Postgraduate coursework - units of study descriptors
BACH 5226 Organisational Structures in Health Contexts
BACH 5291 Organisational Psychology
BACH 5306 Health Risk Management (International Perspective)
CEPI 5200 Quality and Safety in Health Care
CLIN 5002 History of Ideas in Nursing
CLIN 5013 Illness, Experience and Embodiment
CLIN 5033 Nursing Services Management in Health
FCNU 5012 Epidemiology
FCNU 5013 Interpersonal Relations in Clinical Environments
FCNU 5037 History of Ideas in Midwifery
FCNU 5050 Mental Health Assessment and Interventions
HIMT 5027 Introduction to Epidemiology
HIMT 5057 Introduction to Health Infomatics
HIMT 5058 Health Infomatics Applications
HIMT 5065 Project Management
HIMT 5070 Human Resource Management
HIMT 5076 Casemix Measurement Systems
HIMT 5078 Financial Management in Health Care Facilities
HPOL 5000 Introduction to Health Policy: History and Practice
HPOL 5002 Contemporary Issues in Australian Health Policy
NURS 5009 Advanced Mental Health Nursing
NURS 5010 Advanced Mental Health Nursing Practicum
NURS 5011 Advanced Nursing: Cellular Therapies
NURS 5012 Assessment & Clinical Judgement
NURS 5013 Clinical Education
NURS 5014 Clinical Education Practicum
NURS 5015 Comparative Health Care Systems
NURS 5021 Nursing, Midwifery and Work
NURS 5022 Nursing Research Methods & Application
NURS 5023 Palliative Nursing
NURS 5024 Cancer Nursing Practice
NURS 5025 Understanding Cancer Causes & Therapies
NURS 5026 Health Promotion in Cancer Recovery
NURS 5027 Health Care Sector Management
NURS 5028 Legal Studies for Health Care Managers
NURS 5029 Management in Aged Care I
NURS 5030 Management in Aged Care II
NURS 5031 Managing Financial Resources in Nursing
NURS 5032 Reading Topic in Health Care Management
NURS 5034 Trends & Issues in Gerontic Nursing
NURS 5036 Breast Cancer Nursing
NURS 5037 Therapeutic Nursing In Head and Neck Cancer
NURS 5051 Current Issues in Critical Care Nursing
NURS 5052 Foundations of Critical Care
NURS 5053 Social Contexts of Critical Care
NURS 5054 Emergency Nursing Practice
NURS 5055 Intensive Care Nursing Practice
NURS 6010 Clinical Qualitative Research
NURS 6011 Practice Development Project
NURS 6020 Advanced Nursing Practicum 1
NURS 6021 Advanced Nursing Practicum 2
PUBH 5015 Public Health Principles and Practice
BACH 5226 Organisational Structures in Health Contexts
6 credit points
Semester 2
This unit focuses on rational structuring of organisations and relates it to administrative problem solving. It examines the effects of societal context on organisational growth and the interdependence between layers or sectors of organisations. It contrasts the characteristics of private, public sector and voluntary organisations and uses power and interests as analytic concepts to elucidate process. This unit is offered on-campus as a directed independent study unit.
BACH 5291 Organisational Psychology
6 credit points
Semester 2
This unit will examine current issues in the provision of occupational rehabilitation to persons injured in the workplace. Recent initiatives will be examined, together with the roles of key stakeholders in the management of workers in the post-injury phase. Students will be required to interview an injured worker and evaluate the extent to which their experience after injury was consistent with good management practice, current legislative requirements and the public interest.
BACH 5306 Health Risk Management (International Perspective)
6 credit points
Semester 2
This unit aims to provide students with an understanding of the requirements of basic health risk management in the context of the principles adopted by the World Health Organization (WHO). Basic principles of health risk management as required by relevant International Labour Organisation (ILO) Conventions and Australian legislation related to health, work and rehabilitation are also addressed. Students develop a program for controlling risks to health in a particular regional environment in the light of these international and national requirements.
CEPI 5200 Quality and Safety in Health Care
6 credit points
Semester 2
The objective of this unit is to introduce students to the principles of Quality and Safety in Health Care. The content explores the background to quality and safety in health care and strategies to improve quality and safety in health such as communication, identifying and managing error, using evidence and information, practising safely, being ethical and continuing learning.
