NURS12160 - Acute Alterations in Health

General Information

Unit Synopsis

Australians are living longer. Traditionally health care has been focused on acute illness. The number of people living with chronic disease is growing. This is an important intersection as many chronic illnesses begin as an acute alteration or can cause an acute alteration in health. Australia's National Health Priority Areas (NHPAs) are diseases and conditions given focused attention by government because they significantly contribute to the burden of illness and injury in the Australian community. In this unit, you will identify the NHPAs and explore their link to lifestyle factors such as obesity, insufficient physical activity, tobacco smoking, and alcohol use and their impact on acute health conditions. You will consider the nursing process required to support people with acute conditions or deterioration of people. You will examine factors to assist you in the early recognition of sepsis and determine the nursing role in each phase of the perioperative period. This unit provides the theoretical underpinning for NURS12161 Professional Experience Practice 2 and should be completed with or before NURS12161.

Details

Level Undergraduate
Unit Level 2
Credit Points 6
Student Contribution Band SCA Band 1
Fraction of Full-Time Student Load 0.125
Pre-requisites or Co-requisites

Pre-requisites:

NURS11170 Professional Experience Placement 1 or NURS11161 Clinical Nursing Practice 1

 

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 3 - 2024

Term 1 - 2025 Profile
Brisbane
Online
Rockhampton

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).

Assessment Overview

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. Written Assessment 40%
2. Case Study 40%
3. Online Quiz(zes) 20%

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%).

Consult the University's Grades and Results Policy for more details of interim results and final grades

Past Exams

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Previous Feedback

Term 1 - 2023 : The overall satisfaction for students in the last offering of this course was 69.47% (`Agree` and `Strongly Agree` responses), based on a 14.44% response rate.

