the examinable component at the end of the module. Others are not formally assessed but are developed through learning activities. Some outcomes, such as those relating to the development of key skills, including ICT skills, are relevant to all your assessed work and are not specifically mentioned in the assignment guidance.

You will see that some learning outcomes are assessed in more than one assignment. This means that you have additional opportunities to demonstrate that you have achieved the outcome. Appendix 2 lists the learning outcomes covered by the TMAs and the examinable component.


3 The tutor-marked and computer-marked assignments and guidance

This section contains the questions for TMAs 01–04 and specific guidance on answering them. It also includes instructions for iCMAs 41, 42 and 43 which relate to TMAs 02, 03 and 04, respectively, and effectively form the second part of the assessments. Please make sure that before you start the assignments you read Sections 4 and 5 of this guide, which contain essential, general guidance.

Using key sources

The assignments are designed to bring together your learning from the range of module materials that make up each block (the main texts, the block resources, the DVD and audios, and the module website) as well as your work on key skills and forum activities.

The guidance for each TMA lists the key sources that you will need to draw on to answer the question. To achieve more than a basic pass, you must demonstrate that you have made good use of all these resources. You are encouraged to bring in other material, such as examples from your own reading and experience, but please note that these must be relevant to the question and must be used in addition to, and not instead of, ideas and examples from the module.

Word length

Students are expected to comply with the word limits on assignments and end-of-module assessment where specified. Marks will be deducted for over-length assignments, up to a maximum of 10 per cent of the total score. The following table summarises the policy:

Less than 10% over length No marks will be deducted

11–15% over length 5% will be deducted

More than 15% over length 10% will be deducted

Diagrams and reference lists are excluded from the word count but tables, quotations and in-text references are included. Appendices are also excluded from the word count, but these should be limited in length.

Please record the number of words you have used, excluding diagrams and the reference list.


3.1 TMA 01 TMA 01 should reach your tutor no later than 19 January 2011.

You have one option and should write an essay of no more than 800–1000 words.

There is no iCMA for this assessment.

This TMA is worth 15 per cent of your overall assessment.

Question

Identify a recent episode in clinical practice which may have involved patients or clients, families, carers and/or colleagues and write a reflective account of how this raised your awareness of the transition you are undergoing in becoming a student nurse.

Learning outcomes

You should consider the following learning outcomes when planning and writing your TMA, although you do not need to refer specifically to each one in your assignment: 1.1, 2.2, 2.4, 3.2–3.4 and 4.2–4.4 (see Appendix 2).

Key sources

Course Guide, Block 1, Block 1 Resources

Guidance

TMA 01 gives you the opportunity to use Gibbs’s reflective cycle, building on the work you have already done in this module to explore the role transitions that you are experiencing.

In the Course Guide you read three accounts of a practice situation involving administration of an injection. The same situation was written about in three different ways. The first account was quite descriptive, the second contained a little more discussion and the third demonstrated synthesis and evaluation. These are examples of different levels of reflection. By using reflective models such as Gibbs’s cycle, you can develop the quality and depth of your reflections.

In Block 1, Activity 2.1 ‘Role transition’ you were invited to post on the forum your own experience of moving into the role of student nurse. You were asked to express any concerns that you might have and the strategies you adopt to deal with them. In this TMA you will build on this piece of work.

In Block 1, Activity 4.10 you read Resource 18 ‘Exemplars of reflection: other people can do it, why not you too?’ and worked through a reflective account. In the same unit, you used Gibbs’s cycle for the first time and reflected on your own practice experience of talking to a patient or colleague at work.

Now look back at the TMA question and, once you have decided on a practice episode, look again at Gibbs’s reflective cycle below.


Use this to structure your reflection on your role as a student nurse. Please note that to submit this assignment you will need to use the electronic template of Gibbs’s model on the KYN107 website. Details of how to access this are in the last section of the guidelines for TMA 01.

Gibbs identifies six stages in the cycle, which are given below. Although the cycle poses a main question for each section, you may find it useful to ask yourself a series of sub-questions to help you work through the cycle such as those suggested below. The sub-questions will help you to structure your writing, but the questions themselves should not be included in your account. The sub-questions are only suggestions to facilitate your thinking and help you produce the sort of account that you want to present. You can use some or none of these sub-questions; the choice is yours.

Gibbs’s reflective cycle (1988)

Description

What happened?

Ask yourself:

l What was the episode about? l What background information do I need to give so that another

person can understand what was happening? l Who was involved? l What was my role?

Feelings

What were you thinking and feeling?

Ask yourself:

l What was I wanting to achieve and why? l Did I feel confident or hesitant trying to do this? l How did the patient feel about my actions? How could I tell?

Evaluation

What was good and bad about the episode?

Ask yourself:

l What did I do? l What did others do? l What was good about the episode for me, the patient, their family

or carers and the multidisciplinary team? l What was bad about the episode for me, the patient, their family

or carers and the multidisciplinary team?

Analysis

What sense can you make of the situation?

Ask yourself:

l What happened as a result of my actions? l Were my actions appropriate?


l Were the results what I expected or were they different? In what way were they different and why?

l What knowledge from theory, research and policy documents influenced my actions?

l Has this experience changed my thinking?

Conclusion

What else could you have done?

Ask yourself:

l Could I have handled the episode more effectively? l What other options were available to me? l What would have been the likely results of the other options?

Action plan

If it arose again what would you do?

Ask yourself:

l What would I change, if anything? l What knowledge from theory and research do I need to deal with

similar situations in future? l Which local and national policy documents do I need to deal with

similar situations in future? l What else can I do to prepare for similar situations?

An electronic template of Gibbs’s model (‘TMA 01 Gibbs’s template’) is provided on the ‘Assessment’ page on the KYN107 website. You can download this and type directly into the relevant sections of the template by placing the cursor underneath the heading that you want to write about. Once you have completed your reflective account, save it ready for electronic submission.

3.2 TMA 02 TMA 02 should reach your tutor no later than 13 July 2011.

You have a choice between Option 1 and Option 2. Choose one of the options and write an essay of no more than 1200 words.

Note: Part B of this assessment is an iCMA and you will find details of it at the end of this section.

PART A

This part of the assignment is worth 20 per cent of your continuous assessment.

Option 1

Identify one episode of care involving either taking or recording temperature, pulse, respirations and blood pressure or neurological observations. Drawing on the module materials you have encountered so far, describe and discuss the care you gave. Use the nursing


process to structure your discussion, focusing particularly on the stages of the nursing process with which you were involved.

Learning outcomes

You should consider the following learning outcomes when planning and writing your TMA, although you do not need to refer specifically to each one in your assignment: 1.3–1.6, 1.8, 2.1–2.4 and 4.2–4.4 (see Appendix 2).

Key sources

Block 1, Block 2, Block 1 Resources, Block 2 Resources, textbooks Nursing Knowledge and Practice and Essential Nursing Skills, the DVD

Guidance for Option 1

Before you begin work on this TMA, look at Block 1, Unit 6, Section 6.3 which introduces the nursing process. Use the four sections of the nursing process and its cyclical nature to help structure your account. Identify which aspects of the nursing process you were involved in, for example you may have been involved fully in planning and implementing care, but less involved in evaluating.

Now look at Units 7 and 8 in Block 2 and select one area of care: either taking and recording temperature, pulse, respirations and blood pressure or neurological observations. Use one area as the focus of your discussion relating to the care of a patient or client. Units 7 and 8 discuss a range of vital signs and you could choose a discussion of taking and recording temperature, pulse, respirations and blood pressure. Alternatively, you might choose to discuss taking and recording neurological observations. Do not attempt to cover both of these areas. Select one area to demonstrate the depth and understanding required in this assignment.

To help you decide on the topic, you could recall the past week or so at work, thinking about each day and considering how the recording of vital signs links to the nursing process. Look back to the work you did in Block 1, Unit 6 to remind yourself about the features of the nursing process.

Having related your practice experience to those aspects of the nursing process with which you were involved, you need to consider how the knowledge you have supports your practice in that episode.

Go through Units 7 and 8 again and consider how the knowledge and issues covered link to your episode. Make a list of the points you have found particularly useful in thinking about your episode. Look at the work you completed on the relevant activities in Unit 7 and Unit 8 relating to the principles and practice of measuring temperature, pulse and blood pressure and monitoring respirations. These activities are the basis of the work for this assignment in relation to those topics. For underpinning work on neurological observations, look at the activities you completed in Section 3 of Unit 8.


Now you should have enough resources to write your answer. Remember that this essay should be not merely a description of a practice episode but a thoughtful account of how the care is linked to the nursing process and to the evidence for practice. Remember too you must make your account of the practice episode anonymous, ensuring that any information about patients or clients and colleagues remains confidential.

Option 2

Identify one episode of care involving either promoting nutrition or moving and handling a patient or client. Drawing on the module materials you have encountered so far, describe and discuss the care you gave, using the nursing process to structure your discussion, focusing particularly on the aspects of the nursing process with which you were involved.

Learning outcomes


Key sources

Block 1, Block 2, Block 1 Resources, Block 2 Resources, textbooks Nursing Knowledge and Practice and Essential Nursing Skills, the DVD


Before you begin work on this TMA, look back at Block 1 Unit 6, Section 3, which introduced the nursing process. You should use the four sections of the nursing process and its cyclical nature to help structure your account. Identify which aspects of the nursing process you were involved in, for example you may have been involved fully in planning and implementing care, but less involved in evaluating.

Now look at Units 9, 10, 11 and 12 in Block 2. Select one area of care, either promoting nutrition or moving and handling a patient or client as the focus of your discussion relating to the care of a patient or client. Use one area as the focus of your discussion relating to the care of a patient or client.

Units 9 and 10 look at nutrition and Unit 10 in particular explores the assessment, planning and delivery of nutrition to a range of people. You can also use the material in Section 4 of Unit 10, which focuses on additional strategies used to promote nutrition. The activities that you completed in Activity 9.14 and in Unit 10 Sections 2 and 3 form the basis for this area.