CLIN 5002 History of Ideas in Nursing
6 credit points
Semester 1
Intensive mode
The origins of nursing as an occupation and practice discipline will be explored with particular reference to the political, industrial, and scholarly debates and assumptions surrounding the nature of knowledge and knowledge making in nursing and health care. Trends and influences that have shaped, and continue to shape nursing knowledge and practice patterns will be explored and possible futures discussed. Of particular interest will be the impact of postmodernism, the increasing use of technology in health care and new forms of information gathering and usage.
CLIN 5013 Illness, Experience and Embodiment
6 credit points
Semester 1
Intensive mode
This unit of study is concerned with ways in which experiences of illness, (di)stress and recovery can be understood from the subjective perspective(s) of the patient/client and the people who are closely associated with them. The major emphasis is on the meaning world of others and its influence on responses to illness and (di)stress. While this unit of study is not a methodology unit of study per se, it provides theoretical, methodological and clinical background for conducting interpersonally-oriented research projects in clinical practice. prior participation in Inquiry in Nursing or equivalent experience or research study.
CLIN 5033 Nursing Services Management in Health
6 credit points
Semester 1
Intensive mode
This unit is a critical analysis of the context and theoretical underpinnings of health services and models of delivery. Students will analyse and evaluate the influence of policy issues, contemporary models of health care and care delivery, socio-political changes, and scientific and technological advances on the delivery and management of nursing services.
FCNU 5012 Epidemiology
6 credit points
Semester 1
Intensive mode
This unit of study focuses on the principles and methods of epidemiology from a nursing perspective. This focus includes the health/illness of population groups, for example the health of indigenous populations. Concepts of epidemiology including the natural history of disease, levels of prevention and causality are explored. Common epidemiological methods are examined and the relevance of epidemiological research findings to nursing practice is considered. The student's ability to critically appraise the literature will be enhanced by studying this unit. Information from this unit may form a part of a professional portfolio for students.
FCNU 5013 Interpersonal Relations in Clinical Environments
6 credit points
Semester 1
Intensive mode
This unit of study focuses on professional and interpersonal relationships among professionals, patients, relatives and others. Particular attention is paid to relationships in areas of high stress, potential conflict, potential burnout, harassment and emotionality. Potential and actual effects on staff wellbeing and patient care are explored. Issues that are addressed include conflict and conflict resolution, stress and stressful relationships, managing stress and emotionality, harassment, burnout and discrimination.
FCNU 5037 History of Ideas in Midwifery
6 credit points
Semester 1
The origins of the midwife will be explored with particular reference to the political, industrial, scholarly debates and assumptions surrounding the nature of knowledge and knowledge making in midwifery and health care. Trends and influences that have shaped, and continue to shape midwifery knowledge and practice will be explored and possible futures discussed. Of particular interest will be the impact of postmodernism, the increasing use of technologies in midwifery and new forms of information gathering and usage.
FCNU 5050 Mental Health Assessment and Interventions
6 credit points
Semester 1
Intensive mode
This unit of study is designed to provide students with an opportunity to analyse the socio-political context of mental health nursing and to develop skills in mental health assessment and acute intervention for people with mental health problems.
HIMT 5027 Introduction to Epidemiology
6 credit points
Semester 1
This unit introduces students to principles and practice of epidemiology. The unit includes measures of disease frequency and association, study design (descriptive and analytic), sources of measurement error, causation and screening, including test specificity and sensitivity. Students are introduced to the critical appraisal of epidemiological studies.
HIMT 5057 Introduction to Health Infomatics
6 credit points
Semester 1
This unit introduces the definition of data, information and knowledge as well as what defines a system and a model. National and state information policies will be reviewed and steps in policy formulation, analysis and implementation will be covered. A central focus will be issues relating to privacy, confidentiality, security and the ethical use of health information. This will include discussion of relevant legislation.
HIMT 5058 Health Infomatics Applications
6 credit points
Semester 2
This unit will introduce system analysis and design concepts, including the system life cycle, scheduling tools and approaches to assessing user requirements. Relevant IT standards for the health sector, for example HL7 will be covered along with issues related to data warehousing. Health informatics applications such as imaging, smart cards, telemedicine, wireless data transmission, handheld computers, robotics, data transmission via the Internet, expert systems and decision support systems will be discussed. A focus will be the design and implementation of the electronic patient record.