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
Feedback
Ensure the marking rubric and the task sheet for assessment pieces are accurate and reflect the same information. The quiz did have some errors making some questions unclear
Recommendation
All assessments undergo review. We will write the 2023 assessments with more clarity. We will provide more support from the ALC and the unit coordinators for students to understand the assessment task and the marking criteria. There were three quiz questions that were incorrectly written - these have been rectified. One of the three incorrect quiz questions - a mix and match - was reviewed by Moodle support and it was decided there was no clear reason for the errors. This question has been removed from the bank.
Action Taken
The questions in quiz bank were reviewed with bank increased from 30 questions to a total of 450 questions. ALC engagement was sought with weekly presentations by the ALC team. These were structured and targeted to step students through the individual assessment pieces.
Source: SUTE data
Feedback
hi supervised writing time is not useful for the students who watch the recordings i like normal lectures and tutorials - flipped classroom is not as good. the material was too fragmanted. great lecturers
Recommendation
We will make it clearer for 2023 that the focussed assessment writing time, if offered, is not compulsory to attend. This unit adopts a flipped classroom model. There is introduction to flipped classroom approaches in Week 1 because it was thought that this would help students to understand what teaching model we were using. Upon reflection we think this content should be removed. A new introductory video in which past students share their unit learning experiences has been produced for the next offering. Regarding fragmented material, Moodle will be reviewed to ensure learning content and activities are linked and content is relatable to the weekly learning objectives.
Action Taken
Sessions for supervised writing time were removed. In place of this, weekly ALC presented sessions were provided with these sessions structured and targeted to step students through the individual assessment pieces.
Source: SUTE data
Feedback
I understand flipped classrooms are the new thing but for an online student who works full time, I really really miss the traditional lecture on content that I could watch back and take notes to study from. I did all the unit content but I do love a lecture to tie it all together. I did love the assessment tasks and I think the moodle layout was great"¦. Thank you!!!!!!!
Recommendation
Students commonly request didactic lectures. In keeping with CQU Renew the content was written to actively engage students in weekly content. Some virtual sessions will be restructured to extend lecture content up to 30 minutes, particularly for difficult to grasp concepts. Students will be reminded all virtual sessions are recorded for students to download and watch in their own time for revision.
Action Taken
The flipped-classroom pedagogy approach was abandoned. Students were provided with weekly sessions engaging guest speakers who presented on the weekly topics discussing common issues or case studies. This approach built upon student knowledge and learning from the weekly module content.
Source: SUTE Data
Feedback
The outline of the assessments is not at all clear. There should not be three different sources of information for assessments all stating conflicting info (task sheet, rubric & ALC videos).
Recommendation
Extra time will be spent explicitly explaining to students the assessment requirements and how the assessment details/instruction/task work together with the rubric and instructional videos to complete the assessment piece. The link between assessment task and unit content will be directly covered and explained to assist students to complete the required learning prior to undertaking the assessment piece.
Action Taken
In Progress
Source: SUTE Data
Feedback
I found the weekly material a little difficult to keep track of. Each time I went out of the weekly content, I would have to start from the beginning, it did not go to where I left off. I was also confused as I had watched the videos in the weekly modules. But I didn't realise there were also weekly zoom sessions that were recorded and uploaded on the Virtual Classes tile that complemented the weekly module content.
Recommendation
Learning and Teaching Design Team will be consulted to adjust Moodle formatting to ensure that the screen does not 'reset' to the beginning when accessing a link on the page, and that the screen will return to 'last page accessed'. Links are set to open in a new screen in an attempt to stop any loss of page or place. It will be made clearer to students that weekly guest speaker sessions are designed to build upon the weekly module content. Location of these uploaded recordings will be reassessed as to where to locate on the Moodle page.
Action Taken
In Progress
Source: SUTE Data
Feedback
This was probably one of my most enjoyable units ever. The context was intense but very interesting. Rachel, Tric and Megan are absolutely amazing nurses and coordinators! I can't thank them enough. They work super well together and we all looked forward to the weekly tutorials. I really enjoyed the guest speakers also as it gave such insight to the real world.
Recommendation
Continue to provide engaging tutorial sessions and guest speakers to provide real world context and application of knowledge and skills.
Action Taken
In Progress
Source: SUTE Data
Feedback
Trish, Rachel, Belinda & Megan possess a remarkable talent for breaking down difficult concepts into manageable pieces, ensuring that every student grasps the material and feels supported in their learning journey. All the instructors are very knowledgeable and passionate. Lecturers were approachable and their open-mindedness have made it easy for me to seek clarification or ask questions without hesitation.
Recommendation
Unit Coordinators will continue to promote an engaging and inclusive environment that encourages students to participate and ask questions. We aim to continue to support and encourage student learning, engagement and development.
Action Taken
In Progress
Source: SUTE Data
Feedback
This unit's content was exceptionally well done and easy to navigate the information provided was very helpful and educational. I enjoyed the learning material and watching the lectures. I wish I didn't have to work and could attend them live. The support for the assessments was incredible. Well done to all involved.
Recommendation
Unit layout will remain as is to support and facilitate ease of navigation. Online sessions will continue to be recorded to allow students to revisit and support student learning around life committments.
Action Taken
In Progress
Source: SUTE Data
Feedback
I just want to say how amazing the teachers were for this subject; I cannot thank them enough. They were so open with topics and really got me motivated to be the best nurse I can be. 100/10 for all three of those lovely ladies (Rachel, Megan and Tric)!!
Recommendation
The Unit Coordination team will continue to provide time and build engagement with students through operating an 'open office' approach in face-to-face or virtual via Teams, Zoom or phone. This is to ensure that all students can be and do feel supported with encouragement to contact the Unit Coordination team to ask any questions or seek any support needed.
Action Taken
In Progress
Unit learning Outcomes

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

  1. Identify the National Health Priority Areas (NHPA) and discuss their impact on a person’s acute health status
  2. Discuss socio-cultural and lifestyle issues that may predispose a person to an acute alteration in health
  3. Identify factors associated with the early recognition of deteriorating patients in the acute care environment
  4. Identify factors associated with the early recognition of sepsis in the acute care environment
  5. Determine the nursing role in each phase of the perioperative period.

Content in this unit incorporates a number of professional nursing requirements

Nursing and Midwifery Board of Australia Registered Nurse Standards for Practice

Thinks critically and analyses nursing practice

Maintains the capability for practice

Develops a plan for 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

Clinical governance

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

Alignment of Assessment Tasks to Learning Outcomes
Assessment Tasks Learning Outcomes
1 2 3 4 5
1 - Written Assessment • •
2 - Case Study • • • •
3 - Online Quiz(zes) • • • • •
Alignment of Graduate Attributes to Learning Outcomes
• Introductory Level
• Intermediate Level
• Graduate Level
Graduate Attributes Learning Outcomes
1 2 3 4 5
3 - Critical Thinking • • • • •
5 - Team Work •
6 - Information Technology Competence • • •
Alignment of Assessment Tasks to Graduate Attributes
• Introductory Level
• Intermediate Level
• Graduate Level
Assessment Tasks Graduate Attributes
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10