NURSING 7031 - Foundations of Critical Care

North Terrace Campus - Semester 1 - 2017

This course introduces the advanced practice nurse to the provision of care in the critical care setting. The concepts of assessment of the critically ill patient and the initial prioritising of care will be explored. The nursing and medical science related to the cardiac and pulmonary systems will be discussed in detail. The theoretical concepts and knowledge gained will enable the advanced practice nurse to engage in discussions regarding the principles of critical care nursing. It will have both theoretical and clinical components supported by classroom teaching. Students will also be expected to complete a range of clinical competencies throughout the course.

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Course Details

Course Code	NURSING 7031
Course	Foundations of Critical Care
Coordinating Unit	Adelaide Nursing School
Term	Semester 1
Level	Postgraduate Coursework
Location/s	North Terrace Campus
Units	6
Contact	Up to 5 hours per week
Available for Study Abroad and Exchange	N
Restrictions	Only available to students enrolled in the Graduate Diploma of Nursing Science (Cardiac, Emergency or Intensive Care Nursing)
Assessment	Search strategy & synopsis Literature review Essay Written exam Clinical skills diary

Course Staff

Course Coordinator: Mr Iain Everett

Course Coordinators:

Iain Everett
Phone: +61 8 8313 4308
Email: iain.everett@adelaide.edu.au

Sindy Millington
Phone: +61 8 83132996
Email: sindy.millington@adelaide.edu.au

Adrian De Luca
Phone: +61 8 8313 6284
Email: adrian.deluca@adelaide.edu.au

School Office
Phone: +61 8 8313 3595
Email: nursing@adelaide.edu.au

Course Timetable

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

Course Learning Outcomes

On successful completion of this course students will be able to:

1. Recognise the signs of cardio-respiratory distress; and differentially diagnoses potential causes based on history-taking and clinical assessment.

2. Analyse and interpret diagnostic tests and monitoring used to assess the adequacy of the cardio-respiratory systems.

3. Discuss the aetiology and pathophysiology of common cardio-respiratory disorders potentially resulting in cardio-respiratory failure.

4. identify the priorities and formulate an effective nursing care plan to manage a patient with the potential to, or is experiencing cardio-respiratory distress.

5. Demonstrate an understanding of the indications, rationales, setup, operation, application, monitoring, and troubleshooting required for managing a patient requiring technology to optimise their cardio-respiratory condition.

6. Plan, implement and evaluate holistic plans of care in collaboration with the health care team

7. Identify and evaluate the current clinical issues in critical care nursing and considers the implications for your clinical area

8. Identify, critically appraise and integrate current evidence based guidelines and consensus statements to inform competent clinical practice

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 - 8
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, 4 - 8
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	6 - 8
Career and leadership readiness technology savvy professional and, where relevant, fully accredited forward thinking and well informed tested and validated by work based experiences	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	4, 6
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	6 - 8

Learning Resources
Required Resources

Prescribed texts

Aitken, L Marshall, A & Chaboyer, W 2015, ACCCN’s critical care nursing, 3rd edn, Mosby Elsevier, Sydney.

OR

Curtis K, and Ramsden C 2016, Emergency and Trauma Care for Nurses and Paramedics. 2nd edn, Elsevier, Sydney.

AND

Talley, NJ & O’Connor, S 2014, Clinical examination: a systematic guide to physical diagnosis, 7th edn, Churchill/Livingstone, Elsevier, Sydney.

AND

Wesley, K 2011, Huszar’s basic dysrhythmias: interpretation and management, rev. 4th edn, Mosby, St Louis.

Recommended Resources

Reading lists, web-links, library resources, essay writing guides, study guides, referencing guides, TURNITIN

Online Learning
- Use of MyUni, Articulate Storyline for resource materials / lectures
- Use of announcements, discussion boards, quizzes, lecture recordings, external web-links
- Materials will be released over the semester

Learning & Teaching Modes

This course will be delivered through a blended learning mode:

Up to five hours face-to-face sessions per week (on-campus) including: a blend of lectures and tutorials utilising the principles of; ‘Problem-Based Learning’.

Lectures
Lecture locations will be made available on the MyUni website. There will be Articulate storyline Lectures available on the MyUni home page as student preparation for some weeks, that students are required to review prior to attending class.

Reading
There are several prescribed texts for this course and a reading list has been compiled and made available on MyUni. For each lecture, readings have been carefully chosen. All of these required and recommended readings have been selected to optimise knowledge on the topic and so that they will continue to be of use after graduating.

