People aged 65 years and older constitute 50% of health service users.

AIM:

People aged 65 years and older constitute 50% of health service users. As people age, they experience changes to their physical and mental function, and can experience many social changes in terms of family and career. For those requiring health services, these changes are further complicated by illness (Moyle, et al., 2014).

The aim of this assignment is to apply the theoretical knowledge gained from modules 1 and 2 of this course to a case study that you have encountered in a Bachelor of Nursing clinical placement. Examples of case studies may include (but are not limited to) the range of prevalent conditions examined in module 1 and 2:

· Falls and fractures

· Incontinence

· Delirium

· Alzheimer’s Disease and other dementias.

TASK INSTRUCTIONS:

You will need to describe the issues in your case study, and then undertake a process of analysis in order to generate a comprehensive nursing plan of care. Practising this process of analysis will help you to feel more confident in providing nursing care to an older person in the clinical setting.

Your case study must:

1. Reflect upon the impact that various stereotypes of older people may have on the older person and their nursing care;

2. Recommend the nursing requirements for older people diagnosed with, or at risk of, complex health conditions and/or cognitive decline; and

3. Evaluate the outcomes for nursing care of older people.

For this task you need to prepare a 2500 word written assignment in a case study format. There are two parts to this assignment. Part 1 is a case study(750 words) and Part 2 is a plan of care for the person (1750 words).

Review these guides to writing a case study:

· Griffith University Guide to Writing a Case Study

· Monash University How to Write the Case Study

· QUT Writing a Case Study Response

Part 1 – Case Study (750 words)

· Introduce the purpose of the case study.

· Briefly outline the main problems as you recall and reflect on the care of an older person (over 65 years or over 55 years if Australia’s First Peoples) who has at least two (2) co-morbidities which impact on their functional status in an acute care (hospital) setting.

· Write a case study based on this experience. In the case study:

· describe the impact that specific stereotypes of older people may have on the person, and

· identify a specific, and recent environmental change impacting this older person.

Part 2 – Care Plan (1750 words)

· Develop a plan of care for the person. In your plan you must:

· Identify and justify the top five objectives for nursing care,

· Describe and justify evidenced-based nursing interventions to achieve each objective, and

· Create and describe the evaluation criteria that you will use to judge whether the plan addressed the identified objectives.

Throughout your care plan it must be clear how your decisions have been informed by a critical analysis of the case, applying concepts (stereotypes, nursing requirements, outcomes) raised in modules 1 and 2. No fewer than 10 different sources from the scholarly literature should be sourced. NOTE: It is important that you maintain confidentiality as per University guidelines and include no identifying demographic information about patients, colleagues or institutions.

Additional information:

· Ensure that you use scholarly literature[footnoteRef:1] (digitised readings, research articles, relevant Government reports and text books) that has been predominantly published within the last 5 years. [1: Scholarly or peer-reviewed journal articles are written by scholars or professionals who are experts in their fields, as opposed to literature such as magazine articles, which reflect the tastes of the general public and are often meant as entertainment.]

· Use academic language[footnoteRef:2] and health specific terminology throughout. [2: Everyday language is predominantly subjective. It is mainly used to express opinions based on personal preference or belief rather than evidence. Written academic English is formal. It avoids colloquialisms and slang, which may be subject to local and social variations. Formal language is more precise and stable, and therefore more suitable for the expression of complex ideas and the development of reasoned argumentation.]

· Refer to the marking guidelines when writing your assignment. This will assist you in calculating the weightings of the sections for your assignment.

· You may use headings to organise your work and use the first person in your writing.

· State your word count (excluding your reference list) on the Assignment Coversheet.

Assignment 1, Case Study, Marking Guidelines

CRITERIA	POSSIBLE MARK
CRITERION ONE: Introduction
1. The introduction provides a clear outline of the aim and key points to be developed in the case study (5 marks);	/5
CRITERION TWO: Case Study Response
· The effect of ‘older person’ stereotypes on the individual is critically analysed (5 marks); · The 5 most important nursing requirements are justified using literature/evidence from nursing and ageing sources (5 marks); · The proposed nursing interventions are evidence-based and justified in relation to the needs of the older person described in the case study (5 marks); · The evaluation criteria are relevant to the situation in the case, measurable and timely (5 marks).	/20
CRITERION THREE: Research and use of evidence
· The proposed nursing interventions are evidence-based (10 marks), · No fewer than 10 different sources from the scholarly literature are sourced (5 marks).	/15
CRITERION FOUR: Academic Writing
· The writing is clear, concise and free of APA (6th ed) errors. · Word limits for assessment items are strictly adhered to. · The case study is well presented, with correct spelling, grammar, and well-constructed sentence and paragraph structure.	/5
CRITERION FIVE: Conclusion
· The evaluation criteria logically state whether the plan of care has addressed the identified objectives.	/5
Total Marks [ weighted at 50%]	/50

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