NUR 3090 Acute Care Nursing

STAFFING:

REQUISITES:

OTHER-REQUISITES:

RATIONALE:

Acute, serious and life threatening situations profoundly affect the integrity and vulnerability of people. It is important for nurses to be able to plan comprehensively and care for people in these situations.

SYNOPSIS:

This course focuses on serious and life-threatening events such as trauma, serious illness, disasters and other crises. Students explore human responses to crisis and apply the relevant principles of nursing practice. The integrated approach taken in this course assists students to apply knowledge learned at a previous level and progress towards attaining ANCI competencies which includes exploration of attitudes and values. Concurrently students develop professional relationships and support networks encouraged through peer interactions. This course encourages and supports the student using adult learning principles as they achieve mastery of content. Students will require access to e-mail and internet access to USQConnect for this course.

OBJECTIVES:

On successful completion of this course students will be able to:

1. utilise Irurita's framework to complete an accurate comprehensive nursing assessment of an acutely ill client and to deliver nursing care based on patient needs and scientific principles;
2. assess, plan, implement and evaluate care of patients with acute vulnerability in a variety of settings;
3. Strengthen critical thinking skills by demonstrating an analytical approach to everyday decision making;
4. research and apply the principles of crisis management and intervention to the patient, family and significant others faced with an acute llness;
5. deliver appropriate care sensitive to the cultural beliefs of patients and their families;
6. provide appropriate education to critically ill patients, their families and significant others to assist in decision making related to quality of life;
7. collaborate with others in applying crisis intervention strategies, stress management techniques and evaluating the outcomes of care provided;
8. distinguish differing acute care interventions and demonstrate effective care in technical and interpersonal skills;
9. demonstrate commitment to the multidisciplinary team approach to care;
10. demonstrate self-directedness and effective use of resources;
11. demonstrate skills and knowledge required to perform technical skills safely with appropriate equipment;
12. safely and competently perform CPR in an emergency situation; and
13. demonstrate satisfactory completion of 80 hours of clinical experience as partial fulfilment of Queensland Nursing Council requirements.

TOPICS:

TEXT and MATERIALS required to be PURCHASED or accessed:

ALL textbooks and materials are available for purchase from USQ BOOKSHOP (unless otherwise stated). Orders may be placed via secure internet, free fax 1800642453, phone 07 46312742 (within Australia), or mail. Overseas students should fax +61 7 46311743, or phone +61 7 46312742. For costs, further details, and internet ordering, use the 'Textbook Search' facility at http://bookshop.usq.edu.au click 'Semester', then enter your 'Course Code' (no spaces).

REFERENCE MATERIALS:

STUDENT WORKLOAD REQUIREMENTS:

ASSESSMENT DETAILS:

NOTES:

1.

Examination dates will be available during the Semester. Please refer to the examination timetable when published.

2.

Examination dates will be available during the Semester. Please refer to the examination timetable when published.

IMPORTANT ASSESSMENT INFORMATION

1. Attendance requirements:
   It is the students' responsibility to attend and participate appropriately in all activities (such as lectures, tutorials, laboratories and practical work) scheduled for them, and to study all material provided to them or required to be accessed by them to maximise their chance of meeting the objectives of the course and to be informed of course-related activities and administration. Students must complete 80 hours of clinical experience as partial fulfillment of Queensland Nursing Council requirements for registration. To maximize their chances of satisfying the objectives of the practical component of the course, students must attend and actively participate in at least 12 of the 13 lectures, tutorials and laboratory sessions in the course. Failure to do so could result in the student not being placed for clinicals.
2. Requirements for students to complete each assessment item satisfactorily:
   To complete each an assessment item satisfactorily, students must obtain at least 50% of the marks available for that assessment item. To complete the Clinical Experience satisfactorily, students must complete 80 hours of Clinical Experience as organized by the Nursing Department and obtain a satisfactory standard (at competent level) on the clinical assessment booklet and performance evaluation profile thus gaining the 1 mark for Clinical Experience.
3. Penalties for late submission of required work:
   If students submit assignments after the due date without prior approval then a penalty of 10% of the total marks gained by the student for the assignment will apply for each working day late.
4. Requirements for student to be awarded a passing grade in the course:
   To be assured of receiving a passing grade a student must submit all of the summative assessment items, achieve at least 50% in the examination and at least 50% of the available weighted marks for the summative assessment items.
5. Method used to combine assessment results to attain final grade:
   The final grades for students will be assigned on the basis of the weighted aggregate of the marks obtained for each of the summative assessment items in the course.
6. Examination information:
   The only materials that candidates may use in the restricted examination for this course are: writing materials (non-electronic and free from material which could give the student an unfair advantage in the examination) and calculators which cannot hold textual information (students must indicate on their examination paper the make and model of any calculator(s) they use during the examination. Students whose first language is not English, may, with the Examiner's approval, take an appropriate non-electronic translation dictionary (but not a technical dictionary) into the examination. Students who wish to use a translation dictionary MUST request and receive written approval from the Examiner at least one week before the examination date. Translation dictionaries will be subject to perusal and may be removed from the candidate's possession unitl appropriate disciplinary action is completed, if found to contain material that could give the candidate an unfair advantage.
7. Examination period when Deferred/Supplementary examinations will be held:
   Any Deferred or Supplementary examinations for this course will be held in the fourth week of the semester following this course offering and the examiner will advise students involved in writing of the date time and location of any such examination. There will be no supplementary exams in this course.
8. University Regulations:
   Students should read USQ Regulations 5.1 Definitions, 5.5 Enrolment, 5.6. Assessment, and 5.10 Academic Misconduct for further information and to avoid actions which might contravene University Regulations. These regulations can be found at the URL http://www.usq.edu.au/corporateservices/calendar/part5.htm or in the current USQ Handbook.

ASSESSMENT NOTES

OTHER REQUIREMENTS:

1. Students of clinical courses need to be certain they have submitted the following documents to the Faculty Office to ensure they will be allowed to proceed to a clinical placement - Current CPR Certification, Completion of the Queensland Health Orientation and submission of the checklist, Hepatitis B titre declaration and Confidentiality Form.