Undergraduate - UnitNUR2007 - Introduction to palliative care

This unit entry is for students who completed this unit in 2015 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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6 points, SCA Band 1, 0.125 EFTSL

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

Level	Undergraduate
Faculty	Faculty of Medicine, Nursing and Health Sciences
Organisational Unit	School of Nursing and Midwifery
Offered	Peninsula Second semester 2015 (Flexible)
Coordinator(s)	Ms Katrina Recoche

Synopsis

An important component of our health system is the services provided for those living with terminal illness. The health needs of these individuals are diverse and often change over time. An interdisciplinary approach will be used to engage students in building fundamental knowledge and skill for the provision of palliative care in any setting. This unit aims to develop the abilities of health professionals and other graduates to care for persons with life limiting illness, by improving awareness of the principles and values underpinning palliative care, communication, clinical assessment and interventions and optimizing function in palliative care and coping with dying and bereavement. This unit is a prerequisite for NUR3007 'Clinical experience in the palliative approach'.

Outcomes

Upon successful completion of this unit, students should be able to:

Communicate effectively in the context of individual responses to loss and grief, existential challenges, uncertainty and changing goals of care;
Appreciate and respect to the diverse human and clinical responses of each individual throughout their illness trajectory;
Understand the principles of assessment and management of clinical and supportive care needs; and
Reflect and evaluate their own professional and personal experiences and their cumulative impact on self and others.

Assessment

Comprehensive case study (40%)
Essay (40%)
Tutorial participation (20%)

Workload requirements

Three 3 hour compulsory workshops in weeks 1, 2 and 3 of the semester, followed by weekly 1 hour podcast lectures.

Chief examiner(s)

Ms Katrina Recoche

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

Nursing

Prerequisites

Enrolment in 2nd or 3rd year of an undergraduate degree related to health sciences.