NRSG113 The Childbearing Journey

10 cp
Prerequisites NRSG127 Beginning the Journey
Co-requisite NRSG115 Practice Connections
Teaching Organisation 24 hours lectures, 12 hours tutorials, 84 hours independent learning.

This unit will provide foundational knowledge required by midwifery students to care effectively for women from preconception through to early parenting. The focus will be on the role of the midwife as a primary carer in relation to: the preparation of women for pregnancy; physiological and psychological adaptation of women during pregnancy and birth, and the first weeks after birth; and care of women and their babies during this continuum.

 

NRSG115 Practice Connections

10 cp
Prerequisites NRSG127 Beginning the Journey
Co-requisite NRSG113 The Childbearing Journey
Teaching Organisation 20 hours laboratory, 60 hours FTJ, 160 hours clinical.

This practice unit will focus on well women’s experiences of pregnancy, their response to becoming pregnant, the changes encountered from early pregnancy through to the early weeks after birth, the midwife’s roles relating to health assessment, health promotion and primary level counselling, and working with well women during childbearing. Students will be introduced to infant nutrition with emphasis on supporting women who choose to breastfeed. The unit will introduce students to the application of the principles of basic care and care maps, reflection on self and practice, and the value of reflective practice.

 

NRSG119 Nursing Practice Foundations

10 cp
Prerequisites Nil
Teaching Organisation Equivalent of 24 hours of lectures and 12 hours of tutorials per semester.

This unit introduces the foundations for nursing practice; the learning journey, health illness perspectives, knowledge and inquiry and governance of practice. The focus of the unit is to frame an understanding of the nurse’s role beginning with an awareness of self, reflections on their commitment to nursing, and their journey to a holistic perspective in nursing and health care. Students will develop patterns of inquiry and communication skills that will allow them to connect and interact with the human person, across the lifespan, in contexts of health and illness, to provide quality holistic care. The experience of ‘being’ is explored from holistic, ethical and cultural perspectives.

 

NRSG120 Indigenous Culture and Health

10 cp
Prerequisites Nil
Teaching Organisation Equivalent of 24 hours of lectures and 12 hours of tutorials per semester.

The concepts of identity, culture, racism and cultural safety are addressed from a holistic perspective with a specific focus on Australian Indigenous peoples. Primary health care provides a framework for discussion of issues pertaining to the health and wellbeing of Indigenous communities. Australian Indigenous health and health practices will be studied as well as the role of the nurse/midwife in assisting individuals to maintain and promote health and wellbeing.

 

NRSG121 Contexts of Nursing 1

10 cp
Prerequisites Nil
Teaching Organisation Equivalent of 24 hours of lectures, 12 hours of tutorials and 24 hours of nursing laboratory per semester.

This unit introduces students to the role of the nurse in a variety of health care contexts. Students will have the opportunity to learn skills that will enhance culturally appropriate communication and health assessment with the person, family or community across the lifespan. Opportunities for reflection and clinical decision-making will be offered to enable the students to develop the critical thinking skills and patterns of inquiry required for beginning level nursing practice.
Students will explore the health values and spiritual beliefs of others as they begin to develop a holistic approach to the promotion of health and wellness.

 

NRSG122 Exploring Professional Practice

10 cp
Prerequisites Nil
Teaching Organisation Equivalent of 24 hours of lectures and 12 hours of tutorials per semester.

This unit extends the exploration of nursing practice governance. Analysis of nursing and professional responsibilities in relation to clinical practice will be undertaken. Further exploration of the construction of nursing knowledge and the levels of evidence and values attached to the diverse models of inquiry will be shown to guide and develop nursing practice.

 

NRSG123 Contexts of Nursing 2

10 cp
Prerequisites NRSG121 Contexts of Nursing 1 or equivalent
Teaching Organisation Equivalent of 24 hours of lectures, 12 hours of tutorials and 24 hours of nursing laboratory per semester.

This unit builds upon content introduced in Contexts of Nursing 1. Students will develop an understanding of the impact of illness upon the person, family and community from a holistic perspective. Application of critical thinking strategies will enable students to develop a person-centred approach to those requiring care in a variety of nursing contexts. Students will focus their assessment skills to gain a deeper understanding of how alterations in health affect nutrition-metabolism, elimination and reproduction. Knowledge of health promotion will be applied across the lifespan.

