Outline

Overview

This unit of study provides an opportunity for students to develop an understanding of professional nursing; "what it is and what it is not" (Nightingale, 1859) and to observe and explore the roles and relationships among nurses, patients and other health professionals within the health care setting. This unit will introduce students to the fundamentals of nursing care that include the physical, psychosocial and relational aspects of care across the lifespan and within diverse socio-cultural groups. To assist the student to develop an understanding of nursing practice they will be introduced to critical thinking and a clinical reasoning model focusing on assessment, planning, the implementation of comprehensive care interventions and how to evaluate person-centred care with patients as partners. In addition, students will develop a beginning level of competence and understanding of the essentials of communication, interprofessional education and digital health technologies.

Unit details and rules

Unit code	NURS5081
Academic unit	Nursing and Midwifery
Credit points	6
Prohibitions ?	None
Prerequisites ?	None
Corequisites ?	None
Assumed knowledge ?	None
Available to study abroad and exchange students	No

Teaching staff

Coordinator	Astrid Frotjold, astrid.frotjold@sydney.edu.au
Tutor(s)	Felicity Elias, felicity.elias@sydney.edu.au
	Gemma Saravanos, gemma.saravanos@sydney.edu.au
	Jennifer Hardy, jennifer.hardy@sydney.edu.au
	Dawn Perez, dawn.perez@sydney.edu.au

Type	Description	Weight	Due	Length
Placement	Off campus clinical assessment Clinical placement	0%	-	80 hours
Outcomes assessed:
Final exam (Record+)	Final exam Exam with short -medium length answers	45%	Formal exam period	2 hours
Outcomes assessed:
Participation	Interprofessional workshop	0%	Multiple weeks	2 hours
Outcomes assessed:
Assignment	Skills for accurate blood pressure measurement module Online module	0%	Week 05 Due date: 22 Mar 2021 at 23:00 Closing date: 27 Jun 2021	n/a
Outcomes assessed:
Assignment	Practice development ePortfolio: Video 1 & 2 Development of 2 clinical skills videos with critique	20%	Week 07 Due date: 25 Apr 2021 at 23:00 Closing date: 20 Jun 2021	Maximum 7 minutes each
Outcomes assessed:
Assignment	Fundamentals of care reflective essay Reflective Essay	35%	Week 11 Due date: 23 May 2021 at 23:00 Closing date: 30 Jun 2021	1500 words
Outcomes assessed:
= hurdle task ? = group assignment ? = Type B final exam ?

Assessment summary

Practice development ePortfolio: Students are required to work in a team of 3-4 to create two (2) clinical skills videos followed by a critique of your practice. Each video should be no more than 7 minutes in duration. Please note that this is a video of your practice session and does not have to be perfect. Following the completion of each video as a team you must complete a critique of your work.
Reflective Essay: Students are required to write a short reflection on their experiences during the simulation exercise in Week Excerpts from your reflection will be used to support your analysis in the following reflective essay. “Delivering high quality fundamental care is a key requirement for working with patients in a person-centred way” (Feo, Conroy, Aldeman, & Kitson (2017). With reference to the Fundamentals of Care framework, evidence- based literature and examples from your reflection of caring for Mrs Davies in week 9 simulation critically discuss the statement above. Present a clear and coherent argument to support your viewpoint. Your essay must include an introduction and conclusion; sub-headings may be used.
Final Exam: A 2 hour short-medium answer exam will be held in exam week the content will cover content covered in lectures, tutorials and simulation studio sessions.
Skills for accurate blood pressure measurement module: Students are required to complete the blood pressure module and achieve 70% or above in the three quizzes: Methods and Devices quiz, Clinical Scenario quiz and BP measurement practice located on the NURS 5081 Camvas site.
Off campus clinical assessment: Performance during clinical experience weeks. For this unit, the clinical component will attract a satisfactory/unsatisfactory grade. Obtaining a satisfactory grade in clinical performance is a requirement for successful completion of this unit of study.
Introductory Interprofessional workshop: Students will work in interprofessional 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. Obtaining a satisfactory grade in this activity is a requirement for successful completion of this unit of study.

Detailed information for each assessment task can be found on Canvas.

Assessment criteria

e 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.

