NU3373 patchwork portfolio
Frequently asked questions summary
Ensure you access the specific patch guidance in the ‘assignments’ folder and ‘specific patch guidance and MAGS’ folder, as well as the MAGS recordings.
Please review the guidance and this summary prior to posting on the discussion board as your questions may be answered in this document, so will save you posting.
This is a summary of main points from the questions on the discussion boards and the patch guidance.
Contents
Learning outcomes 1
Whole portfolio summary 2
Putting the portfolio together 2
References 2
Word count 3
Ideas 3
Person 3
Patch 1 4
Patch 2 4
Patch 3 5
Patch 4 6
Patch 5 6
Patch 6 8
Patch 7 9
Patch 8 10
Patch 9 10
Learning outcomes
1. Select, plan and define a self-initiated project.
2. Show evidence of reasoned discussion and analysis through critical appraisal of appropriate evidence.
3. Critically discuss application to innovation and/or research in contemporary nursing practice within chosen field.
4. Demonstrate proficiency in written and/or oral presentation skills to explain a complex idea in concise but impactful terms.
5. Critically reflect on the independent learning journey.
Whole portfolio summary
Your assessment for the module is a 10,000 word equivalent patchwork portfolio meeting all the learning outcomes and 100% of the module mark. It is made up of 9 patches (small chunks), submitted together as one piece of work. It is flexible in how you do each patch and also how you compile it together as a whole portfolio. The patch guidance’s are a guide to help you meet the learning outcomes.
Being a very inclusive approach, it will really play to your strengths and you will be able to work in ways that you enjoy, whether that’s essays, presentations, diagrams, video’s etc. Plus, it will hopefully be an interesting, engaging and enjoyable piece of work. There are no deadlines for each of the patches, it is submitted as a whole piece, although it may help you to set your own deadlines.
If you don’t fully meet a learning outcome in one patch but meet it well in another then you pass the whole piece as it’s assessed as a whole.
Putting the portfolio together
You can put the portfolio together how you wish, we’d recommend using word, PowerPoint, Sway or Padlet. If using word you can use different fonts, sizes, colours, pictures, backgrounds etc. Be creative as long as we can read it and it has structure. You will do a very brief introduction to the whole portfolio and conclusion. The introduction would just be to introduce your work, mention the learning outcomes, not listing them just referring to relevant bits of them, like when introducing an essay, you may reference NMC for confidentiality etc. You do not need to define what a patchwork portfolio it. Keep intro brief, a few lines/ small paragraph.
Any SPLD forms will go at the start. You can include titles/ subheadings and put patch 1, 2 etc. Reference pictures if they are from google images etc., you can find free pictures online too which you can use (Sway uses these anyway) and not reference, this is much easier. Or take your own pictures. You don’t need to include an abstract, you’ve not enough words. You could include a contents page, not included in your word count, this would be good if you’re using word to put together your portfolio. If you use Padlet to put together your portfolio you won’t be able to submit this anonymously, you can with all other submissions. There is a full guide for how to submit the portfolio whether choosing Padlet, Word, Sway or Powerpoint, which is in the ‘Submission guidance and portals’ folder in the ‘Assignments folder’ on Blackboard. There is also extra guidance and videos on using Sway. If using Sway please make sure you put the link at the top of the word document as shown in the guidance.
References
The reference list (in APA) will come at the end of the whole piece for all the references used in all the patches. Make sure you keep a note of all of your references, then it’s not a huge job at the end, it always takes longer than you think. References within 5 years are great, shows current evidence, or 10 years is also good, you may have some older which is fine as will depend on your area, some core texts may be older, but if the large majority are up to date that’s okay.
The very rough general guide is 100 per 10000 word work, however You may use less than this but meet the learning outcomes and show level 6 study and get a really good mark or you could use loads more than this and not meet the Lane outcomes or show level 6 study and not get a good mark . So it depends on how you use the references rather than the number of them.
March 18 and Sept 18 theory you will use APA 6th edition and Sept 18 80:20 will use APA 7th edition. Referencing guidance is in the Assignments folder on blackboard.
You can quote the NMC, NICE, DOH etc., using direct quotes, don’t use loads of these though, you don’t have to use any, it is good to paraphrase and apply evidence to show level 6 study where you can.
