MBA Clinical Governance and Accountability
Essay Guidelines
Title
In the context of the current social and political climate, how can organisations be held accountable for the quality of care?
4,000 words
The assignment
The assignment is the opportunity to reflect on the learning from the module, to provide evidence of an understanding of clinical governance and to critically examine how healthcare organisations are held accountable to the public for the quality of care that they and their staff deliver.
There may be various approaches and students may choose to look at alternative aspects but there will need to be a structure, there will need to be evidence of critical analysis of Clinical Governance in the UK or in your country and it will need to meet the Masters level objectives of the module.
Structure, presentation and use of references
Your essay should read as a formal piece of academic writing, including the use of the third person, correct referencing and paragraphing. You should demonstrate that care has been taken with grammar and spelling. Proof reading is essential to eradicate minor errors in syntax
Preparation for assignments
Preparation for your assignment will involve study of the module units and some of the recommended texts, as well as additional material of your choice. Literature searches can be time-consuming, so make sure you allow time for this. Keep note of references and valuable resources as you proceed. Failure to do so can lead you to many frustrating hours trying to find the source of the information.
Quotations should be brief and used sparingly but any written material you have read and which you wish to use as a source of ideas in your assignment must be referenced. To omit this essential procedure ignores academic practice as well as copyright law. Quoting from or using other writers’ material without acknowledgement constitutes plagiarism, which is unacceptable (University Regulations).
Planning the assignment
Planning is an individual matter. Some students like to follow a structured approach from the outset, others may prefer to jot down points they consider important for later inclusion into the assignment and structure their work from these notes. Whatever you choose to do, do not be disheartened if you need to make numerous drafts before the final submission: this is quite normal!

Components, or aspects of a component, should be carefully linked so that the work reads fluently. Ensure that you provide sentences which link one paragraph to the next.
Refer to a Thesaurus as well as a dictionary to avoid word repetition and to make use of alternative vocabulary. One way of doing this is to read your essay out loud to yourself – another is to get a friend/relative or colleague to read your essay for you.
Presentation
Your academic essay should be structured as follows:
· Front cover sheet
· Introduction
· Social and political context
· 2 or 3 components of Clinical Governance
· Conclusion
· References
· Appendices (optional)
Front cover sheet
You should include a completed front cover declaration sheet at the beginning of your essay, available on Moodle.
Introduction
An introduction generally sets the context and usually includes a statement of intent, which will inform the reader of the points you intend to address. Make your introduction concise and clear and avoid lengthy descriptions, which will encroach upon the main body, leading to duplication of effort and word wastage rather than word usage.
Since the essay is about Clinical Governance and accountability, it is sensible to define and describe a model in the introduction and possibly to describe the drivers that led to the development.
Social and political context
You will want to describe the context that you have chosen in political terms and in relation to the social context. The way in which Clinical Governance has developed in the UK is set against the political background in the UK and the same is likely to be true in a different country. Equally, the specific health problems within a country are likely to drive the priorities for the health system. So, if there is a particular concern with the elderly, or enduring diseases such as diabetes, or the widespread impact of AIDS, or extreme poverty or other lifestyle issues that impact on health, this will be relevant to the quality of care that can be delivered.
2 or 3 components of Clinical Governance
Here you need to demonstrate an understanding of Clinical Governance and its contribution to care quality. Components include the subject matter of

many of the units in the module; patient focus and public involvement, risk management and patient safety, clinical effectiveness and so on and, although accountability will be a key aspect to explore, there is no expectation that all module content can be covered. Instead you are required to produce a well-argued essay that draws on a range of good quality literature to demonstrate knowledge and understanding of the principles involved.
Ideas and key points should be developed by exploration, analysis and discussion. Attend to the logical sequencing of these key points and develop them with reference to the material you selected from your literature search and from the module. These references are evidence of the advantages and disadvantages of the arguments you wish to make. Enter appropriate references to argue your key points.
Headings can be used to emphasise the logical progression of your argument.
Conclusion
The conclusion should provide a clear answer to the essay question by bringing together findings explored within main body.
References / Bibliography
References are a list of the material (specific findings, views, ideas and quotations) used and cited in the text. For a Masters level essay a minimum of 20-30 references would be expected, the bulk of which should come from reputable academic sources.
How old should my references be?
The publication date of references is relevant in that it is expected that reading will incorporate both original and more recent publications. These could include a range of books, journals, and/or reputable websites. There is no year limit on how old your sources should be. However you are encouraged to make use of up to date, evidence-based sources, such as journal articles, clinical guidelines, best practice statements, systematic reviews.
Submission
Essay is due for submission by midnight on Friday 13th December 2019
Submission should be via Turnitin and this is accessed through the module. Sep.19