HIMT 5065 Project Management
6 credit points
Semester 2
This unit covers all the nine knowledge areas of the Australian Project Management competency standards including planning and scheduling, quality, risks and status reporting. Team and people management issues, managing external dependencies and costs are also covered. Workshop groups use exercises based around a case study to apply principles to various situations.
HIMT 5070 Human Resource Management
Distance education mode
6 credit points
Semester 1
This unit of study focuses on managing the human resources of an organisation. Students explore in depth the individual processes of human resource management and their inter-relationships, including: human resource planning; recruitment; selection; orientation and training; career development and performance appraisal. The unit also covers the industrial relations framework in Australia with particular emphasis on the current workplace focus with enterprise bargaining. The implications of equal employment legislation and affirmative action legislation to the employment relationship are also covered.
HIMT 5076 Casemix Measurement Systems
6 credit points
Semester 2
This unit introduces the student to casemix classification systems which are used by states and territories to fund healthcare services. This unit is designed to cover a variety of casemix classification systems for acute and non-acute inpatients and ambulatory patients. The major emphasis will be on Diagnosis Related Groups (DRGs) with specific reference to the Australian National Diagnosis Related Groups (AN-DRGs). Casemix applications and current casemix initiatives will also be explored.
HIMT 5078 Financial Management in Health Care Facilities
6 credit points
Semester 2
In this unit students are introduced to the financial management of hospitals and health service institutions. Topics covered include basic financial accounting, costing and budgeting with an emphasis on departmental budgeting. Billing and claims processes in the private sector are examined as well as methods of funding used in the public sector. Differences between financial management approaches in the private and public sectors are highlighted.
HPOL 5000 Introduction to Health Policy: History and Practice
6 credit points
Semester 1
This unit explores historical perspectives on the development of the structures, systems and institutions of health policy. Case studies will include the political development of the main institutions of health policy such as Medicare and the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme, the legal system and interest group politics. The unit investigates the theoretical basis of policy and policy frameworks including the development of the ideal of equity and the broader contexts of health policy. Students will examine the influence of differentials in socio-economic status, public health ethics, gender, age, ethnic origin upon the manner priorities have been set and particular health issues targeted (or neglected). Political imperatives including global factors will also be examined.
HPOL 5002 Contemporary Issues in Australian Health Policy
6 credit points
Semester 2
This unit will provide students with the opportunity to explore a range of contemporary health policies, and engage in academic debate about the issues associated with these policies as delivered through the Australian Health Policy Institute seminar and colloquia series. The aim of this unit is to enhance participants' understanding of the breadth of health policy issues and the range of factors that influence policy development. Students will be introduced to a range of forces that drive policy development and that are central to debate of contemporary policy issues. Students will examine the influence of differentials in socio-economic status, public health ethics, gender, age, ethnic origin upon policy development and impact; Political imperatives including global factors will also be examined.
NURS 5009 Advanced Mental Health Nursing
6 credit points
Semester 2
Intensive mode
This unit of study has three major themes that in combination provide a deeper level of understanding of major concepts that underpin contemporary advanced mental health nursing practice. The first is an exploration of, sociopolitical, economic, ethnic-cultural and environmental determinants of mental health and illness in modern Australian society and strategies that support consumers and carers. The second theme concerns humans as relational beings in the context of clinical nursing and principles of advanced psychodynamics that allow an individual to engage in a therapeutic relationship. The third, and most commonly neglected theme, is on the wellbeing of the nurse and ways of taking care of and nurturing the self as a clinician.
NURS 5010 Advanced Mental Health Nursing Practicum
6 credit points
Semester 1
Co-requisites: CLIN 5009
Intensive mode
This unit is available to students who are working in or who will undertake a supervised clinical placement in a mental health care setting for the duration of the semester. The primary focus of the unit is the students’ development of advanced mental health practice capabilities and the ability to systematically inquire into clinical issues and concerns specific to this field. Students will undertake a comprehensive longitudinal case study and review the relevant research literature. It will also be a requirement that students demonstrate advanced clinical capabilities in mental health nursing practice.
