UNIT CODE: NURS13144 UNIT TITLE: Preparation for practice as a Registered Nurse Assessment One – Case study Type: Written Assessment – Responding to a Case Study Due date: 4pm (AEST) Monday 28th August 2023 (Week 7) Weighting: 50% Length: 1200 words (± 10%) Unit Coordinators: Natalie Browning and Chanchal Kurup Course Learning Outcome Assessed 1. Identify transitional challenges that you may experience in your transition from student to registered nurse and explain the skills and strategies you may require to manage this transition 2. Explore power differentials that can exist within healthcare organisations and the tensions that may arise from these 3. Identify leadership roles undertaken by graduate registered nurses and discuss the skills required to undertake these roles 4. Analyse how the knowledge of governance systems can support the graduate registered nurse to provide safe patient care Aim Transitioning from a student to a registered nurse can be challenging. Managing a complex patient load, working within a team, adapting to the organisational culture, and taking responsibility for your actions are skills many graduate registered nurses are underprepared for. This assessment asks you to explore a fictional case study and examine transitional challenges, power differentials, leadership skills, and governance systems in the context of a newly graduated registered nurse. Instructions Taylor is a graduate registered nurse completing a full-time graduate program in a large regional hospital in Australia. Last week, Taylor started a rotation in the neurosurgical ward, after three months in the endoscopy unit. The neurosurgical ward uses a team nursing model of care, where a registered nurse and an enrolled nurse work together to care for eight acutely unwell patients. The ward is supported by assistants-in-nursing who provide assistance with activities of daily living for patients. A senior registered nurse acts as team leader each shift and provides oversight and guidance for challenging and unexpected situations. Taylor writes in a journal daily. Their most recent journal entry is below: This week has been so difficult. I feel so overwhelmed. The ward is so busy and the patients are so complex. I felt so confident working in Endoscopy because I knew the routine, but here I just can’t seem to get all my work done. Twice now I’ve had to stay back late in order to finish writing my notes because I ran out of time during my shift. I never seem to have time to take a proper break. I can’t relax after a shift because I just keep going over all the things I could have done better in my head. Today I was working with Ali, an enrolled nurse who has been working on the ward for 10 years. Ali and I had taken four patients each and were working our way through the 8am medication round. As I walked into a patient’s room I saw Jordan, a new assistant-in-nursing, about to test the patient’s blood glucose level. I asked Jordan to stop and explain her actions. Jordan said that Ali had asked her to test the patient’s blood sugar, and she knew how to do it because her sister has diabetes. I tested the patient’s blood glucose level myself and then went to find Ali. Unfortunately Ali was very dismissive. “You were so far behind on your med round, I thought I was helping. It’s just a blood sugar.” I told Ali that AINs are not allowed to take a patient’s blood glucose level (it is against ward policy). Ali just scoffed, rolled her eyes at me, and walked away. I went and told the team leader Kim, who said “That’s just Ali. She’s always been a bit rogue and she can be a bit difficult to talk to.” I asked Kim if I should complete an incident report and she seemed surprised. “Why? You stopped Jordan, so what’s the issue?” I was confused, but I didn’t want a fight so I just left it. Everything just seems so different to what I know. No one seems to care about best practice. I love working with the patients but trying to get along with the team is so hard. Maybe I’m just not meant to be a nurse … Write a short response to each question below, based on Taylor’s journal entry. Each question requires a short response of approximately 300 words(± 10%), for a total of 1200 words. Please include all four responses in a single Microsoft Word document, ensuring that each question is written in full prior to the corresponding answer. 1) Identify and analyse one transitional challenge Taylor is experiencing as a graduate registered nurse. Explain one skill or strategy Taylor could use to help overcome this challenge. 2) Consider Kim’s response to Taylor. Discuss what this could indicate about the organisational culture of the neurosurgical ward, and how this organisational culture could impact patient care. 3) Describe two leadership skills Taylor could use to help resolve the conflict with Ali. 4) Analyse whether Taylor needs to complete an incident report, considering potential and actual patient harm as well as broader implications for the nursing team. Literature and references In this assessment use at least 5 references from relevant, high-quality and contemporary journal articles (<5 years) to support your discussion. You may also use seminal scholarly literature, textbooks and credible websites where relevant. When sourcing information, consider the 5 elements of a quality reference: currency, authority, relevance, objectivity, and coverage. Grey literature sourced from the internet must be from reputable websites such as from government, university, or peak national bodies: for example, the Australian College of Nursing. Avoid using blogs, even when hosted by universities and other reputable organisations, as these are not credible sources. Requirements 1. Use a conventional and legible size 12 font, such as Arial, Calibri, Times New Roman or similar, with 2.0 line spacing and 2.54cm page margins (standard pre-set margin in Microsoft Word). 2. Include a title page with your name, student number, unit code and name, names of unit coordinators, due date, date submitted, and word count of each question. 3. Include page numbers on each page in a footer. 4. You may write in the second-person perspective. 5. Use formal academic language. 6. Do not use dot points or bullet points. 7. Use Australian spelling and language conventions (e.g. organisation). 8. Use the seventh edition American Psychological Association (APA) referencing style. The CQUniversity Academic Learning Centre has an online APA Referencing Style Guide. 9. An introduction, conclusion, and table of contents are not required. 10.The word count is considered for each individual response. The word count excludes the assessment questions and reference list but includes in-text references and direct quotations. Resources 1. You can use unit provided materials and other credible sources (e.g. journal articles, books) to reference your argument. The quality and credibility of your sources are important. Please do not reference your lecture notes or the unit PowerPoints. 2. We recommend that you access your discipline-specific library guide: the Nursing and Midwifery Guide 3. For information on academic communication, please go to the Academic Learning Centre Moodle site. The Academic Communication section has many helpful resources, including information for students with English as a second language. 4. Submit a draft before the due date to review your Turnitin Similarity Score before making a final submission. Instructions are available here. Submission Submit your assessment via the unit Moodle site in Microsoft Word format only. Marking Criteria Refer to the marking rubric for more detail on how marks will be assigned.