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

The advanced practice nurse (APN) is a registered nurse who operates at the advanced or specialty level within a nursing model of care. Having first received a comprehensive professional preparation, advanced practice nurses are subsequently prepared through intensive education, experience and competency assessment for their chosen speciality. Armed with the appropriate depth of specialist knowledge and skills, APNs work within a defined client population or area of nursing activity. The aim of this unit is to provide you with the educational and clinical preparation hat enables you to function at the advanced level in your area of nursing specialty.

Aims

The aim of this unit is to equip you with the clinical skills and academic knowledge relevant to your chosen specialty nursing field. These will enable you to meet the competency standards of the advanced practice nurse, where these are defined by the relevant professional nursing groups.

Objectives

On the successful completion of this unit, in your area of specialty, you will have achieved the following competencies as outlined in the ANF Competency Standards for the Advanced Registered Nurse, 2005:

1. Utilise the best available evidence, observations and experience to plan, conduct and evaluate practice in ways that incorporate complexity and/or a multiplicity of elements;



2. Utilise health and/or nursing models as a basis for your practice;



3. Manage client outcomes in complex situations;



4. Anticipate and meet the needs of individuals and groups with complex conditions and/or in high risk situations;



5. Integrate and evaluate knowledge and resources from different disciplines and health care teams to effectively meet the health care needs of individuals and groups;



6. Seek out and integrate evidence from a range of sources to improve health care outcomes;



7. Safely interpret and modify nursing guidelines and practice to meet the health care needs of individuals and groups;



8. Lead and guide the nursing team to promote optimum standards of care;



9. Share information and resources to initiate improvements and/or innovation in nursing practice;



10. Foster and initiate research-based nursing practice;



11. Act as mentor and role model for nurses and other health professionals;



12. Contribute to the development of nursing knowledge, standards and resources through active participation at the broader professional level;



13. Facilitate education of individuals and groups, students, nurses and other members of the health care team;



14. Act a resource for other nurses and members of the health care team; and



15. Provide nursing as a resource to others through your capacity to practise outside single contexts and episodes of practice.

Postgraduate Capabilities

Successfully completing this unit will contribute to your ability to:

• Access the knowledge and skills pertinent to your advanced registered nursing practice;



• Think critically and utilise effective problem-solving skills in your speciality field;



• Use effective communication in a variety of contexts and modes;



• Work autonomously and collaboratively with the multidisciplinary health care team;



• Practise responsibly and ethically within current legal frameworks; and



• Demonstrate leadership in your speciality field.

Content

This is a field-based unit that focuses on the development and consolidation of the nursing knowledge and skills required to practise at an advanced level in a defined area of health care. Content is determined by the context of that practice and your own learning objectives. You will explore the extent of advanced clinical practice available to you in the specialty in which you are undertaking the fellowship. Complementary to the unit objectives, and in consultation with your clinical and academic support teams, you will develop personal learning objectives that reflect the knowledge and skills required of this advanced scope of nursing practice.

International students require temporary nursing registration with the Australian Health Practitioners Registering Authority, in addition to a workplace-based clinical placement of a minimum of 0.6FTE over the semester. This will enable them to meet the clinical competency standards of the advanced practice nurse required in this unit, which are in line with the standards articulated by the Australian Nursing and Midwifery Council.

Approaches to Teaching and Learning

This unit is delivered in internal and external mode. You will be working in an advanced practice registered nurse role, which constitutes your fellowship, as the core component of this unit. You will meet regularly with your academic supervisor and fortnightly with your clinical supervisor. The clinical supervisor is an APN who currently practises within your specialty area. Where no nurse is available to fulfil all the requirements of this role, a medical or other allied health practitioner with the requisite knowledge and skills may complement the nursing clinical supervisor. The clinical supervisor will assist you to develop the requisite knowledge and skills in the designated specialty area.

Assessment

There are three assessments to be completed throughout the semester. The assessment items will evaluate your knowledge, skills and nursing competencies in your chosen specialty area.Assessment will be spaced throughout the semester to provide the opportunity for feedback on your learning at key points. You will be provided with feedback on each assessment item as you progress through the unit. A structured approach to assessment and marking will be applied to provide you with detailed feedback on your progress.

Assessment name: Demonstration
Description: You are required to demonstrate a range of skills that are commensurate with the role of the advanced practice nurse in your area of specialty. You will receive formative verbal and written feedback on your performance from your clinical supervisor throughout your fellowship. A structured assessment tool that is consistent with the ANF advanced registered nurse competencies will be used. This tool will evaluate whether you have satisfactorily achieved each criterion of the competencies relevant to your practice area.

The structured assessment tool will be accompanied by a report from your clinical supervisor that details your caseload for each semester. It will also comprise evaluations from your clinical and academic supervisors regarding your performance.

You must achieve a satisfactory performance outcome in this assessment item to successfully complete the unit.
Weight: Satisfactory / Unsatisfactory
Relates to objectives: 1-14.
Internal or external: External
Group or individual: Individual
Due date: Friday, Week 14

Assessment name: Case Study Part A
Description: You will present a two-part case study. You will need to obtain consent from an individual or group for whom you cared by week 2 of semester in order to present their case.

Case Study Part A: The first part of the case study, which evaluates your critical thinking and written communication skills, comprises a 5000 word critique of your advanced registered nursing practice related to that case. In the written component, you will describe, with reference to the literature, how you assessed, planned, implemented and evaluated your advanced nursing care of that client or group.
Relates to objectives: 1-7.
Weight: 50%
Internal or external: External
Group or individual: Individual
Due date: Friday, Week 12

Assessment name: Case Study Part B
Description: You will present a two-part case study. You will need to obtain consent from an individual or group for whom you cared by week 2 of semester in order to present their case.

Case Study Part B: The second part of the case study assesses your verbal communication skills and your ability to lead and educate your nursing colleagues as an advanced registered nurse. In this part of the case study, you will prepare and present the case submitted in Part A in the style of a Nursing Grand Round. You will prepare a 20 minute Powerpoint presentation of your case, and take 10 minutes of questions afterwards. Part B will be assessed by a panel of academic supervisors during a one day on-campus workshop, at which student attendance is compulsory.
Relates to objectives: 8-15.
Weight: 50%
Internal or external: External
Group or individual: Individual
Due date: Friday, Week 14

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

Australian Nursing Federation (ANF) 2005. Competency standards for the advanced registered nurse. Sydney: ANF. These are provided on the unit website.

There is no required textbook for this unit. Other resource materials will be included on the unit website.

Risk assessment statement

As a student undertaking this unit you must 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 in practice settings. Candidates undertaking these placements are automatically subject to the workplace health and safety policies, procedures and regulations operating within the health care agency in which they are placed. You are required by law to comply with these policies, procedures and regulations at all times.

In order to minimise risks during this components of the 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 clinical lecturer 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.

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: 26-Nov-2012