Units

---

Sample subject outline - Semester 1 2013

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

Rationale

The nurse practitioner operates at an extended level of nursing in a specialty field. Supervised immersion in the extended clinical role as it specifically relates to the specialty field of practice is necessary at this point in the course for the consolidation and evaluation of competency, and the development of nurse practitioner capability. Duringthis second unit of your Internship, you will be working in an advanced practice role, and will be supervised by an appropriately qualified local clinical support team in conjunction with a Nurse Practitioner mentor appointed by the School of Nursing and Midwifery. This unit builds upon knowledge and skills attained in NSN425-1, which is a pre-requisite of this unit.

Aims

This field-based unit focuses on the development of the advanced knowledge and skills necessary for you to practise as a nurse practitioner in a specialty area within your organisational context. The aim of this unit is to enable you to undertake supervised, extended clinical practice that enables you to consolidate and apply your coursework and prior clinical learning, enabling you to meet the competency and capability standards of the nurse practitioner.

Objectives

On successful completion of this unit you will be able to:

1. Conduct advanced, comprehensive and holistic health assessments relevant to your specialist field of nursing that culminate in accurate provisional and differential diagnoses;



2. Demonstrate a high level of confidence and clinical proficiency in carrying out a range of procedures, treatments and interventions that are evidence-based and informed by specialist knowledge;



3. Utilise knowledge and skills appropriate to an expanded scope of practice in complex or challenging health situations, including prescribing therapeutics, requesting diagnostic tests, referring to other health professionals and developing and evaluating therapeutic management plans;



4. Demonstrate skills in accessing established and evolving knowledge in the clinical and social sciences, and the application of this knowledge to the care and education of a specific client population;



5. Demonstrate autonomy, accountability and competence for expanded practice by providing client-focused care within an evidence-based model of nursing practice;



6. Establish therapeutic links with clients that recognise and respect physical differences, cultural identity and lifestyle choices;



7. Demonstrate creativity and proactivity in conducting the nurse practitioner service to improve client outcomes;



8. Engage in and lead clinical collaboration that optimises outcomes for clients; and



9. Engage in and lead informed critique at the systems level of health care.

Content

This field-based unit focuses on the advanced knowledge and skills necessary for nurse practitioner practice in your organisational context. The unit focuses on developing nurse practitioner capability, with an emphasis on patients whose care is complex and challenging. Due to the variable nature of the nurse practitioner role, specific content is determined by the context of practice and your own learning objectives. You will explore the extent of extended clinical practice available to you in the specialty and the organisation in which you are undertaking the internship. Complementary to the unit learning outcomes, and in consultation with your Clinical Support Team, you will develop personal learning objectives that reflect the knowledge and skills required in this extended scope of practice within organisational parameters.

Successful completion of this unit contributes to attainment of the following course values, ANMC Nurse Practitioner Standards, QUT Capabilities and Australian Learning and Teaching Council expectations:

• Course Values:




1. Safe, competent advanced practitioners who strive towards excellence in the delivery of holistic, ethical, evidence-based nursing care for all people in the settings in which they practise;


2. Inquiring practitioners who value intellectual curiosity, the active pursuit of new knowledge and its incorporation within the provision of high-quality nursing care;


3. Caring practitioners who are culturally safe and sensitive to the human condition and individualise their own care accordingly;


4. Collaborative practitioners who work with clients, families and colleagues in the pursuit of optimal health and well-being; and


5. Professionally aware practitioners who are prepared to challenge the status quo to achieve optimal health outcomes.




• ANMC Competency Standards:




1. Dynamic practice that incorporates the application of high-level knowledge and skills in extended practice across stable, unpredictable and complex situations;


2. Professional efficacy whereby practice is structured in a nursing model and enhanced by autonomy and accountability; and


3. Clinical leadership that influences and progresses clinical care, policy and collaboration through all levels of health service.




