Outline

Overview

This unit of study explores nursing from historical, theoretical, professional, ethical and legal perspectives. It aims to develop knowledge and mindful action in nursing practice by introducing students to the Framework for Practice Thinking, the Fundamentals of Care framework and the concept of partnering with patients in their own care. An understanding of the role of the nurse in the provision of comprehensive care across different contexts, the importance of interprofessional collaboration and the principles underpinning the safe practice of nursing, including evidence-based practice and infection control will be introduced. The unit will also address the role of digital health technology in the provision of safe, quality healthcare. Furthermore, students will be prepared with the communication skills required to enable effective partnerships with patients across the lifespan and in the context of cultural and social diversity.

Unit details and rules

Unit code	NURS1004
Academic unit	Nursing and Midwifery
Credit points	6
Prohibitions ?	None
Prerequisites ?	None
Corequisites ?	NURS1002. Students unable to take NURS1002 and NURS1004 concurrently are advised to attempt NURS1004 before undertaking NURS1002
Assumed knowledge ?	None
Available to study abroad and exchange students	Yes

Teaching staff

Coordinator	Taneal Wiseman, taneal.wiseman@sydney.edu.au
Tutor(s)	Jillian Davey, jillian.davey@sydney.edu.au
	Taneal Wiseman, taneal.wiseman@sydney.edu.au
	Jennifer Hardy, jennifer.hardy@sydney.edu.au
	Cheryl Hyde, cheryl.hyde@sydney.edu.au

Type	Description	Weight	Due	Length
Final exam (Record+)	Assessment 3: Final exam Short answer questions	45%	Formal exam period	2 hours
Outcomes assessed:
Creative assessment / demonstration	Introductory professional workshop Assessment	0%	Week 04	3 hour workshops
Outcomes assessed:
Assignment	Assessment 1: Online quiz Online quiz	15%	Week 05 Due date: 25 Mar 2022 at 23:59	20 questions (30 minutes to complete)
Outcomes assessed:
Assignment	Assessment 2: Written essay Essay	40%	Week 08 Due date: 17 Apr 2022 at 23:59	2000 words
Outcomes assessed:
= hurdle task ? = Type B final exam ?

Assessment summary

Assessment 1: (Online Quiz) You will undertake a 30-minute quiz (comprising of 20 questions).
The online quiz will assess student’s knowledge of content covered in this unit of study up to and including week 5 content. The online quiz contains 20 questions (e.g. multiple choice, true or false, etc.) addressing material that has been covered in lectures, tutorials and clinical laboratories to date. The online quiz is available on the NURS1004 canvas site for 24 hours only commencing Thursday 24th March at 2359 hours until Friday 25th March at 2359 hours. The quiz will NOT be accessible outside these times. You will have 30 minutes to complete the quiz once you have logged on. You are only permitted ONE attempt at this quiz so it is important that you are ready to spend the needed amount of time to complete it.
Assessment 2: (Written essay)
The year 2020 was designated the International Year of the Nurse and Midwife by the World Health Organisation (WHO) in collaboration with the International Council of Nurses (ICN). This recognition marks the culmination of the Nursing Now campaign and coincided with the 200th anniversary of the birth of the founder of modern nursing, Florence Nightingale.
As future registered nurses it is important to understand the challenges facing nursing in the modern world. Given the growing campaign to improve the status and profile of nursing as a profession globally, particularly in light of the recent covid pandemic, the aim of this assessment is to:
Identify and discuss the challenges or major issues faced by nurses in Australia and globally.
Discuss measures that are currently being implemented by any organisations and stakeholders to address the issues you have identified.
Select one of the issues you have identified and discuss this in relation to nursing and/or midwifery.
Your discussion must be based on reputable sources, peer-reviewed journals and other relevant literature. Your essay should not only demonstrate your understand on the topic but should also show your ability to synthesise and analyse the given topic.
Introductory Interprofessional workshop: In March 2022, approximately 1900 health professional students will work in inter-professional teams to foster effective collaboration for the future improvement of health outcomes. This workshop will provide an opportunity to build and develop students' understanding of role identification, effective communication and teamwork. Students will be required to participate in teams to complete activities that have been developed to promote collaborative practice. Following the activities there will be a debriefing session where students can reflect on their team performance and relate this to health care. A satisfactory participation mark is a requirement for successful completion of this unit of study.
Assessment 3: (Final exam) The exam content will be taken from the lectures, tutorials, essential readings and clinical simulation laboratories in this subject. The examination content will relate to learning outcomes 1-9.

Detailed information for each assessment can be found on Canvas.

