Course Title: Emergency Nursing Studies 2

Part A: Course Overview

Course Title: Emergency Nursing Studies 2

Credit Points: 12.00

Course Code	Campus	Career	School	Learning Mode	Teaching Period(s)
NURS1032	Bundoora Campus	Postgraduate	150H Health Sciences	Face-to-Face	Sem 2 2006, Sem 1 2007, Sem 2 2007, Sem 2 2008, Sem 2 2009, Sem 2 2010, Sem 2 2011, Sem 2 2012, Sem 2 2013

Course Coordinator: Ms Jane Mateer

Course Coordinator Phone: +61 3 9925 7546

Course Coordinator Email: jane.mateer@rmit.edu.au

Course Coordinator Location: 201.7.05

Pre-requisite Courses and Assumed Knowledge and Capabilities

Registration as a Division 1 nurse
NURS1031 Emergency Nursing Studies 1
Current employment in an appropriate Emergency Department for the duration of the Course

Course Description

This course builds on the knowledge acquired in Emergency Nursing Studies 1. It aims to further advance the student’s ability to monitor, assess, plan, implement and evaluate collaborative management of the broad range of patients who present to the emergency department. This course aims to provide the student with the knowledge base required to function at an advancing specialist level within this specialty environment. It aims to assist nurses to meet the challenges of emergency nursing by providing comprehensive coverage of the contemporary issues, trends and controversies in this field.

The course has been designed to provide the relevant and core information that underlies emergency nursing practice. It will explore the concepts of triage through to discharge or transfer from the emergency department through needs analysis of patients and their loved-ones. It will integrate the applied sciences (anatomy and physiology), medicine (trauma, disease/dysfunction, pathogenesis, prognosis), pharmacology, social sciences and nursing. An emphasis will be placed on the importance of the emergency nurse as a decision maker and practitioner, as well as a member of the multidisciplinary team in providing quality emergency care.

Objectives/Learning Outcomes/Capability Development

The dimensions of capability developed in the course include:

1. Ability to apply advanced skills in assessment, planning, implementation and evaluation in a variety of clinical care settings and contexts;
2. Analysis, synthesis and integration of knowledge and application to practice;
3. Advanced knowledge in specialised area;
4. Professional responsibility and accountability to make ethical decisions;
5. Apply an evidence-based approach to advanced practice;
6. Operate as a team member to lead, manage and contribute to an enabling environment that promotes safety, health and human dignity;
7. Facilitates the empowerment of others including diverse groups, through effective and therapeutic communication;
8. Engaging in reflective practice and professional development of self and others.

At the completion of the course you should be able to:

• Explore and synthesise the complex pathophysiological and psychosocial processes causing a patient to require advanced specialist nursing care;
• Apply knowledge and skills of advanced monitoring and assessment appropriate to the emergency department environment;
• Acquire, interpret and manage physiological and technical assessment data, including life-threatening electrocardiographic abnormalities;
• Incorporate bioscientific principles in the collaborative management of patients with complex needs;
• With consideration of normal and abnormal developmental considerations, critically apply health assessment findings to specific clinical conditions in order to provide safe and effective emergency nursing care throughout the lifespan;
• Demonstrated ability to utilise decision making skills and employ the nursing process within the triage and general emergency department;
• Analyse the effects and implications for emergency department patients, both physical and psychological of therapeutic interventions and regimes;
• Apply knowledge and skills of advanced emergency nursing practice appropriate to various levels of acuity to patients presenting to the emergency department;
• Develop and communicate collaborative management plans incorporating evidence based practice; 
• Develop and utilise critical thinking processes and problem solving skills in order to effectively prioritise management, enabling the student to practice as a competent emergency nurse;
• Articulate the employment of strategies designed to limit or deescalate aggression and violence in the emergency environment;
• Examine the timely implementation of critical incident strategies when violence occurs within the emergency department;
• Critically apply contemporary evidence-based knowledge to nursing care of the emergency patient;
• Demonstrate empathetic communication skills that acknowledge the cultural differences prevalent within the community;
• Incorporate cultural and spiritual customs into nursing practice;
• Demonstrate ability to continually develop and transform practice through a process of critical evaluation and reflection.

