NMC Standards of Proficiency, Communication and Reflection | Nursing Essay Assignment 2026 Assessment Task Detail and Instructions Essay (3,000 words) This assessment must demonstrate your achievement of all the module
NMC Standards of Proficiency, Communication and Reflection | Nursing Essay Assignment 2026 Assessment Task Detail and Instructions Essay (3,000 words) This assessment must demonstrate your achievement of all the module learning outcomes.
SUBMISSION: Please see the Canvas assignment for your submission date.
Learning Outcomes Knowledge and understanding learning outcomes LO1 Identify and reflect on the NMC Standards of Proficiency for Registered Nurses to support professionalism, patient safety and the ability to recognise potential vulnerability within others.
LO1 can be understood the following way:
This learning outcome involves understanding and applying the NMC Standards of Proficiency for registered nurses to uphold professionalism and ensure patient safety. It also includes developing the ability to identify and respond appropriately to signs of vulnerability in others.
LO2 Identify and reflect on people’s values and beliefs, diverse backgrounds, cultural characteristics, language requirements, needs and preferences, taking account of any need for adjustments in order to provide, promote, and where appropriate advocate for, non-discriminatory, person-centred and sensitive care.
LO2 can be understood the following way:
This learning outcome focuses on recognising and respecting individuals’ diverse values, beliefs, and needs to ensure inclusive, person-centred care. It also involves making appropriate adjustments and advocating for non-discriminatory and culturally sensitive support.
LO3 Identify and explain a range of skills and strategies to communicate effectively with colleagues and people at all stages of life.
LO3 can be understood the following way:
This learning outcome involves recognising and using a variety of communication skills and approaches suited to different age groups and professional settings. It also emphasises the importance of effective interaction to support collaboration and quality care.
Intellectual, practical, effective and transferable skills learning outcomes LO4 Explain where and how to seek guidance from others and the process for reporting any situations, behaviours or errors that could result in poor care outcomes.
LO4 can be understood the following way:
This learning outcome focuses on understanding when and how to seek support or advice from others in the workplace. It also includes knowing the correct procedures for reporting concerns, behaviours, or errors that may impact the quality of care.
LO5 Explore and reflect on professional healthcare values and the nurse’s role in implementing these values for person-centred care.
LO5 can be understood the following way:
This learning outcome involves examining core professional healthcare values and understanding how they guide the nurse’s role in delivering compassionate, person-centred care. It also encourages reflection on how these values are applied in everyday practice to support patients’ individual needs.
LO6 Demonstrate effective reflection skills, seeking and responding to support and feedback to develop professional knowledge and skills.
LO6 can be understood the following way:
This learning outcome focuses on using reflection to evaluate your own practice and identify areas for growth. It also involves actively seeking and applying feedback and support to enhance your professional knowledge and skills.
Essay guidelines IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE ACADEMIC REGULATIONS, THE WORD COUNT MUST NOT BE EXCEEDED – if you breach this regulation you may get marks deducted.
This has a pass grade of 40%.
Students are expected to follow the structure identified below, using the headings underlined.
Please note, the content under each heading is guidance on what should be covered. How you choose to include this within each section, and in what order, is up to you and will be dependent on your academic writing ability/style and how you organise thoughts etc. Just make sure your writing flows well to link content together in a logical order.
Title page (not included in the word count) This should include the following:
Module Code Module Title SID number (do not include your name) Word count (in-text references in brackets are not included in the word count) Contents Page (not included in the word count) Present each section with the page number it starts on.
Introduction (approximately 200 words) What the essay will cover:
Which scenario has been chosen Identification of the reflective framework that will be included (Driscoll) The topics that will be discussed in the essay Look at the key words contained within the learning outcomes (LOs) as you will need to address all LOs within your discussion.
Do not just list the LOs as bullet points, as this is not good academic practice in an essay. You will need to pick out what you are going to discuss and present in a sentence/paragraph style.
