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Nursing Assessment & Care (NURS90130)
Graduate courseworkPoints: 25On Campus (Parkville)
About this subject
- Overview
- Eligibility and requirements
- Assessment
- Dates and times
- Further information
- Timetable(opens in new window)
Contact information
Semester 1
Overview
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In this subject students will develop knowledge and clinical skills to enable them to perform comprehensive health assessment across the lifespan using a culturally sensitive nursing framework. Students will gain an understanding of nurses’ roles and responsibilities in a variety of settings in which nursing takes place including; general practice, aged care, community and acute care settings. Students will be introduced to the recovery oriented model of nursing, develop skills in physical assessment techniques, data collection, problem identification, prioritisation, framing and solving and the documentation of data collected during health assessment. The focus in this subject is on assessment findings to enable students to identify variations to these. Throughout the subject there will be a focus on examining the health care system from the perspective of factors that can affect patient outcomes and the importance of identifying, critically appraising and integrating evidence into clinical practice. Using safety and quality as a framework students will examine trends in critical incidents that result in adverse outcomes for patients. They will also be introduced to emerging strategies in health care that seek to improve safety and quality and consider the role of the nurse in leading these efforts at a clinical and organisational level. Students will be exposed to a range of nursing skills, strategies for symptom management, selected diagnostic investigations and treatment interventions. Students commence the development of knowledge and skills related to therapeutic medication administration, the principles of the ‘quality use of medicines’ and drug administration for selected medications.
In the simulated learning laboratory, through facilitated clinical practice, students will develop skills relating to a comprehensive systems based patient physical and health assessment, infection prevention, basic nursing interventions and enteral medication administration.
During the professional experience placement, under the guidance of clinical educators and clinical preceptors, students will gain experience in settings that enable them to meet the learning objectives of this subject.
The major focus for the professional experience placement component of this subject is the integration of the principles of health assessment, safe and effective clinical decision-making and basic nursing interventions. On completion of the subject it is expected that students, while providing therapeutic interventions, are able to incorporate the further collection of health assessment data and adjust care accordingly for 1 to 2 patients.
Intended learning outcomes
At the completion of this subject students should be able to:
- identify and utilise strategies that facilitate a therapeutic nurse patient relationship;
- identify appropriate sources of information for relevant questions;
- recognise the importance of history and culture to health and wellbeing;
- be able to reflect on the context of Indigenous health and nursing;
- recognise the major health and health care disparities facing marginalized groups;
- demonstrate skills in searching electronic databases;
- demonstrate skill in critical appraisal of the research literature including application to practice to inform evidence based practice;
- identify ethical and legal principles of advocacy as they apply to nurse-patient interactions;
- demonstrate an understanding of the purpose of assessment frameworks for practice in the acute and community setting;
- demonstrate the capacity to conduct a comprehensive systems based patient assessment;
- develop an understanding of the theoretical underpinnings of clinical decision making
- integrate health assessment into assisting clients with self-care activities and selected nursing interventions;
- demonstrate the capacity to safely administer and evaluate the use and outcomes of select oral, topical and inhalant medications;
- demonstrate the capacity to provide accurate written health assessment data using appropriate terminology;
- apply clinical decision making to patients with a changing healthcare status;
- communicate verbally and in writing in a professional manner with the patient, their families and other members of the health care team;
- understand the health care system as a potential source of adverse events for patients;
- demonstrate knowledge of the key contemporary safety and quality issues in Australian and International healthcare; and
- identify and discuss factors in the clinical setting that relate to resource use and sustainability.
Generic skills
At the completion of this subject, students should be able to demonstrate:
- the capacity for information seeking, retrieval and evaluation
- critical thinking and analytical skills
- an openness to new ideas
- cultural safety
- planning and time management skills
- the ability to work effectively in a team
- the ability to communicate knowledge through classroom and web-based discussions and written material
Last updated: 3 November 2022
Eligibility and requirements
Prerequisites
Completion of an online Manual Handling module prior to clinical placement
Corequisites
None
Non-allowed subjects
None
Inherent requirements (core participation requirements)
The University of Melbourne is committed to providing students with reasonable adjustments to assessment and participation under the Disability Standards for Education (2005), and the Assessment and Results Policy (MPF1326). Students are expected to meet the core participation requirements for their course. These can be viewed under Entry and Participation Requirements for the course outlines in the Handbook.
