Course Title: Principles and Practice of Nursing 1

Part A: Course Overview

Course Title: Principles and Practice of Nursing 1

Credit Points: 12.00

Terms

Course Code	Campus	Career	School	Learning Mode	Teaching Period(s)
NURS1125	Bundoora Campus	Undergraduate	150H Health Sciences	Face-to-Face	Sem 1 2006, Sem 1 2007, Sem 1 2008, Sem 1 2009, Sem 1 2010, Sem 1 2011, Sem 1 2012, Sem 1 2013, Sem 1 2014, Sem 1 2015, Sem 1 2016
NURS1125	Bundoora Campus	Undergraduate	173H School of Health and Biomed	Face-to-Face	Sem 1 2018, Sem 1 2019, Sem 1 2020, Sem 1 2021, Sem 1 2022, Sem 1 2023
NURS2020	Hamilton Campus	Undergraduate	150H Health Sciences	Face-to-Face	Sem 1 2006, Sem 1 2007, Sem 1 2008, Sem 1 2009, Sem 1 2010
NURS2129	Sale Campus	Undergraduate	150H Health Sciences	Face-to-Face	Sem 1 2007, Sem 1 2008, Sem 1 2009

Course Coordinator: Patricia Kitney

Course Coordinator Phone: +61 3 9925

Course Coordinator Email: patricia.kitney@rmit.edu.au

Pre-requisite Courses and Assumed Knowledge and Capabilities

None

Course Description

This course will introduce the student to the foundational theoretical and practical skills which form the basis for future clinical practice and quality patient care. The student will review the historical development of nursing and frameworks of contemporary nursing care in Australia. The student will examine nursing knowledge and develop associated foundational skills necessary for the provision of safe and effective care. Concepts of health and wellness will be used to enable the student to consider the appropriate nursing care for a variety of clinical situations. A range of foundational nursing skills will be developed including, communication, physical assessment, problem identification, documentation of healthcare data, management of functional health status and promotion of comfort and safety that will equip students with the ability to undertake supportive interventions that are appropriate to patient needs.

Objectives/Learning Outcomes/Capability Development

This course contributes to the following Program Learning Outcomes for BP032 Bachelor of Nursing Program in accordance with the Nursing and Midwifery Council of Australia, Registered Nurse Standards for Practice:

PLO 2: Engages in therapeutic and professional relationships

PLO 4: Comprehensively conducts assessments

PLO 5: Develops a plan for nursing practice

PLO 6: Provides safe, appropriate and responsive quality nursing practice

Nursing and Midwifery Board of Australia. (2016) Registered nurse standards for practice. Melbourne, Australia.

On successful completion of this course you should be able to:

1. Review the role of nursing practice in the applied clinical setting and identify the frameworks for nursing care and clinical decision making. 
2. Introduce and elaborate key concepts related to foundational nursing knowledge and skills.
3. Demonstrate knowledge and skills of applied health and physical examination in the areas of history taking, cardiovascular and respiratory assessment.
4. Identify appropriate verbal and written communication strategies to deal with patients their families and other members of the health care team.
5. Identify the features of comprehensive, safe and effective evidence-based nursing care.
6. Discuss and employ the principles of Occupational Health and Safety for patients and staff in the clinical practice setting.

 

Overview of Learning Activities

This course will use a range of learning activities including lectures, tutorials, laboratory skills sessions and self-directed learning. Throughout the course, you will be able to work both independently and in groups to aid development of your theoretical knowledge and its application to clinical practice. Assessment of your nursing skill acquisition will be undertaken in the simulated clinical laboratory setting using skill demonstration, viva voce and hurdle assessment.

Learning activities may include modalities such as lectures, video capture and distribution, electronic discussion board forums, simulated clinical laboratory and practice laboratories and synchronous online tutorials.

Lectures: Lectures and lecture notes are the principal mode of content delivery and will present you with the key concepts and information relevant to the understanding of foundational nursing practice. You will be expected to participate in classroom discussions and to contribute to the learning experiences of your student colleagues.

Self-Directed Learning: Self-directed learning activities associated with this course are designed to enable you to better develop independent learning skills to support your commitment to lifelong learning as a nursing professional and a university graduate. The self-directed learning activities will support your knowledge of the material covered in the formal learning program and enhance the consolidation and application of that knowledge.

Assessment associated with this course requires you to demonstrate a sound theoretical knowledge base as a rationale for competent safe nursing practice grounded in relevant legislative guidelines. The assessments will comprise both formative and summative review and incorporate a variety of assessment modes.

The content provided in this course will develop over the semester and you will be expected to identify how this knowledge relates to previous learning undertaken.

RMIT have state of the art simulated learning facilities for student learning and practice. You will participate in simulated practice within these facilities in preparation for placement. As a part of participation you may be filmed for learning, teaching, reflection and assessment and this is considered an inherent part of our learning and teaching program. Recordings will be maintained in accordance with our assessment, document retention and privacy policies.

You are encouraged to be proactive and self-directed in your learning, asking questions of your lecturer and/or peers and seeking out information as required, especially from the numerous sources available through the RMIT library, and through links and material specific to this course that is available through myRMIT Studies Course. 

Overview of Learning Resources

 

RMIT will provide you with resources and tools for learning in this course through myRMIT Studies Course. 

There are services available to support your learning through the University Library. The Library provides guides on academic referencing and subject specialist help as well as a range of study support services. For further information, please visit the Library page on the RMIT University website and the myRMIT student portal.

Overview of Assessment

This course contains hurdle requirements. All hurdle requirements for this course are indicated clearly in the assessment regime that follows, against the relevant assessment task(s) and all have been approved by the College Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Learning & Teaching).

A hurdle requirement is necessary in order to demonstrate to the accrediting body that students are competent and are being sufficiently assessed against practice-focused professional standards throughout the course of their program.

Assessment Tasks

Assessment Task 1: Subjective Health Assessment and Documentation (400 words)
Weighting 10%
This assessment task supports CLOs 1, 2, 3 & 4

Assessment Task 2: Objective health assessment and clinical reasoning assignment (1200 words)
Weighting 30%
This assessment task supports CLOs 1, 2, 3, 4 & 5

Assessment Task 3: Skills Performance Assessment (PA) and verbal case scenario assessment
Weighting: PA (25%) Verbal Case Scenario Assessment (20%) (Hurdle)
This assessment task supports CLOs 3, 4, 5 & 6

Assessment Task 4: Multiple Choice Question Quiz
Weighting 15%
This assessment task supports CLOs 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 & 6

Hurdle Task: Hand Hygiene Competency Certificate (Hurdle)
Weighting 0%

If you have a long-term medical condition and/or disability it may be possible to negotiate to vary aspects of the learning or assessment methods. You can contact the program coordinator or Equitable Learning Services if you would like to find out more.