Units 11 and 12 discuss moving and handling people and Unit 12 in particular explores assessment, planning and delivery of care as well as its evaluation. The activities that you completed in Unit 10 Sections 2 and 3 form the basis for this area.


In addition to reviewing your work in the learning activities, you should spend some time thinking about the past week or so at work, thinking about each day and considering how promoting nutrition or moving and handling people links to the nursing process.

Having related the practice episode to those aspects of the nursing process with which you were involved, you need to consider how the knowledge you have supports your practice in that episode. Go through the relevant units again and consider how the knowledge and issues covered link to your episode. Make a list of the points you have found particularly useful in thinking about your episode. Now you should have enough resources to write your answer. Remember that this essay should be not merely a description of a practice episode but a thoughtful account of how the care is linked to the nursing process. Remember too that you must make your account of the practice episode anonymous, ensuring that any information about patients or clients and colleagues remains confidential.

PART B


iCMA 41 Anatomy and physiology

You will need to be connected to the internet to complete this iCMA.

Read the iCMA guidance in Appendix 3 – providing information about what to do and how to submit your answers. Then go to the KYN107 website where you will find this link:

l iCMA 41 (web link) on the ‘Assessment’ page of the website – click on this link to access your iCMA.

3.3 TMA 03 TMA 03 should reach your tutor no later than 14 September 2011.

You have a choice between Option 1 and Option 2. Choose one of the options and write an essay of no more than 1200 words.

Note: Part B of this assessment is an iCMA and you will find details of it at the end of this section.

PART A


Option 1

Write an account of one episode of care involving meeting either a patient’s or client’s hygiene needs or their elimination needs. Discuss the care you gave and the professional and ethical implications related to that care. Which Bondy level do you think you are working at, and why? What evidence can you provide for that?


Learning outcomes

You should consider the following learning outcomes when planning and writing your TMA, although you do not need to refer specifically to each one in your assignment: 1.1–1.9, 2.2–2.4 and 4.1–4.4 (see Appendix 2).

Key sources

Block 1, Block 3, Block 1 Resources, Block 3 Resources, textbooks Nursing Knowledge and Practice and Essential Nursing Skills, the DVD, Guidelines for Completing the CFP Portfolio


Look at Units 13, 14, 15 and 16 in Block 3 and select one area of care, promoting either hygiene or elimination needs as the focus of your discussion relating to the care of a patient or client. Your work in the activities in Units 13 and 14 can provide the basis of an assignment linked to promoting hygiene needs and the activities in Units 15 and 16 can form the basis of an assignment linked to elimination needs.

To help you decide on the area of care, you could consider each one and link it to an episode that is relevant and then think about the relationship to professional and ethical practice. Alternatively, you may want to recall the past week or so at work, thinking about each day and considering how the area of care and professional and ethical considerations related to the various episodes in which you were involved.

Revisit your Portfolio and see which Bondy level you think you are working at in relation to the area of care. You may want to discuss this with your mentor and/or programme tutor. Think about your practice episodes and see how your professional awareness in the episode corresponds with the Bondy levels. Look very carefully at Table 1 ‘Levels of practice’ in the Guidelines for Completing the CFP Portfolio and at how the various items in the levels are described. Try to assess honestly where you are in relation to them and think about why you are currently at that particular level.

Most of Block 1 is about factors that relate to professional and ethical practice. Go through it again and consider how the knowledge and issues it covers link to your practice and the topic you will discuss. Make a list of the points you have found particularly useful in thinking about your episode.

Now you should have enough resources to write your answer. Remember that this essay should be not merely a description of a practice episode but a thoughtful account of how the care you deliver is linked to professional and ethical practice and to the Bondy level that you are working at. Remember too that you must make your account of the practice episode anonymous, ensuring that any information about patients or clients and colleagues remains confidential.


Option 2

Write an account of one episode of care involving the infection control needs of a patient or client. Discuss the care you gave and the professional and ethical implications related to that care. Which Bondy level do you think you are working at and why? What evidence can you provide for that?

Learning outcomes

You should consider the following learning outcomes when planning and writing your TMA, although you do not need to refer specifically to each one in your assignment: 1.1–1.9, 2.2–2.4 and 4.1–4.4 (see Appendix 2).

Key sources

Block 1, Block 3, Block 1 Resources, Block 3 Resources, textbooks Nursing Knowledge and Practice and Essential Nursing Skills, the DVD, Guidelines for Completing the CFP Portfolio


Look at Units 17 and 18 in Block 3 as the focus of your discussion relating to infection control and the care needs of a patient or client. The work you have done in the activities in these units can form the basis of this assignment.

Think about an episode of care that is relevant and then think about the relationship to professional and ethical practice. Alternatively, you might want to recall the past week or so at work, thinking about each day and considering how the infection control issues and professional and ethical considerations related to the various episodes in which you were involved.

Revisit your Portfolio and see which Bondy level you think you are working at in relation to the area of care. You may want to discuss this with your mentor and/or programme tutor. Think about your practice episodes and see how your professional awareness in the episode corresponds with the Bondy levels. Look very carefully at Table 1 ‘Levels of practice’ in the Guidelines for Completing the CFP Portfolio and at how the various items in the levels are described. Try to assess honestly where you are in relation to them and think about why you are currently at that particular level.

Most of Block 1 is about factors relating to professional and ethical practice. Go through it again and consider how the knowledge and issues it covers link to your practice and the infection control topic you will discuss. Make a list of the points you have found particularly useful in thinking about your episode.

Now you should have enough resources to write your answer. Remember that this essay should be not merely a description of a practice episode but a thoughtful account of how the care you deliver is linked to professional and ethical practice and to the Bondy


level that you are working at. Remember too that you must make your account of the practice episode anonymous, ensuring that any information about patients or clients and colleagues remains confidential.

PART B


iCMA 42 Anatomy and physiology




3.4 TMA 04 TMA 04 should reach your tutor no later than 2 November 2011.

You have one option only and should write an essay of no more than 1200 words.

Note: Part B of this assignment is an iCMA and you will find details of it at the end of this section.

PART A


Question

Drawing on the module materials and your own practice, discuss a recent episode of care where the administration of medicines was a significant element in your work with a patient or client.

Learning outcomes


Key sources

Block 1, Block 4, Block 4 Resources, textbooks Nursing Knowledge and Practice, Essential Nursing Skills and Nursing Calculations, the DVD


Guidance

Your answer should include evidence of the calculations required within the episode of care to administer the medicine safely and accurately. You should include knowledge of the physiological impact of the medicine being administered, demonstrated by including relevant evidence from the online British National Formulary within your account. Your answer should also include a brief discussion of your personal and professional development needs.

After identifying a particular practice episode, you could consider the different aspects of skills – for example, cognitive, motor and affective – as discussed in Unit 6 of Block 1. Alternatively, you could discuss the skill in relation to the knowledge and understanding, practice performance and professional development and awareness described in the levels of practice adapted from Bondy and used to assess your practice performance.

Units 19 and 20 are about medicines: calculating drug doses, the safe and accurate administration of medicines, and the underlying physiological effects. Remember to include evidence of your drug calculations in your answer.

In Unit 19, Activity 3 you did an online activity accessing the British National Formulary. You should return to this activity to remind yourself how to search the BNF online.

The final section of this TMA should include a brief discussion of your personal and professional development needs and an action plan. The headings in the Self-Assessment Record in your Portfolio would be appropriate to structure this final section of your assignment.

PART B


iCMA 43 Nursing calculations





4 Making the most of assessment work

While you will learn directly from studying the topics and doing the activities, assignment work plays an important part in learning in several ways. First, the assignments provide an opportunity to practise skills of enquiry beyond simply reading and working on the study materials. They are also an opportunity to pursue an interest in a particular way and in more depth. Second, the assignments demonstrate that you have understood what you have read and are able to use it in a constructive manner. Third, they allow you to draw together your own ideas and arguments and express yourself through writing. This allows you to practise and improve your communication skills, which include the ability to persuade other people (in this case your tutor) that your argument is sound.

You might find the following suggestions helpful when working on your assignments.

4.1 Reading question titles carefully When you read the question try to think how it relates to the material you have studied in the module so far. Look through the module materials to assess what is relevant to the question. If possible, discuss the question title with your tutor and other students.

It is always essential to read assignment – and examination – questions very carefully. It is important that you work out your answer to the given question, not another one similar to it, or one on which you would prefer to work.

Read the notes on how to approach each assignment before you start work on it and check with your tutor if you are unclear about anything. If you misunderstand the task at the beginning you may provide an excellent answer but to the wrong question, which means you will lose marks.

It is easy, for instance, to be triggered into a premature response by a key word or words. You might think ‘that’s something I know about’ and then be tempted to give your views on the topic that the wording triggers without noticing that the question is actually asking for something else.

4.2 Planning your time and your ideas Your assignments and the examination both require a planning stage. In the case of your TMAs you will want to spend maybe a day or two mulling over the question and jotting down notes on how to proceed.

Managing your time

Time management is a way of ensuring that you tackle your tasks at the right pace and complete them by the cut-off dates. It is also a

way of reducing your anxiety if you are worrying about your work on the module. One way of managing your time is given in the following example for TMA 01.

1 At the start of Block 1, identify your cut-off date for TMA 01 (see Section 2.2). Then work backwards from this and set yourself target dates for the various stages.

2 At least a week before you intend to write the assignment, read the question and consider how to tackle it. Read the notes on how to approach the assignment carefully. Discuss with your tutor and other students if necessary. Review the relevant module materials suggested (set yourself a target date).

3 When you reach your target date, make rough notes on TMA 01 as you look at the module material in more detail (target date).

4 Two days later outline your answer to TMA 01.

5 The next day draft the full-length TMA 01.

6 The following day polish up TMA 01 (target date).

7 Post or submit electronically for deadline (cut-off date).

Planning your assignment

Now let us look at some of the activities listed above in a little more detail. Stage 4 is preparing an outline. At this point you do not have to worry about producing a neat, polished product; just concentrate on setting down your main arguments and ideas. Stage 5 is preparing a full-length draft. Drafting is simply a way of shaping and improving your original ideas. Most people find that a piece of work improves if they draft and perhaps redraft it. You might want to write a rough draft first in your personal abbreviated style. The drafting stage is a good time to decide approximately how long each of your sections should be. For example, if the TMA should be 1500 words long in total, at the outline stage you might allocate the number of words per section as follows:

1 Introduction (up to 200 words)

2 Discussion of topics to be covered (1000 words)

3 Conclusion (300 words).

These are the basic elements that you should try to incorporate into any essay.

