1	Recognise the signs of respiratory distress, explain the possible causes, and plans, prioritises, institutes, and evaluates an effective treatment plan
2	Analyse and interpret diagnostic tests and monitoring used to assess the adequacy of oxygenation and ventilation within an acute/critical cardiac unit
3	Discuss the aetiology, pathophysiology, assessment, and management of common respiratory disorders resulting in acute respiratory failure
4	Demonstrate the operation, setup, application, monitoring, and troubleshooting for non-invasive ventilation.
5	Describe the mechanisms, and clinical significance of common arrhythmias
6	Recognise arrhythmias, their potential causes, responds accordingly, initiates appropriate treatments based on evidence, and evaluates the impact of these interventions.
7	Explain the principles, indications, modes of operation, complications, safety considerations, and management of patients with temporary and permanent cardiac pacing.
8	Identify and critically appraise the evidence that informs practice.

Prescribed texts 
Sidebotham D, McKee A, Gillham M, Levy JH 2007, Cardiothoracic Critical Care, Butterworth Heinemann Elsevier, Philadelphia. 
Huszar, RJ 2011, Basic dysrhythmias and Acute Coronary Syndromes: Interpretation and management, rev. 4th edn, Mosby, St Louis. 
Opie, LH & Gersh, BJ 2013, Drugs for the heart, 8th edn, Elsevier Saunders, Philadelphia.

The prescribed texts are integral to the course and may be purchased from all or some of the following outlets:
Unibooks
The University of Adelaide, Adelaide SA 5005
Phone: +61 8 8125 5160
Email:  adelaide@unibooks.com.au
Website:   www.unibooks.com.au

Ramsay – Medical books and more
Located at Unibooks Adelaide Store, Gate 10 (off Victoria Drive) Union Building, Adelaide SA 5000
Phone: +61 8 8125 5195 or 1300 796 106
Fax: +61 8 8231 2069
Email: sales@ramsaybooks.com.au
Website:   www.ramsaybooks.com.au

Encompass Bookshop
Shop 20, Renaissance Arcade, 128 Rundle Mal, lAdelaide SA 5000
Phone:   08 8224 0886
Fax:        08 8223 3570
Email:     adelaide@encompassbooks.com.au
Website: www.encompassbooks.com.au

The readings for this course are available electronically via MyUni.

Please note: it is your responsibility to organise printing should you prefer a hard copy of the readings.

MyUni
All students enrolled in a postgraduate coursework nursing program have access to the School of Nursing – 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 (www.library.adelaide.edu.au/guide/med/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).

This course will be delivered on campus and will incorporate the following:

1. Three hours contact per week
2. A blend of lectures, tutorials and workshops incorporating a problem-based learning approach
3. Lecture notes online

The delivery mode of this course is mainly face-to-face workshops on campus (Three hours contact per week). Although attendance is not compulsory in this course, students are strongly encouraged to attend the classes. Many of the workshops presented in this course will involve problem-based learning using real-life case studies and therefore have a close link to your clinical rotation within the specialty areas of cardiac nursing practice. Practical workshops will form the basis of some of the sessions.

Reading
There are several required texts for this course. Most of the Reading will be supplied to you online through MyUni. However you are strongly advised to search and read widely of each topic in this course.
It is expected that you will need to invest about 12 hours per week of study to successfully complete this course. It is recommended that you plan your time commitment to the course at the beginning of the semester. This includes all study activities, attendance at workshops, readings and assessment. Thus some weeks it will be more and others less. It is recommended that you plan your time commitment to the course at the beginning of the semester.

The course content will include the following:

1.    Respiratory anatomy and physiology

2.    Acute respiratory failure

3.    Non-invasive assessment of respiratory function
        •    Pulmonary function tests, pulse oximetry

4.    Arterial blood gas analysis

5.    Assisted ventilation

6.    Common respiratory disorders

7.    Cardiac anatomy & physiology

8.    Regulation of cardiac output & blood pressure

9.    Cardiac action potential

10.    Electrophysiology

11.    Arrhythmia interpretation and management
        •    Sinus arrhythmias, atrial arrhythmias, junctional & ventricular arrhythmias, atrioventricular blocks

12.    Pacemakers – permanent and temporary

13.    Anti-arrhythmic therapies

14.    12 lead ECG interpretation
        •    Axis deviation & BBB, ischaemia & infarction, differentiation of supraventricular tachycardia and ventricular tachycardia, miscellaneous ECG changes

15.    Paroxysmal supraventricular tachycardias & pre-excitation

Although it is not a mandatory requirement, students are encouraged to seek the opportunity to rotate through the various cardiac sub-specialty environments within their organisation ie Interventional, medical and surgical.

Assessment Task	Assessment Type	Weighting	Learning Outcome(s) being addressed
Reflective activity	Formative	0%	1-3
Essay outline & search strategy	Summative	10%	1-8
Essay	Summative	40%	1-8
Exam	Summative	50%	1-7
Skills workbook	Summative	Pass/fail	1-7

Students must pass all components of assessment in order to successfully complete the course, with the exception of the formative assessments for the essay and student presentation.

Reflective activity (250 words) (0%): The assessment is scheduled early in the semester to assist students with the planning and development of the presentation, to ensure that appropriate resources are used, and that referencing complies with the Disciplines Handbook and Style Guide.

Essay outline & search strategy (500 words) (10%): The aim of this assessment is to introduce the topic and provide a justification for the topic; outline the key points and issues to be critiqued; describe the search strategy used to source information; and include a reference list of at least 5 preliminary references.

