Assessment Brief: Reflective Essay on Applying the Recovery Model in Mental Health Nursing

Module: Foundations of Mental Health Nursing Practice

Programme: BSc (Hons) Nursing Science, Registered Nurse (Mental Health) B700

Academic Year: 2025/26

Assessment Overview

This assessment requires you to write a reflective essay that demonstrates your understanding of the recovery model in mental health nursing. You will reflect on a clinical placement experience (or a provided case scenario if placement is limited) where you observed or participated in care that aligned with or challenged recovery-oriented principles.

The essay encourages you to connect theory to practice, drawing on key concepts such as hope, empowerment, self-determination, and meaningful social inclusion. It aligns with Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) standards for pre-registration nursing, particularly those emphasising person-centred care, evidence-based practice, and professional values in mental health settings.

Learning Outcomes Assessed

• Demonstrate knowledge of the recovery model and its application in mental health nursing.
• Critically reflect on a practice experience using a structured reflective framework.
• Analyse how nursing interventions support or hinder personal recovery for service users.
• Evaluate the role of the mental health nurse in promoting recovery-oriented care.

Assignment Task

Write a 2,500-word reflective essay addressing the following:

1. Briefly describe a relevant experience from your clinical placement involving a service user with a mental health condition (maintain anonymity and confidentiality in line with NMC Code).
2. Using Gibbs’ Reflective Cycle (or an alternative approved model such as Rolfe et al.), reflect on this experience.
3. Discuss how the care provided embodied (or failed to embody) recovery-oriented principles, such as those outlined in the CHIME framework (Connectedness, Hope, Identity, Meaning, Empowerment).
4. Critically evaluate the nursing interventions used, supporting your analysis with evidence from peer-reviewed literature.
5. Identify areas for your own professional development in delivering recovery-focused care.

Submission Guidelines

• Word count: 2,500 words (±10%).
• Format: Arial font, size 12, double-spaced.
• Referencing: Harvard style.
• Include a minimum of 12 references, with at least 8 from peer-reviewed sources published 2019–2025.
• Submit electronically via the module Blackboard site by the deadline.

Marking Criteria

• Description of experience and reflection structure (20%).
• Application of recovery model concepts (30%).
• Critical analysis supported by evidence (30%).
• Professional development insights and academic writing (20%).

Northumbria University’s BSc (Hons) Nursing Science (Mental Health) programme prepares students for NMC registration with a strong emphasis on recovery-oriented practice. This assessment supports development of reflective skills essential for contemporary mental health nursing. Recovery-focused care is a core component of UK mental health policy, improving outcomes for service users.

References

Chatwiriyaphong, R., Fernandez, R., Bosworth, R., Kinghorn, G. and Moxham, L. (2025) ‘Conceptualisation of mental health recovery by health professionals and students in Southeast Asia: a qualitative systematic review and meta-aggregation’, Journal of Psychiatric and Mental Health Nursing, 32(3), pp. 575–590. doi: 10.1111/jpm.13133.

McKay, E.A. (2024) ‘The experience of healthcare professionals implementing recovery-oriented practice in mental health inpatient units: a qualitative evidence synthesis’, Journal of Psychiatric and Mental Health Nursing, 31(2), pp. 1–15. doi: 10.1111/jpm.12985.

Slade, M. et al. (2021) ‘Models of mental health recovery: an overview of systematic reviews and qualitative meta-syntheses’, Psychiatric Rehabilitation Journal, 44(4), pp. 321–331. doi: 10.1037/prj0000483.

Zuaboni, G. et al. (2023) ‘Recovery-oriented practices in community-based mental health services: a systematic review’, Frontiers in Psychiatry, 14, p. 10422940. doi: 10.3389/fpsyt.2023.1229840.

Waldemar, A.K. et al. (2019) ‘Recovery-oriented practice in mental health inpatient settings: a literature review’, Psychiatric Services, 70(6), pp. 499–507. doi: 10.1176/appi.ps.201800469.