 

NRSG124 Introduction to Nursing Practice

10 cp
Prerequisites NRSG121 Contexts of Nursing 1 or equivalent
Teaching Organisation Equivalent of 4 hours of lectures and 136 hours of off-campus clinical practice per semester.

This unit provides students with the opportunity to explore the role of the nurse in a variety of health care settings. Clinical experience will expose the student to the health care environment and the multidisciplinary team. Additionally, under supervision, students will conduct holistic health assessments and provide beginning level nursing care to persons across the life span.

 

NRSG127 Beginning the Journey

10cp
Prerequisites Nil
Co-requisites NRSG121 Contexts of Nursing 1
Teaching Organisation 12 hours lectures, 24 hours laboratory, 24 hours independent learning.

This unit introduces the student to midwifery knowledge and practice as well as the follow-through journey program, by exploring concepts of primary health care, midwifery philosophy, women-centred care and partnership, communication and midwifery governance. Additionally, this unit will explore the role of the midwife. Opportunities for reflection upon learning and the follow-though journey experiences will be offered to facilitate development of critical thinking.

 

NRSG129 Paramedic Practice Foundations

10cp
Pre-requisite Nil
Teaching Organisation 24 hours lectures, 12 hours tutorials.

This unit introduces students to the role of the paramedic in the emergency medical system. The unit explores the history of paramedicine and the development of myth, storytelling and knowledge within the paramedic profession, while contextualising the roles of paramedics within the health care team. In addition, the unit will introduce students to present and future professional evolution including health governance and expanded scope of practice.

 

NRSG130 Paramedic Practice 1

10cp
Pre-requisites Nil
Teaching Organisation 36 hours laboratory and clinical.

This unit builds on the principles of paramedicine introduced in Contexts of Paramedicine 1. The unit explores fundamentals of paramedic practice including basic life support and introduces the student to skills and equipment essential to front line response. Students will also undertake their first paramedicine field experience.

 

NRSG131 Exploring Paramedic Practice

10cp
Prerequisites Nil
Teaching Organisation 24 hours lectures, 12 hours tutorials.

This unit further investigates paramedic practice governance. The unit explores and analyses responsibilities in relation to paramedic, intensive care paramedics and first responders. In addition, the unit extends the exploration of the role of paramedics from the ethico-legal perspective. Further exploration of the concepts underlining evidence practice will occur.

 

NRSG132 Paramedic Practice 2

10cp
Pre-requisites Nil
Teaching Organisation 36 hours laboratory and clinical.

This unit builds on and extends knowledge of practical skills developed in Paramedic Practice 1 with a focus on basic life support. Essential clinical skills will be developed in the clinical laboratory. Students will develop an understanding of being a consumer of paramedicine, as well as an understanding of the roles and responsibilities of health professionals in relation to emergency treatment.

 

NRSG207 Clinical Nursing Practice

10 cp
Prerequisites Nil
Teaching Organisation Equivalent of 36 hours of classroom contact per semester, includes nursing laboratory practice.

This unit will introduce students to contemporary nursing in Australia and prepare overseas qualified nurses for clinical practicum in Australian health care settings. Students will build on their clinical and communication skills to ensure safe and ethical practice, whilst recognising the importance of caring for people of different of different values, beliefs and cultures.

 

NRSG212 Mental Health and Substance Abuse

10 cp
Prerequisites Nil (Elective)
Teaching Organisation Equivalent of 36 hours of classroom contact per semester.

This unit focuses on the health of individuals who have a mental illness and use alcohol and other drugs to excess. Current approaches to the assessment and management of mental health and substance use problems will be explored. Students will also have an opportunity to investigate the range of resources available for nurses and clients in the areas of mental health and the use and abuse of alcohol and other drugs.

 

NRSG213 Introduction to Palliative Care

10 cp
Prerequisites Nil (Elective)
Teaching Organisation Equivalent of 36 hours of classroom contact per semester.