Assessment criteria

The University awards common result grades, set out in the Coursework Policy 2014 (Schedule 1).

As a general guide, a high distinction indicates work of an exceptional standard, a distinction a very high standard, a credit a good standard, and a pass an acceptable standard.

Result name	Mark range	Description
High distinction	85 - 100
Distinction	75 - 84
Credit	65 - 74
Pass	50 - 64
Fail	0 - 49	When you don’t meet the learning outcomes of the unit to a satisfactory standard.

For more information see sydney.edu.au/students/guide-to-grades.

For more information see guide to grades.

Late submission

In accordance with University policy, these penalties apply when written work is submitted after 11:59pm on the due date:

Deduction of 5% of the maximum mark for each calendar day after the due date.
After ten calendar days late, a mark of zero will be awarded.

Academic integrity

The Current Student website provides information on academic integrity and the resources available to all students. The University expects students and staff to act ethically and honestly and will treat all allegations of academic integrity breaches seriously.

We use similarity detection software to detect potential instances of plagiarism or other forms of academic integrity breach. If such matches indicate evidence of plagiarism or other forms of academic integrity breaches, your teacher is required to report your work for further investigation.

You may only use artificial intelligence and writing assistance tools in assessment tasks if you are permitted to by your unit coordinator, and if you do use them, you must also acknowledge this in your work, either in a footnote or an acknowledgement section.

Studiosity is permitted for postgraduate units unless otherwise indicated by the unit coordinator. The use of this service must be acknowledged in your submission.

Learning support

Simple extensions

If you encounter a problem submitting your work on time, you may be able to apply for an extension of five calendar days through a simple extension.  The application process will be different depending on the type of assessment and extensions cannot be granted for some assessment types like exams.

Special consideration

If exceptional circumstances mean you can’t complete an assessment, you need consideration for a longer period of time, or if you have essential commitments which impact your performance in an assessment, you may be eligible for special consideration or special arrangements.

Special consideration applications will not be affected by a simple extension application.

Using AI responsibly

Co-created with students, AI in Education includes lots of helpful examples of how students use generative AI tools to support their learning. It explains how generative AI works, the different tools available and how to use them responsibly and productively.

Weekly schedule

WK	Topic	Learning activity
Week 01	1. Introduction to the unit of study; 2. What is nursing? Historical and contemporary perspectives	Lecture (2 hr)
	1. Orientation to labs; 2. Infection control (hand hygiene, and PPE); Work, Health and Safety (WHS)	Simulation laboratory (2 hr)
	1. What is nursing?; 2. Online library session.	Tutorial (2 hr)
Week 02	1. Infection control; 2. Work, Health and Safety (WHS)	Lecture (2 hr)
Week 03	1. An introduction to legal and ethical issues in nursing, professional standards, and code of conduct.	Lecture (2 hr)
Week 03	Manual handling, patient transfer and positioning	Simulation laboratory (2 hr)
Week 04	1. Nursing knowledge, research and EBP - an introduction; 2. Reflective practice	Lecture (2 hr)
Week 04	Professional issues - scenarios	Tutorial (2 hr)
Week 05	1. Comfort; 2. Pressure area care	Lecture (2 hr)
Week 05	Bed –making (occupied, unoccupied & post-operative beds)	Simulation laboratory (2 hr)
Week 06	1. Framework for practice thinking; 2. SNS conceptual framework	Lecture (2 hr)
Week 06	Exploring the concept of care and caring - Part 1	Tutorial (2 hr)
Week 07	Hygiene and personal care (skin, eyes, oral care)	Simulation laboratory (2 hr)
Week 08	1. Fundamentals of Communication; 2. Gathering information	Lecture (2 hr)
Week 08	1. Exploring the concept of care and caring - part 2; 2. Care planning	Tutorial (2 hr)
Week 09	1. Therapeutic communication; 2. Communication for professional practice and deescalation	Lecture (2 hr)
	Communication exercises	Tutorial (2 hr)
	Communication exercises	Simulation laboratory (2 hr)
Week 10	1. Clinical leadership in nursing; 2. Essentials of care	Lecture (2 hr)
Week 10	Bringing it all together	Simulation laboratory (2 hr)
Week 12	Consolidation and exam review and unit evaluation	Lecture (2 hr)

Attendance and class requirements

Attendance: The Sydney Nursing School Resolutions specifically outline attendance requirements. Resolution 7.2 states that if students are absent without leave for more than 10% of classes in a particular unit of study in any one semester, the Dean may call upon them to show cause why they should not be deemed to have failed that unit of study. Students undertaking this unit of study are required to attend at least 90% of on-campus activities which are supplemented with online and group activities.
Referencing style: The Sydney Nursing School has adopted the American Psychological Association (APA) Referencing style, 7th Edition, 2019 as its official referencing style. This is an author-date style of referencing.

