MD578: You are a 61-year-old Farmer and You have Recently had a Myocardial Infarction – Assessment For Advanced Module in Lifestyle Risk Factor Management,

Assessment MD578:  Advanced Module in Lifestyle Risk Factor Management

Unit 1 Assignment: “Alter Ego” Behaviour Change Task

Introducing the three “Alter Egos”…….

A. Michael
You are a 61-year-old farmer and you have recently had a myocardial infarction (heart attack). You want to get back out on the farm soon and you are not really convinced that anything happened to you other than a bout of wind! You never go to the doctor, despite your wife always telling you, you should, you believe the doctor is only for sick people. You are a rational person and will listen to what people say to you and then do whatever you think is right for you. You are overweight, a smoker, you like an occasional walk and you always take your medication. You attended every cardiac rehabilitation education and exercise class and you can see that regular exercise could be good for you.

B. Christine
A recent routine visit to your GP resulted in an unplanned lengthy consultation with him. You always knew you were a bit overweight but he has informed you that you are now obese which has shocked you a little. In addition, you are hypertensive. He has advised you to cut down on smoking but you consider that smoking relieves the stress of being a stay at home mum trying to manage three demanding teenage children who are very fussy eaters and a husband who is on shift work and never there when you need him. The GP has made you think a little bit about yourself for once, after all, you are 47 years old and perhaps you should look after yourself a bit more – but then again you are not a priority as far as the family goes.

C. Tom
You are a 45-year-old man and you have just discovered you have type 2 diabetes; diagnosed opportunistically through a health screening at work. You are surprised about your diagnosis as you believe diabetes is something you develop when you are older; at least that’s what happened to your dad. You have struggled with your weight most of your adult life and have tried numerous diets where you have lost up to 4 stone in weight but put it all back on again. You would like to exercise more but there is never enough time in the day. You need to work long hours to pay the never-ending bills and support your young family. You have been prescribed medication to help control your diabetes, but you are not convinced about the benefits and frequently miss doses. You have started to reduce your sugar intake as the nurse has told you that this would help improve your diabetes control, but you are struggling with the sugar cravings and you wonder is it all worth the effort.

Questions For Practical Component:

• You will need to ask two colleagues to work with you to complete the practical component of this assignment.
• Choose one ‘alter ego’ from the three presented above and ask your first colleague to role play this with you while you assume the role of a practitioner. Ask your second colleague to observe the ‘consultation’.
• When conducting your ‘consultation’, complete page 2 (Agenda Setting) of the MINT [Motivational Interviewing Network of Trainers] Practice Resource Pack, which is available on Blackboard.
• Ask your colleague who is observing the consultation to complete the MI Observer’s Sheet (Breckon 2018), which is available on Blackboard
• You will need to include both pages ‘The Agenda-Setting’ and the MI Observer sheet’ completed as an appendix in your written assignment. Ensure to make it clear which of the ‘alter egos’ you conducted your consultation with.

Questions For Written Component:

• Provide a clear introduction.
• Part 1: With reference to your client; identify the target behaviour/s for change, psychosocial determinants and relevant psychosocial risk factors.
• Part 2: Reflect on how you thought the consultation you delivered went. Did it go to plan and in accordance with the theory learnt? Drawing on the evidence base and taking into account the feedback received from your peer, discuss what you would do differently if conducting the session again.
• Part 3: With reference to multi-therapy approaches (motivational interviewing, cognitive behavioural tools and communication techniques) discuss how to most effectively achieve successful behaviour change in your specific client.
• Provide a balanced conclusion.

Unit 2: Assignment – Scientific e-Poster Production and Poster Presentation Related to a Defined Tobacco Control Topic

Each student will receive a unique topic that is relevant to the speciality of tobacco control and preventive cardiology. You are required to research this topic and prepare an e-poster. You can keep your topic broad or narrow your focus to an area within the topic – your e-poster title should reflect this accurately. The relevance to preventive cardiology should be explicitly clear. Your e-poster should be evidence-based and use the Vancouver referencing style.

• Prepare your e-Poster using a PowerPoint slide (see examples on Blackboard).
• For the presentation, you will have available to you the facility to project this PowerPoint slide. A laser pointer will also be available to you.
• Please bring a copy of your presentation with you on a memory stick. Email yourself a copy of your presentation as a back-up.
• Review the marking guidelines to ensure you have considered your written as well as visual content accordingly. A visually attractive e-poster with good readability and use of colour coupled with an articulate delivery that talks to and expands on the visual content should be your ultimate aim.
• Practice your presentation –make sure you can comfortably present your e-poster in 10 minutes without feeling ‘rushed’. Avoid reciting the text verbatim– think about verbalising the main points. You may find ‘speaker notes’ useful. Many of the best presenters prepare their speaker notes and practice until they don’t need to refer to the notes anymore, allowing them to focus on tone, energy and eye contact. Remember you are also being assessed on these presentation skills, so do practice and make sure you look at all members of your audience and deliver your presentation with good use of energy and tone of voice. At the end of your presentation, it is helpful to summarise your talk – most people only remember 3 points from a presentation. Make sure you are clear about the messages you want to convey.
• It is important to keep time so that everyone has an opportunity to present. Therefore you will be given a 2-minute warning towards the end of your presentation and you will be stopped at 10-minutes if you have not finished.

Unit 3: Assignment –Diet and Nutrition  Literature Review

Provide a 2,000-word literature review for one of the following topics:

• Choice A: The obesity paradox – BMI, body composition and health status
• Choice B: Evidence-based weight-loss interventions for adults
• Choice C: Plant-based diets and Cardiovascular health
• Choice D: The fat type and quantity controversy, should dietary fat guidelines for CVD prevention change?

Critically discuss the rationale and evidence for your chosen topic within the context of preventive cardiology practice.

Unit 4: Assignment – Physical Activity and Sedentary Behaviour Health Professional Magazine Feature Piece

Provide a 2,000-word evidence-centred feature piece for a health professional magazine on a defined topic within one of the following subject areas:

Choice A: Escape the couch – physical activity, inactivity and sedentary behaviour.

Choice B: Physical activity and exercise digital health initiatives are they effective?

Choice C: ‘150 minutes of moderate-intensity physical activity’ does current guidance impact on Irish physical activity and exercise policy and legislation development?