Word count
Don’t focus on word count too much initially, things will be in draft and they should be as the patches all inform each other and help you develop your idea. Keep everything you write and evidence you find. It’s 10000 maximum so not 10% over. If you follow the equivalent word count you shouldn’t go 10% over in the patches, it would take you over the maximum word count. Tables (in patch 5), self-assessment forms (like in patch 7 and 8) do not count in your words. You can go over and under on the patch word count guide, so you may write more in one and less in another as long as it’s not over 10000 for the whole thing.
Ideas
The project idea you’ll explore in the patches can be any idea in your field, so adult, child or mental health. You need to pick one idea as each patch leads on to another, there needs to be flow and picking one idea enables you to go in to detail to be able to show level 6 study and critique and meet the LOs. Keeping your idea simple can help make things clearer, careful not to include loads of elements to your change and make it complicated, this is an important part of change management. You don’t have to have an idea completely perfect straight away and shouldn’t do, as through the module content and in doing the patches, especially the peer review (patch 8), you’ll continue to work on your ideas and develop them. The good thing with it being submitted in one piece is you can work on different patches at different times and go back to them once you’ve developed your idea and learned more.
It’s important to take ownership of your idea as part of level 6 study and your learning journey (LO5). It’s your choice what you pick, main thing is that it’s something you’re interested in. Then of course that there’s a good evidence base to support you meeting the learning outcomes. Have a think about something that could be better, and what you’d like to happen. Think about what you are changing/ tweaking/ innovating/ enhancing/ improving/ introducing/ bringing from one are to another. Is it for staff, patient, organisational or financial benefit? Is it to enhance quality and/ or safety of care, improve outcomes or reduce risk? You could have a look at what is currently being done/ what’s available etc. This will help you narrow down an idea. Maybe have a go at writing down some ideas and doing brief SWOTs on them to help you decide.
It is your choice what idea you pick. For LO1 you need to select the idea, so it’s not for us to say yes or no. We can advise you to not choose something too big, like NHS wide changes or full hospital changes or IT systems as they can be costly, involve more staffing/ equipment etc. and need involvement from stakeholders, management etc. Doing patch 2 will help you think about the strengths and weaknesses. It helps to be specific about your area, what type of ward/ community team/ specialist service etc. You can choose any area as long as it’s to do with your field (adult, child or mental health).
You are not doing research, which would require ethical approval. It is a project to implement a change.
Person
You can write the whole portfolio in 1st person, and should in patches 7, 8 and 9 as you’re reflecting. Be mindful to underpin your work with references still to show level 6 study and meet the LOs, sometimes writing in 1st person can become very descriptive, all your own opinions. If you’re more comfortable writing in 3rd person you can do that, but use ‘I’ in patches 7,8,9. Saying ‘the author will consider…’ can be clunky, so you can say, ‘this portfolio will consider…’ etc.
The focus of your portfolio is on the change, keeping it small but it may be a change that a student wouldn’t necessarily be the change agent for it might be a nurse, so the choice is yours. As long as the change is within your field of nursing and not too big. See information on ideas above. For the reflections in patches 7,8,9 of course you are reflecting on yourself which is as a student.
Patch 1
Identification and rationale
Learning outcome 1
500 words
Patch 1 is kind of like an introduction (although you will do a very brief introduction to the whole portfolio- see general questions summary). It introduces your idea and gives a summary of main points, you will expand on parts of this in patches 3 and 4. Patches 1-4 are only 500 words remember so you’ll need to be concise (LO4 and level 6 rubric).
Identify your project idea – What you are changing/ tweaking/ innovating/ enhancing/ improving/ introducing/ bringing from one area to another?
What is the rationale for your idea? – Give a summary of main points, what are the key reasons? (You will explore the reasons in more depth in patch 3).
Questions to think about: Is it to enhance quality and/ or safety of care, improve outcomes or reduce risk? Is it for staff, patient, carer, family, organisational and/ or financial benefit? Is there a need for your idea? Is there evidence that your idea could work in practice?
You don’t have to use the project initiation document (PID), it’s an example. Not all parts will be appropriate to your idea so you don’t need to include them, if using this you should include references in it just like in an essay or PowerPoint. It’s good to show critique and use references where you can to show level 6 study.
