NURS12164 - Professional Experience Placement 3

Showing: 2026 HE Term 1
General Information

Unit Synopsis

In this unit, you will have the opportunity to practice nursing care in the community or rehabilitative environment. You will apply the Nursing and Midwifery Board of Australia (NMBA) registered nurse standards for practice (2016). You will continue to explore the importance of the National Safety and Quality Health Service (NSQHS) Standards (2017) to all nursing practice in Australia and use the Patient Safety Competency Framework (PSCF) (Levett-Jones et al., 2017) in your practice as a nursing student. You will be expected to identify risk and recognise and respond appropriately to the deteriorating patient in the simulated and clinical environment. You will work within your scope of practice using the decision-making framework (DMF) (NMBA, 2020). You are required to participate in a compulsory three (3) day residential school prior to attending professional experience placement for this unit. This unit includes a 80 hour block professional experience placement in a community or rehabilitative environment. For students, who have completed NURS12157, Concepts of Mental Health Nursing but have not completed, NURS12158, Clinical Nursing Practice 3, you will be undertaking an extra 80 hour professional experience placement block. You must meet specific mandatory health, safety and security requirements to be eligible to attend each professional experience placement. Professional experience placements may be limited in your community and you may be placed in other locations. Please be prepared financially and personally to cover the costs to relocate for placements. Due to the limited availability of placements, some block placements have start and/or end dates that fall outside standard term dates.

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:

NURS12161 Professional Experience Placement 2 or NURS12156 Clinical Practice 2

BIOH12011Pathophysiology and Pharmacology 1 or BIOH11006 Advanced Anatomy and Physiology and NURS12154 Pharmacology of Nursing Practice

Co-requisite

NURS12163 Chronic Health and Community

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 - 2021

Term 2 - 2021 Profile
Mixed Mode Rockhampton
Term 2 - 2022 Profile
Mixed Mode Rockhampton
Term 2 - 2023 Profile
Mixed Mode Rockhampton
Term 2 - 2024 Profile
Mixed Mode Rockhampton
Term 2 - 2025 Profile
Mixed Mode Rockhampton
Term 2 - 2026 Profile
Mixed Mode Rockhampton
Term 3 - 2026 Profile
Mixed Mode

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. In-class Test(s) 0%
2. Practical Assessment 0%
3. Professional Practice Placement 0%
4. Written Assessment 60%
5. Examination 40%

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

Previous Feedback

No previous feedback available

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:
Res school that went with this unit had a lot of waisted [sic] time. We sat around for hours watching YouTube videos about funny nursing outfits instead of actually learning anything. I feel the residential school structure could have great improvements for this PEP.

Recommendation:
The format of the residential school will be reviewed in terms of timing and relevant contents for future terms.

Action Taken:
The residential school underwent a complete restructure. Many simulation activities were expanded, with increased visual resources and a closer alignment with unit learning outcomes. An increase in content was provided for a number of activities, such as advanced health directives and best practices on voluntary assisted dying.
Source: SUTE data
Feedback:
Penny Heidke and Jess Hocking were absolutely amazing on the Cambodia trip for Nursing. Penny: Bought enthusiasm into the group, she would push us to become better, at the same time her leadership and direction showed that she will support us, that she has the best interests of her students at heart. Amazing! Jess: Calm and reassuring, Jess was always engaging with the students, provided direction and support, I hope that Jess is on future overseas placements. Penny and Jess are an asset to CQU, in the future when I seek out my teaching path, I aspire to be able to teach the way they do, seriously thank you!

Recommendation:
Highly recommend outward bound international placements to be continued in future years.

Action Taken:
No outward-bound activities were attached to this unit in 2025.
Source: SUTE data
Feedback:
Thank you for not overloading us with another assignment, I loved the content in the ressi [sic] school learning, ressi [sic] school was a real highlight and a perfect preparation for placement. Teaching staff are supportive and have a great love for what they do, the placement teaching team was amazing for keeping me informed and feeling confident in myself and the skills I learnt.

Recommendation:
The contents and structure of the residential school have been carefully reviewed each year and improved based on feedback and suggestions. This approach will be continued in the coming years for further improvement.

Action Taken:
A supportive, student-focused learning environment was fostered through the delivery of an engaging residential school, addressing individual learning needs via the application of a deliberate practice framework
Source: SUTE data
Feedback:
Several students expressed that the 2-week placement was not long enough.

Recommendation:
The new curriculum includes a 3-week clinical placement for this unit.

Action Taken:
In Progress
Source: SUTE data
Feedback:
A student expressed that their residential school was overwhelming, with a lot of pressure to learn a large amount of content in a short time, and ran out of time

Recommendation:
A full restructure of this residential school was implemented to ensure the content comprehensively covered the requirements and learning outcomes. Residential Sim Planner was provided for time management. A lesson plan will be developed for future residential schools to also assist with time management. NURS12164 will also be revised due to the new curriculum.

Action Taken:
In Progress
Unit Learning Outcomes

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

  1. Apply the Nursing and Midwifery Board of Australia (NMBA) registered nurse standards for practice in the physical and psychosocial assessment, planning, implementation and evaluation of people living with chronic health conditions or those requiring care residing in the community
  2. Recognise and respond appropriately to the deteriorating patient
  3. Identify factors associated with the wellbeing and experience of people living with chronic health conditions residing in the community
  4. Explain the nursing role as part of the interdisciplinary team and the requirements to provide holistic care
  5. Develop person-centred, evidence-based plans of care for a person experiencing an alteration in health identified in the National Health Priority Areas (NHPA)
  6. Demonstrate knowledge and application of safe supply and administration of non-parenteral and parenteral medication.

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

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

Feedback and complaints

Human resources

Organisation governance

Alignment of Assessment Tasks to Learning Outcomes
Assessment Tasks Learning Outcomes
1 2 3 4 5 6
1 - In-class Test(s)
2 - Practical Assessment
3 - Professional Practice Placement
4 - Written Assessment
5 - Examination
Alignment of Graduate Attributes to Learning Outcomes
Introductory Level
Intermediate Level
Graduate Level
Graduate Attributes Learning Outcomes
1 2 3 4 5 6
1 - Communication
2 - Problem Solving
3 - Critical Thinking
4 - Information Literacy
5 - Team Work
6 - Information Technology Competence
7 - Cross Cultural Competence
8 - Ethical practice
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 10