NURS 5011 Advanced Nursing: Cellular Therapies
6 credit points
Semester 2
Intensive mode
This unit uses case-based discussion to assist in the development of a nursing perspective on the physiological consequences of illness. It will build on previous knowledge of the cellular and systemic organization of the body and its functions by developing existing conceptual schemas of the physiological basis of illness and provide a framework for professional dialogue with other health care professionals. Issues of quality use of medicines and clinical safety will provide a framework to explore a variety of pharmacotherapies, radiological and molecular diagnostic and therapeutic interventions associated with specified areas of practice.
NURS 5012 Assessment & Clinical Judgement
6 credit points
Semester 2
Intensive mode
Clinical judgment is an integral component of advanced and specialised nursing practice. Clinical judgment involves linking the outcomes of nursing assessment to the delivery of effective nursing care. This unit examines the knowledge, capabilities and clinical skills that are required to undertake nursing assessment in complex situations and will address the processes of knowledge generation and evaluation associated with the development of clinical judgment that informs advanced practice. The unit is generic in its application and is not therefore specific to any particular field of nursing. Students will have opportunities learn and refine their clinical capabilities in a supportive simulated environment. The unit is focused on learning and refining more advanced and specialised clinical capabilities now being required of registered nurses. Students will also focus on case analysis and case study methods.
NURS 5013 Clinical Education
6 credit points
Semester 1
Intensive mode
The field of clinical education is explored in the context of the practice professions and continuing changes in technologies, information and evidence bases for practice. The unit involves a study of the literature on the nature of learned and performed skills, what factors affect changing understandings, beliefs, dogma and practice(s) in clinical settings. The unit is interdisciplinary in approach and has a fieldwork/practice component.
NURS 5014 Clinical Education Practicum
6 credit points
Semester 2
Pre-requisites: CLIN 5013
Intensive mode
In this unit of study students will undertake an in vivo clinical education performance component as well as written assessments. There will be a period of supervised clinical education during which students will learn about, and demonstrate that they are capable of mentoring, providing supervision and coaching of other clinicians. The relevant research literature of this area and other comparable field, such as performance studies, will be studied and students be required to compile a professional portfolio as part of their assessment.
NURS 5015 Comparative Health Care Systems
6 credit points
Semester 1
Intensive mode
This unit of study critically analyses and compares contemporary national health care systems, and also locates them in an international context. Three broad themes are explored: (i) political ideologies and their effects to the organization of health care (including funding and resource allocation); (ii) issues of access and equity in health care, and (iii) models of care, primarily biomedical, allied health, and influential non-western approaches to care and the growing relationships between these models. These three themes provide the framework for exploring the nature and effectiveness of the Australian health care system, and also the health care systems of selected OECD and developing nations. These themes also inform a critical examination of the effects of globalisation on health and the delivery of care across national borders, particularly in relation to important current issues in international health and health care. Students will actively engage in a major research project related to one or more of these substantive areas.
NURS 5021 Nursing, Midwifery and Work
6 credit points
Intensive mode
The nature of work in the fields of nursing and midwifery is examined in relation to historical, industrial and sociopolitical origins. The unit takes a critical evaluative focus on the perceptions and practices that have shaped the construction of these professions as stereotypical women’s work. Students will have the opportunity to examine current issues such as: occupational health and safety; the effects of and assumptions underlying the organisation of shiftwork; patterns of global workforce migration, supply and demand and engagement with the workplace and the effects of such issues on the agency and professional boundaries of nurses and midwives. Wider issues such as the impact of the knowledge economy; globalisation; the increasing use of technology; shifting patterns of morbidity and mortality; and the deployment of nurses and midwives will also be examined.
NURS 5022 Nursing Research Methods & Application
6 credit points
Semester 1
Intensive mode
This unit examines the ways in which nursing knowledge, practices and modes of service can be investigated and enhanced. The unit begins with the Nightingale legacy of statistical analyses of morbidity and mortality and their use as key indicators and evidence of nursing, health service and practice efficacy. This unit addresses the range of research designs, methodologies, data analysis/interpretation and processes of reporting that can be appropriately used in the development and evaluation of nursing practices and processes of care.
