3806NRS Professional Nursing Practice
Trimester 1, 2020
Assessment 1 (A1)
Written Assignment (Individual):
Developing a Professional Practice Portfolio
1,500 words
Weighting 50%
Due Date: Monday 16th March 2020 at 17:00hrs
AIM:
According to the Registered Nurses Standards for Practice (2016), to provide safe, effective nursing care, nurses must maintain capability for practice through lifelong learning and professional development.1
In this assessment task, you will develop the skills required to create a Professional Practice Portfolio (PPP) in which you can document the evidence of capability for practice as a Registered Nurse in the future and how the Standards for Practice are applied.
This assessment item will address course learning outcomes 1 and 3.
INSTRUCTIONS:
This assessment task has two components.
1. Professional practice portfolio use
· Describe a PPP and discuss the recommended components (approx. 100 words);
· Present an argument that supports the use of a PPP to demonstrate professional nursing practice. Your argument should demonstrate critical thinking and analysis of why PPPs should be used and the benefits and challenges of using a PPP to demonstrate capability for professional nursing practice (approx. 350 words);
· Discuss and differentiate between ‘management’ and ‘leadership’ concepts, and describe how development of leadership and management skills could be evidenced in a professional practice portfolio (approx. 400 words).
· Support your argument with at least seven scholarly sources from 2015 onwards.

2. Application of Professional Standards
Standard 3 “Maintains the capability for practice” (NMBA, 2016) includes seven points about how the Registered Nurse maintains the capability for practice. The fourth point states the Registered Nurse (RN) “accepts accountability for decisions, actions, behaviours and responsibilities inherent in their role” (NMBA, 2016).
· Choose an example from a previous or current clinical placement where you were delegated an action/responsibility by an RN/Clinical Facilitator and describe this example2. Your description should include: The context of nursing practice and health care delivery (i.e. where this occurred); who was involved; what you were delegated to do; how you enacted the delegated action/responsibility, and; the outcome of the delegated action/responsibility (approx. 200 words);
· Critically discuss how you demonstrated the application of a professional standard (within your student nurse scope of practice) and reflect upon the accountability for your decisions, actions, behaviours and responsibilities (approx. 450 words);
· Support your discussion with at least three scholarly sources from 2015 onwards.
OTHER ELEMENTS:
· Always refer to the Griffith Health Writing and Referencing Guide
· You do not need to include an introduction or conclusion to this written assessment.
· Use a heading for each of the two components of the written assessment.
· Do not exceed the word limit – the word limit does not include the reference list BUT does include in-text references and quotations;
· Examine the Turnitin report for your draft assignment. If you have text-matching identified in the written section of the assignment, this may be used as the basis of reporting an academic integrity concern.
· Submit your FINAL assignment via Turnitin as per the instructions on your Learning@Griffith course site. [Submit in the ‘Assessment’ tab]. Keep your Turnitin receipt as evidence of successful submission. Check you have submitted the correct assignment file.
· Email yourself a copy of your final assignment file so you have a contemporaneous record of your submission.
2 Note: The Standards document describes how the seven standards are interconnected (see Figure one, page three). Your clinical example may incorporate a description of you applying one or more of the standards e.g. assessment (Standard 4), developing a plan (Standard 5), providing nursing care (Standard 6), or evaluating care outcomes (Standard 7).

MARKING CRITERIA POSSIBLE
A1 Developing a Professional Practice Portfolio MARKS
1. Professional Practice Portfolio
Describes a PPP and discusses the recommended components supported by relevant, high quality, evidence-based, scholarly sources from 2015 onwards; (100 words) 5
Presents an argument supporting the use of a PPP to demonstrate professional nursing practice. Argument demonstrates a critical thinking and analysis of why PPPs should be used and the benefits and challenges of using a PPP to demonstrate capability for professional nursing practice supported by relevant, high quality, evidence-based, scholarly sources from 2015 onwards; (350 words) 10
Discuss and differentiate between ‘management’ and ‘leadership’ concepts, and 10
describe how development of leadership and management skills could be evidenced in a PPP supported by relevant, high quality, evidence-based, scholarly sources from 2015 onwards. (400 words)
2. Application of Professional Standards
Describes an example of a delegated action/responsibility describing the context of nursing practice and health care delivery (where this occurred); who was involved; what you were delegated to do; how you enacted the delegated action/responsibility, and; the outcome of the delegated action/responsibility; (200 words) 5
Critically discusses how a professional nursing standard was applied and reflects upon the accountability for decisions made, actions, behaviours and responsibilities supported by relevant, high quality, evidence-based, scholarly sources from 2015 onwards. (450 words) 10
3. Academic Writing and Presentation
Assignment is well presented, with correct spelling, grammar, well constructed sentences and appropriate paragraph structure.
Uses academic language throughout.
Conforms to the Assignment Presentation Formatting Guidelines. 7
Meets the 1,500-word length requirements (excluding reference list).
4. Referencing
Referencing (in-text citations and reference list entries) as per APA Style 7th Edition
Provides at least 10 references from scholarly literature, in alphabetical order, in one list which starts on a separate page.
Reference list starts on a separate page 3
Total marks / 50