1 Introduction

Here you should show your understanding of the question: identify the different elements; specify terms to be defined and concepts to be explained; and outline how the argument will be presented and discussed. You might indicate ‘exclusions’ which you consider not directly relevant to your argument. The introduction should be lucid and concise – an outline without discussion. (Don’t try to avoid the issue by spending several pages setting the scene.)


2 Discussion

Use a new paragraph for each point in your argument and show its relationship to the question asked. Thinking back to the question not only helps you to avoid irrelevance and repetition but also helps you set the thrust of the argument. Try to develop the paragraphs in a logical sequence in relation to your introduction.

3 Conclusion

Briefly summarise the main points you have made and draw together the threads of your argument. Refer back to the question asked, indicating your own conclusions and any points which might need further consideration and research. A conclusion should not introduce new material.


4.3 Writing your TMAs Your style of writing is personal to you. You do not have to conform to a given approach. Nevertheless, the suggestions below may be helpful. Note that item 8 is an instruction not a piece of advice.

1 Spelling and grammar. If your assignments are written in poor English, with frequent grammatical errors, your tutor will give you advice on how to improve. Although poor spelling and grammar may affect your mark, don’t give up! You will gradually improve with practice.

If you know you have a particular weakness in spelling, keep a dictionary beside you when writing your assignment, and use a spelling checker. Ask a friend or colleague to check your work for grammatical errors. If you are dyslexic, or disabled in any way, or have particular problems with English as your second language, tell your tutor at the start of the module.

2 Make sure your meaning is clear. Try to write in complete and unambiguous sentences. Sometimes sentences have to be long, but short ones generally convey ideas most clearly. It is not always easy to tell whether what you have written is ambiguous. You may want to ask someone to read through your draft and highlight any sentences they find unclear.

3 First or third person? You can use either the third-person style (‘It may be argued that ...’) or the first person (‘I will argue that ...’). However, if you are reviewing your own experience, it may be more appropriate to use ‘I interviewed ...’ and ‘I consider that ...’. Your tutor will accept this.

4 Give each theme a paragraph. There is no fixed rule about when to start a new paragraph. If you have not used paragraphs, read through what you have written, and try to spot where natural breaks or changes in the tack of your argument occur. You should start new paragraphs at these points.

5 Use headings. Sometimes it helps to use headings as well as paragraphs. These may help the reader follow where you are


going in your argument. Otherwise, make frequent use of ‘signposting’ language to assist the reader: for example, use phrases such as ‘however’, or ‘on the other hand’, or ‘turning to the other side of the argument’.

6 Review your progress and be prepared to rewrite. Re-read what you have written (perhaps aloud) after a day or two. Does it make sense? Can you make minor changes to improve on particular phrases or sentences? Is your argument repetitious? Could you delete some material? If writing of this kind is new to you, or you are ‘rusty’, you should not expect to write everything perfectly first time.

7 Use of language. Think carefully about your use of language when referring to certain issues such as gender, ethnicity, age and disability. The module team members have spent a lot of time trying to present a good model in their own use of language in the study materials. Take note of this model in writing your essays.

8 Reference your arguments. Referencing your work is important, and you will lose marks if your assignment is not properly referenced. When producing academic work, convention dictates that we give credit to other people’s work when we cite theories or research findings to substantiate our arguments. Furthermore, referencing your work shows that you are drawing on materials from the module to develop your ideas and arguments. A reference tells the reader (in this case, your tutor) where the material you have drawn on can be found, so the style of referencing is important, too. Detailed guidance on how to reference your work is given in Section 4.5, which you should read carefully.

9 Talk to your tutor. Your tutor is there to help you with all aspects of your study for this module. Issues such as word length, using personal experience in writing, citing from your wider reading, or working out how to answer a question that does not seem clear to you – these are all typical subjects of a tutor’s normal discussions with students. Your tutor will also be helpful if you are simply feeling anxious about your work and in need reassurance.

4.4 Using your own and other people’s words You learn new ideas by using other people’s ideas and writing them in your own words. The point of writing essays is to give you a chance to practise using the ideas you have read about in the module. This has two aspects:

l It is important to write in your own words. If you simply copy from books you will not learn anything.

l You must bring in ideas and examples from the units and the Reader, as well as the audio and video material, to show that you are learning from the module.

Unless you do both these things, your tutor cannot judge how well you are progressing in your understanding of the module. In other


words, you need to make your own points and develop your own arguments using your own words, but you also need to refer to ideas and examples from the texts you have studied, to back up the points you make.

What constitutes plagiarism or cheating?

If you submit an assignment that contains work that is not your own, without indicating this to the marker (acknowledging your sources), you are committing ‘plagiarism’ and this is an offence. This might occur in an assignment when:

l Using a choice phrase or sentence that you have come across.

l Copying word for word directly from a text.

l Paraphrasing the words from a text very closely.

l Using text downloaded from the internet.

l Borrowing statistics or assembled facts from another person or source.

l Copying or downloading figures, photographs, pictures or diagrams without acknowledging your sources.

l Copying from the notes or essays of a fellow student.

l Copying from your own notes, on a text, tutorial, video or lecture, that contain direct quotations.

Although you are encouraged to show the results of your reading by referring to and quoting from works on your subject, copying from such sources without acknowledgement is deemed to be plagiarism and will not be accepted by the University.

Such poor academic practice may occur due to inexperience. So you should study the ‘Developing Good Academic Practices’ website http://learn.open.ac.uk/site/DGAP001. You should also read carefully all the module-specific study advice that you receive in your mailings, especially statements concerning plagiarism and how to reference your sources. Where plagiarised material is included in assignments, tutors are likely to notice the shifts in style and may be aware of the source. Seek their advice on this early on in your study. The University also uses plagiarism detection software which it applies to electronic assignments as well as scanned or retyped assignments.

The temptation to plagiarise may arise from lack of self-confidence or from a lack of understanding about the aims of the assessment and about what is required of you. Assignments provide a vehicle for assessing your performance during your module and contribute to your overall module result. However they also assist you in understanding your subject and aid your learning on the module. When you attempt to use the ideas and terms of the module independently you learn more thoroughly and develop your own writing style. You are likely to perform better in examinations if you have learned how to write your own answers to questions in assignments. By submitting work that is not your own you are denying yourself the benefit of this valuable learning strategy.


Copying the work of others would be counter-productive to your goal of understanding the module and to real achievement. Most students will not wish to take such a negative approach to studying, and the University does not tolerate it.

You are encouraged to collaborate with others in studying, but submitted work copied from or written jointly with others is not acceptable, unless collaboration is required in the particular assignment. Therefore you will be asked to sign a statement to confirm that all assessment work you have submitted is your own and that you have not cheated.

Submitting work that has been done by someone else and persistent borrowing of other people’s work without citation are obvious instances of plagiarism and are regarded as cheating. Paying for work from other sources and submitting it as your own is also cheating. It is intellectually dishonest to cheat and thus give one student an unfair advantage over others. Passing on your assignments to others, with the knowledge that another student may plagiarise the assignment will also lead to a penalty. If a case of plagiarism is proven, this is a serious offence and the Open University disciplinary procedures will be followed, as described under the Student Regulations SA 1.6 and SD 7.2.

4.5 Using your experience Linking your KYN107 studies to your own experience as a care giver is central to this module, so most assignments involve drawing on your practice experience. Learning to make effective use of your own experience takes time and effort, but it is worthwhile because it makes the module more relevant to you and helps you learn in depth. However, it is easy to let your personal experience and your prior knowledge of care influence your writing inappropriately. Here are a few guidelines.

Give relevant details

You know your own experience so well that you may forget to give your reader enough information to understand what you are talking about. It is important to give basic details which make clear the kind of situation you are discussing, so that the reader does not have to guess at what the background is.

Be brief

On the other hand, when writing about your own experience, there is a danger of writing too much and in too much detail about the story, most of which is not needed for the point you are making. The main purpose of your assignment is to show what you have learned from the module, so there is no point in using up a large part of your word allowance describing situations which are not part of the module. It is good to make links to your own experience but keep it brief.


Be objective

Don’t be too fixed in your own point of view: you have to stand back from your experience and describe it in clear, simple, unemotional terms. This is being objective. You are simply illustrating a point, not trying to browbeat the reader into supporting your cause. Remember that your experience by itself does not prove anything. It is simply useful illustration and your point of view is only part of the evidence for any story.

Make direct links to what is in the module

Since your purpose is to demonstrate to your tutor that you can use the knowledge, information and evidence you have been reading about in the module, you need to show clearly the links between the case you are talking about and what is said in the module materials.

Use examples from the module as well

Your arguments will not convince your tutor if you use only your own experience. They are not in a position to judge how well you have described your experience, nor how well you understand it, so you need to include examples from the module as well.

Here is what one student wrote when she was discussing the expanding role of the practitioner:

With regard to my own experience, the factors identified in Unit 3 are very relevant. This is particularly true for the issues of evidence-based practice, for it is important to ensure that my practice does not just reflect my own personal preferences and prejudices.

In some ways this is an excellent use of the student’s experience as it is brief, objective and obviously relevant. It also makes a clear link to the part of the module material that discusses changes in practice behaviour. However, it could be improved: it is a little too brief and does not give enough relevant detail. Before you can start to think about this student’s experience, you need to know more about her situation. What is her role? What does she mean by evidence or practice? What does she mean by personal preferences and prejudices? How has she reached this conclusion? Too much has been left for you to guess, so it doesn’t quite work as an illustration of the growing role of the practitioner. It is more about change in practice than the practitioner’s role within these wider changes.

