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 this 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 students to clinical problem solving skills, decision making skills and the application of evidence in order to plan safe, competent, holistic nursing care for people with nursing care needs in the settings in which a Registered Nurse might practice.

Objectives

1. Demonstrate applied clinical knowledge of key health alterations, assessments, treatments and nursing therapeutics related to nursing care contexts;



2. Demonstrate effective problem solving and clinical decision making through integration of knowledge from nursing and related science in the design of contextually relevant plans of holistic nursing care;



3. Demonstrate an ability to critically review evidence and its application to contextually relevant nursing care; and



4. Demonstrate an understanding of the similarities and differences in relation to caring for clients in different contexts of care

Content

This unit includes content related to the promotion of wellness and restoring health addressed in the modules of neurological, renal and urinary, and cancer care.

Each module will address your continued development of applied clinical judgement through the application of evidence in supporting your decision-making in nursing care approaches. Key approaches in each module will include: epidemiology, risk factors, health issues across the lifespan, culturally safe approaches, the patient experience, acute/chronic/palliative management and holistic care planning, key evidence based interventions, health promotion and health education.

Module: Neurological (including stroke*) Health

Module: Renal and Urinary Health

Module: Cancer*


* National Health Priority

Approaches to Teaching and Learning

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.

You are expected to collaborate with staff in setting and reflecting on your own learning goals. Our approach requires you to be focused on understanding and to be responsible for your learning by seeking evidence, and, with support and guidance, actively practicing critical thinking and reflection.

Assessment

There are two 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. 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: Case Study
Description: You are required to critically examine a patient/client scenario to determine key assessment data, nursing interventions and priorities of care.
Relates to objectives: 1-3.
Weight: 50%
Internal or external: Internal
Group or individual: Individual
Due date: Mid semester

Assessment name: Examination
Description: This assessment requires you to demonstrate your understanding of key aspects of this unit in relation to neurological, renal and urinary health and cancer care contexts.
Relates to objectives: 1-4.
Weight: 50%
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

Brown, D., & Edwards, H. (2007). Lewis's medical-surgical nursing: Assessment and management of clinical problems (2nd ed.). Marrickville: Mosby.

Chang, E. M. L., & Johnson, A. (2008). Chronic illness and disability: Principles for nursing practice. Chatswood, NSW. Churchill Livingstone Elsevier.

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

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: 29-Nov-2012