NURS 5023 Palliative Nursing
6 credit points
Semester 1
Intensive mode
The unit will critically analyse the developments of palliative care as a new specialty area in healthcare. It will focus on the physical, psychological and supportive approaches to symptom management, their role in improving the quality of life for individuals (and their families) living with a life threatening illness. The skills and knowledge nurses require as members of an interdisciplinary team providing quality palliative care is explored. The unit will critique the WHO philosophy of active total care of patients whose disease is not responsive to curative treatment. The challenging goal of achieving the best quality of life for patients and their families within the contemporary Australian health care system will be explored.
NURS 5024 Cancer Nursing Practice
6 credit points
Semester 2
Pre-requisites: NURS 5025
Intensive mode
This unit will explore the evidence-based knowledge for best nursing practice in cancer treatment and care. The nurse’s role in the diagnosis of cancer, treatment and follow up will be investigated. Biomedical approaches to cure and cancer control will be explored, and key principles of cancer nursing therapeutics addressed. The therapeutic nursing role of communicating with patients and their families, translating medical information, educating patients and families, and providing support will be investigated. The unit will also identify common side effects of the medical treatment for cancer and identify best practice for developing related supportive care strategies. The unit will further investigate how nursing services are being reconfigured in Australia to more appropriately meet the needs of people undergoing diagnostic tests or treatment for cancer, rather than for the those of the service or service provider.
NURS 5025 Understanding Cancer Causes & Therapies
6 credit points
Semester 1
Intensive mode
This unit of study is a pre requisite for the field of cancer nursing and will provide the scientific basis for cancer nursing practice. The unit will explore cancer epidemiology, with a focus on identifying the determinants and distribution of cancer in defined populations. The reporting and measurement of cancer in Australia will be included. Cancer as a genetic disease is explored and advances in understanding the biology of cancer is critiqued. Biological and physiological principles that support cancer treatments will be reviewed in detail.
NURS 5026 Health Promotion in Cancer Recovery
6 credit points
Semester 2
Intensive mode
This unit will analyse the consequences of a cancer diagnosis and the subsequent treatment, on the individual and their family. The short and long term side effects, impact on quality of life, employment, physical and psychological functioning will be reviewed. Approaches to maximising the individual’s recovery will be explored, with specific focus on the role of early interventions, and maintaining individual autonomy. Areas such as body image, fertility, employment, and management of fatigue will be a major focus of this unit.
NURS 5027 Health Care Sector Management
6 credit points
Intensive mode
This unit of study is designed to introduce students to the structure, function and work of managers in service organisations. This unit of study examines political and social issues impacting on public sector organisations and services (whether provided publicly or privately) with particular emphasis on the public sector reform activities in developed counties and the issues and dilemmas of public sector service provision in developing countries. This unit of study also provides the introductory framework for managing the operations, activities, finance and resources and quality of public services explored in subsequent units of study. While the emphasis of this unit will be predominantly health care, students will be required to explore the public sector literature and experiences more widely in order to construct a solid grounding in the management of public sector services and organisations.
NURS 5028 Legal Studies for Health Care Managers
6 credit points
Semester 2
Intensive mode
This unit will introduce students to an understanding of the Australian legal system and general principles and law governing health. This unit of study examines the constitutional and statutory sources of government power with respect to health care and the application of the law to health policy. This unit also explores government regulation of health care including resource allocation and professional practice. This unit also examines legal issues relating to professional liability in health care with a particular emphasis on managers and the management of health services.
NURS 5029 Management in Aged Care I
6 credit points
Intensive mode
This is unit of study is designed to examine current aged care management issues and the contemporary political and policy initiatives underpinning management challenges in the aged care sector. This unit of study will also examine the contemporary legislative requirements in aged care (including the Aged Care Act 1997 and the Nurses and Midwives Act) as they relate to both residential and community aged care services. This unit of study also examines funding in the aged care sector, including the aged care funding instrument (ACFI).