Background (approximately 600 words) Provide an overview of the following. The discussion within this section should start to cover the theory related to learning outcomes 1, 3 and 6 of the module. It should not contain any discussion relating to the chosen video.
Communication:
What is communication What it includes e.g. verbal/non-verbal How it can differ from person to person e.g. communication barriers or additional needs Why is it important within nursing Professionalism:
What is professionalism Explain how the NMC Code and NMC Standards of Proficiency ensure professionalism within practice What is accountability Reflection:
What is reflection Why is it important in nursing How do reflective frameworks aid reflection BRIEF discussion of the pros and cons of Driscoll’s framework Reflection on Chosen Scenario Using Driscoll’s Model of Reflection (2007) (approximately 2,000 words in total) Use Driscoll’s Model of Reflection to structure your reflection, broken down into the following sections.
What? (approximately 300 words) – The experience of the situation – in this section you will describe what you saw in the scenario.
At the end of this section, you will need to state the main issue/s (based on LO2) that you felt impacted on the person’s care within the scenario and identify what you will be exploring further in the ‘so what’ section.
The description within this section should ensure it includes content relating to learning outcome 2 of the module.
Helpful questions to consider could be: What …
is the context? is the problem/situation/difficulty/reason for what is happening? was trying to be achieved? were the outcome/consequences of the situation? was the role of other people in the situation (if others were involved)? feelings did the situation evoke in me? And in others (if evident within the scenario)? was good/bad about the experience? So What? (approximately 1,000 words) – The implications of the situation – in this section you will explore the thoughts and ideas you identified in ‘what’ by looking at published work (evidence), references, and theories to see what is written to help you understand why things happened the way they did.
The discussion within this section should ensure it includes content relating to learning outcomes 1, 2, 3 and 5 of the module.
Helpful questions to consider could be: So What …
was my attitude towards the people in the scenario, and why? was the reason for feelings expressed by myself and those within the scenario? was the base for people’s decisions/actions? could have been done differently to get a better outcome? does this tell me/teach me/imply about the situation? is my new understanding of the situation? does this experience tell me about the way nurses work and how important person-centred care is? Now What? (approximately 700 words – within this, you must include at least 150 words related to LO4) – The action plan – in this section you will consider the new learning you have gained from the ‘so what’ and decide how you will take it forward into your future practice. Rather than generic comments such as ‘I will do things differently/better’, you need to consider in more depth what you want to do, how you will do it, and how will you evaluate your progress over time.
The discussion within this section should ensure it includes content relating to learning outcomes 4 and 6 of the module.
DO NOT INCLUDE AN ACTION PLAN TABLE.
Helpful questions to consider could be: Now What …
do I need to do in the future to do better/fix a similar situation/change my attitude? resources or people are needed to help me achieve my goals? might be the consequences of any new actions I identify? would I need to do to escalate any concerns about situations, behaviours or errors in the future? do I need to consider about me/others/the situation to make sure this plan is successful? do I need to do to ensure that I will follow my plan? timeframe do I need to set for any actions? Conclusion (approximately 200 words) Provide a BRIEF summary of the salient (important) points made within the essay:
Why is communication, professionalism and reflection important in nursing What has been learned from the reflection about these, and other topics included in your discussion. Reference List (not included in the word count) This list must be presented alphabetically, using Cite Them Right Harvard referencing.
Presentation of written work Remember, in accordance with the Academic Regulations:
Please use only your SID number ONLY and NOT your name to identify the uploaded file. The SID NUMBER ONLY and page number should be as headers and footers and therefore set up on every page. A title page with your SID and the word count for the assignment MUST be included. A contents page MUST be included. The reflection can be written in the First Person. An appropriate font should be used i.e. Times New Roman or Ariel. The font size should be no less than size 11. The essay utilises 1.5 or 2 line spacing. The reference list should begin on a new page. References should be presented using Cite Them Right. Please follow your course guidance on the use of AI in assignments.