Patch 2
SWOT analysis
Learning outcome 1
500 words
Patch 2 is to do a SWOT in a table or powerpoint etc.
There are two ways you can do it-
1) Do a brief bullet point SWOT and a discussion (text/ essay/ narrative) – the SWOT table wouldn’t count in your words the discussion would
2) Do a detailed SWOT with references in it – this would be the word count equivalent as you’d expand on the points (you wouldn’t do a discussion as well)
You think about the usefulness of a SWOT and add some critique in to show level 6.
You could do a SWOT and another similar model and compare them, strengths, weaknesses, differences etc. of each, say which you think is better, be mindful though that it’s only equivalent 500 words so it will be brief if you did do this. As you need to explore the points in your SWOT about your idea.
Alternatives to SWOT are written about in business more so than health so may not be specifically written about in health journal articles etc. SCOC is just one example, there are others, but you don’t have to use them, you can just do a SWOT.
It’s good to show critique and use references where you can. Remember that patch 2 (SWOT) is only 500 words so you may not be able to be very critical in this patch but you will particularly in patch 5 for example, and others for showing level 6 study. You’ll put in your own opinions in the SWOT, essentially the whole SWOT is your opinions, where you can support them with references.
Please see SWOT presentation in session 4.
Examples of other SWOT frameworks
https://smallbusiness.chron.com/alternatives-swot-analysis-64967.html
This paper has a number of swot analysis within it as examples
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5845115/pdf/IJCBNM-6-111.pdf
This paper uses a swot analysis to gather evidence for research
https://www.magonlinelibrary.com/doi/pdf/10.12968/jcyn.2007.1.2.23749
Patch 3
Reasons (drivers): Current things in general healthcare influencing the area/ main documents
Learning outcome 2
500 words
You might have one driver or a few it’s up to you and depends on your idea. Driver is a reason, a push, a driving force for why you’re doing your idea. Supported by any key documents. It’s getting you to think- what’s the point in your idea, what’s driving it, underlying reasons supported by evidence. Considering wider healthcare key documents.
There is some overlap with patch 1, keep everything you do as you can tweak things towards submission.
Driver is a reason to want to implement change. They can be social, political, economical, financial, contemporary etc. They’re all just examples of areas that might be important in your project, you don’t have to talk about all of them. If your change is about something to do with obesity, the reason may be for example the impact on a person’s quality of life, poor physical health, risk of disease, financial etc. they could be identified as social, financial or economical drivers, then you’d think about relevant documents/ reports etc. that explore those things like the ones in the guidance for patch 3.
You don’t have to define a driver in general, being descriptive isn’t meet the learning outcome for this patch, you’ll do this by exploring and analysing the reasons for your change. The LO for this patch is showing reasoned discussion and analysis through critical appraisal of appropriate evidence, so what is the evidence to support the reasons for your change and discussing it critically in a reasoned way.
You’ll reference a few pieces of evidence, probably reports, documents, policy type things.
A ‘driver’ can be defined as a something that makes other things progress, develop, or grow stronger (Cambridge Dictionary, 2020). For example:
Technology
Customer preferences- feedback / complaints
Regulations- a new legislation
Money- budget cuts
There’s not a right or wrong answer, there’s some overlap between outcomes and drivers. As long as you’ve a good rationale and can underpin your choices with evidence that’s good.
The driver tends to be better in the outcome. So if a driver is long waiting times/ financial then reduced waiting times is the outcome.
Patch 4
How your project links to current nursing practice and NMC: Current things specifically in nursing practice influencing the area
Learning outcome 3
500 words
The learning outcome for this piece is all about application to current nursing practice so it’s how your idea links with practice. So what is going on in current nursing practice that links to your project, and how does your idea link in with the NMC code and proficiencies. A lot of you will link to the NMC for person centred care probably, also think about the four areas of the code, where does your idea sit.
You could break it up into parts if that helps, 150 words ish on each bit. But you can do it how you like as long as you meet LO3. There may be cross over between these sections and that’s fine.
– How does your idea link to current nursing practice
– How does your idea link to NMC code and proficiencies
– What it means to be a nurse within your field in this day and age and why that is so important in relation to innovation and research, and to your project.