However, it wouldn’t take much to make it work very well. When referring to your own experiences you can use material from your journal, which you are prompted to fill out as you work through the units. This will remind you of the important details you need to include and help you to identify the links to the module. It might look something like a spider chart, which starts with you in the middle, a brief list of your practice circumstances or role on the left and, on the right, factors showing that the practitioner’s role is growing or changing. As you write notes against each factor, you begin to see how far your case matches what you read in the unit.


You also get ideas about how to present the case – where to put the emphasis. Just five minutes spent getting the detail organised on paper (where you can look at it and sharpen it up) will help you use your own experience much more precisely and forcefully.

This is an illustration of how an example could be developed from notes such as these. You wouldn’t necessarily need to go into this amount of detail, but it demonstrates how much more effective a case study of your own can be if you show your reader how it supports your argument.

The following example would give a tutor much more to go on in deciding whether it fits well with what is said in Unit 3.

Traditionally, on the ward we have always taken patients’ temperatures four-hourly as sister says it’s the right way. This has caused conflict between shifts as some nurses find this outdated and without reason, whereas others are happy to do it in the same way as usual. As a result there is not always continuity of patient care as nurses get confused. Nowadays, if practice is to be of a high standard we need to recognise what is the best practice, and how we know it is the best. This means that nurses have to keep up to date with relevant knowledge and ideas relating to taking patients’ temperatures, so that care is both individual to the patient and proven to work, and also to ensure that we aren’t in dispute with each other. So, our role as nurses is changing from one of accepting or doing it our own way into one of questioning and challenging taken-for-granted assumptions about how we do things. It is not going to be without problems for practitioners, as the proof of what works or is best may also be disputed and will change over time.

References to NMC outcomes

If the assignment or reflective account asks you to refer to achieving NMC outcome(s):

l make sure you clearly identify which outcome(s) you are using

l demonstrate clearly how you have achieved the outcome(s). Ask yourself ‘What did I do that shows I can do this?’ Just stating that you achieved this outcome is not sufficient.

If the assignment or reflective account asks you to demonstrate that you have achieved a particular Bondy level in practice, you need to explain how you met the criteria for each of the three areas: knowledge and understanding, practice performance, and professional development and awareness.

References to module materials and other literature

As well as accurately referencing the module materials or other resources used in your assignments (see Section 4.8), you should also:

l Explain the link between the literature and the care you are delivering.

l Show how the literature helped you to deliver high-quality care.


l Where appropriate, you should incorporate references to the underpinning anatomy and physiology relevant to the care episode being discussed. You should demonstrate how this knowledge informs your care delivery. So, for example, if the care delivery identifies care of a wound, it would be appropriate to refer briefly to the anatomy and physiology of wound healing, or, if you were describing the administration of a medicine using intramuscular injection, it would be appropriate to identify the anatomy and physiology of the skin and subcutaneous tissues.

l In order to demonstrate acquisition of Level 1 and begin to provide evidence for practice, you will be required to draw from the module materials as well as other appropriate sources including relevant internet websites and other resources.

l When you are studying the theory module KYN100 or KYN101 before or alongside your practice module KYN107, you should draw on concepts from the theory module where appropriate.

References to your Portfolio or journal

In your assignments or the end-of-module reflective account, you may want to refer to supporting evidence in your Portfolio. If so, you should:

l Explain clearly in the assignment or reflective account the link between the evidence, the NMC outcome(s) and the episode of care you are discussing.

l You should not include large amounts of evidence as appendices in the hope that the marker will make the links to your argument. If it is necessary to append evidence to your assignment or reflective account, ensure that it is relevant to the point you are making and keep it brief. When you submit a TMA electronically you can submit only one file to the eTMA system, so your appendices need to be inserted at the end of your TMA.

l Reference the supporting evidence in the Portfolio clearly both within the assignment or reflective account and in the reference list (see Appendix 1 for referencing guidelines).

Issues relating to unsafe practice

When writing about the care you have delivered you should demonstrate an awareness of what constitutes safe and unsafe practice in your care delivery. This does not mean you cannot write about unsafe practice you may have seen: for example, you may witness unsafe practice and write about it, indicating the issues arising and what changes may be required to avoid such practice in future. It is important to be aware that if you write about unsafe practice and you don’t identify it as unsafe practice, you will be penalised and your work referred to the Examinations and Assessment Board for further action. You should also note that, in the nursing programme, unsafe practice includes issues of confidentiality. See Section 4.6 for further details and guidance about this.


Feedback from your tutor

Read the feedback comments from your tutor carefully when your assignment or reflective account is returned to you. This is your individualised teaching which gives you individual support in your learning. You can use this feedback to improve your future assignments and, if you are unsure about anything, seek further advice from your module tutor.

4.6 Confidentiality We have developed the following guidelines for students and tutors.

In your assignments, and elsewhere in the module, you are encouraged to draw on your personal or work experiences. This means that you may include information about, and occasionally pass judgement on, the organisation you work for and your colleagues, service users, patients or clients. When using such material in your assignments, you should ensure that the information is made anonymous, for example by changing or removing names of people, agencies and places, etc. You should also check that any material you use (or may have collected in a research or project activity) has the full permission of the person(s) concerned.

Be assured that your assignments will normally be confidential documents and treated as such by University staff. Only members of staff who need to see them will have access to them, for example your tutor. If your employer or sponsor asks to see your assignment work, that is a matter for you alone to decide; the University would refuse to cooperate with any such request unless you gave permission. However, because of the nature of the subject areas covered by modules from the Faculty of Health and Social Care, there may be exceptional cases where the confidentiality rule might need to be reconsidered. These would include, for example, evidence in an assignment of abuse taking place in a health or social welfare agency.

Here is an explanation of the steps a tutor will follow in such a situation.

l The tutor will contact the local Staff Tutor to discuss the matter. l The tutor is free to discuss the matter with the student if they

feel competent to do so. l Any proposed action should be discussed by the Staff Tutor

with the Module Team Chair and Head of the Department who will refer it to an Associate Dean of the Faculty if required.

l No action will be taken without the formal approval of the Dean. l No action will be taken without full consultation with the

student concerned and without serious consideration of the likely consequences.


4.7 Avoiding discriminatory language It is always important, especially in a module about health and social care, to write in a way that is not offensive and that takes other people’s concerns and feelings into account. In particular, you should avoid language that discriminates against people in any way.

The authors of the module have tried to use language sensitively to avoid offending people on the grounds of gender, disability, ethnicity, age, sexual orientation and cultural, religious or other differences. This is not an easy task as language changes over time, particularly in relation to some of the labels used to construct differences between groups of people that are associated with inequalities in power. As a guiding principle, the preferred terms of the groups of people concerned have been used, but this is also difficult as there are often different viewpoints within groups. Of course, you might also have difficulty in knowing the ‘correct’ terms to use and it is stressed that sometimes there are no easy answers to this dilemma. However, the following guidelines (rather than prescriptive or ‘correct’ terms) may help.

You must be cautious when referring to texts other than the materials written by the module team, as these may use language that is not fully inclusive. However, when developing learning skills it can be illuminating to look carefully at such language and the assumptions it makes, which might cause some people to feel excluded, different or not legitimate.

Sexist language

Avoid using language that makes women invisible, or gives either sex prominence over the other: for example, ‘mankind’, ‘man’s achievements’, ‘man’ meaning people in general. Instead, use inclusive terms such as humanity, humankind, human beings, our achievements, people.

References to disability

Organisations representing disabled people have discouraged terms that make disability the overriding characteristic in defining a group of people: for example, the disabled, the mentally ill. Instead, they encourage the use of terms that emphasise the person as much as the disability: people with disabilities, people with mental health problems. However, ‘disabled’ is a term that has come back into usage as it has been taken up by groups of disabled civil rights campaigners to emphasise the social and environmental factors that disable them rather than the individual aspects of their ‘impairment’. Some people choose to use and name their ‘impairment’ or ‘difference’ as the basis for a collective identity and culture, for example ‘the Deaf community’. Therefore ‘labels’ that would be acceptable to one group could be unacceptable to another. This is an example of how generalisations can be unhelpful and how it is important to take into account the political context and the preferences of specific groups of people.


Racist language

Language relating to race and ethnicity is also a sensitive and changing area and you should avoid terms that reinforce racist thinking and attribute negative stereotypes to a group based on assumed differences. The term ‘race’ is generally used to refer to the belief that characteristics such as skin colour can be used to categorise distinct races of people. Advances in scientific knowledge have demonstrated that this belief is not tenable and therefore the term is best avoided.

The term ‘ethnicity’ refers to national and cultural categorisation rather than false assumptions based on race. Try to be sensitive to the fact that terms are sometimes used for political purposes and sometimes to express other identities. For example, the term ‘black’ is used as a political term in anti-racist campaigns to challenge the racism experienced by people of African and Asian descent. The term ‘Indian’ is used to express national identity, ‘Tamil’ to express ethnic identity, and ‘Hindu’ to express a religious identity.

These guidelines have focused on gender, disability and ethnicity to illustrate a point, but there are similar language issues in relation to other ‘differences’ such as sexual orientation and age. For example, rather than saying ‘the elderly’, you could refer to ‘older people’, and instead of ‘the dying’, use ‘dying person’. Don’t be too worried if you are unsure about this, as long as you think about the use of language. Your tutor will give you advice about what terms to use and you will find the module materials help to develop your awareness and sensitivity to how difference is constructed and defined.

4.8 Referencing Please note that the information contained in this section is generic to the Faculty and uses examples from several modules. Some terms might differ from the module which you are currently studying – for example ‘Unit’ or ‘Block’.

It is very important to give a reference whenever you take ideas directly from another source, in order to credit the work of others. It means that readers can go back to the original work if they want to follow up a point themselves. It also enables readers to distinguish between your views and the views (and work) of others.

There are two elements to each reference you make: 1 In-text reference: a brief reference, which you write within the

text of your essay, e.g. (Coles, 1997)

2 End-of-text reference: the full reference, which you include in your list of references at the end of your essay, e.g. Coles, R. (1997) The Moral Intelligence of Children, New York, Random House.

Every in-text reference should have a matching end-of-text reference.

All references should be listed in full at the end of your assignment so that readers can locate the source text if they want to. Under the heading ‘References’, compile a list, in alphabetical order, of the authors’ surnames (or family names), of all the sources you have referred to in your assignment.

