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Contemporary Nursing (NURS90057)
Graduate courseworkPoints: 12.5Dual-Delivery (Parkville)
From 2023 most subjects will be taught on campus only with flexible options limited to a select number of postgraduate programs and individual subjects.
To learn more, visit COVID-19 course and subject delivery.
Overview
Availability | Semester 2 - Dual-Delivery |
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Fees | Look up fees |
In this subject, students further develop their knowledge and understanding of unique health issues affecting specific individuals and patient populations cared for across diverse and contemporary practice contexts. The subject explores contemporary models of nursing practice, inter-professional care and primary health care designed to address the health care needs of specific populations. Examples of specific health issues addressed in this subject may include: communicable diseases; men’s and women’s health; child/adolescent health; trauma care; end-of-life care; disaster nursing; refugee health; sexual health; and bariatrics. The contemporary and expanding role of nurses will be explored across diverse contexts such as general practice nursing, community nursing, school nursing, case management and the nurse practitioner.
The subject aims to enable students to develop deeper and broader knowledge about health issues affecting individual patients and their families as they interact with the health care system. Students may engage with the care of patients in any number of settings locally, nationally and in the international context such as:
• Mental health care
• Acute/critical care
• Child, adolescent and family care
• Older adult care
• Cancer and palliative care
• Practice nursing
• Community nursing
Students will develop specific individualised learning objectives related to their chosen area of practice and to their personally identified learning needs. Throughout the subject, for all students, emphasis will be placed on health assessment for implementing and evaluating physical and psychosocial care across the illness/wellness trajectory and the enhancement of knowledge and skills in therapeutic communication will be promoted. Students will become familiar with interventions required to establish and maintain patient stability, and interventions initiated by nurses at a beginning level of practice will be examined in terms of the research evidence underpinning practice. The ethico/legal aspects of care particularly relevant to the chosen area of engagement will be explored.
Intended learning outcomes
At the completion of this subject students should be able to:
In addition, students should be able to demonstrate that they have met their own individualised learning objectives.
- demonstrate the ability to understand, apply and evaluate assessment data of patients experiencing alterations to health status in the chosen area of specialty nursing;
- demonstrate the ability to adjust care and priorities in changing situations;
- demonstrate knowledge of pharmacology and medication administration specific to the chosen area of specialty nursing
- demonstrate competent skills in therapeutic nurse/patient communication;
- understand the legislation and funding arrangements relevant to the chosen area of speciality nursing and the implications of this for leadership and management skills when a Division 1 Registered Nurse;
- apply scientific knowledge to explain the rationale for interventions applicable to the chosen specialty area;
- use research findings to support or critique current practice in the chosen specialty area of practice;
- understand the impact of the chosen area of specialty nursing on resource management and sustainability.
Generic skills
At the completion of these subjects, 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 sensitivity;
- planning and time management skills;
- the ability to work effectively in an interprofessional team;
- the ability to communicate knowledge through classroom and web-based discussions and written material;
- a capacity to articulate their knowledge and understanding in written modes of communication;
- a capacity to manage competing demands on time, including self-directed project work.
Last updated: 19 December 2024