You can include your opinion, as long as it’s not all your opinion or a reflection. This patch is the application to current nursing practice (LO3). Link your idea with practice, and NMC and other evidence, that’s the application bit. Of course, don’t get drawn into moaning about things or being overly critical, keep it professional and academic.
Links to current practice is about the application to practice, issues or factors in current practice applicable/ relevant to your project, so what the alignments are between practice and your project idea. Or what elements of practice and then NMC are in/ relevant/ linked/ aligned with your project? You might think why your project will make a difference in current practice as part of this, remember you’ve 500 words for the whole piece though. Depending on your project area of course, you might think about how your project aligns with current things going on in nursing/ nursing practice/ your area, you might make comparisons, you’ll think about and reference things written about in that area/ to do with your project etc. And then NMC code and proficiencies.
Patch 5
Critical appraisal of specific evidence base underpinning the area
Learning outcomes 2 and 4
2000 words
Patch 5 is a critical appraisal of the evidence base and a really good way of meeting LO2 and showing level 6 study.
Essentially you will be showing us three things:
1) How you found the evidence
2) That you appraised it
3) That you can put it together a reasoned discussion of your findings (synthesis)
Patch 5 is the biggest patch and may seem like a lot to do, to reassure you though, you’ve probably started doing bits already by looking for evidence when thinking about your ideas, so may have done more than you think. Patch 5 could be the hardest patch, it’s probably a new way of writing for you. If you get stuck on this it might help to do some other patches and come back to it. Have a nosy at the MAGS and sessions 1,2,3,13,14,15 there are a load of resources on how to search the evidence base and write critically. The assignment guidance goes into more detail on synthesis, evidence base and critical appraisal. The recording for the session with our faculty librarian is in the MAGS folder.
You can use the key papers table if you wish (with the patch 5 guidance), generally this would be like an appendix and not marked, you can include it with patch 5 rather than at the end. Depending how you’ve done it of course.
You may have around 10ish key papers (probably not more than this), no less than around 6 as a rough guide. (If you do have less, that is okay, it’s about quality not quantity). You would then possibly have around 3 themes/ common areas (you may have more or less than this), where you talk about a few of the papers and weave in some points from your appraisal. This is only a guide though as will depend on your idea and what evidence you’ve found etc. You may not specifically use themes/ common areas to structure your discussion, and do a reasoned discussion, that is fine, keep focused on the learning outcome.
Quality is important, it’s how you use the references and do your discussions, rather than focusing on getting exactly 10 papers or doing exactly 3 themes, they are rough guides for example.
Themes- The themes/ common topics (if you structure your discussion this way) are main areas coming up from your search of the evidence base, so not types of studies like reviews or RCTs (or quan or qual), like main topics/ areas/ common things coming up. As you read your evidence you’ll get a feel for the main threads coming up, maybe across a few pieces of evidence, main topics that are consistent, that stand out. They will be your themes and can use subheadings in the patch if you wish, it is up to you. A couple of these probably. Have a nosy at some literature review or scoping review articles and see how they’ve written their discussion, these are good examples of finding the themes and discussing the evidence, weaving in critical appraisal. In the recorded guidance for patch 5 Leena talks in more depth about synthesis. You will be weaving the information from the articles together in a discussion or themes rather than doing an annotated bibliography discussing them one after the other.
Grey literature- grey is anything other than journal articles or books, so you could look for dissertations not published in journals, they’re really interesting, there are databases on the library pages for these. You’ll probably be discussing journal articles more in patch 5. Government reports, policy, NICE guidance etc. are grey literature too, they may come more in to patch 3, as Chris says in the guidance. He gives examples of all types of evidence including grey literature. Patch 5 is a specific critical appraisal of the evidence base of your idea so is different from patch 3 which is the reasons for your idea/ change and main documents relevant. It is your critical appraisal of the evidence base so it is your choice what you discuss. As long as you know yourself reasons for why you’ve chosen your themes and evidence included. You can include inclusion exclusion criteria for your search.
PICO- the search terms tables or PICO are not included in your words, it’s the discussion that is the word count. You don’t have to use a PICO, you could include search terms table as it says in the guidance.
