Course specification for NUR3599

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Course specification
The current and official versions of the course specifications are available on the web at .
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NUR3599 Mental Health Care in Practice

Semester 1, 2020 On-campus Toowoomba
Short Description: Mental Health Care in Practice
Units : 1
Faculty or Section : Faculty of Health, Engineering and Sciences
School or Department : School of Nursing and Midwifery
Student contribution band : National Priority - Nursing
ASCED code : 060305 - Mental Health Nursing
Grading basis : Pass/Not Pass

Staffing

Examiner:

Requisites

Pre-requisite: NUR2200 and (NUR2299 or NUR2399)

Rationale

Mental health is an important health issue worldwide. An estimated 20% of Australians experience symptoms of a mental disorder each year. Most of us will experience mental health challenges at some point in our lives. Mental health concerns transcend all areas of practice; however, increasingly individuals living with mental illnesses are living well within communities. In this course students will have the opportunity to care for individuals, families, and groups whose lives have been impacted by mental illness. Emphasis will be placed on contemporary nursing and evidence based practice in a simulated and health practice environment.

Synopsis

In NUR3599 students will develop their professional interactions, therapeutic relationships and nursing care practices associated with caring for individuals, families and significant others in simulation and practice settings in community or mental health environments. The mental health needs of inpatients and groups requiring a specialised approach such as child and youth, older people, people from rural and isolated areas, indigenous and cultural diverse populations and the homeless will be explored. Students will develop critical thinking and clinical decision making within these types of clinical and simulated environments. The aim of NUR3599 Mental Health in Practice is to develop skills introduced in courses and to apply knowledge obtained from past or concurrent theoretical courses. Students are required to be reflective about their clinical practice experiences for both their professional development and lifelong learning journey.

Objectives

On completion of this course students will be able to:

  1. Demonstrate competency towards the NMBA competency standards of practice under the supervision of a Registered Nurse
  2. Demonstrate awareness of an individual's unique values, beliefs, customs and culture which provide the framework for that individual's experience of health, illness, or death.
  3. Utilise systematic data collection, effective clinical reasoning and evidence-based practice to critically analyse events and intervene appropriately to plan, implement and evaluate safe and appropriate nursing care, including patient and family education in mental health simulation and clinical practice.
  4. Critically reflect on personal and community attitudes to people with a mental illness, incorporating mental health promotion and recovery principles in simulation and clinical practice.
  5. Explore and apply legal and ethical issues in caring for people with a mental illness, including documentation and therapeutic communications.
  6. Demonstrate the ability to analyse events and to intervene appropriately commensurate with a second year level student to plan, implement and evaluate safe and appropriate care for individuals with common mental health disorders, and related symptomatology within interdisciplinary teams.

Topics

Description Weighting(%)
1. Clinical practice in a simulated environment of mental health scenarios including nursing care and decision making related to health assessment and collaborative care planning, medication administration, patient education and care of the individual with a mental health illness 40.00
2. Clinical practice in a health care setting in accordance with NMBA standards of practice for a Registered Nurse with specific knowledge, skill and application in a community or acute mental health setting 30.00
3. Therapeutic communication strategies for use with clients and the health care team including professional communication and contemporaneous documentation. 20.00
4. Professional scope of practice including safe and appropriate culturally sensitive care: legal and ethical boundaries of care 10.00

Text and materials required to be purchased or accessed

ALL textbooks and materials available to be purchased can be sourced from (unless otherwise stated). (https://omnia.usq.edu.au/textbooks/?year=2020&sem=01&subject1=NUR3599)

Please for alternative purchase options from USQ Bookshop. (https://omnia.usq.edu.au/info/contact/)

Berman. A., Snyder. S. J., Levett-Jones. T., Burton. P., & Harvey. N (2017), Skills in clinical nursing, 8th edn, Pearson.
Brotto. V., & Rafferty. K (2019), Clinical dosage calculations for Australia and New Zealand, 3rd edn, Cengage.
Levett-Jones. T., & Bourgeois. S (2018), The clinical placement, 4th edn, Churchill Livingstone.
Tollefson. J (2019), Clinical psychomotor skills: Assessment tools for nursing students, 7th edn, Thomson Learning Australia Pty Ltd.

Reference materials

Reference materials are materials that, if accessed by students, may improve their knowledge and understanding of the material in the course and enrich their learning experience.
Australian College of Mental Health Nurses 2010, Standards of Practice for Australian Mental Health Nursing,
<>.
Commonwealth of Australia 2010, The National Standards for Mental Health Services,
<>.
Nursing and Midwifery Board Australia (NMBA) 2016, Professional Standards of Practice in Australia,
<>.
The State of Queensland, Queensland Health 2008, Queensland Plan for Mental Health 2007 - 2017,
<>.
Nursing and Midwifery Board Australia (NMBA) 2010, A nurses guide to professional boundaries, file:///C:/Users/X0010684/Downloads/Nursing-and-Midwifery-Board---Codes-and-Guidelines---Professional-boundaries-for-nurses---February-2010.PDF.
Nursing and Midwifery Board Australia (NMBA) 2017, Code of Ethics for Nurses in Australia, file:///C:/Users/X0010684/Downloads/5_New-Code-of-Ethics-for-Nurses-August-2008.PDF.
Nursing and Midwifery Board Australia (NMBA) 2018, Code of Conduct for Nurses in Australia, file:///C:/Users/X0010684/Downloads/Nursing-and-Midwifery-Board---Code---Advance-copy---Code-of-conduct-for-nurses---Effective-1-March-2018%20(1).PDF.