You can have several in-text references which all match the same end-of-text reference in the list.


Referencing in examinations

The convention of in-text referencing in your writing applies to all your work, including your examination answers. However, you are not expected to quote page numbers and dates, or to list the endof-text references at the end of your answer to the exam question.

Referencing styles

As a general rule, if you are studying a Level 1 module most of your references are likely to be to module texts and other materials published by The Open University.

However, by the time you reach Level 2 or 3 modules, you will be directed to some external resources not published by The Open University – for example, you will be reading resources in the original that you access through the Open University Library.

Some Level 2 and 3 modules use books published jointly by The Open University and another publisher, or ‘co-published’ texts. All Module Readers are treated as joint publications in association with The Open University.

The style of referencing you should use depends on who published the materials.

The Harvard system of referencing (author–date system) is widely used. You will need to use this style to reference:

l items that are published solely by external publishers l co-published texts, including the Module Reader if this applies to

your module.

More information about the Harvard system of referencing, and examples of how to use it, are given in the following examples.

For module materials written and published by The Open University, the University has created its own referencing style. This enables you to include more information than the standard Harvard system would allow, and is intended to help you and your tutor trace the references more accurately.

The way you set out the full end-of-text references varies according to the kinds of sources of information, and during your studies you will notice that different publishers use different conventions. However, you are asked to follow the styles illustrated in the sections that follow.

Please make sure that you include all the details shown in the following examples of references. Pay particular attention to the order in which the various details appear, to the punctuation and to the style – for example, where italic type is required.

References to Open University publications

If you want to refer to materials published by The Open University as part of your module, it is straightforward. The details of your in-text reference are written at the point where you make the reference. You simply put the module code, unit, block, workbook, learning guide or topic number and page in brackets, for example (K101, Unit 2, p. 45). If the passage you are referring to runs over more than one page, write ‘pp.’ instead of ‘p.’, for example (K101, Unit 2, pp. 45–6).


The following are some examples of how to refer to Open University materials.

Examples from modules

Perhaps you want to illustrate a particular point by referring to an example taken from your module material. You want your tutor to be sure that you are writing about a properly documented example, not one you made up, so you give details of exactly where you read it. In the example given below, this is on pages 99–100 of Unit 2.

If your tutor has any doubts about whether you have given a reasonable interpretation of the case, your detailed reference enables him or her to go back to the original and read it in full.

In-text End-of-text

A person with a chronic condition may reject the sick role and emphasise instead the healthiness of their life, as in the case of Andie (Unit 2, pp. 99–100).

The Open University (2008) K101 An Introduction to Health and Social Care, Unit 2 ‘Illness, Health and Care’, Milton Keynes, The Open University.

The module title in italics and unit title in quotes.

When referring to a block or unit, start with a capital letter when followed by a number, e.g. Block 1, Unit 1, etc.

View of authorities on a subject This is an example of where you are discussing the ideas of an author who is referred to in your module material.

For instance, you might be discussing the social model of health in order to emphasise the experience of disability. However, you would not want it to seem that you are relying simply on your own ideas or on what you have been told by people you happen to know. Instead, you are letting your tutor know that this is the case argued by Forbat, a published author.

Again, you tell your tutor where you read it – Unit 1, page 27 – so that your tutor can check back if he or she has any doubts or wants to read more about it.

In-text End-of-text

According to Forbat, the quality of relationship between a carer and a family member tends to be influenced by the past history of that relationship (K101, Unit 1, p. 27).

The Open University (2008) K101 An Introduction to Health and Social Care, Unit 1 ‘Care: a Family Affair’, Milton Keynes, The Open University.

The module title is in italics and unit title in quotes.


Quotations

In this example, you want to quote an author’s actual words. It is not just a reference to their work, but a quotation from it. You need to give the name of the person who originally wrote the words, as well as where the quote comes from.

If the quote is not taken directly from the original book, but comes from another source – Unit 3 – you cannot personally guarantee that it is an accurate quote or that it has not been taken out of context. In other words, you are relying on the authors of the unit to have quoted accurately and appropriately.

In this case, you would not just copy the reference that appears in the unit – (Leece, 2006, pp. 201–2) – as this would give the mistaken impression that you had read Leece’s book and were interpreting it yourself. Instead, you must show where you took the quotation from by referring to Unit 3.

In-text End-of-text

‘Except in a very few places, people who have low or moderate needs do not qualify for social care provided through social services.’ (Leece, 2006, quoted in K101, Unit 3, p. 151.)

The Open University (2008) K101 An Introduction to Health and Social Care, Unit 3 ‘Social Care in the Community’, Milton Keynes, The Open University.

Resources or readings

When referring to a module resource or offprint, where there is an author, give the author, year and resource page references, as shown below.

In-text End-of-text

(Sheffield Social Services, 1998, pp. 25–6)

Sheffield Social Services (1998) ‘Services for people with disabilities’ in K101 An Introduction to Health and Social Care, Resources, Milton Keynes, The Open University.

(McPhail, 2005, pp. 67–9) McPhail, M. (2005) ‘I just want to be treated like a person’ in K(ZW) 216 Resources, Milton Keynes, The Open University.

If no author is given for a particular offprint/resource, it is sufficient to give the section of module material to which it belongs, the offprint/resource number and page references. If the offprint/ resources start at number one for each block, you need to include the block number. If the numbering runs from one onwards throughout the whole module, you do not.


In-text End-of-text

(K113 Module 2, Resource 21) The Open University (2005) Resource 21 ‘Relating theory to practice’ in K113 Foundations for Social Work Practice, Module 2 Resources, Milton Keynes, The Open University, p. 4.

The HSC Resource Bank

References specifically to material provided in the HSC Resource Bank should be in the following form. Note that you need to provide the section of the Bank (e.g. Law) as well as the title of the resource itself.

If you refer to more than one item from the Bank, you should use letter suffixes to distinguish between different items (see Publications with the same author(s) and date.

Like any other online source, you also need to give information about when you accessed the resource (see Online sources).

In-text End-of-text

(The Open University, 2008a) The Open University (2008a) HSC Resource Bank0: Law, Discrimination (disability): Disability Discrimination Acts (DDA) 1995 and 2005, The Open University, http://learn.open.ac. uk/mod/oucontent/view.php? id=77254 [Accessed 4 June 2008].

(The Open University, 2008b) The Open University (2008b) HSC Resource Bank: Social work – aids to practice, Counselling, The Open University, http://learn.open.ac.uk/ mod/oucontent/view.php?id=79224 [Accessed 2 June 2008].

Multimedia

References to audio and video material that is part of your module should be in the style shown below.

In-text End-of-text

(K113 Audio 1, section 1) The Open University (2006) K113 Foundations for Social Work Practice, Audio 1, section 1, ‘Becoming a social worker’, Milton Keynes, The Open University.

(K101 DVD, Video 5.1) The Open University (2008) K101 An Introduction to Health and Social Care, DVD, Video 5.1, ‘Life story work: Jordan Morgan’s life story book’, Milton Keynes, The Open University.

Interactive CD-ROMs

References to interactive CD-ROMs should be in the style shown below.

In-text End-of-text

(K303 Managing Care at Wellbridge CD-ROM, scenario 3)

The Open University (2001) K303 Managing Care, Managing Care at Wellbridge CD-ROM, scenario 3, Milton Keynes, The Open University.

(KYN107 CD-ROM 1, case study 1) The Open University (2003) KYN107 Introducing Professional Practice and Knowledge, CD-ROM 1, case study 1, Milton Keynes, The Open University.

(KYN278 LG3 CD-ROM, Cardiac rehabilitation)

The Open University (2003) KYN278 Developing Professional Practice and Knowledge in Adult Nursing (2), LG3 CD-ROM, Cardiac rehabilitation case study, Milton Keynes, The Open University.

To refer to a specific resource within a CD-ROM, you need to give details of where it can be found. This will depend on the format of the CD-ROM. Some CD-ROMs provide a complete list of resources that may help you to identify the location of, and name given to, individual items.

For the in-text reference, you should include: the CD-ROM number/ title; the case study/scenario/activity number; the subsection/ location, e.g. room; and the resource name/type.

Below are some examples.

In-text End-of-text

(KYN278 LG3 CD-ROM, Teaching patients, planning teaching, Mrs Stoneham’s teaching plan)

(KYN278 LG3 CD-ROM, Cardiac rehabilitation, Phase 4, page 1, audio transcript)

(KYN274 Woodgrove CD-ROM, scenario 1, Nursing office, email for Donald)

The Open University (2003) KYN278 Developing Professional Practice and Knowledge in Adult Nursing (2), LG3 CD-ROM, Teaching patients case study, Milton Keynes, The Open University.

The Open University (2003) KYN278 Developing Professional Practice and Knowledge in Adult Nursing (2), LG3 CD-ROM, Cardiac rehabilitation case study, Milton Keynes, The Open University.

The Open University (2005) KYN274 Refining Professional Practice and Knowledge in Mental Health Nursing, Woodgrove CD-ROM, scenario 1, Milton Keynes, The Open University.

Check to see if there are footers within CD-ROM resources, as these may provide some of the information you need.



References to external publications

For materials published outside the Open University, as well as co-published books and module readers, you should use the Harvard system.

As the in-text reference you give the author’s surname (family name) and the year of publication. For example, if you were discussing the theories that Anthony Giddens gave in his book published in 1991, you would insert (Giddens, 1991) at a suitable point in the text. If you quoted a passage from the book, you would also give the page number(s): (Giddens, 1991, pp. 176–7).

In-text End-of-text

(Giddens, 1991) Giddens, A. (1991) Modernity and Self Identity: Self and Society in the Late Modern Age, Cambridge, Polity Press.

Note that if there were three or more authors, you would give the first author’s name followed by et al., for example, (Smith et al., 2007). However, in the full reference at the end of the assignment you would give all the authors’ names.

If more than one place of publication is given, the convention is to cite only the first location in the end-of-text reference. For example, if the place of publication and publisher is given as Southwold, Bournemouth, Margate, Brighton, Seaside Books, just cite Southwold, Seaside Books.