Tools- You can use any critical appraisal tool and also don’t have to and mention appraisal more generally. If you do use a tool, you can say you used CASP etc., and why, possibly when saying about finding the articles (but wherever it fits in your work), then in the discussion you can weave in points that came up from the appraisal of the articles. So you will put together a reasoned discussion or talk about the themes/ areas you identified from the articles, key information about the articles and weave in some elements of CASP (or other tools). That’s showing really good level 6 study. Have a nosy at scoping reviews or literature review articles and how they do this for examples.
You can choose the most appropriate quality appraisal checklist/ tool, one that you can make sense of and understand, we all have our preferences.
When you’re reading pieces of evidence/articles it’ll usually say what type of methodology it is in the abstract, anything with interviews is usually qualitative, and anything with stats usually quantitative, if they are RCTs it will say, if it’s both qual and quan it’s probably mixed methodology. Please access the module materials.
You can use the ‘how to review a journal guide’ that we’ve used in the journal clubs, for your appraisal. This is with patch 5 guidance as well as it being in the module materials. Have a nosey at tools in session 3 on module materials, and session 15 will help.
The tools essentially get you thinking about what the strengths and weakness are (what is good and not so good) about the articles, and not just thinking they are perfect and free from limitations.
This is a link to CASP- https://casp-uk.net/casp-tools-checklists/ There are other tools in session 3 in module materials. Pick one you like that makes sense to you. You would do an appraisal of each key paper (piece of evidence) you’ve chosen. You could put a screen shot of one tool as an example, you do not need to put all of them.
Structure (as an example)
You can structure it how you want, the main things you need to do are; show us how you found the evidence, that you have appraised it and put a reasoned argument together. You might do a brief intro, explain you used search terms and refer to picture/ table of them and the hits you got. That you did an appraisal, and the themes you identified are (if choosing to structure this way)… Then do your reasoned discussion (or discussion using themes as a structure, it is up to you), then a conclusion/ summary of main points.
Module materials – there are the searching evidence materials, PICO materials, critical appraisal session, links to critical appraisal tools and how to review a paper in sessions 1,2,3. Also a sway for academic writing in the assignment folder, which will all help with this patch. 13,14,15 will help with critical writing and synthesis.
Please access the module materials above before posting on the discussion board.
Patch 6
Implementation plan and rationale
Learning outcome 1, 2 and 4
1500 words
Patch 6 is the implementation and rationale. You’ll complete a concise plan, this shouldn’t be masses of pages long. It is flexible how you do this plan. You may choose to follow a change management framework to help. You can use a change management model/ framework/ approach/ theory to help you with your plan, you don’t have to use one or follow their template for the plan. You will use change management theory references to support your rationale. You can include timeframes, may do a Gantt chart etc. but don’t have to, time frames will be estimates.
The discussion, the rationale, is where you’ll pick up on why you’ve included the points in it and why in that order, making links to change management theory/ frameworks/ models. You will pick out any pertinent bits. Is there a step that is really important, why, what does the evidence base say about this etc. So for example you may have included a step about communicating with the staff team initially to gain their feedback on the proposed idea. Change management theories talk about the importance of getting feedback and involving the staff teams in any changes etc.
The rationale bit is the why, why have you included the steps, why in that order, why in steps not all at once- because it’s important to make changes in certain orders, as change management frameworks talk about. What things are important to consider in the planning? You can think how your planning will reduce the weaknesses/ threats in your SWOT. This may go in to patch 7 when you think about barriers/ obstacles.
Think about what needs to happen for your plan to be in place, what steps are needed to implement your idea, in what order.
Patch 6 guidance can’t be too prescriptive as you have all chosen different ideas, there isn’t a template for the plan, it’s up to you how you present it. You can structure it however you like, as long as we can see there is a plan LO1 and you’re picking out important points which are underpinned by evidence to show analysis for LO2. You can talk about any models/ frameworks/ theory, you can make reference to a few where appropriate, give a rationale for why you’ve considered them. Pick one you prefer, some can be complicated, so pick one you feel comfortable with. You may wish to do a force field analysis or logic model but don’t have to.
Patch 7
Leadership framework, own skills (PDP) and barriers to project
LO3 and 5)
1750 words
You will complete the template attached for patch 7, please see the template for more details.
There are 3 parts
1) self-assessment traffic lights (pages 1-9)
2) action plan on your leadership skills (pages 10-13)
3) barriers to your project (page 14)
The first 2 parts are all about your leadership skills, you’ll do the self assessment and then complete pages 10-13 on your leadership skills development.
