Unit Synopsis
In this unit, you will explore cognitive and sensory impairments in and on the lives of the older person. You will apply the principles of advanced nursing knowledge, law, ethics, and professional attributes in the provision of best practice nursing care for the older person with cognitive and/or sensory impairment. You will apply and justify nursing clinical decision-making in the assessment, planning, implementation and evaluation of nurse-led and collaborative care that aims to maintain or enhance the cognitive and sensory capabilities of the older adult.
Details
| Level | Postgraduate |
|---|---|
| Unit Level | 8 |
| Credit Points | 6 |
| Student Contribution Band | SCA Band 1 |
| Fraction of Full-Time Student Load | 0.125 |
| Pre-requisites or Co-requisites |
There are no pre-requisites for the unit.
Important note: Students enrolled in a subsequent unit who failed their pre-requisite unit, should drop the subsequent unit before the census date or within 10 working days of Fail grade notification. Students who do not drop the unit in this timeframe cannot later drop the unit without academic and financial liability. See details in the Assessment Policy and Procedure (Higher Education Coursework). |
| Class Timetable | View Unit Timetable |
| Residential School | No Residential School |
Unit Availabilities from Term 2 - 2026
Attendance Requirements
All on-campus students are expected to attend scheduled classes - in some units, these classes are identified as a mandatory (pass/fail) component and attendance is compulsory. International students, on a student visa, must maintain a full time study load and meet both attendance and academic progress requirements in each study period (satisfactory attendance for International students is defined as maintaining at least an 80% attendance record).
Recommended Student Time Commitment
Each 6-credit Postgraduate unit at CQUniversity requires an overall time commitment of an average of 12.5 hours of study per week, making a total of 150 hours for the unit.
Assessment Tasks
| Assessment Task | Weighting |
|---|---|
| 1. Presentation | 40% |
| 2. Written Assessment | 60% |
This is a graded unit: your overall grade will be calculated from the marks or grades for each assessment task, based on the relative weightings shown in the table above. You must obtain an overall mark for the unit of at least 50%, or an overall grade of ‘pass’ in order to pass the unit. If any ‘pass/fail’ tasks are shown in the table above they must also be completed successfully (‘pass’ grade). You must also meet any minimum mark requirements specified for a particular assessment task, as detailed in the ‘assessment task’ section (note that in some instances, the minimum mark for a task may be greater than 50%).
Past Exams
All University policies are available on the Policy web site, however you may wish to directly view the following policies below.
This list is not an exhaustive list of all University policies. The full list of policies are available on the Policy web site.
Feedback, Recommendations and Responses
Every unit is reviewed for enhancement each year. At the most recent review, the following staff and student feedback items were identified and recommendations were made.
Source: Student verbal feedback after their oral presentation assessment.
Assessments were really interesting, I never thought of hypertension affecting the older adult in the way it can, especially an older adult with dementia.
The unit coordinator to continue to design assessments that encourage critical thinking and real-world application of clinical concepts, particularly in complex scenarios involving older adults with comorbidities such as dementia. Consider incorporating more case-based assessment to further enhance students’ understanding of the multifaceted impact of conditions like hypertension in older people.
The assessments were developed using authentic, real-world clinical case scenarios and were informed by contemporary evidence-based literature. Assessment content focused on common health presentations experienced by older Australians, including presentations to emergency departments, ensuring strong alignment with current clinical practice and supporting students to apply theoretical knowledge to realistic healthcare situations.
Source: Student verbal feedback during Assessment One presentation.
I wish more students presented at the same time for assessment one, so I can see what they are presenting and learn from them.
The unit coordinator will continue to emphasise the importance of students presenting within their allocated group and scheduled time slots. However, achieving consistent synchronous participation remains challenging, as many students enrolled in the unit are registered nurses working variable shift patterns. To support flexibility and equitable access, presentations are recorded and made available for students to view at times that accommodate their individual work and personal commitments.
In Progress
Source: Student verbal feedback during Assessment One presentation.
I found the assessments very relatable to my clinical practice
The HOC will ensure that unit coordinators continue to write assessments that are contemporary and related to current clinical practice trends.
In Progress
On successful completion of this unit, you will be able to:
- Investigate cognitive and/or sensory function impairment and the impact of these impairments in and on the lives of older people.
- Apply contemporary nursing knowledge, ethical, legal, and professional practice concepts to the nursing care of older adults experiencing cognitive and/or sensory impairment.
- Critically discuss complex nursing care management of the older adult who has cognitive and/or sensory impairment in your context of specialty practice.
- Justify the nursing care of an older adult experiencing cognitive and/or sensory impairment in your context of nursing practice.
There is no external accreditation linked to this unit.
| Assessment Tasks | Learning Outcomes | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | |
| 1 - Presentation | • | • | • | • |
| 2 - Written Assessment | • | • | • | • |
| Graduate Attributes | Learning Outcomes | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | |
| 1 - Knowledge | • | • | • | • |
| 2 - Communication | • | • | • | |
| 3 - Cognitive, technical and creative skills | • | • | • | • |
| 4 - Research | • | • | • | • |
| 5 - Self-management | • | |||
| 6 - Ethical and Professional Responsibility | • | • | ||
| 7 - Leadership | • | • | ||
| 8 - Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Cultures | • | |||
| Assessment Tasks | Graduate Attributes | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 8 | |