NURS105:The Role of Communication, Ethics, and Teamwork in Professional Nursing: A Debate and Reflective Analysis

This assessment supports you to achieve the following module learning outcomes:

1. Explore and critique the fundamental principles of communication techniques for professional nursing practice
2. Appraise the philosophical and ethical challenges of nursing in contemporary healthcare

Aim of Assignment

This assignment aims to facilitate the student’s critical demonstration of effective professional communication skills through debating the provided topic. It also aims to enable the student to critically reflect on their experience of engaging in the debate and how it will inform their future nursing practice.

Assessment guidelines

This assessment is divided into two parts – Part A and Part B.

Part A: Debate (50% of overall marks)

Students will be broken into groups. Students are expected to work together in their assigned group and prepare to provide a strong and persuasive argument either for or against the motion (teams will be notified of their expected argument). Students will be expected to cross-examine and defend against the team’s objections to their motion (rebuttals). Throughout the debate, students will be assessed on their clarity of expression, and precision of arguments, integration of literature findings to support their arguments and the ability to keep the audience’s attention and persuade the team’s case. Student teams will debate one of the following assigned motions:

• Team A: This house maintains that there is no need for additional nurses in the Irish healthcare workforce/system. Discuss for and/or against this motion.
• Team B: This house maintains that people are better off in nursing homes than being cared for in their own homes. Discuss for and/or against this motion.
• Team C: This house maintains that student nurses working part-time impacts negatively on their education and learning. Discuss for and/or against this motion.

Part B: Supporting Documentation and Reflective Writing (50% of overall marks)

Having carried out the team debate, reflect on your experience of working in a team preparing for the debate and participating in the debate. Discuss how participating in this assessment will inform your future interpersonal and communication skills during your practice placements. Use a reflective framework, such as Gibbs Reflective cycle, or any other reflective framework to support the written reflection.

A project plan, which outlines the team roles, responsibilities and key events, must be uploaded to the Assessment portal.

Word count for Part B: 1000 words (excluding reference list)

Marking Grid

Part A: Marking Rubric for Supporting Evidence:

Available in Nursing Hub or by selecting this link.

Part B: Marking Matrix for Debate