The underpinning knowledge and skill developed in the course includes:

• Anatomy, physiology , electrocardiography and other assessment techniques pertinent to management of the emergency department patient;
• Complex pathogenesis, pathophysiology, management of illnesses and alterations of vital body functions;
• Advanced physical assessment;
• Advanced monitoring and interventional technology relevant to the emergency nursing specialty;
• Normal and abnormal developmental biological, social and psychological (biopsychosocial) considerations effecting patients throughout the lifespan;
• Advanced assessment, validating the importance of the relationship between triage and clinical decision making;
• Application of emergency nursing knowledge and skills in the provision of effective care to persons of all ages, who are experiencing health problems of an emergency nature reflecting a variety of acuities;
• Knowledge of professional role and identity in emergency nursing;
• Knowledge of legal and ethical issues informing the delivery of emergency nursing care;
• Knowledge of professional role and identity in emergency nursing;
• Knowledge of legal and ethical issues informing the delivery of emergency nursing care;
• Knowledge of collaborative interventions and plans of care incorporating current research findings;
• Awareness of potential psychosocial, spiritual and cultural issues relevant to care of the emergency department patient and their significant others;
• Knowledge of factors related to the system, individuals and the health environment that promote aggression towards humans and the environment;
• Application of emergency nursing knowledge and skills in the provision of effective care to persons of all ages, who are experiencing health problems of an emergency nature reflecting a variety of acuities;
• Development of collaborative interventions and plans of care incorporating current research findings;
• Knowledge of cultural issues relevant to the care of emergency patients and their significant others;
• Awareness of potential psychosocial, spiritual, socioeconomic and cultural issues relevant to care of the emergency patient and their significant others.
  

Overview of Learning Activities

Lectures
Class discussion
Directed learning exercises
Additional readings
Case scenarios

Overview of Learning Resources

Lecture notes
Directed course reading
On-line quizzes
Data bases

Overview of Assessment

Formative
Lecturer and clinical educator constructive critique

Summative
Examination
Literature Review assignment

GRADES AVAILABLE
HD D 80 - 100 HIGH DISTINCTION
DI D 70 - 79 DISTINCTION
CR C 60 - 69 CREDIT
PA P 50 - 59 PASS
NN N 0 - 49 FAIL

Students who achieve a mark of 45-49% for an assessment may be eligible for a supplementary assessment. This decision will be made by the Student Progress Committee, and will consider overall student performance.

Criteria
Students are expected to adhere to the assignment writing requirements provided in the online supplement to the course.

Submission
Details of submission of the written assignment is provided in the online supplement to the course.

ACADEMIC ADMINISTRATION PROCEDURES

Assignment extensions
Extensions are only granted under exceptional circumstances. If you feel that you have grounds for extension you must contact the course coordinator before the due date for submission. You may be asked to furnish a medical certificate or other relevant documentation and to complete an application form as required by the Department.

Students are expected to demonstrate organisational and time management skills in preparing and submitting assignments by the due date.
The following are not considered sufficient reason for granting of an extension.
• Studies interfering with students’ personal and social life
• Personal inconvenience.
• Pressure of other coursework
• Pressure of other work and social commitments.
• Poor personal planning.

Seeking an extension
To secure an assignment extension, the student should complete an Extension Request Form available from Student Administration within the Department of Nursing and Midwifery. All requests for extensions must be made to the course co-ordinator at least 7 days before the due submission date, unless the reason is sudden illness. Supportive documentation will be required. You must submit your completed form and supportive document to the course coordinator at least one week prior to the original due date.

Late submissions without formal extension requests will not be accepted for marking, or may incur a deduction of marks.

You may need to make an appointment with your course coordinator to discuss your situation. Do not assume the extension will automatically be granted. It is recommended that you complete your assignments in plenty of time to allow for unforeseen circumstances.

The length of the extension will be determined by the course coordinator on an individual basis, but will not normally exceed 7 days extension.

Special Consideration
Where matters beyond your control interfere with your preparation or the completion of assessment components you may seek special consideration. Such consideration is usually reserved for serious instances of ill health to students and their dependents. Application for special consideration must be made on the appropriate form available from the Nursing reception of level 6 of building 201. Forms must be submitted to the course coordinator, and an appointment made for discussion.


COURSE EVALUATION AND FEEDBACK
It is important that students participate in course evaluation. Student feedback assists in improving the course for future students. This occurs through student-staff liaison meetings, and course evaluations. Students are requested to select a course representative, and provide feedback to the lecturer through their representative. Student - staff consultative meetings will be conducted two to three times over the semester. Students are also requested to complete individual course evaluation questionnaires. These are provided toward the end of semester.


ACADEMIC MISCONDUCT
University Plagiarism Statement
Students are reminded that cheating, whether by fabrication, falsification of data, or plagiarism, is an offence subject to University disciplinary procedures. Plagiarism in oral, written or visual presentations is the presentation of the work, idea or creation of another person, without appropriate referencing, as though it is one’s own. Plagiarism is not acceptable. The use of another person’s work or ideas must be acknowledged. Failure to do so may result in charges of academic misconduct, which carry a range of penalties including the cancellation of results and exclusion from your course.

Students are responsible for ensuring that their work is kept in a secure place. It is a disciplinary offence for students to allow their work to be plagiarised by another student. Students should be aware of their rights and responsibilities regarding the use of copyright material.