NURSING 5104OL - Microbiology and Epidemiology
Online - Semester 2 - 2021
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General Course Information
Course Details
Course Code NURSING 5104OL Course Microbiology and Epidemiology Coordinating Unit Adelaide Nursing School Term Semester 2 Level Postgraduate Coursework Location/s Online Units 6 Contact Online Available for Study Abroad and Exchange N Restrictions Available to GCert.NursSc and M.NursSc students only Assessment Referencing module, essay, online quiz, portfolio of activities Course Staff
Course Coordinator: Ms Yvette Salamon
Course Coordinator: Yvette Salamon
Phone: +61 8 831 32995
Email: yvette.salamon@adelaide.edu.au
Location: Adelaide Nursing School, Adelaide Health & Medical Sciences BuildingCourse Timetable
The full timetable of all activities for this course can be accessed from Course Planner.
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Learning Outcomes
Course Learning Outcomes
1 Identify the structure and function of microorganisms, their habitats and growth requirements as well as the methods used for diagnosis of bacterial and viral diseases all based on available evidence. 2 Analyse the factors involved in pathogenicity and virulence of microorganisms and how this relates to the infective process 3 Discuss the mechanisms of resistance to antimicrobial agents and the implications for control of infection in healthcare facilities 4 Explain the use of bacterial strain typing and its application to the control of outbreaks of infection 5 Discuss the principles of epidemiology and statistical methods relevant to the practice of infection control 6 Distinguish the principles of epidemiological study design and how to control for bias and confounding 7 Critique surveillance systems for healthcare associated infection and its application in a variety of healthcare settings 8 Employ electronic data sources for infection control and learn how to formulate efficient information search strategies. 9 Compare and assess local, national and international approaches to management of pandemics. University Graduate Attributes
This course will provide students with an opportunity to develop the Graduate Attribute(s) specified below:
University Graduate Attribute Course Learning Outcome(s) Deep discipline knowledge
- informed and infused by cutting edge research, scaffolded throughout their program of studies
- acquired from personal interaction with research active educators, from year 1
- accredited or validated against national or international standards (for relevant programs)
1,2,3 Critical thinking and problem solving
- steeped in research methods and rigor
- based on empirical evidence and the scientific approach to knowledge development
- demonstrated through appropriate and relevant assessment
2, 5, 6, 9 Teamwork and communication skills
- developed from, with, and via the SGDE
- honed through assessment and practice throughout the program of studies
- encouraged and valued in all aspects of learning
5,7 Career and leadership readiness
- technology savvy
- professional and, where relevant, fully accredited
- forward thinking and well informed
- tested and validated by work based experiences
4,5, 7, 8 Intercultural and ethical competency
- adept at operating in other cultures
- comfortable with different nationalities and social contexts
- able to determine and contribute to desirable social outcomes
- demonstrated by study abroad or with an understanding of indigenous knowledges
5, 6, 9 Self-awareness and emotional intelligence
- a capacity for self-reflection and a willingness to engage in self-appraisal
- open to objective and constructive feedback from supervisors and peers
- able to negotiate difficult social situations, defuse conflict and engage positively in purposeful debate
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Learning Resources
Required Resources
Required Texts
- Shaban, R Mitchell, B Russo, P and Macbeth D 2021 Epidemiology of Healthcare-associated infections in Australia, Elsevier Australia (Access via https://www.elsevierhealth.com.au/epidemiology-of-healthcare-associated-infections-in-australia-9780729543637.html)
- Wilson, J 2019 Infection control in clinical practice, 3rd Ed., Elsevier Australia (Access via https://www.elsevierhealth.com.au/infection-control-in-clinical-practice-updated-edition-9780702076961.html
- The readings for this course are available electronically via MyUni.
Recommended Resources
Recommended Texts
- Lee, G & Bishop, P 2016, Microbiology and infection control for health professionals, 6th, Pearson Australia, Melbourne. (Access at https://www.pearson.com.au/products/detail?isbn=9781486019144)
- Zhu, F 2018, Anti-Infection Handbook, Elsevier Australia (Access via https://www.elsevierhealth.com.au/anti-infection-handbook-9780729542944.html)
Online Learning
MyUni
All students enrolled in a postgraduate coursework nursing program have access to the Adelaide Nursing School– Postgraduate Coursework Student Centre on MyUni. If you would like the opportunity to network with other students, you can use the Communication features in the site. This site will also feature information about the latest news and events at the School of Nursing.
