Units

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Sample subject outline - Semester 1 2013

Note: Subject outlines often change before the semester begins. Below is a sample outline.

Rationale

Contemporary registered nurses practice across a variety of settings and in numerous contexts. Consequently, registered nurses require a range of professional nursing skills including collecting, using and documenting information about a person's health care, clinical problem solving and decision making and applying evidence to plan and evaluate nursing care. The knowledge and skills you will develop in this unit set the foundation to establish yourself as a professional practitioner capable of providing holistic nursing care.

Aims

The aim of this unit is to introduce you to clinical problem solving skills, decision-making skills and the use of evidence in order for you to begin to plan safe, competent, holistic nursing care for all people managed in the settings in which a Registered Nurse might practice. Further development of core skills including critical thinking, using information effectively, professional writing, teamwork and reflective practice will also be emphasised.

Objectives

1. Demonstrate a foundational understanding of the processes of problem solving and clinical decision making;



2. Explain the processes of problem solving, decision making and evidence utilisation as core elements of clinical judgement in nursing practice;



3. Demonstrate foundational-level skills within the application of problem-solving, evidence utilisation and decision-making frameworks to nursing care in relation to activities of daily living;



4. Describe the similarities and differences in relation to caring for children, young people, adults and older adults; and



5. Demonstrate beginning-level skills critical thinking, using information effectively, professional writing, teamwork and reflective practice.

Content

This unit includes content related to the promotion of wellness and restoring health addressed in the modules of applied clinical judgement, activities of daily living and practice contexts of caring for children and older adults.

Module: Introduction to clinical judgement - a core professional attribute

• Problem solving


• Decision making


• Developing beginning level skills in collecting and using health information (data)


• Documenting health information and the use of health informatics

Module: Activities of daily living

• Oxygenation


• Hydration and nutrition


• Mobility


• Elimination


• Skin integrity

Module: Understanding different contexts of nursing practice in caring for people across the lifespan

• Developmental transitions from birth to death


• Cultural conceptions of ageing*


• Healthy lifestyles, healthy ageing and enhancing participation for older people*


• Dying and death; cultural conceptions of dying and death; end-of-life issues; grieving and coping

* National Health priority

Approaches to Teaching and Learning

This unit is based on the approach of student directed and centred learning where you are expected to collaborate with staff in setting and reflecting on your own learning goals. Our approach requires you to be focussed on understanding and to be responsible for your learning by seeking evidence, and, with support and guidance, actively practicing critical thinking and reflection.

The unit will be offered in a manner to actively engage you in learning. Blended approaches will be used where teaching modalities include a combination of student centred workshops and online materials. Workshops are highly interactive and structured activities which are complemented and extended by materials on Blackboard QUT's Learning Management System. This distributed learning environment provides flexibility for how you engage with the unit.

Assessments are planned and structured to support your transition into university life. Learning experiences are based on real world scenarios that clearly relate to your future work as nurses in the health care industry.

Assessment

There are three summative assessments in this unit. You will also have the opportunity to receive formative feedback regarding your progress throughout the semester.The unit coordinator and tutors are available for consultation throughout the semester by telephone, email and in person. Feedback will be provided as part of tutorial discussions throughout the semester. You are also encouraged to develop peer networks to support your work in the unit. On line quizzes will also be made available for you to check your understanding of key concepts and principles. An in-tutorial feedback session will also be offered following the first summative assessment to discuss challenging aspects and provide you with advice on how to improve.

Assessment name: Guided Scenarios
Description: This assessment requires you to complete a series of guided scenarios that are designed to assist you to explore health alterations, assessment, treatments, health promotion and nursing therapeutics of selected activities of daily living: oxygenation, hydration & nutrition, mobility, elimination and skin integrity.
Relates to objectives: 1, 2, 3 & 5.
Weight: 30%
Internal or external: Internal
Group or individual: Individual
Due date: Mid semester

Assessment name: Workshop Presentation
Description: This assessment task requires you to collaborate with a group of your peers in critiquing a provided plan of nursing care centred on the activities of daily living. Your work will be presented to a group of your peers who will provide feedback on your presentation.
Relates to objectives: 1, 2 & 4.
Weight: 30%
Internal or external: Internal
Group or individual: Group with Individual Component
Due date: Mid semester

Assessment name: Essay
Description: This assessment requires you to explore myths and assumptions in care contexts by comparing and contrasting context of care, e.g. caring for children and older adults, in relation to promoting activities of daily living.
Relates to objectives: 1, 4, & 5.
Weight: 40%
Internal or external: Internal
Group or individual: Individual
Due date: End semester

Academic Honesty

QUT is committed to maintaining high academic standards to protect the value of its qualifications. To assist you in assuring the academic integrity of your assessment you are encouraged to make use of the support materials and services available to help you consider and check your assessment items. Important information about the university's approach to academic integrity of assessment is on your unit Blackboard site.

A breach of academic integrity is regarded as Student Misconduct and can lead to the imposition of penalties.

Resource materials

Prescribed
Brown, D., & Edwards, H. (2011). Lewis's medical-surgical nursing: Assessment and management of clinical problems (3rd ed.). Marrickville: Mosby.

Hockenberry, M.J., & Wilson, D. (2009). Wong's essentials of pediatric nursing (8th ed.). Marrickville: Mosby.


Recommended
Crisp, J., & Taylor, C. (2009). Potter & Perry's fundamentals of nursing (3rd ed.). Sydney: Elsevier Mosby.

Lewis, P., & Foley, D. (2011). Weber and Kelley's health assessment in nursing. Lippincott, Williams & Wilkins: Broadway.

Risk assessment statement

You are advised that if you are distressed by the issues explored in the content of this unit you should approach staff in this unit or contact the University counselling service.

Disclaimer - Offer of some units is subject to viability, and information in these Unit Outlines is subject to change prior to commencement of semester.

Last modified: 12-Nov-2012