NSN804 Contemporary Issues in Intensive Care

Unit Outline: Semester 1 2024, Online

Overview

Specialist intensive care nurses must adapt and make clinical decisions based on their scope and context of practice within dynamic and complex healthcare environments to care for individuals with serious and life-threatening injury or illness or recovery from major surgery. Registered Nurses working in Intensive Care underpin their practice with complex evidence-based knowledge, technologies and management protocols that require specialist knowledge and skills to apply in the provision of person-centred care across the lifespan. In completing this unit, you will develop your knowledge and skills to provide care to individuals and families in specialist intensive care settings and in the context of the interprofessional health care team. The concepts introduced in this unit provide you with the basis for further study in subsequent units. 

Learning Outcomes

On successful completion of this unit you will be able to:

1. Apply specialist knowledge and skills to make evidence-informed assessments and decisions in intensive care setting, to enhance the care of the person experiencing life-threatening and/or critical illness and their family;
2. Critically analyse life-threatening injury, illness and clinical deteriation in the intensive care setting to implement evidence-based and culturally-safe solutions;
3. Utilise varied technologies to make evidence-informed decisions to improve outcomes of patients in the intensive care unit.
4. Communicate evidence-based recommendations to justify provision of evidence-informed nursing practice in the specialty of intensive care nursing.

Content

Learning Approaches

In this unit, you will learn through engaging in the following:

• Workshops (online) to support knowledge development and academic literacy skills
• Online self-directed learning
• Peer review/feedback
• Clinical Lecturer support with WIL related experience
• Individual research and readings; and
• Collaborative activities.

Feedback on Learning and Assessment

Feedback in this unit is provided to you through the following:

• Formative feedback in workshops and activities
• Comments and grading via rubrics on summative assessment
• Feedback from industry peers.

Assessment

Overview

The assessment for this unit is comprised of 3 summative items.
This unit will use online web based text matching software that assists students to develop the academic skills required to correctly use and cite reference material as well as check citations to determine and avoid possible instances of plagiarism.

Unit Grading Scheme

7- point scale

Assessment Tasks

Assessment: Case Study

Students will present a case study of a critically ill patient from their clinical experience. They will describe and then critique the care provided to this patient in line with the current best available evidence.

This is an assignment for the purposes of an extension.

Assessment: CPAT

Clinical Performance Assessment

Achieved / Not Achieved (You must receive 'Achieved' on each competency area of the CPAT to pass this assessment item).

A structured assessment format will be used to provide clear and specific feedback regarding your progress. Clinical competencies are based on the Australian College of Critical Care Nurses (ACCCN Ltd.) Practice Standards for Specialist Critical Care Nurses. The Clinical Performance Assessment Tool (CPAT) will be assessed by appointed Clinical Lecturers in the clinical practice setting.

• Students will need to gain experience with management of the mechanically ventilated patient to complete this CPAT.
• Students will be required to reflect on their practice and capabilities within their clinical speciality to successfully complete this assessment.

Threshold Assessment:

Passing clinical assessment is mandatory to pass the unit (Threshold assessment conditions apply).

Assessment: Examination

You will be required to complete a written examination which will include multiple choice questions, clinical case/s and short answer items in which you will apply critical analysis skills and the integration of specialised theoretical knowledge to a range of clinical situations.

Academic Integrity

Students are expected to engage in learning and assessment at QUT with honesty, transparency and fairness. Maintaining academic integrity means upholding these principles and demonstrating valuable professional capabilities based on ethical foundations.

Failure to maintain academic integrity can take many forms. It includes cheating in examinations, plagiarism, self-plagiarism, collusion, and submitting an assessment item completed by another person (e.g. contract cheating). It can also include providing your assessment to another entity, such as to a person or website.

You are encouraged to make use of QUT’s learning support services, resources and tools to assure the academic integrity of your assessment. This includes the use of text matching software that may be available to assist with self-assessing your academic integrity as part of the assessment submission process.

Further details of QUT’s approach to academic integrity are outlined in the Academic integrity policy and the Student Code of Conduct. Breaching QUT’s Academic integrity policy is regarded as student misconduct and can lead to the imposition of penalties ranging from a grade reduction to exclusion from QUT.

Requirements to Study

Requirements

In undertaking this unit, students must meet the inherent employment requirements.

Risk Assessment Statement

As a student undertaking this unit you are required to be working in your nominated clinical speciality area. As such, you will be exposed to risks encountered in the practice of nursing. Students are required to follow the same health safety guidelines that apply to all staff in the workplace. In addition, measures to control exposure to risks include:

• Orientation to the health care agency
• Appropriate theoretical and practical preparation

Emergency procedures

All facilities require that their health workers become familiar with local emergency procedures. It is your responsibility to locate fire exits, emergency procedures and complete CPR drill and fire safety as required.

Confidentiality

In relation to your CPAT, you must treat all information regarding clients and their families with the utmost confidentiality. Information that is documented as part of your learning experiences must preserve client anonymity and confidentiality. Classroom discussion should also adhere to these principles.

Course Learning Outcomes

NS32 Graduate Certificate in Nursing

1. Demonstrate and apply advanced health care knowledge and skills in a specialist nursing area.
   Relates to: Case Study , CPAT, Examination
2. Critically analyse, evaluate, and reflect on specialist nursing knowledge, evidence and practice to improve patient care and health outcomes. 
   Relates to: Case Study , CPAT, Examination
3. Use evidence-based theories and frameworks to inform emerging leadership practice in nursing and interprofessional collaborations. 
   Relates to: CPAT
4. Communicate complex evidence-based knowledge through education, professional communication, and a range of digital technologies.
   Relates to: CPAT

NS95 Master of Nursing

1. Apply advanced knowledge and skills to manage and improve nursing practices across diverse and complex contexts to improve health outcomes and service provision.
   Relates to: Case Study , CPAT, Examination
2. Critically analyse evidence to inform decision-making in advanced nursing and interprofessional care contexts. 
   Relates to: Case Study , CPAT, Examination
3. Communicate complex evidence-based findings through professional dissemination using a range of digital technologies. 
   Relates to: CPAT