Further details on how to seek academic adjustments can be found on the Student Equity and Disability Support website: http://services.unimelb.edu.au/student-equity/home
Last updated: 3 November 2022
Assessment
Additional details
Theoretical Component - 70%
1) 2,000 word assignment - Week 6 (30%)
2) 3 hour exam - Exam Period (40%) : Hurdle must pass exam
Clinical Component - 30%
1) Professional Experience Placement Appraisal (PEP)(Pass/Fail) (Hurdle)
2) Professional Experience Practice Analysis 1 x 2,000 words due week 12 (30%)
3) Objective Structured Clinical Examination (OSCE) 10 minute Psychomotor Assessment conducted in the Simulated Learning Laboratory (Pass / Fail) Hurdle
Hurdle Components
1. Attendance at all Simulated Learning Laboratory sessions (During the theory block of the semester)
2. OSCE (Must pass component for attendance at PEP) (On completion of all simulated learning
laboratory experiences)
3. Attendance at all Professional Experience Placement (PEP) days is compulsory (On completion of
prescribed Professional Experience Placement)
4. Student must pass 3 hour written exam
Students must pass the theoretical, clinical & hurdle components to achieve a pass in the subject.
Last updated: 3 November 2022
Dates & times
- Semester 1
Principal coordinator Jo Martin Mode of delivery On Campus (Parkville) Contact hours 36 hours lectures/tutorials/seminars, 18 hours clinical laboratory sessions, 120 hours professional experience placement Total time commitment 340 hours Teaching period 4 March 2019 to 2 June 2019 Last self-enrol date 15 March 2019 Census date 31 March 2019 Last date to withdraw without fail 10 May 2019 Assessment period ends 28 June 2019 Semester 1 contact information
Time commitment details
340 hours
Last updated: 3 November 2022
Further information
- Texts
Prescribed texts
- Brown, D., & Edwards, H. (2015). Lewis’ medical-surgical nursing. (4th ed.). Sydney: Elsevier Mosby.
- Bullock, S., & Manias, E. (2016). Fundamentals of pharmacology. (8th ed.). Sydney: Pearson.
- Tollefson, J. (2012). Clinical psychomotor skills. (4th ed.). Australia: Cengage Learning.
- Crisp, J., Taylor, C., Douglas, C., & Rebeiro, G. (Eds.). (2017). Potter & Perry’s fundamentals of nursing / Australian and New Zealand edition. (5th ed.). Chatswood: Elsevier.
- Huether, H., & McCance, K., Brashers, V., & Rote, N. (2014). Pathophysiology: The biological bases for disease in adults and children. (7th ed.). St Louis: Mosby Elsevier.
- Lewis L., & Foley, D. (Eds.).(2014). Health assessment in nursing. (2 nd ed.). Sydney: Wolters Kluwer.
- Patton, K. & Thibodeau, G. (2015). Anatomy and physiology. (9th ed.). St. Louis: Elsevier Mosby.
Recommended texts and other resources
- Ackley, B, J., & Ladwig, G. B. (2016). Nursing diagnosis, an evidence based guide to planning care. (11th ed.). St Louis: Mosby
- Levitt-Jones, T., & Bourgeois, S. (2015). The clinical placement: an essential guide for nursing students. (3rd ed.). Sydney: Churchill-Livingstone/Elsevier.
- Brotto, V., & Rafferty K. (2012). Clinical dosage calculations for Australia & New Zealand. Australia: Cengage Learning.
- Reberio, G., Jack, l., Scully, N., & Wilson, D. (2016). Fundamentals of nursing clinical skills workbook. (3rd ed.). Chatswood: Elsevier
- Related Handbook entries
This subject contributes to the following:
Type Name Course Master of Nursing Science - Links to additional information
- Available to Study Abroad and/or Study Exchange Students
This subject is available to students studying at the University from eligible overseas institutions on exchange and study abroad. Students are required to satisfy any listed requirements, such as pre- and co-requisites, for enrolment in the subject.
Last updated: 3 November 2022