NURSING 5111 - Critical Reading in Clinical Nursing

North Terrace Campus - Semester 2 - 2016

This course is designed to equip students with the knowledge and skills to access and critique evidence to inform their practice with the aim of improving patient care. Specifically, the course is process oriented rather than content oriented. Thus, the course content consists of some broad guidelines on how to plan, carry out and report on the students reading.

  • General Course Information
    Course Details
    Course Code NURSING 5111
    Course Critical Reading in Clinical Nursing
    Coordinating Unit Adelaide Nursing School
    Term Semester 2
    Level Postgraduate Coursework
    Location/s North Terrace Campus
    Units 3
    Contact Up to 1 hour per week
    Available for Study Abroad and Exchange N
    Restrictions Available to MNSc students only
    Course Description This course is designed to equip students with the knowledge and skills to access and critique evidence to inform their practice with the aim of improving patient care. Specifically, the course is process oriented rather than content oriented. Thus, the course content consists of some broad guidelines on how to plan, carry out and report on the students reading.
    Course Staff

    Course Coordinator: Dr Rick Wiechula

    Course Coordinator: Dr Rick Wiechula
    Email: rick.wiechula@adelaide.edu.au
    Course Timetable

    The full timetable of all activities for this course can be accessed from Course Planner.

  • Learning Outcomes
    Course Learning Outcomes
    1 Identify a topic that is of interest to the student and directly relevant to their practice area
    2 Identify literature that would appropriately inform their practice
    3 Critically appraise the evidence to inform practice.
    4 Synthesise the identified evidence
    5 Construct a report of the critical reading project
    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)
    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
    1, 2, 3, 4, 5
  • Learning Resources
    Required Resources
    Pearson, A, Field, J & Jordan, Z 2007, Evidence-Based Clinical Practice in Nursing and Health Care, Blackwell Publishing, Melbourne.
  • Learning & Teaching Activities
    Learning & Teaching Modes
    This course will be delivered through the Flexible Delivery Mode. External students will receive lecture notes online. All students will be allocated a supervisor to monitor and advise the student throughout the project.
    Workload

    The information below is provided as a guide to assist students in engaging appropriately with the course requirements.

    It is expected that you will need to spend about 12 hours of study a week to successfully complete this course. This includes reading, completing activities and assessments. 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.
    Learning Activities Summary
    This course is designed to encourage students to plan and pursue their own learning.
    Specifically, the course is process oriented rather than content oriented. Thus, the course content consists of some broad guidelines on how to plan, carry out and report on the students reading. This study guide overviews; searching the literature, assessing the quality of a research report and writing up a systematically developed report on your reading.
  • Assessment

    The University's policy on Assessment for Coursework Programs is based on the following four principles:

    1. Assessment must encourage and reinforce learning.
    2. Assessment must enable robust and fair judgements about student performance.
    3. Assessment practices must be fair and equitable to students and give them the opportunity to demonstrate what they have learned.
    4. Assessment must maintain academic standards.

    Assessment Summary
    Assessment Task Assessment Type Weighting Learning Outcome(s) being addressed
    TOPIC OUTLINE Summative 0% Identify a topic that is of interest to the student and directly relevant to their practice area.
    PROPOSAL Formative 30% Identify literature that would appropriately inform their practice.
    Critically appraise the evidence to inform practice.
    Synthesise the identified evidence.
    REPORT Formative 70% Construct a report of the critical reading project.
    Assessment Detail
    Assessment 1: Topic Outline
    Select a topic of interest from your practice and detail why this practice may have issues of concern

    Assessment 2: Reading Protocol
    Develop a protocol for your review, using the protocol format provided in the study guide.

    Assessment 2: Reading Report
    The Report must be based on the protocol that was developed for the first assignment.
    Include the following content in the report:
    • the topic and your rationale for pursuing it
    • the relevance of the topic to your area of practice
    • the search strategy used
    • a critical review of the literature found
    • a conclusion which incorporates recommendations or ideas for practice.
    Submission

    No information currently available.

    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.

    Final results for this course will be made available through Access Adelaide.

  • 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.

    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 CEQ 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 least once every 2 years. 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.
  • Student Support
  • Policies & Guidelines
  • 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.