NSN913 Nursing Therapeutics 4: Complex Care
To view more information for this unit, select Unit Outline from the list below. Please note the teaching period for which the Unit Outline is relevant.
| Unit code: | NSN913 |
|---|---|
| Prerequisite(s): | NSN910 and NSN911 |
| Credit points: | 12 |
| Timetable | Details in HiQ, if available |
| Availabilities |
|
| CSP student contribution | $592 |
| Domestic tuition unit fee | $3,468 |
| International unit fee | $5,040 |
Unit Outline: Semester 1 2026, Kelvin Grove, Internal
| Unit code: | NSN913 |
|---|---|
| Credit points: | 12 |
| Pre-requisite: | NSN910 and NSN911 |
| Coordinator: | Aaron Conway | aaron.conway@qut.edu.au |
Overview
This unit further develops your cognitive skills in clinical reasoning by integrating prior knowledge and skills that inform nursing practice in a range of complex and challenging clinical contexts such as perioperative care contexts. A particular focus is developing critical thinking and clinical reasoning skills to identify and manage the deteriorating patient. Capability in applying your understanding of Quality Use of Medicines is further developed. This and previous units continue to build your professional capabilities by providing key experiential learning opportunities to apply knowledge and skills, and to evaluate and refine your preparedness for nursing practice in the off-campus clinical placement.
Learning Outcomes
On successful completion of this unit you will be able to:
- Consolidate knowledge of key NMBA Registered Nurse Standards for Practice, National Safety and Quality Health Service Standards to enable effective decision making, planning and action in a range of complex clinical situations across the lifespan, including a focus on the deteriorating patient
- Critically apply knowledge of anatomy, physiology, and pathophysiology to support clinical reasoning that promotes safe, evidence-based, person-centred care in complex care situations
- Analyse a range of complex health situations using clinical reasoning to synthesise evidence or data, determine priorities, and formulate plans and interventions in line with timeframes and scientific evidence.
- Critically apply knowledge and skills to communicate and collaborate effectively with consumers, families and the multidisciplinary health care team.
Content
- Course themes: Evidence-based foundations of safe practice; person-centred care and therapeutic communication; digital literacy including use of generative AI to create practice case studies.
- NMBA Registered Nurse Standards for Practice: 1, 2, 4, 5, 6, 7
- National Safety and Quality Health Service Standards: 3) Preventing and controlling healthcare-associated infection; 5) Comprehensive care 6) Communicating for safety; 8) Recognising and responding to acute deterioration
- Global/national/regional health priorities: Cancer (acute/chronic care context), injury prevention
- ePortfolio: Case studies
Learning in this unit develops your understanding of nursing roles and peoples’ continuum of care experiences, across the lifespan within complex acute care contexts. Focus is given to nursing care for selected national health priority areas.
- Cancer care (acute/chronic care context)
- Primary care
- Chronic disease management
- Acute exacerbation of chronic disease
- Health promotion priorities
2. Perioperative care
- Preventing and controlling healthcare-associated infection
- Correct identification and procedure matching
- Traumatic injury
3. Infectious disease containment and treatment.
- Minimising the spread of infection
- Treatment of Infection
- Recognising SIRS vs Sepsis
- Antimicrobial care
4. Complex care
- Multimorbidity and complex care
- Frail populations as risk of acute sudden deterioration
- Delirium/substance abuse within presentations in acute care.
5. Recognising acute deterioration:
- Physiological deterioration, deterioration in mental state
- Escalating care: protocols, response systems, communicating for safety
- Responding to acute deterioration
- Appropriate care
- Timely response
Learning Approaches
This unit will use a blend of face to face and online activities to develop key knowledge and skills. You will participate and collaborate in small group classes and will explore a range of clinical situations and the nursing role. Case based scenarios provide learning opportunities to develop and practice your multimodal communication skills. Tutorials will provide opportunities for you to work with case studies and scenarios from across the lifespan to develop your skills for critical inquiry. Use of the clinical reasoning framework will underpin critical inquiry across the range of learning activities.
Feedback on Learning and Assessment
This unit will use a blend of face-to-face and online You will be provided with feedback and guidance to assist your learning throughout the semester through:
- Formative feedback online or in class interactions throughout semester, individually and/or as a group
- You will receive individual feedback on your oral interview.
- The Unit Coordinator and tutors will be available for consultation throughout the semester in on-campus and online contexts
Assessment
Overview
There are 2 assessments to be completed in this unit, an evidence based practice case study assessed via oral interview and a final exam integrating your knowledge and case scenario based problems.
Unit Grading Scheme
7- point scale
Assessment Tasks
Assessment: Oral Interview - Patient Case Study Handover
You will focus on the provision of care for consumers experiencing complex health conditions across the lifespan. Drawing on evidence-based knowledge and practice, you will review the situation, synthesise evidence and data, determine priorities, and formulate appropriate interventions in line with timeframes.
You will undertake a face to face oral interview to hand over a patient case study including knowledge of pathophysiology and effective communication with family.
Assessment: Written Examination
A centrally timetabled written examination involving several case studies and short answer questions will assess your knowledge of complex nursing care.
Academic Integrity
Academic integrity is a commitment to undertaking academic work and assessment in a manner that is ethical, fair, honest, respectful and accountable.
The Academic Integrity Policy sets out the range of conduct that can be a failure to maintain the standards of academic integrity. This includes, cheating in exams, plagiarism, self-plagiarism, collusion and contract cheating. It also includes providing fraudulent or altered documentation in support of an academic concession application, for example an assignment extension or a deferred exam.
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.
Breaching QUT’s Academic Integrity Policy or engaging in conduct that may defeat or compromise the purpose of assessment can lead to a finding of student misconduct (Code of Conduct – Student) and result in the imposition of penalties under the Management of Student Misconduct Policy, ranging from a grade reduction to exclusion from QUT.
Resources
Resource Materials
Prescribed text(s)
Brown, D., Edwards, H., Buckley, T. Aiken, R. (Eds.). (2019). Lewis's medical-surgical nursing: Assessment and management of clinical problems (5th ed.). Elsevier.
Recommended text(s)
Calleja, P., Theobald, K., & Harvey, T. (2020). Health assessment and physical examination. (3rd ed.) Cengage Learning Australia.
Risk Assessment Statement
There are no out of the ordinary risks associated with this unit. Substantial computer-based work will be required, please make sure you adjust your workstation and take regular rest breaks.
Course Learning Outcomes
This unit is designed to support your development of the following course/study area learning outcomes.NS89 Master of Nursing - Entry to Practice
- Analyse and apply scientific knowledge and skills in context of nursing and related disciplines to the provision of holistic, person-centred, evidence-based nursing across the life span
Relates to: Oral Interview - Patient Case Study Handover , Written Examination - Evaluate practice outcomes drawing upon critical thinking and clinical reasoning skills to examine person-centred nursing care and make evidence-based decisions
Relates to: Oral Interview - Patient Case Study Handover , Written Examination - Practice as an ethical, socially inclusive and culturally safe practitioner, reflective of your professional nursing identity across a range of health service settings
Relates to: Written Examination - Demonstrate developing socially informed leadership capabilities of self and others to achieve positive individual and community outcomes in dynamic health care contexts
Relates to: Oral Interview - Patient Case Study Handover - Demonstrate research skills and use of contemporary evidence to justify clinical decisions and inform nursing practice
Relates to: Oral Interview - Patient Case Study Handover