Postgraduate - UnitNUR5004 - Contemporary nursing practice 4

This unit entry is for students who completed this unit in 2014 only. For students planning to study the unit, please refer to the unit indexes in the the current edition of the Handbook. If you have any queries contact the managing faculty for your course or area of study.

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12 points, SCA Band 1, 0.250 EFTSL

Refer to the specific census and withdrawal dates for the semester(s) in which this unit is offered, or view unit timetables.

Level	Postgraduate
Faculty	Faculty of Medicine, Nursing and Health Sciences
Organisational Unit	School of Nursing and Midwifery
Offered	Clayton First semester 2014 (Day) Clayton Summer semester A 2014 (Day)
Coordinator(s)	Ms Rebecca Vanderheide

Synopsis

This unit provides final preparation of the student for practice as a registered nurse. Adult learning principles are applied to encourage the student to identify specific learning needs and pursue opportunities to achieve tailored educational objectives. The approach to clinical learning featured in this unit enables students to explore an area of specific interest in nursing. A five week clinical consolidation placement is also included in this unit that will assist students in preparation for professional practice. The increasing importance of professional portfolios for the purpose of maintaining and demonstrating competency will be emphasized in this unit. A focus on principles of clinical leadership, therapeutic and professional communication, multidisciplinary team work, and clinical decision making will enable consolidation and application of prior learning in this course facilitating the transition from student to professional nurse.

Outcomes

On completion of this unit, it is expected that the student will be able to:

develop the ability to perform advanced skills in the areas of cardiac and respiratory patient management;
reflect on and identify specific learning needs in preparation for registration as a professional nurse;
utilise adult learning theories, concepts and principles to identify specific learning needs and strategies by which these can be met;
demonstrate critical application of skills in communication, organisation and clinical leadership;
employ clinical and critical decision making skills to identify, analyse and resolve problems in the practice environment;
develop and implement patient centered care interventions that encompass patients' cultural, ethical and developmental needs;
reflect critically on their personal and professional development in preparation for practice as a registered nurse;
practice with increasing independence in accordance with the Australian Nursing and Midwifery Council (ANMAC) National Competencies for the Registered Nurse, Code of Ethics and Code of Professional Conduct for Nurses, and;
demonstrate evidence of competency through the development of a professional portfolio.

Assessment

Learning contract (20%)
Clinical portfolio (30%)
Conference presentation and supporting documentation (2,500 words) (30%)
Reflective essay (1,500 words) (20%)
Clinical placement assessment (Pass / Fail)

Students must achieve a pass in the clinical placement to pass the unit (100%) Attendance at clinical placement is mandatory.

Chief examiner(s)

Ms Rebecca Vanderheide

Workload requirements

8 hours a week: 4 hours lectures, 4 hours tutorials over 8 weeks. In addition, students will be required to undertake 200 hours of clinical placement. Please note: Students who undertake this unit in the summer semester will be on campus for 5.5 weeks intensive mode.

This unit applies to the following area(s) of study

Nursing

Prerequisites

NUR5111, NUR5011, NUR5002, NUR5022, NUR5003, NUR5033.