Assignment title: “The assessment and planning of care in mental health nursing”.
4000-word written assignment at level 5
You will select one service user/person from your practice area, on whose care you will focus.
You will outline, discuss and analyse the assessment and planning of their care.
To do this, you will apply a model, framework or approach to care which will inform your discussion.
The essay will have 7 section:
1) introduction,
2) Biography,
3) Assessment,
4) Care planning,
5) Conclusion,
6) References,
7) Appendices,
(care plans).
Define and discuss assessment.
Explain what assessment in mental health nursing is? How do we understand it, and what is it?
Refer to literature and different sources of information to highlight aspects and contrasting perspectives and viewpoints.
Develop the discussion to look at assessment within a wider framework, or conceptual understanding by choosing ONE model. Framework, philosophy or approach to discuss, with substantial support from, and reference to theory and literature.
Use your chosen framework, philosophy or approach throughout the rest of the assignment.
Your chosen framework, philosophy or approach should repeatedly feature in the assessment and care planning sections in order to clearly demonstrate that it has been meaningfully applied, and there is a synthesis of theory and practice.
Assessment 2
Next, consider the assessment of the person on whose care you are focusing. Carefully consider how and why you select facts or events from the assessment to emphasise and be aware of what it is that you wish to highlight.
Explain the setting in which the assessment was conducted, how it was carried out, in terms of the style and type of interview, and who was there, and why were these people involved?
Discuss how your assessment is supported by the evidence-base.
Explore research and literature concerning assessment tools, frameworks and approaches.
Consider the role of communication.
How was engagement encouraged?
How was therapeutic rapport and connection established and maintained?
Were there barriers or problems with communication?
Explain how these were incorporated within the assessment.
Assessment 3
Consider how problem were handled, preserved with or managed, so that they did not prevent the assessment from being carried out.
You may give examples of dialogue, or question and answers, or focus on pivotal moments when the assessment was very effective or something changed, or a breakthrough occurred in the therapeutic rapport.
Reflect on the role of value in practice, and how, as nurse, we demonstrate positive attributes and characteristics when working with the person.
It is essential to also consider risk and discuss evident based perspectives of real and potential risk factors that are relevant to the person.
At the end of the assessment provide a paragraph in which you summarise what has been covered, and the main highlight that have emerged.
Suggested 2000 words.
Care Planning 1
Include a definition to show your understanding of the care planning.
What do you understand a care plan to be?
What is care planning in terms of the role of the mental health nurse?
Consider multiple perspectives, and why this is so important to the work of nursing and the role of the nurse.
Next, identify how the service user’s care was planned.
You will focus on between 1 and 3 areas of need, or goals.
These are specific, discrete themes within the person’s overall range of assessed needs.