This unit has an exception to the standard University policy or supplementary information has been provided by the unit coordinator. This information is displayed below:

As per assessment policy

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 unit of study; 2. Infection control	Lecture (2 hr)
	Introduction/Infection control	Tutorial (2 hr)
	Infection control/hand hygiene, use of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE)	Simulation laboratory (2 hr)
Week 01	1. Clinical Communication ; 2. Interdisciplinary communication;Clinical Excellence Commission (CEC) interprofessional education	Lecture (2 hr)
Week 01	CPR	Simulation laboratory (2 hr)
Week 02	1. Vital signs; 2. Adult Health Assessment	Lecture (2 hr)
	Health assessment and physical examination	Tutorial (2 hr)
	Temperature, pulse and respirations	Simulation laboratory (2 hr)
Week 03	1. Blood Pressure Health assessment; 2. Health assessment of the older person	Lecture (2 hr)
Week 03	Blood Pressure Management	Simulation laboratory (2 hr)
Week 04	1. Work, Health and Safety; 2.Keeping older people safe	Lecture (2 hr)
	Clinical communication/falls risk prevention	Tutorial (2 hr)
	Manual handling, patient transfer in bed and bed to trolley and patient positioning.	Simulation laboratory (2 hr)
Week 05	1. History and Contemporary perspectives of Nursing; 2. Fundamentals of care	Lecture (2 hr)
Week 05	Patient mobility: transfer bed to chair, mobilty aids	Simulation laboratory (2 hr)
Week 06	1.Clinical reasoning model/Framework for practice thinking; 2.Evidence based practice	Lecture (2 hr)
	Clinical reasoning model/Framework for practice thinking;	Tutorial (2 hr)
	Bed making, occupied and unoccupied	Simulation laboratory (2 hr)
Week 07	1.Oral Care; 2. Pressure injury prevention	Lecture (2 hr)
Week 07	Bed bath, oral hygiene, eye care, urinary and faecal elimination care	Simulation laboratory (2 hr)
Week 08	1. Clinical communication and documentation – Digital Health technologies; 2. Professional standards Code of ethics and Professional Conduct	Lecture (2 hr)
	Clinical reasoning, Code of ethics and RN Standards for Practice	Tutorial (2 hr)
	Clinical simulation exercise	Simulation laboratory (2 hr)
Week 09	1. Paediatric Health Assessment; 2. Digital Health Records	Lecture (2 hr)
Week 09	Patient admission, BGL, urinalysis	Simulation laboratory (2 hr)
Week 10	1. Clinical communication and documentation; 2. Revision; 3. Preparation for clinical experience	Lecture (2 hr)
	Clinical communication and documentation.	Tutorial (2 hr)
	Clinical simulation exercise	Simulation laboratory (2 hr)
Week 12	Clinical placements	Clinical practice (40 hr)
Week 13	Clinical placements	Clinical practice (40 hr)

Attendance and class requirements

Attendance: Students undertaking this unit of study are required to attend 90% of all lectures and tutorials, and 100% of all clinical simulation labs and off campus clinical, which are supplemented with online and group activities. These clinical hours must be reported to the Nurses and Midwives Board of Australia (NMBA) as a requirement for registration on completion of the nursing program.
Referencing guide: The Sydney Nursing School has adopted the American Psychological Association (APA) eferencing style, 6th Edition, 2010 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

Crisp, J., Douglas, C., Rebeiro, G., & Waters, D. (Eds.). (2021). Potter & Perry's fundamentals of nursing (6th ed.). Chatswood, N.S.W.: Elsevier Australia.

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.

Outcomes
Graduate qualities

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

LO1. Demonstrate an understanding of Sydney Nursing School’s conceptual framework including the interactions between nursing, the person and their family, educational philosophy and contexts of care.
LO2. Articulate the role of the nurse in an interdisciplinary health care team.
LO3. Develop clinical reasoning skills to understand the thinking behind the provision of quality person centred care, recognising that patients are partners in their own care.
LO4. Perform, at a beginning level, a range of health assessment skills, fundamentals of comprehensive care skills, communication and documentation skills for individuals across the lifespan.
LO5. Demonstrate an understanding of the relevance of evidence-based practice and how it informs clinical knowledge in practice.
LO6. Articulate and apply foundational knowledge relating to Work Health and Safety issues in health care with a focus on preventing and controlling healthcare associated infection control practices and manual handling.
LO7. Develop an understanding of the role of digital health technologies in the health care setting.
LO8. Demonstrate satisfactory achievement in a professional experience placement as outlined in the NURS 5081 Clinical Record Logbook.

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

Responding to student feedback

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

No changes have been made since this unit was last offered

Additional information

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

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

NURS5081: Introduction to Nursing Practice

Semester 1, 2021 [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

Responding to student feedback

Responding to student feedback

Additional information

Additional information

Disclaimer

On this page

Useful links

Media

Student links

About us

Connect