• QUT Graduate Capabilities:




1. Knowledge and skills pertinent to practice as a nurse practitioner;


2. Advanced levels of critical, creative and analytical thinking, and effective problem-solving;


3. Highly effective verbal and written communication;


4. An enhanced capacity for life-long learning;


5. The ability to work independently and collaboratively;


6. Heightened social and ethical responsibility; and


7. Enhanced self reliance and leadership.




• Australian Learning and Teaching Council Threshold Learning Outcomes for Health Graduates:




1. Demonstrate professional behaviours;


2. Assess individual and/or population health status and, where necessary, formulate, implement and monitor management plans in consultation with patients/carers/communities;


3. Promote and optimise the health and welfare of individuals and/or populations;


4. Retrieve, critically evaluate and apply evidence in the performance of health-related activities;


5. Deliver safe and effective collaborative health care; and


6. Reflect on current skills, knowledge and attitudes, and plan ongoing personal and professional development.

Approaches to Teaching and Learning

This unit is delivered in flexible mode.

You must be working in an advanced practice nursing role for the duration of this unit, of which 0.4 FTE hours constitutes this supernumerary clinical Internship. Hence the clinical component for this unit comprises a minimum of 185 formal clinical learning hours (15 hours per week x 13 weeks).

Your internship will be supervised by an appropriately-qualified local Clinical Support Team. This team will assist you to develop the requisite clinical decision-making skills in your specialty practice area. You must have ready access to the support team during your supernumerary clinical learning days. The discipline-mix and specific contribution of each local Clinical Support Team member to the internship team will vary according to context of practice and health service requirements. The Clinical Support Team will usually consist of an advanced health practitioner currently practising the relevant extended clinical skills in your specialty field of practice (eg: an experienced and qualified nurse practitioner, a medical practitioner, a dietician or pharmacist), together with an advanced practice nurse in the specialty area (eg: Clinical Nurse Consultant, Clinical Nurse Specialist). The composition of your supervisory team will be determined on application to the course and reconfirmed before you undertake your internship. In addition to the local Clinical Support Team, the School will formally link you with a practising nurse practitioner mentor for the duration of the internship.

During the internship, you are expected to manage, under appropriate supervision, at least two complete episodes of care per week during the semester. Your cases will comprise typical patients in your caseload who have more complex needs. Where possible, these will be cases with multiple comorbidities and who require multiple pharmacological and other therapeutic interventions. Your clinical support team will conduct clinical practice reviews on your management of these cases. These reviews will be held weekly in the first half of the semester and at least fortnightly towards the end of the semester and will be the formal mechanism for teaching and learning. The practice reviews will draw upon documented care in the medical record, observation of practice and your case reporting. Additionally, you will communicate weekly with your School-appointed nurse practitioner mentor for feedback. These meetings can occur through a variety of media, e.g. face-to-face, telephone, video conference, synchronous online chat or synchronous email conversation.

The unit is taught through a supported, self-directed approach utilising resources posted on Blackboard, the on-line unit learning management system. The unit embraces a supported, self-directed approach guided by comprehensive student and Clinical Support Team handbooks that outline all course details and requirements. Unit materials can be downloaded from Blackboard. The prescribed readings are accessible through QUT library resources or provided through the Course Materials Database (CMD) within Blackboard. Blackboard will also manage all information notices relevant to the unit, contain the answers to frequently asked questions, and provide access links to other relevant websites. Internet discussion forums and tele-tutorials will also be utilised as the need arises. Regular email contact with the Unit Co-ordinator is advised.

Assessment

There are three assessment items. You must achieve a satisfactory performance outcome in both assessment items to successfully complete the unit. Assessments are designed to evaluate your knowledge and your application of nurse practitioner capabilities in both stable and challenging situations.A structured approach to assessment and marking will provide you with detailed feedback on each assessment item as you progress through the unit. Assessment is spaced throughout the semester to provide the opportunity for feedback on your learning at key points.