Study commitment

Typically, there is a minimum expectation of 1.5-2 hours of student effort per week per credit point for units of study offered over a full semester. For a 6 credit point unit, this equates to roughly 120-150 hours of student effort in total.

Required readings

All readings for this unit can be accessed through the Library eReserve, available on Canvas.

Learning outcomes

Learning outcomes are what students know, understand and are able to do on completion of a unit of study. They are aligned with the University's graduate qualities and are assessed as part of the curriculum.

At the completion of this unit, you should be able to:

LO1. introduce and discuss the history of nursing and influences that have shaped contemporary nursing and professional identity.
LO2. demonstrate an understanding of the importance of the Framework for Practice Thinking, the Fundamentals of Care framework and person-centred care.
LO3. demonstrate, at a beginning level, an understanding of evidence-based practice and its role in informing nursing practice.
LO4. apply foundational and factual knowledge to demonstrate an understanding of the principles and practice of work health and safety (WHS) with regards to preventing and controlling health care associated infection and manual handling.
LO5. develop communication and reflective skills, required as a nursing student in both on and off-campus clinical contexts to inform practice at novice level.
LO6. introduce and gain awareness of how digital health technology is used in the provision of contemporary healthcare.
LO7. demonstrate an introductory understanding of clinical governance and the fundamental professional, legal and ethical dimensions of nursing practice.
LO8. demonstrate an understanding of the contribution of effective interdisciplinary teamwork for patient safety.

Graduate qualities

The graduate qualities are the qualities and skills that all University of Sydney graduates must demonstrate on successful completion of an award course. As a future Sydney graduate, the set of qualities have been designed to equip you for the contemporary world.

GQ1	Depth of disciplinary expertise Deep disciplinary expertise is the ability to integrate and rigorously apply knowledge, understanding and skills of a recognised discipline defined by scholarly activity, as well as familiarity with evolving practice of the discipline.
GQ2	Critical thinking and problem solving Critical thinking and problem solving are the questioning of ideas, evidence and assumptions in order to propose and evaluate hypotheses or alternative arguments before formulating a conclusion or a solution to an identified problem.
GQ3	Oral and written communication Effective communication, in both oral and written form, is the clear exchange of meaning in a manner that is appropriate to audience and context.
GQ4	Information and digital literacy Information and digital literacy is the ability to locate, interpret, evaluate, manage, adapt, integrate, create and convey information using appropriate resources, tools and strategies.
GQ5	Inventiveness Generating novel ideas and solutions.
GQ6	Cultural competence Cultural Competence is the ability to actively, ethically, respectfully, and successfully engage across and between cultures. In the Australian context, this includes and celebrates Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures, knowledge systems, and a mature understanding of contemporary issues.
GQ7	Interdisciplinary effectiveness Interdisciplinary effectiveness is the integration and synthesis of multiple viewpoints and practices, working effectively across disciplinary boundaries.
GQ8	Integrated professional, ethical, and personal identity An integrated professional, ethical and personal identity is understanding the interaction between one’s personal and professional selves in an ethical context.
GQ9	Influence Engaging others in a process, idea or vision.