Essay (1500 words) (40%): Assessment will be based on: the content of the essay; the students understanding and critique of the topic; the structure and presentation; support of the topic from contemporary literature.

Written examination 2.0 hours (2000 word equivalent) (65%). This assessment includes multiple choice and short answer questions and is designed to ensure summative knowledge of the course material.

Skill workbook (Pass/Fail). Students are required to achieve ‘competence’ in a list of clinical skills integral to the course content and management of the cardiac nursing. Students will be assessed by preceptors and Clinical Titleholders within their institution for clinical competence.

Assessment Submission
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/. Formatting and presentation of assignments must comply with School policy as indicated in the School Academic Manual.

An assessment submitted via MyUni must be submitted as a .doc, .docx or .rtf file (or unless otherwise specified, i.e. PowerPoint). It is also important to submit your file under your surname and id number, such as surnamestudentid (i.e. knight1234567). MyUni stamps all the other details against your filename once you submit your assessment.

Your assessment must include an Assignment Coversheet. Your assignment should be submitted as one file, with the coversheet being the first page. A word version and rich text format of the Assignment Coversheet is available to download at http://health.adelaide.edu.au/nursing/current-students/. The Plagiarism Statement must be signed and dated for your assessment to be marked (signature is not required for electronic submission). More information on avoiding Plagiarism is available at www.adelaide.edu.au/writingcentre/plagiarism/.

If you have difficulty submitting your assignment, you can call the MyUni helpdesk Monday to Friday (8am to 6pm) on 08 8313 3335.

Extension of time for assessment items
It is expected that all assessments will be submitted on or by the specified due date.

However, students may apply for an extension of time to submit an assessment, if they are experiencing difficulty. Applications for extension must be made via the online form on the School of Nursing website http://health.adelaide.edu.au/nursing/current-students/. The grounds for granting an extension include health problems, compassionate reasons and other extenuating circumstances. Extensions will usually only be granted for a maximum of one week, but can be longer at the discretion of the Chairperson of the Postgraduate Learning and Teaching Sub-Committee or Head of Learning and Teaching if substantiated with evidence such as a medical certificate.

Upon completion of the online form, you will receive a receipt to your student email of your approved extension. If your extension is granted, then it is your responsibility to keep in contact with the course coordinator and to submit the assessment with evidence of your approved extension.

You must complete this online form for each course and assessment that you request an extension for.

Failure to submit an assessment item on time without an approved extension will incur a penalty as detailed under Late Submission of Work.

Late submission of work
All assessments should be submitted by the specified due date.

Late submission without an approved extension will be penalised at the rate of 10% of available marks for each day after the due date. Work submitted more than ten days after the due date may be returned unmarked. This action will be taken to prevent students who do get their work in on time being disadvantaged.

Word limit
You are advised to comply with word limits. You are, of course, not expected to achieve exactly the required length and a 10% leeway on either side is acceptable. However, a penalty of 5% of available marks will apply for word limit in excess of the 10% leeway.

Presentation
Your written work must comply with the formatting and referencing indicated in the School Academic Manual. Marks will be lost for failing to do so.

Return of assignments
Marked assignments and feedback will be returned via MyUni. For further information relating to assessment refer to the Assessment for Coursework Programs Policy.

Requesting a re-mark
Any student who, after discussion of the result with the course coordinator, is still dissatisfied with the final grade awarded for a course, and who has specific grounds for objecting to the grade, may lodge a written request for a review of the result or an independent second assessment with the Head of School within 10 University business days from the date of notification of the result. Such a written request must contain details of the grounds on which the objection is based. Requests must include a summary of the reasons the student believes his or her assessment work deserves a higher grade. These reasons must be directly related to the academic quality of the work. Re-marks, for example, will not be granted where the grounds are that the student has paid tuition fees or incurred liability under HECS-HELP or FEE-HELP, or needs one or two additional marks to get a higher overall grade for the course. The Head of Learning and Teaching may seek the advice of the Postgraduate Learning and Teaching Sub-Committee, and will make a determination on review or second assessment, and inform the student of his or her decision in writing.

The grade awarded to a piece of work following review or second assessment as provided for in this policy or as a consequence of appeal to the Student Appeals Committee will usually stand as the final grade for the work, regardless of whether it is higher or lower than the grade originally awarded.

Further guidelines and policies regarding examinations may be found on the examinations website www.adelaide.edu.au/student/exams/rules_policies.html.

Resubmitting failed assignments
In accordance with University Policy, the guidelines and conditions regarding resubmission are stated below. It should be noted that these guidelines concern work that has been assessed as ‘FAIL’.
Course coordinators, in consultation with Head of Learning & Teaching and/or the Pre-Registration or Postgraduate Learning and Teaching Sub-Committee Chairperson, are responsible for determining the circumstances in which students may resubmit assessment tasks. In determining these circumstances, the following are considered.
a) Students may only resubmit their work when:
i ) It will allow them to demonstrate that they have understood feedback on their work; and/or
ii) They might otherwise be at risk of failing the course; and/or
iii) When they have received a Fail grade with an underlying mark of 45-49%; or
iv) The final assessment task in the course is weighted at 20% or more of the total course assessment.
b) In granting a resubmission, the deadline will be negotiated.
c) The resubmitted work will be awarded no more than the minimum pass mark (i.e. 50%).
d) If the resubmitted work does not achieve a pass, it cannot be submitted a third time, and a fail will be recorded.
e) Students who accept an offer of resubmission must take into account the possible implications, such as eligibility for graduation should the reassessment not be able to be completed in time for their preferred ceremony.