The last page (14) is about your project and the barriers and obstacles and how you’ll overcome them.
For the self assessment, you don’t need to put in your total score anywhere, it’s getting you to consider which areas might be red that you could develop and maybe there are areas that are green that you over rely on.
On page 12 you could join the parts- ‘resources/ support needed’ and ‘where available?’ and refer to them briefly.
Your action plan can be bullet pointed. You can include references.
The action plan is for your development of leadership skills.
As you are reflecting on your leadership skills, you should use ‘I’ on pages 10-13, and can if wanted on page 14 but don’t have to.
You can choose what you look at in relation to leadership in this section (pages 10-13). Your plan comes from your reflections on your leadership skills/ behaviours, it is your choice what you look at. This part is about meeting LO5- critically reflecting on your independent learning journey. You may mention your change/ portfolio but may not, and don’t have to.
Page 14 is about barriers/ obstacles to your project. You don’t have to talk about all of them pick the main ones. There may be some overlap with patch 6, so keep this bit about the barriers rather than planning, keep that in patch 6. See the summary for patch 6. You may look at some of the weaknesses and threats in patch 2 SWOT and how you can overcome them.
The word count for this patch is anything you type. Page 14 will be the biggest chunk of this patch, possibly around 1000 words as a very rough guide, so 750 words for pages 10-13 again this is only a very rough guide.
You can copy paste the word document into your portfolio or screen shot it.
Make sure you reference throughout this patch on pages 10-14. This shows level 6 study and meets the LOs.
Patch 8
Peer review
Learning outcome 3
1250 words
For patch 8 you will do the following-
1. Complete the self assessment/ peer review form attached
2. Have a discussion with a peer
3. The peer completes the form
4. Write/ record/ present etc. your discussion on your experiences
Your peer should be another student nurse or a nurse. Ideally another student on the module as they know the portfolio. Be a critical friend for each other and offer constructive feedback.
You should not share your work, you discuss it.
Your discussion is the word count. The review forms are not included. They are like an appendix and not specifically marked, although add to you work, they can be included with patch 8 rather than at the end of your portfolio.
Your discussion will look at these areas-
– Discuss your experience of the peer review process and what you have learned
– Discuss the feedback offered (strengths and weaknesses)
– Discuss what changes you will make based on the peer review
You will talk about your experience of peer review and what you learned, think about the feedback you got and any changes you’d make. You can link to NMC proficiencies, references on peer review, getting feedback, learning from feedback etc. Compare your experiences with what is written about, is it the same/ different etc. You may say you learned this….. and this is an important skill for a nurse… or I found peer review … this is a common experience… etc. So weave in references to your experiences, compare what you have found with the evidence base, that’s the theory practice links.
Underpin your work with references. There are some great ones on the guidance.
Patch 9
Portfolio narrative and PDP
Learning outcomes LO4 and 5 and draw on all
1500 words
The learning outcome is about critically reflecting on your independent learning journey. In doing this you will also be concise and impactful in written or oral presentation.
You can use Gibbs or another reflective model or not use one and do a reflective narrative (an essay/ piece of text).
You can explore these areas-
1. Your independent learning journey whilst undertaking the module
2. How have you achieved the learning outcomes
3. How are you working towards being a newly qualified nurse
Then the action plan for one point for your future developmental needs as a nurse, that you’ve identified from completing the above reflections. If using Gibbs this would be the action plan section. You could put your action plan in a table if wanted like- action, how to meet, by when, support needed etc. but you can do it as a narrative.
So if using Gibbs you would think about the above 3 areas in the Gibbs, they all interlink, then do the action plan in the action plan part of the Gibbs, this is on one point you’ve identified from doing your reflections. So Gibbs would give you a structure then your content would be discussing the points above. The action plan is included in your words. Focus on the analysis, so you’ve not too much description. Make sure you use references. There’s no set word count for each section it’ll depend on what you talk about.
You can make links to situations on placement and your course, probably when talking about part 3.
Think about where you came from and where you are now. You can talk about your journey through the module and meeting of the LOs and you working towards being a newly qualified nurse. In all these things you can link to your journey through the course, you could pick out things on the course that have impacted on your journey through the module or towards being a nurse etc.