Outcome map

Learning outcomes	Graduate qualities
Learning outcomes

Alignment with Competency standards

Outcomes	Competency standards
	Registered Nurses Standards for Practice - 1.2. Develops practice through reflection on experiences, knowledge, actions, feelings and beliefs to identify how these shape practice 3.5. Seeks and responds to practice review and feedback 3.7. Identifies and promotes the integral role of nursing practice and the profession in influencing better health outcomes for people
	Registered Nurses Standards for Practice - 1.1. Accesses, analyses, and uses the best available evidence, that includes research findings for safe quality practice 1.3. Respects all cultures and experiences, which includes responding to the role of family and community that underpin the health of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples and people of other cultures 1.5. Uses ethical frameworks when making decisions 6.2. Practises within their scope of practice
	Registered Nurses Standards for Practice - 1.1. Accesses, analyses, and uses the best available evidence, that includes research findings for safe quality practice 1.2. Develops practice through reflection on experiences, knowledge, actions, feelings and beliefs to identify how these shape practice 7.1. Evaluates and monitors progress towards the expected goals and outcomes
	Registered Nurses Standards for Practice - 1.1. Accesses, analyses, and uses the best available evidence, that includes research findings for safe quality practice 1.2. Develops practice through reflection on experiences, knowledge, actions, feelings and beliefs to identify how these shape practice 1.4. Complies with legislation, common law, policies, guidelines and other standards or requirements relevant to the context of practice when making decisions 6.2. Practises within their scope of practice
	Registered Nurses Standards for Practice - 1.2. Develops practice through reflection on experiences, knowledge, actions, feelings and beliefs to identify how these shape practice 2.2. Communicates effectively, and is respectful of a person’s dignity, culture, values, beliefs and rights
	Registered Nurses Standards for Practice - 1.1. Accesses, analyses, and uses the best available evidence, that includes research findings for safe quality practice 3.3. Uses a lifelong learning approach for continuing professional development of self and others 3.7. Identifies and promotes the integral role of nursing practice and the profession in influencing better health outcomes for people
	Registered Nurses Standards for Practice - 1. Standard 1: Thinks critically and analyses nursing practice 1.4. Complies with legislation, common law, policies, guidelines and other standards or requirements relevant to the context of practice when making decisions 1.5. Uses ethical frameworks when making decisions 3.6. Actively engages with the profession 6.5. Practises in accordance with relevant nursing and health guidelines, standards, regulations and legislation
	Registered Nurses Standards for Practice - 1. Standard 1: Thinks critically and analyses nursing practice 2.8. Participates in and/or leads collaborative practice 5.2. Collaboratively constructs nursing practice plans until contingencies, options priorities, goals, actions, outcomes and timeframes are agreed with the relevant persons

Registered Nurses Standards for Practice -

Competency code	Taught, Practiced or Assessed	Competency standard
1.1		Accesses, analyses, and uses the best available evidence, that includes research findings for safe quality practice
1.2		Develops practice through reflection on experiences, knowledge, actions, feelings and beliefs to identify how these shape practice
1.5		Uses ethical frameworks when making decisions
2.2		Communicates effectively, and is respectful of a person’s dignity, culture, values, beliefs and rights
2.5		Advocates on behalf of people in a manner that respects the person’s autonomy and legal capacity
3.4		Accepts accountability for decisions, actions, behaviours and responsibilities inherent in their role, and for the actions of others to whom they have delegated responsibilities
7.3		Determines, documents and communicates further priorities, goals and outcomes with the relevant persons

Responding to student feedback

This section outlines changes made to this unit following staff and student reviews.

Changes to the assessment items have been undertaken and updating of subject content completed.

Additional information

Sensitive materials in teaching: Please note that in this Unit of Study sensitive and potentially distressing or disturbing content will be presented and/or discussed from time to time. This may include reference to for example, of people’s experiences of health and illness and/or culturally sensitive issues. These topics are relevant to your learning in this unit of study and your knowledge and skill development for nursing practice. You will be advised before the information/topic is presented. If you are participating in the teaching session/activity online, you are advised to use headphones and ensure that anyone not participating in the session cannot see images that you may be watching on your device. If the nature of the content makes you feel uncomfortable or distressed, it is important that you contact the unit coordinator or another member of the academic team to discuss this with them.

Disclaimer

The University reserves the right to amend units of study or no longer offer certain units, including where there are low enrolment numbers.

To help you understand common terms that we use at the University, we offer an online glossary.

Current students

Overview

Overview

Unit details and rules

Teaching staff

Assessment

Assessment

Assessment summary

Assessment criteria

Late submission

Academic integrity

Learning support

Learning support

Simple extensions

Special consideration

Using AI responsibly

Weekly schedule

Weekly schedule

Attendance and class requirements

Study commitment

Required readings

Learning outcomes

Learning outcomes

Graduate qualities

Outcome map

Alignment with Competency standards

Responding to student feedback

Responding to student feedback

Additional information

Additional information

Disclaimer

On this page

Useful links

Media

Student links

About us

Connect

Current students

NURS1004: Nursing Knowledge, Practice and Policy

Semester 1, 2022 [Normal day] - Camperdown/Darlington, Sydney

Overview

Overview

Unit details and rules

Teaching staff

Assessment

Assessment

Assessment summary

Assessment criteria

Late submission

Academic integrity

Learning support

Learning support

Simple extensions

Special consideration

Using AI responsibly

Weekly schedule

Weekly schedule

Attendance and class requirements

Study commitment

Required readings

Learning outcomes

Learning outcomes

Graduate qualities

Outcome map

Alignment with Competency standards

Responding to student feedback

Responding to student feedback

Additional information

Additional information

Disclaimer

On this page

Useful links

Media

Student links

About us

Connect