NURS 5030 Management in Aged Care II
6 credit points
Pre-requisites: NURS 5029
Intensive mode
This unit of study extend concepts and areas examined in CLIN **** Management in Aged Care I. This unit examines issues of quality and safety in aged care, accreditation of aged care facilities and services, occupational health and safety in aged care and aged care in a multicultural community. Vignettes and simulated work scenarios will be interspersed throughout the unit of study to provide an environment for participants to discuss and debate issues and to investigate ways of implementing new ideas, knowledge and skills in their respective workplaces.
NURS 5031 Managing Financial Resources in Nursing
6 credit points
Semester 2
Intensive mode
This unit of study explores the resource issues impacting on the provision of nursing services. This unit requires a critical examination of the resource management tradition in nursing services and the impact of economic rationalism and managerialism on health politics and thinking and subsequently on nursing resource management. Issues such as the pressure for increased efficiency and effectiveness; increasing demand for health care services; growing consumer awareness and expectations and an increasing focus on quality improvement, better practice and clinical governance will be analysed and evaluated. This unit also explores the concepts of casemix, nursing cost weights and DRGs and their impact on the financial management of nursing services.
NURS 5032 Reading Topic in Health Care Management
6 credit points
Semester 2
The reading topic in management provides students with the opportunity to complete a comprehensive literature review of a defined management topic of their choice. Topics may be identified from any management area including: management practice, organisational behaviour, public policy and management, financial management, human resource management, information technology management, etc. Enrolment in this unit of study requires permission from the Associate Dean (Academic) who will appoint an appropriate supervisor, in consultation with the student. Students will be required to present a defence of their chosen topic and pursue their investigation as an independent scholar under the guidance of the nominated superviosr. Assessment will be based on submission of a scholarly paper as a result of their investigation.
NURS 5034 Trends & Issues in Gerontic Nursing
6 credit points
Semester 1
Intensive mode
The impact of advanced gerontic nurse practice (e.g. as a clinical nurse specialist or clinical nurse consultant) on maintaining optimal health of older adults in modern society is highlighted in this unit. Issues associated with an ageing population and the outcome of this phenomenon on modern society and in particular the health care system are examined. The concept of healthy ageing is a central focus of the unit. Psychological and sociological aspects of ageing are discussed as well as demography, morbidity and mortality trends, and socio-political issues. The influence of an ageing population on funding and service delivery will be critiqued and government aged care policy and guideline updates reviewed. The increased vulnerability of some groups of older adults is identified. The future of gerontic nursing is discussed in regard to a rapidly changing health service.
NURS 5036 Breast Cancer Nursing
6 credit points
Winter School
This unit will enable students to expand their knowledge of epidemiology, prevention, screening and early detection of breast cancer. The unit will address the pathophysiological basis of breast cancer, and explore in detail the latest treatment modalities. The principles underlying the therapies used in the treatment of breast cancer, nursing implications and approaches to improve psychosocial outcomes for women and their families will be analysed.
NURS 5037 Therapeutic Nursing In Head and Neck Cancer
6 credit points
Winter School
This unit will enable students to expand their knowledge in the pathophysiology of cancers broadly classified as head and neck. The epidemiology of, screening and treatment modalities for head and neck cancers will be reviewed. The short and long term quality of life issues associated with a diagnosis of head and neck cancer will be analysed with specific focus on the therapeutic nursing interventions that can improve outcomes for both the patient and their family. Specific interventions that focus on sexuality and body image, functional psychosocial care, quality of life issues, nutrition and speech will be covered in detail.
NURS 5051 Current Issues in Critical Care Nursing
6 credit points
Semester 2
Intensive mode
In this unit we will examine social and political issues that impact on the provision of patient care in Emergency and Intensive Care clinical practice in Australia and worldwide. In particular we will examine the changing scope of practice and provision of care across the continuum, particularly its impact on specialty nursing practice and patient outcomes. The further impact of politics and policy on resourcing and service provision will be considered within the context of intensive care and emergency services. As an important aspect of specialty practice students will undertake a focused and in-depth examination specifically related to their clinical specialty.
NURS 5052 Foundations of Critical Care
6 credit points
Semester 1
Intensive mode
In this unit of study, an expansion of Hume's Epistemology of Testimony will be applied with a specific focus on determining plausibility of information sources that are used to guide clinical practice and decisions. Within the context of contemporary Intensive Care and Emergency nursing practice, the unit will examine the imbalance between the discourse on the use of research in practice over the discourse on knowledge that is more generally used. As such, the unit will explore the premise of evidence-based practice and critically examine its influence in determining the plausibility of all information sources that nurses use to guide clinical practice and decisions.
