ITECH 5500 Professional Research and Communication

Assignment No. and type: 1 of 2 assignments; A 2000 word summative essay

Assessment weighting: 60%

Assignment task
CW1. Small change project to enhance the patient experienced, based on clinical audit data.

This assignment has been designed to provide you with an opportunity to demonstrate your achievement of the following module learning outcomes:
L.O1) Demonstrate an understanding of the principles of the change process utilising a leadership framework
L.O2) Demonstrate an understanding of leadership qualities and an awareness of self in the practice setting and as a change agent.
L.O3) Explore issues around collaborative and inter-professional working both in theory and practice.
L.O4) Discuss the use of evidence and research to inform health care practice
L.O5) Demonstrate understanding in relation to life long learning and professional development.

Task requirements
CW1 – Small change project – Use evidence from either current national or local audit results to guide the development of a small change project. Discuss the theory of the audit process, how audit and research can be used inform and change practice.
Exhibit an understanding of the theories and models related to change management and leadership in the perioperative environment; explore how these issues can influence the implementation of your change project.

Explore the principles of interprofessional working within the perioperative environment and how working in collaboration with others can be used to implement your change project.

Key points:
Use a Change Management Plan
The Audit does not have to be implemented as a part of this assignment
Your audit results must relate to the patient
Harvard referencing style must be observed
Work must be submitted via Turnit in

Referencing and research requirements
Please reference your work according to the Harvard style as defined in Cite Them Right Online (http://www.citethemrightonline.com). This information is also available in book form: Pears, R. and Shields, G. (2019) Cite them right: the essential reference guide. 11 th edn. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan. Copies are available via the University library.

How your work will be assessed
Your work will be assessed against the assessment criteria which have been provided at the end of this brief.

These criteria have been designed specifically for this assignment and are intended to measure the extent to which you have demonstrated your achievement of its associated learning outcomes (see above). They have been aligned with the institutional grade descriptor appropriate for your level.

The assessment criteria provide a basis for fair and consistent marking and indicate what is expected of you in this assignment. It is strongly recommended that you engage with them while you are working on the assignment and use them in combination with any feedback you receive once your work has been marked to help you plan for future learning and development.

Submission details

  • You are reminded of the University’s regulations on academic misconduct, which can be viewed on the University website: https://www.bucks.ac.uk/sites/default/files/2021-07/Academic%20Integrity%20Policy.pdf
  • In submitting your assignment, you are acknowledging that you have read and understood these regulations
  • Please also note that work that is submitted up to 10 working days beyond the submission date will be considered a late submission. Late submissions will be marked and the actual mark recorded, but will be capped at the pass mark (typically 40%), provided that the work is of a passing standard. Work submitted after this period will not be marked and will be treated as a non-submission.
  • The essay will be submitted electronically.
  • This assignment should be submitted electronically. Please use the relevant Turnitin submission point in the Submit your work area in your Blackboard module shell.
  • Please ensure that your work has been saved in an appropriate file format. Turnitin will only accept the following file types: Microsoft Word, Excel or PowerPoint, PostScript, PDF, HTML, RTF, OpenOffice (ODT), Hangul (HWP), Google Docs, or plain text. Your file must also contain at least 20 words of text, consist of fewer than 400 pages and be less than 40MB in size.
  • You can submit your work as many times as you like before the submission date. If you do submit your work more than once, your earlier submission will be replaced by the most recent version.
  • Once you have submitted your work, you will receive a digital receipt as proof of submission, which will be sent to your forwarded e-mail address (provided you have set this up). Please keep this receipt for future reference, along with the original electronic copy of your assignment.

Before you submit

  • Please use the provided checklist below to make sure you are ‘fit to submit’ your work
  • We recommend you use this checklist as soon as you get this assignment brief to help you plan your work

Fit to Submit: Assignment Checklist

This brief assignment checklist is designed to help you avoid some of the most common mistakes students make in their coursework.

Have you read the assignment brief? If not, do so now!
In it you will find details of the assessment task, word count, the assessment criteria your work is marked against, and the learning outcomes – the basis for the assessment strategy in each module.

Students often lose marks by forgetting some of the more straightforward elements of their assignments. We recommend that you “tick off” each of the points below as you prepare your work for submission. If you need any help, ask your tutor and/or visit https://bucks.ac.uk/students/academicadvice/assessment-and-examination

  • Have you read and understood the assessment criteria?
  • Have you met the learning outcomes? You will lose marks and your work may even be failed if you have not.
  • Have you demonstrated you can think and write critically in the completed work? This means you have supported your arguments/explanations appropriately e.g. using relevant academic sources and you have offered discussion points which extends your own or others’ viewpoints to make reasoned conclusions/judgements.
  • Have you maintained an appropriate tone throughout your work? Is your work formal, focused, developed and clear?
  • Have you checked that the referencing in your assignment is in line with your programme requirements?
  • Have you proof-read your work and used spellcheck software to check your spelling and grammar?
  • Have you checked the presentation of your work is as specified by your tutor, for example, are font size, colour, style, line spacing and margins as the tutor specified?
  • Have you kept to the word count (or equivalent)? If you are not sure, check with your tutor.
  • Can you confirm that the work submitted is your own and maintains academic integrity?