Unit Synopsis
This unit aims to develop fundamental knowledge, values and skills for professional practice as a registered nurse. You will explore the personal skills, inherent requirements and attributes required in the profession and consider what your journey towards becoming a registered nurse will involve. You will learn about reflective practice, critical thinking, clinical decision-making and the nursing process. You will examine factors that impact nursing practice in the contemporary Australian healthcare system. Throughout this unit, you will acquire fundamental knowledge, professionalism and skills, including application of mathematical principles for medication administration, necessary to provide nursing care at entry level. In particular, you will be able to conduct a holistic assessment, assist a person with their activities of daily living, practice infection control measures and recognise the legal and administration process for the safe delivery of medication within the simulated environment. You are required to participate in compulsory on-campus workshops or a residential school (24 hours) for this unit.
Details
| Level | Undergraduate |
|---|---|
| Unit Level | 1 |
| Credit Points | 6 |
| Student Contribution Band | SCA Band 1 |
| Fraction of Full-Time Student Load | 0.125 |
| Pre-requisites or Co-requisites |
Must be enrolled in CL91 Bachelor of Nursing. 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 |
Compulsory Residential School View Unit 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 Undergraduate 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. Practical Assessment | 0% |
| 2. In-class Test(s) | 0% |
| 3. Online Quiz(zes) | 0% |
This is a pass/fail (non-graded) unit. To pass the unit, you must pass all of the individual assessment tasks shown in the table above.
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: SUTE data
This unit was extremely beneficial in gaining the foundational knowledge of nursing.
Unit coordinators will continue to ensure that this unit maintains the most contemporary foundational knowledge for students related to nursing.
The unit has been redeveloped for the 2026 offering to align with the revised Bachelor of Nursing curriculum and updated learning outcomes. Unit content was reviewed and updated to ensure alignment with contemporary nursing practice, professional expectations, and foundational knowledge required for commencing nursing students. Weekly content was restructured into a consistent and predictable format to support student navigation, engagement, and progressive development of foundational nursing concepts. Contemporary resources and learning activities were incorporated throughout the unit to support students’ understanding and application of nursing principles.
Source: SUTE data
The residential school was enjoyable while being interactive. Most definitely the best first-year nursing unit, hands down.
Moving forward, residential schools will continue to be interactive and immerse students in the foundations of nursing.
Residential school activities continue to be designed to provide students with opportunities to actively engage with foundational nursing concepts through skills practice, simulation, and supported learning activities. The residential school structure, resources, and activities were reviewed as part of the 2026 unit redevelopment to ensure alignment with revised learning outcomes and continued support of an engaging student learning experience.
Source: SUTE data
The amount of content in some weeks was heavy. The residential school did not address all of the things it was supposed to, as indicated throughout the weekly Moodle content.
Students are advised to familiarise themselves with the information contained within the residential school tile prior to attending the face-to-face classes. Residential school and Moodle content will continue to be reviewed before the commencement of each term, and Unit Coordinators will ensure that students are aware of how Moodle content clearly links to residential school.
As part of the 2026 unit redevelopment, explicit links between Moodle content and residential school activities were strengthened to provide students with greater clarity regarding how online learning connects with face-to-face experiences. Student residential school planners were developed to clearly outline the content covered each day, expected learning outcomes, and required pre-learning activities to support preparation prior to attendance. Teaching staff were also provided with detailed residential school planners and session resources to support consistent delivery across campuses and ensure alignment between Moodle content, learning activities, and assessment expectations.
Source: SUTE data
The content throughout this unit was presented in a very easy-to-understand way. I loved that the exam questions were a reflection of real-life situations.
Unit Coordinators will continue to review and update unit content and assessment activities to ensure they remain clear, engaging, contemporary, and reflective of real-world nursing practice.
In Progress
Source: SUTE data
Great subject. I felt well prepared for hands on assessment at residential school, and I feel more confident about upcoming placement since doing this subject. Residential school was fantastic.
Continue to provide a high-quality and consistent residential school experience across all delivery locations.
In Progress
Source: SUTE data
Greater consistency between assessors would assist in reducing confusion regarding practical assessment expectations.
Unit Coordinators will continue to strengthen consistency in practical assessment delivery, assessment expectations, and feedback practices across residential school locations.
In Progress
Source: SUTE data
This unit was excellent, loved the content. It was simple and easy to understand whilst being challenging as well.
Continue to provide clear, engaging, and appropriately scaffolded learning experiences that support students to develop foundational nursing knowledge and skills.
In Progress
Source: SUTE data and Unit Coordinator Reflection
It would be helpful to have weekly quizzes on the weekly content, as this was an aspect offered in other courses that supported learning.
Unit Coordinators will explore opportunities to introduce additional formative activities to support ongoing revision and consolidation of concepts.
In Progress
On successful completion of this unit, you will be able to:
- Analyse historical and contemporary factors that continue to influence the image, status and nature of nursing practice.
- Investigate the role of professional governing bodies in relation to professional nursing practice, patient safety and governance.
- Apply the Nursing and Midwifery Board of Australia (NMBA) Registered nurse standards for practice (2016) in the provision of safe evidence-based nursing care, including application of mathematical principles for medication administration, while assisting a person with their activities of daily living using simulated modalities.
- Perform a holistic assessment of a person including the completion of appropriate documentation, using simulated modalities.
Content in this unit incorporates a number of professional nursing requirements
Nursing and Midwifery Board of Australia Decision-Making Framework (DMF) - Nursing
Nursing and Midwifery Board of Australia Registered Nurse Standards for Practice
Thinks critically and analyses nursing practice
Engages in therapeutic and professional relationships
Maintains the capability for practice
Comprehensively conducts assessments
Develops a plan for nursing practice
Provides safe, appropriate and responsive quality nursing practice
Evaluates outcomes to inform nursing practice
Nursing and Midwifery Board of Australia Nursing Code of Conduct
Legal compliance
Person-centred practice
Cultural practice and respectful relationships
Professional behaviour
Research in health
Health and wellbeing
International Council of Nursing Code of Ethics for Nursing
Nurses and People
Nurses and Practice
Nurses and the Profession
Nurses and co-workers
National Safety and Quality Health Service Standards
Partnering with consumers
Preventing and Controlling healthcare-associated infection
Medication safety
Comprehensive care
Communicating for safety
Recognising and responding to acute deterioration
Patient Safety Competency Framework
Person-centred care
Therapeutic communication
Cultural competence
Teamwork and collaborative practice
Clinical reasoning
Evidence-based practice
Preventing, minimising and responding to adverse events
Infection prevention and control
Medication safety
Aged Care Quality Standards
Consumer dignity and choice
Ongoing assessment and planning with consumers
Personal care and clinical care
Services and supports for daily living
Organisation’s service environment
Feedback and complaints
Human resources
Organisational governance
| Assessment Tasks | Learning Outcomes | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | |
| 1 - Practical Assessment | • | • | • | |
| 2 - In-class Test(s) | • | |||
| 3 - Online Quiz(zes) | • | • | ||
| Graduate Attributes | Learning Outcomes | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | |
| 1 - Communication | • | • | • | |
| 2 - Problem Solving | • | • | ||
| 3 - Critical Thinking | • | • | • | |
| 4 - Information Literacy | • | |||
| 5 - Team Work | • | |||
| 6 - Information Technology Competence | • | |||
| 7 - Cross Cultural Competence | • | • | • | |
| Assessment Tasks | Graduate Attributes | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 10 | |