Course Coordinator: Jo Perry
Phone: +61 8 8313 2010
Email: jo.perry@adelaide.edu.au

Adelaide Nursing School, University of Adelaide
School OfficePhone: +61 8 8313 3595
Email: nursing@adelaide.edu.au
Location: Level 4, AHMS Building

Topics covered:

General Surgery

Breast and Endocrine Surgery

Gynaecological/Obstetric Surgery

Renal and Urological Surgery

ENT, Head and Neck Surgery

Ophthalmological Surgery

Orthopaedic Surgery

Vascular Surgery

Cardiothoracic Surgery

Neurological Surgery

Plastic Surgery and thermal injuries

Oromaxillofacial surgery

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

Describe surgical subspecialty anatomy, pathology and corresponding perioperative variances in patient care.

Investigate a unique patient situation from a perioperative patient journey

Explain how the nursing process applies across all perioperative practice sub-speciality settings

Demonstrate competency in a range of surgical subspecialties

Present a complex surgical procedure from within a surgical subspecialty

Design a surgical plan of care for patients undergoing surgery from 2 sub-specialties

Compare perioperative patient journeys across a variety of surgical sub-specialties

 

This course will require the following texts and other resources:

Prescribed texts
Rothrock 2018, Alexander’s care of the patient in surgery, 16th edition, Mosby,
St. Louis.

Resources
Asynchronous online lectures, accessed via Canvas. Articles and readings
accessed via Canvas portal

Perioperative Practice

Australian College of Operating Room Nursing (ACORN), 2017-2018, ACORN standards for perioperative
nursing, ACORN, Adelaide.

Online Lecture Content

The lecture content associated with this course is accessible from within the lecture content section of this course available
via the Canvas website.

This course will be delivered through the following means:

Lecture content will be asynchronous online presentations linked to relevant
electronic resources such as professional documents, websites and e-books.

The student is expected to engage with this course for 12 hours/week

Lecture content - 2 hours

Chat - 1 hour

Assignments - 6 hours

Weekly reading - 3 hours

Assessment Task	Assessment Type	Weighting	Hurdle	Learning Outcome
Case Study Brief	Formative	0%		2
Learning Portfolio	Summative	40%		1 - 7
Case Study	Summative	40%		2
Wiki	Summative	20%		1, 3 - 7
Clinical Skills Handbook	Summative	0%	Yes	4

Purchase of the textbook is required for the associated learning activities which form part of the learning portfolio work.

There is a "drop in" online chat area for discussing issues and topics throughout the course. The chatroom is open for 1 hour per week. However, students may make submissions to the chatroom asynchronously.

Assessment 1: Learning Portfolio
Due Date: Part A (first specialty) – Week 7
Part B (second specialty) – Week 13
Weighting: 40%
Length: 2,500 words (approx)

Assessment 2: Case Study Brief
Due Date: Week 3
Weighting: 0% (Formative)
Length: 500 words
This assessment is scheduled early in the semester to assist in the planning
and development of the case study, so that students can receive feedback on
your work before handing in their final assignment.

Assessment 3: Case Study
Due Date: Week 9
Weighting: 40%
Length: 2,500 words

Assessment 3: WIKI
Due Date:      Wiki due: Week 10, Friday 10 October 2014
Weighting:     20%
Length:          1000 word equivalence

Assessment 5: Clinical Skills Handbook
Due Date: Week 12
Weighting: NGP / NGF
Length: Not applicable

The Learning Portfolio submissions contain material from the online resources associated with the textbook. Students must purchase the textbook for this course in order to access these materials.

Assessment 1: Learning Portfolio
Topic
Students are expected to submit a portfolio of activities. Students must choose TWO surgical specialties from the 12 weeks within the course. You are encouraged to plan your work and complete your activity of choice on a weekly basis. The portfolio is to be submitted in two parts; Part A covering one chosen surgical specialty, and Part B covering the other chosen surgical specialty.

Assessment 2: Case Study Brief
Topic
Select a patient you have cared for, relating actual events in which you were involved and critiquing the clinical events based upon the literature.

Once you have selected the patient:

Identify the relevant part of the patient’s hospital journey, whilst being careful not to identify the patient or your institution in any way. Provide a brief paragraph which situates the patient, providing background, identifying the significance to perioperative nursing and any limitations or boundaries of your intended work (this is designed to assist in the development of the introduction for your final case study assignment).

Provide a rough plan (in dot point form) of your case study identifying headings that demonstrate the logical sequence and structure for your proposed paper.

Outline the key points to be discussed using headings identified above and the issues to be critiqued (this is designed to assist in the development of the content of the paper ensuring the patient selection and significant issues are covered appropriately, and from a variety of perspectives).

Describe the search strategy undertaken to identify preliminary references including key works and databases used (this is to ensure contemporary and reliable resources are used).

Provide a reference list containing 5 preliminary references relevant to your case study which complies with the School of Nursing’s School Academic Manual.

A high academic writing standard is required with key points in text referenced appropriately.


Assessment 3: Case Study
Topic
Full text journal articles available through electronic databases.  Each student is required to complete a 2,500 word nursing case study of a high academic standard. Case studies allow clinical episodes and practices to be articulated and explored. The case study should be about a patient you have cared for, relating actual events in which you were involved and critiquing the clinical events based upon the literature. You may write in the first person to convey actual conversations. Please also ensure patient anonymity is maintained.

It will be of more interest for you to explore a case where an event actually happened rather than a case where everything went perfectly as planned. You can then analyse what policy or system factors contributed to the event and put forward strategies for future prevention of repeat events.

Structure of the Case Study
The following areas should be considered:
Introduction to the case and explanation of the reason for selection.

Body of text that covers the following areas:
     • present the patient’s story - including clinical presentation, diagnosis, any relevant history and the pathophysiology of the
patient’s condition
     • outline of the clinical progress of the patient through the perioperative environment, including interdisciplinary interventions (with an emphasis on nursing)
     • critique the nursing management of the patient and interpret the outcomes of interventions, supported with relevant (and
appropriate) literature.
Conclusion that summarises the patient case study.

Confidentiality
The patient’s anonymity must be maintained. Always use a pseudonym so that the patient is not identifiable and state in the case study that this is what you are doing. Do not include any other information that may potentially identify the patient including palaces, dates, times or events.

Assessment 4: WIKI
Topic
This Perioperative Practice Wiki must be submitted no later than the nominated date. If you follow the suggested guidelines then the 1500 word length will be achieved. High academic standard continues to be expected.

The Wiki must be on a clinical procedure covered within this semester's surgical specialty program. The information must be presented as a wiki, using the marking guide as outlined below. Therefore students are expected to follow the guidelines as suggested for advice.

You will be able to edit your own wiki and the wikis of others, just as in the “real” published Wikipaedia. If you add anything to
anyone else’s wiki, the rules of referencing apply. You cannot add anything which you do not have justification for.

Assessment 5: Clinical Skills Handbook
Topic
The assessment of skills will occur over the two academic semesters (Semester 1, Semester 2). Each of the competencies for the course has been given a level that must be achieved as part of the assessment. Students are required to complete at least 50% of the competencies for this semester. Which competencies are completed is dependent upon the clinical rotations of the students.

Students will be assessed by a clinical supervisor / clinical title holder whom they work with. It is essential that students who do not have exposure to particular skills, negotiate with the course coordinator with enough time to arrange for clinical experience to occur. Clinical skills assessment books must be submitted to the Course Coordinator by the due date in Semester 2.

Marking Rubrics are available in the Study Guide.