Unified
http://unified.adelaide.edu.au/
UNIFIED is your one-stop shop for email, calendar, MyUni and Access Adelaide. It even allows you to search the Library.
UNIFIED is available to all active students; with a single login you can access your student systems and personal information through a central website. Login with your Student ID ("a1234567") and Password.
For more information, including easy to follow instructions visit https://unified.adelaide.edu.au/web/mycampus/home.
Library Resources
Help for Nursing Students
The University of Adelaide Library has a website to help nursing students use the library and its resource (http://libguides.adelaide.edu.au/nursing).
Remote student library service
The University of Adelaide Library provides a document delivery and loans service to non-metropolitan students who do not visit a University of Adelaide campus to attend classes (www.adelaide.edu.au/library/docdel/external.html). -
Learning & Teaching Activities
Learning & Teaching Modes
This course utilises flexible learning methods to enable it to be offered in an open learning format. Your Study guide and readings are provided via MyUni. You will need to purchase the prescribed texts. Each week you are directed to specific readings and the Study Guide contains interactive activities, which are designed to test and consolidate your knowledge and to develop your skills to critique. These readings and activities are designed to replace classes in the design of the course. Thus, working through them is vital to your successful completion of the course.
Each topic corresponds to one week of study. A series of readings and activities are presented and you are advised to follow carefully what is required of you. You will be expected to undertake a substantial program of reading. A number of articles have been prescribed and these are contained in the Reader that forms part of the materials for this course. You are encouraged to read further and become familiar with accessing materials from libraries, databases and the Internet.Workload
The information below is provided as a guide to assist students in engaging appropriately with the course requirements.
While all students work at a different pace it is expected that study for this course will be approximately 24 hours per week of your time. This is a rough guide and may vary for students who have not studied recentlyLearning Activities Summary
Basic Principles of Microbiology
Laboratory Diagnosis of Infection
Infectious Disease Transmission - local and pandemic
Host/microbe Interactions and the Disease Process
Managing Antibiotic Resistance
Molecular Epidemiology and Outbreak Control
Introduction to Epidemiology
Basic Statistical and Epidemiological Methods
Study Design
Surveillance Methods
Computing and Data Management
Information Management
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Assessment
The University's policy on Assessment for Coursework Programs is based on the following four principles:
- Assessment must encourage and reinforce learning.
- Assessment must enable robust and fair judgements about student performance.
- Assessment practices must be fair and equitable to students and give them the opportunity to demonstrate what they have learned.
- Assessment must maintain academic standards.
Assessment Summary
Assessment Task Assessment Type Weighting Learning Outcome(s) being addressed Academic Integrity Module Formative 0% Portfolio Part A Summative 50% 1-4 Portfolio Part B Summative 50% 5-9 Assessment Detail
Academic Integrity Modules:
Weighing: 0%
It is important that all students understand how not to commit a breach of Academic Integrity and to avoid plagiarism therefore students need to understand the meaning of citation, paraphrasing, quotation, and referencing. The University has developed a course to ensure that students understand their obligations and to provide guidance on how to adhere to the policy. The Universities Academic Integrity Online Modules is made up of five short modules. Students are encouraged to work through the modules as many times as they need to ensure that they have a thorough understanding of these guidelines. The modules are used as a formative assessment that has no percentage allocated to a final grade
Portfolio A - Microbiology
Weighting: 50%
Topic: The focus of Portfolio A's activities will be on Microbiology and will reflect the activities found in the weekly modules of the course. The answers will normally be short answer questions unless the students feels that they would prefer an alternative format such as a table. All of the activities will need to be researched and supported by contemporary sources
Portfolio B - Epidemiology
Weighting: 50%
Topic: The focus of Portfolio B's activities will be on Epidemiology and will reflect the activities found in the weekly modules of the course. The answers will normally be short answer questions unless the students feels that they would prefer an alternative format such as a table. All of the activities will need to be researched and supported by contemporary sourcesSubmission
Assessments, unless otherwise stated in your Study guide, are to be submitted electronically via Assignments in MyUni on the due date identified in this Study guide. Instructions for assignment submission are available for all students under Tutorials at www.adelaide.edu.au/myuni/.
An assessment submitted via MyUni must be submitted as a .doc, .docx or .rtf file. If submitting a PowerPoint presentation for marking, the .ppt or .pptx must be submitted as .pdf file. It is also important to submit your file under your name, such as surname.firstname. MyUni stamps all the other details against your filename once you submit your assessment.