The transition from curative to palliative approaches to treatment and care is often a challenging time for all concerned. The challenges are compounded when the terminally ill client remains in an environment, such as an acute hospital, where the staff may feel ill prepared to deal with the special needs of these clients. The palliative care phase of the client’s life is marked by progressive physical and emotional changes and often a renewed spiritual awareness. The nurse’s role is to provide diligent and sensitive nursing care for the client and family and to maximise quality of life and facilitate a dignified and comfortable death for the client. This unit will introduce students to palliative care practices that will better equip them to support clients and their families during this significant transition when they are living with incurable illness.

 

NRSG214 Clinical Practice 4

10 cp
Prerequisites Nil
Teaching Organisation Equivalent of 120 hours of off-campus clinical practice per semester.

This unit contributes to the integration of theoretical and clinical concepts and their application in a health care environment. Clinical practice will be undertaken in settings where students are able to apply theoretical and practical knowledge relevant to the functional health patterns studied in Nursing 4.

 

NRSG215 Introduction to Nursing Research

10 cp
Prerequisites Nil
Teaching Organisation Equivalent of 20 hours of lectures and 18 hours of tutorials per semester.

Given that research is critical to the development and relevance of nursing as a practice discipline, this unit is designed to assist students to understand ways of knowing in nursing and approaches to knowledge development in the discipline.

 

NRSG216 Being with Birthing Women

10 cp
Prerequisites BIOL117 Applied Science for Practice 1, BIOL118 Applied Science for Practice 2, NRSG113 The Childbearing Journey, NRSG115 Practice Connections
Co-requisites NRSG218 Practice Collaboration
Teaching Organisation 24 hours lectures, 12 hours tutorials, 84 hours independent learning.

The focus of this unit is to develop midwifery knowledge and skills related to the transition from pregnancy to labour and normal childbirth. Pain relief and comfort during labour as well as interventions to assess the progress of labour will be explored. Mechanisms of normal labour and management of childbirth complications will be overviewed. The focus of midwifery care within the unit is that of a midwife-woman partnership model. The role of partner family for birth support is also analysed.

 

NRSG217 Unpacking Midwifery Knowledge

10 cp
Prerequisites Nil
Teaching Organisation Fully online. Equivalent of 40 hours of contact, 120 hours of independent study per semester.

This introduces students to the historical development of midwifery knowledge and the influence of different philosophies in shaping contemporary midwifery knowledge. Ways of knowing and being “with woman” and the need for evidence-informed practice are explored. Unit participants are encouraged to reflect on and critique different approaches to the development and substantiation of general and midwifery knowledge. Emphasis is given to the critique of published articles that reflect contemporary notions of midwifery knowledge and theory and inform and reinforce the interdependence of theory and practice. This unit is linked to the core research unit.

 

NRSG218 Practice Collaboration

10 cp
Prerequisites NRSG115 Practice Connections
Co-requisite NRSG216 Being with Birthing Women
Teaching Organisation 20 hours laboratory, FTJ 60 hours, 160 clinical.

This practice unit provides the opportunity for students to immerse themselves in midwifery practice in relation to women and their experiences of labour and birthing. Students will be given the opportunity to apply theoretical concepts, in relation to the birth process, to the practice setting. The focus will be on assisting the midwifery student to develop high level assessment skills to enable them to support women during labour and birth and to assist women in making choices about the most appropriate strategy to employ to work with pain in birthing. Providing midwifery care and support for women using non-pharmacological methods of pain relief and pharmacological approaches will be explored. Students will make contact with six women for the purpose of following through their pregnancy, birth and the early weeks of parenting.

 

NRSG219 Women's Health: Sociopolitical Context

10 cp
Prerequisites Nil
Teaching Organisation 24 hours lectures, 12 hours tutorials, 84 hours independent learning.

This unit will provide students with an opportunity to debate sociopolitical aspects of women’s health through the lifespan in the context of the Australian health care system. Women’s sexual and reproductive health will be considered in terms of the nature of women’s lives, socioeconomic and cultural differences, and the provision of health services. The focus of this exploration will be the paradoxical relationship between gender and health and the use of health services, as well as an examination of women’s experiences as the recipients of health care, particularly in the context of socioeconomic and cultural difference. The politics of women’s health in relation to poverty, social class, ethnicity, body image, sexual orientation, rape, incest, pornography, violence, genital mutilation and fertility treatments will be considered. Conceptual frameworks for practice that address the complexity of women’s health and reflect contemporary views of midwifery practice will be debated.