The following links give some examples of how to reference various materials using the Harvard system.

Co-published texts and Module Readers

Some Level 2 and 3 modules use books published jointly by The Open University and another publisher, or ‘co-published’ texts. All Module Readers are treated as joint publications in association with The Open University, as in the example below.

If this applies to your module, use the Harvard system for the in-text reference. For the end-of-text reference, follow the style shown here.

In-text End-of-text

(Earle, 2007) Earle, S. (2007) ‘Focusing on the health of children and young people’ in Earle, S., Lloyd, C.E., Sidell, M. and Spurr, S.M. (eds) Theory and Research in Promoting Public Health, London, Sage/Milton Keynes, The Open University.

A chapter in an edited book

If you want to refer to a particular chapter in an edited book which has different chapters written by different author(s), then you need to include the title of the chapter as well as information about the book in which it appears.


Your reference should be in the following form:

In-text End-of-text

(Kitwood, 2003, p. 164) Kitwood, T. (2003) ‘The caring organisation’ in Robb, M., Barrett, S., Komaromy, C. and Rogers, A. (eds) Communication, Relationships and Care: A Reader, London, Routledge/Milton Keynes, The Open University.

Views of authorities on a subject This is an example of where you are discussing the ideas of an author who is referred to in a book published outside The Open University.

Please note that if the chapter author’s name is not the same as that of the editor, or the author, of the whole book then the chapter author’s name is the one used in the reference.

In-text End-of-text

The work of Prochaska and Walsh, M. (2002) ‘The nature of DiClemente (1986) on change as cited nursing’ in Walsh, M. (ed.) Watson’s in Walsh (2002, p. 54) is drawn on Clinical Nursing and Related Sciences, increasingly by nurses to provide these Edinburgh, Baillière Tindall. useful insights.

A journal article

Give the author’s surname (or family name) and initials, year of publication (in brackets), title of article (enclosed in single inverted commas), title of journal (in italics), volume and issue number, and page number(s). For example:

In-text End-of-text

(Brocklehurst and Walshe, 1999) Brocklehurst, N. and Walshe, K. (1999) ‘Quality and the new NHS’, Nursing Standard, vol. 13, no. 51, pp. 46–53.

A newspaper article

‘The’ is omitted from all journal and newspaper titles in bibliographic references, with the exception of ‘The Times’ and ‘The Economist’, so you should just write ‘Coventry Evening Telegraph’ (and not ‘The Coventry Evening Telegraph’) when referring to that newspaper, as in the example given here.

In-text End-of-text

(McCarthy, 2004) McCarthy, J. ‘My right to smoke’, Coventry Evening Telegraph, 18 September 2004, p. 28.


Publications with the same author(s) and date

To distinguish between different publications by the same author(s) in the same year, add a suitable suffix to the date, e.g. 2005a, 2005b, 2005c, etc.

The suffix letters should be given to references in the order they appear in the end-of-text list and not in the order they are mentioned in the text.

For instance, in the example below, you might refer to DH, 2005b in the text first and only refer to DH, 2000a later. But the end-of-text list gives references for the same author and year in alphabetical order (so ‘Delivering...’ comes before ‘National...’). So the first reference that appears in the end-of-text list is suffixed ‘a’, the next ‘b’, and so on.

In-text End-of-text

(DH, 2005a) Department of Health (DH) (2005a) Delivering Choosing Health: Making Healthier Choices Easier, London, The Stationery Office.

(DH, 2005b) Department of Health (DH) (2005b) National Healthy School Status: A Guide for Schools, London, The Stationery Office.

Online sources

Like printed sources, electronic sources need to be cited systematically and consistently. However, the main difference lies in the need to indicate when you accessed the electronic source. This is because web pages, for example, change frequently.

Note:

l Do not allow a website address to break across a line – if it will not fit, take the whole address over to a new line. If it does not fit on one line, it is permissible to break an address after a forward slash.

l Including the prefix http:// is not necessary if the web address begins www.

l The custom of inserting [online] within online references is required if it is an online-only journal but is no longer required within OU referencing formats for web pages or documents. However, you must still include the web address and date you accessed the site.

Electronic journal articles

Give the author’s surname (or family name) and initials, year of publication (in brackets), title of article (enclosed in single inverted commas), title of journal (in italics) and, if given, volume and issue number, followed by ‘available from’ information, such as the name of the service and/or web address, and, in square brackets, the date you accessed the site (day, month, year).


For example:

In-text End-of-text

(Virkus, 2003) Virkus, S. (2003) ‘Information literacy in Europe: a literature review’, Information research, vol. 8, no. 4, [online] paper no. 159. http:// informationr.net/ ir/ 8-4/ paper159. html [Accessed 28 October 2003].

Web pages and documents

If you want to reference a web page or a document downloaded from a website, including those from the module website, you should give the author’s surname (or family name) and initials, year of publication (if given, in brackets), title of document (in italics), publisher (if given), ‘available from’ information such as the web address and, in square brackets, the date you accessed the site (day, month, year).

For example:

In-text End-of-text

(The Open University Library, 2006) The Open University Library (2006) Welcome to the Open University Library, The Open University. http://library. open.ac.uk [Accessed 11 July 2007].

(Department for Education and Skills, 2005)

Department for Education and Skills (2005) The Children Act 2004. www.dfes.gov.uk/publications/ childrenactreport [Accessed 5 July 2005].

Electronic mail messages

If you want to cite unpublished information that you have received from another person in an email, as the in-text reference you should give the author’s surname (or family name) and the date. In the endof-text reference, you should give the author’s name and initial(s), followed by the email address in brackets, full date of message (day, month, year), subject of message (in single quotes), ‘email to’ followed by the recipient’s name and email address.

For example:

In-text End-of-text

(Cole, 2006) Cole, B.D. ([email protected]), 29 May 2006, ‘Social work meeting’, email to Ingrid Jefferys, [email protected]

Please note: before citing from email correspondence, you should always check with the authors of private email that they are happy for you to publish their email details and use the content of messages.

Online forum messages

In the in-text reference you should give the author’s name and the year. Use suffixes (a, b, c, etc.) after the date to distinguish between


messages if you are referring to two or more messages from the same person in the same year.

For the end-of-text reference, include the author’s name, year, forum name, date and time of entry of message (with the month spelled out in full). Use a suffix after the date, as for the in-text reference above, followed by ‘forum message to ...’ etc.

In-text End-of-text

(Bennett, 2005) Bennett, L. (26 March 2005 18:40) ‘What makes a good social worker?’, forum message to KZX100 05 R03 ejb7 TG.

(Cole, 2005a) Cole, R. (12 May 2005a 17:50) ‘The role of law’, forum message to K303 2005.

(Cole, 2005b) Cole, R. (12 May 2005b 13:25) ‘Problem areas’, forum message to K303 2005.

Personal communications

You should cite personal communications in the text only. Give as much information as possible, including initials as well as the surname and the date of the communication. For example: (B.D. Cole, personal communication, 10 May 2005).

5 Marking guidelines (to be read by tutors and students) This section includes the details of marking grades and some general statements about what tutors should be looking for in terms of quality.

5.1 Grading You will be awarded a grade for your assignments on the scale shown below. All tutors throughout the Open University system are asked to mark using the following gradings.

University scale score Performance standard

85–100 Pass 1

70–84 Pass 2

55–69 Pass 3

40–54 Pass 4

30–39 Bare fail

15–29 Fail

0–14 Bad fail


Note that tutors are required to maintain university undergraduate standards of marking at all times. Students who have not studied for some years may find that they are disappointed with their early result. The large majority of TMAs receive pass grades but lower grades are not uncommon, particularly on early assignments. A fail grade on a first assignment should be interpreted as a challenge to find out what went wrong. Whatever your mark, your tutor is there to try to help you improve your score on your next assignment.

5.2 Criteria for marking and writing assignments We think that there are five important criteria, concerning, in order of importance, relevance, content, depth of treatment, structure, and style of presentation.

Relevance

It is of paramount importance that all assignment answers should be related to the particular question you have been asked. Irrespective of the other merits of any project or essay you submit, it will fail unless it answers the question as stated. If after reading the TMA and associated notes you are still uncertain about what is required of you, consult your tutor before you begin.

Content

It is not possible to state with certainty the points that should be included in any particular assignment. You will not be penalised for failing to cover every aspect of large topics, but critical aspects which should not be ignored will have featured in the module materials. The notes on how to approach the assignments will suggest a number of issues you might consider. It is for you, however, to judge which aspects of the subject you consider to be most relevant to the assignment question, drawing on your reading from the module and any relevant professional or personal experience to justify your decision.

A poor assignment will probably have too little content, inaccurate content, or (more likely) too many points of content that are irrelevant to the issue being discussed.

Depth of treatment

This refers to the quality and level of thinking and comprehension which is apparent from your assignment. These could be described as follows:

Poor. The completed assignment may take the form of a string of unrelated facts. Substantial sections of the text may be reproduced without any evident structure. The assignment reveals very little understanding of the topics, and shows no attempt to organise, analyse or produce a coherent argument.


Adequate. The completed assignment goes beyond a simple listing of facts. There is an attempt to organise and analyse as well as an attempt to draw inferences and to go beyond the module material. You show evidence of being able to apply the concepts introduced in the topics, readings and audio recordings to practice, and there is also evidence of structure and organisation in your thinking.

Good. The completed assignment shows some of the following characteristics: an attempt to evaluate, indicating the criteria by which a judgement is made and providing the evidence to support the judgement; an attempt to synthesise, bringing together knowledge acquired from different sources; and an attempt to raise issues and ask questions that are relevant to the assignment, but go beyond those discussed in the module or adopt an original perspective. References to practice will be skilfully interpreted.

Structure

Once you have considered which aspects of content you judge relevant and significant, it is clearly important to think about how to structure your answer, that is, decide on the framework within which the discussion will be developed. Some general points to remember here are:

1 Good assignments show a reasoned argument that presents and takes account of conflicting views and contrary evidence.

2 It is usually a good idea to make a plan beforehand. Answers should be carefully planned so that one point flows logically to the next.