NURS 5053 Social Contexts of Critical Care
6 credit points
Semester 2
Intensive mode
In this unit of study Hume's Epistemology of Testimony will be used as a basis from which students will examine the social, political, historical and technological issues that impact on Intensive Care and Emergency nursing practice and the development of these areas of specialty practice. Focusing on determining the authority of non-empiric sources of information and knowledge, students will explore the non-physical impact of critical illness on the patient and their family.
NURS 5054 Emergency Nursing Practice
6 credit points
Semester 2
Intensive mode
In this unit of study, the accuracy of information used to make clinical decisions will be critically examined with particular reference to Hume's Epistemology of Testimony and the notion of corroborative information. The unit will explore relevant literature that supports contemporary Emergency Nursing practice and will examine why the accuracy of information is crucial to the successful and safe provision of nursing care. The concepts of “clinically meaningful outcomes” and “patient-oriented evidence that matters (POEMs)” will be critiqued with regard to their importance for Emergency nursing practice both from a historical as well as contemporary perspective. Finally, importance of these issues for future nursing practice will be examined.
NURS 5055 Intensive Care Nursing Practice
6 credit points
Semester 2
Intensive mode
In this unit of study, the accuracy of information used to make clinical decisions will be critically examined with particular reference to Hume's Epistemology of Testimony and the notion of corroborative information. The unit will explore relevant literature that supports contemporary Intensive Care nursing practice and will examine why the accuracy of information is crucial to the successful and safe provision of nursing care. The concepts of “clinically meaningful outcomes” and “patient-oriented evidence that matters (POEMs)” will be critiqued with regard to their importance for Intensive Care nursing practice both from a historical as well as contemporary perspective. Finally, importance of these issues for future nursing practice will be examined.
NURS 6010 Clinical Qualitative Research
6 credit points
Semester 2
Intensive mode
This unit explores the specific issues related to the use of qualitative research in clinical settings and with clinical populations. In particular, it explores the appropriate uses of a qualitative research methodology in which the experiences of people with a health issue or illness are being researched. The unit focuses specifically on research approaches where human social interaction and/or observation is fundamental to the collection of data. The unit explores issues of design, methods of data collection, ethical and clinical considerations as well as matters related to rigor, analysis and reporting of results.
NURS 6011 Practice Development Project
12 credit points
Semester 2
Intensive mode
Students who elect to undertake this unit of study will have the opportunity to do advanced work on an area of practice, or a particular practice, in Nursing or Midwifery. The project will generally involve three stages: first, conducting a review of the available research literature; second, examining other forms of evidence, such as written policies and protocols or actual practices; and third, composing a written report on the ways in which practice can be enhanced and/or further investigated by original research. This project will be highly suited to currently practising nurses and midwives whose professional responsibilities and interests include clinical leadership, practice development and/or the use of evidence in practice.
NURS 6020 Advanced Nursing Practicum 1
6 credit points
Semester 1
Intensive mode
This semester one unit of study provides the student with the opportunity to undertake systematic inquiry related to clinical issues and develop behaviours relevant to advanced clinical practice appropriate to their specific area of study. Outcomes of this unit include the development of competent cliinical, professional and ethical practice at an advanced level, the ability to contribute and work collaboratively within the health care team and to advance knowledge generation.
NURS 6021 Advanced Nursing Practicum 2
6 credit points
Semester 2
Intensive mode
This semester two unit of study provides the student with the opportunity to undertake systematic inquiry related to clinical issues and develop behaviours relevant to advanced clinical practice appropriate to their specific area of study. Outcomes of this unit include the development of competent cliinical, professional and ethical practice at an advanced level, the ability to contribute and work collaboratively within the health care team and to advance knowledge generation.
PUBH 5015 Public Health Principles and Practice
6 credit points
Semester 1
This unit provides candidates with an understanding of the history and tasks of public health, the patterns of health in the community and the biological and environmental determinants of health. It gives candidates an overview of health systems and policy and health economics; and an opportunity to apply these concepts to authentic problems based on public health practice.