Turnitin is used to submit all assignments in this course. Turnitin is a plagiarism software tool that enables the student to identify any matching text before final submission
An Assignment Coversheet must be submitted with each assessment. The coversheet should be the first page of your assessment. A word version of the Assignment Coversheet is available to download at www.health.adelaide.edu.au/nursing/students/resources. The Plagiarism Statement must be signed and dated for your assessment to be marked (please note the details stated on the Assignment Coversheet). More information on avoiding Plagiarism is available at www.adelaide.edu.au/clpd/plagiarism/.Course Grading
Grades for your performance in this course will be awarded in accordance with the following scheme:
M10 (Coursework Mark Scheme) Grade Mark Description FNS Fail No Submission F 1-49 Fail P 50-64 Pass C 65-74 Credit D 75-84 Distinction HD 85-100 High Distinction CN Continuing NFE No Formal Examination RP Result Pending Further details of the grades/results can be obtained from Examinations.
Grade Descriptors are available which provide a general guide to the standard of work that is expected at each grade level. More information at Assessment for Coursework Programs.
Plagiarism
Students are reminded that plagiarism and other forms of academic dishonesty constitute a serious offence and can result in disciplinary procedures. Students are advised to read the policy Academic Honesty and Assessment Obligations for Coursework Students Policy & Coursework Students: Academic Dishonesty Procedures policy, available at www.adelaide.edu.au/policies/230/. The following definitions should be noted.
Referencing: providing a full bibliographic reference to the source of the citation (in a style as determined by the School).
Quotation: placing an excerpt from an original source into a paper using either quotation marks or indentation, with the source cited, using an approved referencing system in order to give credit to the original author.
Paraphrasing: repeating a section of text using different words which retain the original meaning.
Please note: changing just a few words does not constitute paraphrasing.
Final results for this course will be made available through Access Adelaide (https://access.adelaide.edu.au/sa/login.asp)Final results for this course will be made available through Access Adelaide.
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Student Feedback
The University places a high priority on approaches to learning and teaching that enhance the student experience. Feedback is sought from students in a variety of ways including on-going engagement with staff, the use of online discussion boards and the use of Student Experience of Learning and Teaching (SELT) surveys as well as GOS surveys and Program reviews.
SELTs are an important source of information to inform individual teaching practice, decisions about teaching duties, and course and program curriculum design. They enable the University to assess how effectively its learning environments and teaching practices facilitate student engagement and learning outcomes. Under the current SELT Policy (http://www.adelaide.edu.au/policies/101/) course SELTs are mandated and must be conducted at the conclusion of each term/semester/trimester for every course offering. Feedback on issues raised through course SELT surveys is made available to enrolled students through various resources (e.g. MyUni). In addition aggregated course SELT data is available.
In line with student feedback minor changes to the balance of assessment items have been enacted so that the weighting for essay has been increased and the quiz assessment decreased proportionately. -
Student Support
- Academic Integrity for Students
- Academic Support with Maths
- Academic Support with writing and study skills
- Careers Services
- International Student Support
- Library Services for Students
- LinkedIn Learning
- Student Life Counselling Support - Personal counselling for issues affecting study
- Students with a Disability - Alternative academic arrangements
- YouX Student Care - Advocacy, confidential counselling, welfare support and advice
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Policies & Guidelines
This section contains links to relevant assessment-related policies and guidelines - all university policies.
- Academic Credit Arrangements Policy
- Academic Integrity Policy
- Academic Progress by Coursework Students Policy
- Assessment for Coursework Programs Policy
- Copyright Compliance Policy
- Coursework Academic Programs Policy
- Elder Conservatorium of Music Noise Management Plan
- Intellectual Property Policy
- IT Acceptable Use and Security Policy
- Modified Arrangements for Coursework Assessment Policy
- Reasonable Adjustments to Learning, Teaching & Assessment for Students with a Disability Policy
- Student Experience of Learning and Teaching Policy
- Student Grievance Resolution Process
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Fraud Awareness
Students are reminded that in order to maintain the academic integrity of all programs and courses, the university has a zero-tolerance approach to students offering money or significant value goods or services to any staff member who is involved in their teaching or assessment. Students offering lecturers or tutors or professional staff anything more than a small token of appreciation is totally unacceptable, in any circumstances. Staff members are obliged to report all such incidents to their supervisor/manager, who will refer them for action under the university's student’s disciplinary procedures.
The University of Adelaide is committed to regular reviews of the courses and programs it offers to students. The University of Adelaide therefore reserves the right to discontinue or vary programs and courses without notice. Please read the important information contained in the disclaimer.