3 The structure will usually consist of (i) an introduction explaining the question, (ii) the development of the discussion and argument, and (iii) your conclusion. This guidance was developed further in Section 4.2.

Style of presentation

This general heading covers a large number of factors which affect the communication of ideas. It does not refer to the structure or organisation of your assignment. It refers to use of language, the provision of references for quotations, appropriate subheadings, even punctuation and spelling. Your tutor will not rate this particular aspect of your work too stringently. They will draw your attention to any shortcomings you may have in this area, but you will not be penalised seriously unless your ability to communicate your ideas is affected.

Also, you should realise that an elegant style alone will not earn you a pass grade if your assignment is deficient in the other four, more important areas described above.

5.3 Marking grid Please consider the criteria set out in the table overleaf in conjunction with the learning outcomes listed for each assignment.


Table 1 Marking grid – distinguishing between grades

Please consider the criteria contained in this marking grid in conjunction with the learning outcomes listed for each assignment.

Assignment criteria

85–100%

Pass 1: demonstrates all or most of the following

70–84%


55–69%


1 Relevance An assignment should be relevant to the title

2 Content An assignment should draw on a critical selection of relevant study and additional material to support and substantiate arguments and ideas

3 Depth of treatment An assignment should apply relevant knowledge and understanding to the question to critically select, analyse and synthesise information

4 Structure An assignment should be structured in such a way that analysis and discussion can develop and flow logically

5 Style An assignment should communicate arguments, ideas and issues effectively, using styles and language appropriate to the module in conjunction with the provision of references, appropriate subheadings, punctuation and spelling

Excellent knowledge and understanding of relevant material, using it to answer the question set and showing independent thinking

Demonstrates safe practice

Excellent use of module material and other relevantinformation to support arguments; references are drawn on appropriately to support discussion

Excellent awareness of conflicting arguments and ideas and a good attempt to address them; ability to analyse and (occasionally) to critically evaluate material

Excellent organisation of the major points with very good signposting and balance between sections, where appropriate

Fluent use of written language; references are presented fully and correctly in both text and reference list

Good knowledge and understanding of relevant material, using it to answer the question set


Good use of module material and other relevant information to support arguments; references are integrated appropriately

Awareness of conflicting arguments and ideas and an attempt to address them; an attempt to analyse material

Good organisation of the major points with clear progression fromeach section to the next

Good use of written language; references are presented fully and correctly in both text and reference list

Adequate knowledge of relevant material


Fairly good use of study material and other relevant information to support most arguments; most of the references are relevant

Some awareness of conflicting arguments, relevant skills and ideas; limited attempt to analyse the arguments

Sensible use of most of the major points with a good attempt at organisation into appropriate sections

Mostly adequate use of written language; references are presented fairly clearly and a good attempt is made to list them at the end of the assignment


Assignment grades

40–54% 30–39% 15–29%


Bare fail: demonstrates all or most of the following

Fail: demonstrates all or most of the following

Some sign of Some understanding of Muddled approach, understanding and use of the general field but little or no sign of module or other relevant failure to answer the relevance material but limited question set inclusion of appropriate material

Demonstrates safe Unsafe practice Unsafe practice practice demonstrated or demonstrated or

identified and not identified and not acted upon acted upon

Limited use of study Lack of ability to Very limited material and other distinguish between knowledge of the area relevant information to relevant and irrelevant support arguments, only material; superficial some of which are understanding of material relevant

Only limited awareness No real understanding Complete lack of of conflicting arguments of conflicting arguments awareness of and ideas; no real and ideas conflicting arguments attempt to address and ideas them; very little or no attempt to analyse the arguments

Framework is apparent Some attempt to present Little or no evidence but logical flow and an organised answer but of planned structure coherence are not always either the planned or organisation consistent and may be structure or its execution difficult to follow may be muddled

Acceptable use of Acceptable but Meaning may be very language on the whole, sometimes muddled use hard to follow due to although muddled in of language; use of confused use of parts; presentation of concepts without language and lack of references may be understanding; little or organisation; no inconsistent or incorrect no sign of attempt to references

acknowledge reference sources


6 The examinable component The examinable component consists of two parts:

l a reflective account using Gibbs’s reflective cycle, based on your journey, which you have already included in your Portfolio (details are given below)

l the ‘Essential Information’ forms from your Portfolio (see Guidelines for Completing the CFP Portfolio for instructions).

Your Portfolio and the reflective account comprise the examinable component and both must reach The Open University by no later than 12 noon on the cut-off date, 18 January 2012. Work received after this date will not be accepted for assessment and will be returned, unmarked. Your tutor is not authorised to give permission for you to submit after the cut-off date.

Extra pages or assessment information received after the cut-off date cannot be accepted and will be returned to you.

Detailed instructions on how to submit the ‘Essential Information’ forms from your Portfolio are given in the Guidelines for Completing the CFP Portfolio. Your Portfolio component and your reflective account should be carefully and securely packaged and addressed to:

Head of Student Services (Course Presentation and Examinations) Projects, Portfolios and Dissertations Office The Open University PO Box 721 Walton Hall Milton Keynes MK7 6ZU

You will be sent a pre-addressed (but not pre-paid) label for your use. Please mark the envelope with the module code.

In all cases, please mark every page with your name and personal identifier.

As you work through the module, completing the Portfolio forms, check that you have obtained the necessary signatures from your mentor and your programme tutor. It is essential that all the forms have been signed and dated before you submit them.

Two identical copies of all your work must be submitted (that is, the original of your Portfolio component and reflective account plus a copy of each), including assessment information. Remember to make an extra copy of everything to keep for your own records in case anything should be lost in the post. You will be sent two ET3 cover sheets for your Portfolio component and two for your reflective account; please ensure that these are completed and that the correct sheet is attached to each copy submitted. You should attach the original to the ‘A’ copy of the ET3, and the photocopy to the ‘B’ copy. Please also label the original Portfolio component and the copy with your name and personal identifier, on both the front and back.

On completion of the module, the University will return the original version of your Portfolio component. Please label the original version clearly as ‘KYN107 Portfolio original’. The copy of the Portfolio will remain with The Open University.

6 The examinable component 49

At the end of your period of practice, after Discussion 3, when all the assessment forms have been completed and signed by you, your mentor and your programme tutor, you should photocopy them. You must submit the Portfolio component and its copy along with the reflective account and its copy by the cut-off date. You will receive instructions and labels for doing this from the University.

The original Portfolio component will be verified by your programme tutor. The copy of the Portfolio component will be monitored by members of the module team and information from it stored for the purpose of recording information that may be needed by future employers or in order to meet statutory requirements.

You are strongly advised to keep a copy of all your work and to obtain a certificate of posting. Do not use recorded delivery.

If you have to deliver the work by hand, either at your Regional Centre or at Walton Hall, please ensure that you obtain a receipt that gives the name of the person to whom you hand it and the date you handed it in. Work delivered to your Regional Centre must be handed in at least 48 hours before the cut-off date to ensure that it reaches the office in Milton Keynes on or before the cut-off date.

The University cannot accept faxed copies of your work or electronic submission.

Shortage of practice hours or experience by the submission

Exceptional circumstances may mean you are short of practice hours or experience or may not have achieved all the NMC outcomes at the time of submitting your Portfolio. This may be due, for example, to a short period of sick leave. If such an event does occur, your module result will be delayed until incomplete records are completed and submitted. You may have the opportunity to complete these shortfalls before you receive your module results. In that case, you should follow the process outlined below.

l Submit your Portfolio component by the submission date. l Retain a blank copy of relevant Portfolio documentation relating

to incomplete records for later submission. l Continue to collect evidence of required practice hours or practice

experience. l Record this evidence with signed verification of mentor or practice

supervisor on appropriate documentation. l Keep this documentation until you receive the outcome of the

Award Board when you will receive detailed instructions on how and where to send the now completed records.

If you have been ill for an extended period you should discuss this with your programme tutor and submit an E39 form.


6.1 End-of-module project: the reflective account Your reflective account should reach the OU no later than 12 noon on 18 January 2012.

Your reflective account should be 800–1000 words.

For this part of the examinable component you should answer the following question.

Using an episode of care in which you have been involved, demonstrate how you and your nursing practice have changed as you have moved from health care assistant at the beginning of the programme to the point of entering your chosen branch programme?

Learning outcomes

You should consider the following learning outcomes when planning and writing your reflective account, although you do not need to refer specifically to each one in your account: 1.1–1.9, 2.1–2.4 and 4.1–4.4 (see Appendix 2).

Key sources

Block 1, Block 4

Guidelines for the reflective account

You should identify a care episode in which you have been involved and which you think provides evidence of your development as a student nurse. Using this care episode, use Gibbs’s model of reflection to construct an account of using their care episode your journey to the end of the Common Foundation Programme (CFP). At the beginning of KYN107, for TMA 01 you were provided with a template of Gibbs’s model to structure your reflections. You will now build on that work using the writing skills that you have developed as you have studied the modules that comprise the CFP. For this reflective account you need not use the template on the module website. Instead you should use the main headings in the model and the questions they pose to structure your writing. You should also use examples from the activities you have completed when working on the module materials, examples taken from the module materials themselves, as well as your journal and Portfolio evidence, to provide examples that illustrate your journey to the end of the CFP. In your analysis you should show how theoretical concepts have informed your practice by referring to the module materials and other literature. You should make sure that you include an action plan in your account.

To help you plan and write the reflective account you need to be aware of three key elements:

1 transition from HCA to entry to branch is described, evaluated and analysed using Gibbs’s reflective cycle and an episode of care, including the development of an action plan

2 awareness of safe and holistic nursing practice

3 examples given to support the account.

51 Appendix 1 Referencing your Portfolio or journal

Appendix 1 Referencing your Portfolio or journal If you are citing evidence from your Portfolio, you should reference it according to the same principles, both in the assignment or project and in the reference list. There is no formal convention for such referencing, but you should adopt a simple system for numbering your Portfolio evidence so that you can refer directly to individual items. In the text, you should give your surname (or family name), the year of your Portfolio and the reference number of the piece of evidence; in the reference list, you should give your name and initials, the year of your Portfolio, the reference number and title of the piece of evidence and the module number for your Portfolio. For example:

In-text End-of-text

(Pearson, 2006, Evidence 16) Pearson, K.M. (2006) Evidence No. 16 ‘Assessment of a wound’, in KYN276 Portfolio, unpublished.