Clinical Practice and Skill Acquisition
This course supplements theoretical knowledge acquisition with field based learning. Students are required to complete clinical skills and work a minimum of 300 clinical hours in their specialty setting during the semester.

Workload

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

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

The delivery mode of this course is mainly face-to-face lectures and tutorials on campus (up to five hours contact per week). Although attendance is not compulsory in this course, students are strongly encouraged to attend the classes. Many of the lectures and tutorials presented in this course will involve problem-based learning using real-life case studies and will have a close link to your clinical specialty.

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 24 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 lectures / tutorials, readings and assessments; some weeks it will be more and others less.

Learning Activities Summary

The course content will include the following:

WEEK	TOPIC
1	Respiratory anatomy & physiology Respiratory assessment; monitoring & diagnostics
2	Acute respiratory failure Common respiratory disorders
3	Pain, analgesia & procedural sedation Thoracotomy & UWSD management Oxygen therapy
4	Non-invasive & Mechanical ventilation
5	Cardiovascular anatomy & physiology Cardiac monitoring; Anti-arrhythmic pharmacology
6	Sinus & Atrial arrhythmias Junctional & Ventricular arrhythmias
7	Atrio-ventricular blocks Cardiac pacing
8	12-lead ECG interpretation Axes; bundle branch & fascicular blocks
9	Differentiation of broad complex tachycardias Other ECG findings Acute Coronary Syndromes
10	Haemodynamic monitoring Shock states
11	Inotropes & vasoactive pharmacology Transfusion
12	Hypertension & hypertensive crisis Vascular emergencies

Specific Course Requirements

Clinical Practice and Skill Acquisition
This course supplements theoretical knowledge acquisition with field based learning. Students are required to complete clinical skills and work a minimum of 300 clinical hours in their specialty setting during the semester.

Small Group Discovery Experience

It is our endeavour to have Small Group Discovery (SGDE) experiences for many of our tutorial based exercises during our face to face time with students. Groups will be allocated to work together on clinical scenarios and problems that will be explored for solutions/actions that reflect evidence based care, professional team work and best practice.

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	TASK TYPE	WEIGHTING	COURSE LEARNING OUTCOME
Search Strategy & Synopsis	Formative	NGP	3, 7, 8
Literature Review	Summative	30%	7, 8
Essay	Summative	30%	1 - 8
Written Exam	Summative	40%	1 - 5, 7, 8
Clinical Skills Diary	Summative	NGP	1 - 8

Assessment Related Requirements

Clinical Skills Diary: NGP
The assessment of skills will occur throughout the semester. Students will be assessed by the Critical Care registered nurses and/or Clinical Titleholders, with whom they work. Please refer to the information provided in the Clinical skills Diaries regarding skills assessment criteria. The diaries will be graded Pass or Fail and are a hurdle requirement ie. Students' must pass this assessment to pass the course.

Assessment Detail

Search Strategy & Synopsis – Formative (NGP): 1000 words. 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 contemporary preliminary references.

Literature Review – Summative (30%): 2000 words. Following on from Assessment 1 (Search Strategy & Synopsis), students are required to produce an evaluative piece of writing by conducting a literature review on their chosen topic; weighing up arguments and critiquing ideas; and showing how the literature relates to their own work

Essay – Summative (30%): 2500 words. Following on from Assessment 1 & 2 (Literature Review) students are required to submit an essay on their chosen topic to demonstrate understanding of certain key concepts associated with the course and communicate this understanding in a formal, structured way.

Written Exam – Summative (40%): 2 hours (2000 word equivalent). This assessment includes multiple choice and short answer questions and is designed to ensure summative knowledge of the course material.

Clinical Skills Diary - Summative (NGP). The assessment of skills will occur throughout the semester. Students will be assessed by the critical care registered nurses and clinical titleholders, with whom they work. Please refer to the information provided in the Clinical skills record. A series of mandatory clinical skills must be completed in order to pass the course.

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/.

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 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.

Clinical Skills Diaries should be submitted in person to the students' respective Course Coordinator by 1630hrs on or before the due date.

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.
Student Support
Policies & Guidelines
This section contains links to relevant assessment-related policies and guidelines - all university policies.
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.

Authorised by:	Deputy Vice-Chancellor and Vice-President (Academic)
Maintained by:	Course Outlines Administrator