Assessment name: Report and Portfolio
Description: Clinical Practice Report and ePortfolio - While enrolled in NSN425-1 and NSN425-2, you will engage in numerous clinical experiences and develop the competencies and capabilities that reflect the ANMC Competency Standards for the Nurse Practitioner (2004). You will develop a clinical portfolio of evidence supporting your competence against the ANMAC NP competencies that includes details of your case load and related practices, reflections on your practice, and additional evidence of your learning and development.
Weighting: There is no weighting for this assignment as students must achieve a satisfactory outcome in all assessment items to successfully complete the unit.
Due Date: Week 13 (Interim report due in week 6)
Relates to objectives: 1-9.
Internal or external: Both
Group or individual: Individual
Due date: Week 13

Assessment name: Placement Performance
Description: Clinical Activity and Practice Assessment Record (CAPAR) - In this item you will demonstrate, in your specialty area of practice, the depth of knowledge and range of skills commensurate with the capable nurse practitioner. You will receive formative verbal and written feedback on your progress throughout the practicum for this unit. A structured assessment tool that is consistent with the ANMC National Competency Standards for the Nurse Practitioner will be used for both formative and summative assessment of your performance. You must demonstrate satisfactory achievement on each criterion on the assessment tool.
Weighting: There is no weighting for this assignment as students must achieve a satisfactory outcome in all assessment items to successfully complete the unit.
Due Date: Week 13 (interim assessment due in Week 6)
Relates to objectives: 1-9.
Internal or external: Both
Group or individual: Individual
Due date: Week 13

Assessment name: Viva Voce
Description: Clinical Viva - You will undertake a comprehensive oral clinical examination (i.e. viva voce) that will be assessed by your Clinical Support Tea, the nurse practitioner mentor appointed by the School, and the Unit Coordinator. The viva voce demonstrates whether your depth of knowledge and range of skills are commensurate with those of the nurse practitioner in your specialty area of practice. The viva voce will address the areas of assessment, diagnostic decision making, provisional and differential diagnoses, criteria for referral, a management plan incorporating at least one pharmacological and one therapeutic non-pharmacological intervention, and criteria for evaluation of a complex case in your specialty area.
Weighting: There is no weighting for this assignment as students must achieve a satisfactory outcome in all assessment items to successfully complete the unit.
Relates to objectives: 1-9.
Internal or external: Both
Group or individual: Individual
Due date: Week 13

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

ANMC National competency standards for the nurse practitioner (2004). ANMC, Canberra.

Recommended Resources
Talley, N., & O'Connor, S. (2010). Clinical examination: A systematic guide to physical diagnosis (6th ed.). Churchill Livingston, Sydney.

Chamber, D. (2007). The language of medicine. Australian and New Zealand edition. Sydney: Saunders-Elsevier.

You will be guided in accessing other appropriate and contemporary resources throughout the semester.

Risk assessment statement

You will participate in an off-campus clinical experience in a health care setting. During this time, you will be exposed to a range of risks and hazards that are normally encountered by nurses practising in hospital settings. When undertaking these placements you are automatically subject to the Workplace Health and Safety Policies, Procedures and Regulations operating within the health care agency in which you are placed. You are required by law to comply with these policies and procedures at all times.

In order to minimise risks during the off campus components of this unit it is essential that you:

• Participate in the health care facility orientation session;


• Act in accordance with organisational Workplace Health and Safety policies;


• Are appropriately supervised by a registered nurse at all times;


• Undertake the required theoretical and practical preparation prior to commencement of the placement;


• Are aware of specific risks and hazards associated with the particular clinical area to which you have been assigned;


• Act within your scope of practice and the requirements of this unit; and


• Maintain your personal health and immunisation status.



Confidentiality
As a student in the clinical area, you must treat all information regarding clients and their families with the utmost confidentiality. Information that is documented as part of your learning experiences must preserve client anonymity and confidentiality. Under no circumstances should official patient clinical records be photocopied or scanned. Classroom discussion should also adhere to these principles.

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: 23-Jan-2013