The word ‘unpublished’ is included to distinguish this type of evidence from evidence that can be accessed by anyone, such as module materials and journal articles.

When referring to entries from your journal, use the same format as above, replacing the word ‘Portfolio’ with ‘journal’ and omitting reference to numbered evidence.

Remember, as well as being a record of your practice, your Portfolio, is also a collection of resources for you to draw on; use it to show yourself to your best advantage.


Appendix 2 KYN107 learning outcomes for assignments

Learning outcome TMA 01 TMA 02 TMA 03 TMA 04 Reflective Portfolio account

Knowledge and understanding of:

1.1 professional and legal obligations 3 3 3 3 3 relating to professional practice

1.2 human biology and social sciences 3 3 3 3 3 informing nursing practice (iCMA)

1.3 the importance and application of 3 3 3 3 3 evidence based practice

1.4 the concept of safety in nursing 3 3 3 3 3 practice

1.5 effective documentation for 3 3 3 3 professional practice

1.6 a range of essential nursing skills 3 3 3 3 3

1.7 the implications of ethics and values 3 3 3 on nursing practice

1.8 confidentiality, privacy and security of 3 3 3 3 personal data

1.9 the importance of effective 3 3 3 3 communication skills in nursing practice

Cognitive skills

2.1 identify current personal competence 3 3 3 3

2.2 observe and describe clinical situations 3 3 3 3 3 3

2.3 identify and describe patient and 3 3 3 3 carer needs

2.4 reflect on nursing practice 3 3 3 3 3 3

Key skills

3.1 work with a PC and the Windows 3 3 3 3 3 environment, and create, name and save files and organise them into folders

3.2 locate, extract and work with 3 3 3 3 3 3 information from databases (iCMA) (iCMA) (iCMA)

3.3 present information in simple 3 3 3 3 3 databases following set routines (iCMA) (iCMA)

3.4 contribute to an electronic 3 3 3 3 3 conference (iCMA) (iCMA)

53 Appendix 2 KYN107 learning outcomes for assignments

Learning outcome TMA 01 TMA 02 TMA 03 TMA 04 Reflective Portfolio account

Professional and practice skills

4.1 developing knowledge of NMC 3 3 3 3 domain 1, ‘Professional and ethical practice’

4.2 developing knowledge of NMC 3 3 3 3 3 3 domain 2, ‘Care delivery’

4.3 developing knowledge of NMC 3 3 3 3 3 3 domain 3, ‘Care management’

4.4 developing knowledge of NMC 3 3 3 3 3 domain 4, ‘Personal and professional development’


Appendix 3 iCMA guidance

Dummy iCMA (iCMA 00)

(The iCMAs have been designed to run on Internet Explorer 6.0 and above. To ensure that the test runs effectively, we recommend you use this browser. These iCMAs are not suitable to run in Firefox internet browser.)

iCMA 00 is live from 28 August 2010 to the end of the module. During this time you can submit the dummy as many times as you like to re-try the test. There are no marks for this test, i.e. it does not affect your module mark. The ‘dummy’ is intended for you to practise using a variety of question types that will be used in future iCMAs in the module. It draws on anatomy and physiology and numeracy skills.

The purpose of this dummy iCMA is to introduce you to this new learning and assessment tool. The questions you encounter here cover the variety of question types you will complete as you work through the module. In order to answer the dummy questions correctly concerning anatomy and physiology you may wish to read:

1 Question 1 – Nursing Knowledge and Practice, page 169

2 Questions 2 – Ross and Wilson, page 76

3 Question 3 – Ross and Wilson, pages 30–3

4 Questions 4 to 8 do not require special reading.

To complete the test follow the guidance below.

1 Access an iCMA l On the module website within the section ‘Assessment’ click on

the link ‘Dummy iCMA (iCMA 00) (web link)’.

l Follow the guidance on screen to work through the questions provided.

You have three attempts at each question as you run through the dummy test. After completing a question you can re-do it by clicking on the ‘Re-do this question’ link which appears if you revisit the question page.

55 Appendix 3 iCMA guidance

2 Check all answers completed l To review your answers and which questions are not yet

completed, click on Your answers.

Please ensure that you have completed all the questions. On submission of an actual (marked) iCMA, for any questions which indicate ‘Not completed’ alongside them, you will not be awarded a score.

3 Go to End Test page

When you have completed the test you will need to submit the test to the OU by clicking on the ‘Submit’ button. (Note: this is different from the ‘Submit answer’ button which appears at the end of each individual question.) l When you have completed the last question (completing them in

sequence or out of sequence), go to the End Test page. You will either be taken to the End Test page directly after the last question or you should click on the ‘End Test’ button if you have been answering the questions out of sequence.

4 Submit the test to the OU l Follow the guidance on screen to submit the test, clicking the

‘Submit’ button at the bottom of the screen.

Important: if you do not submit a test by clicking on the ‘Submit test’ button, your results will not be officially marked and your results will not be counted. In the case of the dummy iCMA, you don’t have to worry about this, but for an actual iCMA you would need to remember to do this.

5 Resubmitting an iCMA test

For this dummy iCMA you can submit it as many times as you want, up to the end of the module.

For an actual iCMA it is not possible to resubmit an iCMA, and you may not submit it after the cut-off date. Extensions are not permitted.


6 Help

For detailed guidance on using the iCMA website features, refer to the Help section on the website.

7 Access results

Remember that any marks showing after the dummy test are for demonstration purposes only and will not be added to your student record.

You have now completed iCMA 00.

iCMA Practice tests 1, 2, and 3 will contain questions similar to the type you have practised above, and iCMAs 41, 42 and 43 (for which you will gain marks) will contain 15 questions in the first two iCMAs and seven questions in the last iCMA.

Further guidance on these iCMAs is provided below.

iCMA Practice tests l iCMA Practice 1 is live from 27 November 2010. l iCMA Practice 2 is live from 2 July 2011. l iCMA Practice 3 is live from 27 August 2011. l iCMA Practice tests stay open for the duration of the module.

The Practice tests do not carry any marks. You can revisit these tests as many times as you want during the module. Whereas the dummy iCMA 00 was intended to help you familiarise yourself with the process of submitting an iCMA and the various question types, the Practice tests are intended to give you an opportunity to learn and practise your knowledge of:

l anatomy and physiology in Block 2

l anatomy, physiology and fluid balance calculations in Block 3

l drug calculations in Block 4.

You are guided to use the iCMAs from the activities in each block (note that there are no iCMAs associated with Block 1). However, you can also use these Practice iCMAs as diagnostic exercises and then return to them after you have studied the relevant parts of the module. You can also use them later in the module to review your knowledge and check your progress. Ideally, you should use them in advance of the iCMAs for which you will receive marks.

Within an iCMA you can view the questions in any order by clicking on the numbered buttons that appear to the left of each page. All of the questions allow you three attempts.


The pages should be self-explanatory. If you require further guidance, refer to Help on the iCMA website.

iCMAs 41 to 43 carrying marks l iCMA 41 is live from 22 June to 13 July 2011 (during Block 2). l iCMA 42 is live from 24 August to 14 September 2011 (during

Block 3). l iCMA 43 is live from 12 October to 2 November 2011 (during

Block 4).

To complete the iCMA, follow the guidance below. iCMAs 41, 42 and 43 carry marks so you need to pay close attention to the submission process in steps 3 to 5. Failure to do so could result in your iCMA not going into the system and your marks not being processed into your student record.

Submitting a marked iCMA

1 Access an iCMA l On the module website in the section ‘Assessment’ (shown

above), click on the iCMA link for that study period, for example ‘iCMA 41 (web link)’.

l Follow the guidance on screen to work through the questions provided. You can do the questions in any order and in various sittings but you must only submit the test once, on completion of all of the questions. Your answers will then be compiled to produce a score.

You have three attempts at each question as you run through the test. Marks are as follows. l For a correct answer on the first attempt, you will get 3 marks.

l For a correct answer on the second attempt, you will get 2 marks.

l For a correct answer on the third attempt, you will get 1 mark.

2 Check all answers are completed l To review your answers and which questions are not yet

completed, click on Your answers.

Please ensure that you have completed all the questions. On submission of the test, for any questions which indicate ‘Not completed’ alongside them, you will not be awarded a score.


3 Go to End Test page

When you have completed the test, you will need to submit the test to the OU by clicking on the ‘Submit’ button. (Note: this is different from the ‘Submit answer’ button which appears at the end of each individual question.) l When you have completed the last question (completing them in

sequence or out of sequence), go to the End Test page. You will either be taken to the End Test page directly after Question 15 or you should click on the ‘End Test’ button if you have answered the questions out of sequence.

4 Submit the test to the OU l Follow the guidance on screen to submit the test, clicking on

the ‘Submit’ button at the bottom of the screen.

Important: if you do not submit this test by clicking on the ‘Submit test’ button, your results will not be officially marked or counted.

5 Responsibility for submitting an iCMA test

You are responsible for ensuring that your iCMA has been submitted. The following text will appear on screen once you have submitted your iCMA: ‘Your test has been submitted. You may save or print this screen as a record of your submission.’ l While at this screen you should check that it is your own PI

number that appears on the screen after you have submitted the iCMA.

If you have any queries, you should contact the OU Computing Helpdesk. Once you have clicked on the ‘Submit test’ button and confirmed test submission, the ‘Submit test’ button will no longer be available on the screen.

6 Resubmitting an iCMA test

It is not possible to resubmit an iCMA, and you may not submit it after the cut-off date. Extensions are not permitted.


7 Help

For detailed guidance on using the iCMA website features, refer to the Help section on the website.

8 Access results

Your test results will be posted on your module record page on StudentHome after the cut-off date for the iCMA, usually seven to ten days later.

You have now completed the iCMA guidance.

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