Student workload expectations

Activity Hours
Assessments 15.00
Clinical Experience 120.00
Directed ¾«¶«´«Ã½app 40.00

Assessment details

Description Marks out of Wtg (%) Due Date Notes
Clinical Evaluation Tool 1 25 19 Jun 2020 (see note 1)
Clinical Timesheet 1 25 19 Jun 2020 (see note 2)
E-portfolio reflections 1 25 19 Jun 2020 (see note 3)
Interim Clinical Report 1 25 19 Jun 2020 (see note 4)

Notes
  1. Due 7 days after completion of student's allocated clinical placement.
  2. Due 7 days after completion of students' allocated clinical placement.
  3. To be advised by Course Examiner
  4. Interim Evaluation is to be signed by student and preceptor and submitted electronically within 2. Days after the student has completed 10 clinical shifts.

Important assessment information

  1. Attendance requirements:
    It is the students' responsibility to : (a) attend and participate 100% of the clinical placement period (120 hours) within the assigned weeks which have been allocated through the clinical placement allocation system. (b) attend all shifts as allocated/rostered at the beginning of the clinical placement by the preceptor or mentor (these may involve day shifts, evening shifts, night shifts, weekend shifts and public holidays). (c)Changes to rostered shifts will only be considered for compelling compassionate circumstances (as outlined within USQ policy and procedures) and require the student to follow the shift change process in collaboration with the health care facility and Professional Experience Placement Office. (d) attend and participate in all activities scheduled for them as part of this practicum either on campus or at the clinical venue including completion of preclinical mandatory requirements, orientation, briefing sessions, debriefing sessions, tutorials and inservice. (e) be informed of course-related activities and administration (f) access and obtain all material provided to complete course objectives and activities. It is the students’ responsibility to maintain a standard of professional and clinical practice that meets the ethical and legal requirements of a nurse, risk management principles and common law.

  2. Requirements for students to complete each assessment item satisfactorily:
    To complete the professional e-portfolio reflections satisfactorily students must obtain 100% of the marks available for the item. To complete the Clinical Timesheet satisfactorily students must attend all placement hours as scheduled and achieve (a mark of 1) for the item. To complete the Clinical Evaluation Tool and Interim Clinical Report satisfactorily, students must achieve a mark of 1 for each item

  3. Penalties for late submission of required work:
    Students should refer to the Assessment Procedure (point 4.2.4)

  4. Requirements for student to be awarded a passing grade in the course:
    To be assured of a pass in this course, students are required to submit each assessment items and achieve the mark of 1 for ANSAT Interim Clinical Report, Clinical Timesheet, and ANSAT Final Clinical Evaluation and the ePortfolio Reflections. As P is the only passing grade available for this course, all students who are qualified for a passing grade will be given a grade of P. There is no Supplementary clinical time offered for this course.

  5. Method used to combine assessment results to attain final grade:
    The final grades for students will be assigned on the basis of the aggregate of the weighted marks obtained for each of the summative items for the course. Note that a conceded pass is not available in this course due to accreditation requirements of the Nursing and Midwifery Board of Australia.

  6. Examination information:
    There is no Examination in this course.

  7. Examination period when Deferred/Supplementary examinations will be held:
    As there are no examinations in this course, there will be no deferred or supplementary examinations. There is no supplementary clinical time. If unforeseen circumstances occur resulting in incomplete hours in relation to the placement, deferred clinical participation may be granted in accordance with the USQ Compelling and Compassionate Circumstances Policy or in the event of a facility closure or relocation at the discretion of placement availability and suitability with respect to course objectives. Other than when compelling and compassionate circumstances are evident, the objectives for clinical practice must be satisfactorily completed within the allocated time or a failed grade will result.

  8. ¾«¶«´«Ã½app Student Policies:
    Students should read the USQ policies: Definitions, Assessment and Student Academic Misconduct to avoid actions which might contravene ¾«¶«´«Ã½app policies and practices. These policies can be found at .

Assessment notes

  1. Students must familiarise themselves with the USQ Assessment Procedures (.

  2. APA is the referencing system required in this course. Students should use APA style in their assignments to format details of the information sources they have cited in their work. The APA style to be used is defined by the USQ Library's referencing guide.

Evaluation and benchmarking

In meeting the ¾«¶«´«Ã½app’s aims to establish quality learning and teaching for all programs, this course monitors and ensures quality assurance and improvements in at least two ways.
This course:

  1. Conforms to the USQ Policy on Evaluation of Teaching, Courses and Programs to ensure ongoing monitoring and systematic improvement.
  2. Forms part of the Bachelor of Nursing and is benchmarked against internal USQ accreditation/reaccreditation processes which include (i) stringent standards in the independent accreditation of its academic programs, (ii) close integration between business and academic planning, and (iii) regular and rigorous review.
  3. Forms part of the professional accreditation standards of the Nursing and Midwifery Board of Australia (NMBA) through an external accreditation process.

Other requirements

  1. Students need to be conversant with and will require access to e-mail and internet access to UConnect for this course.

  2. Students can expect that questions in assessment items in this course may draw upon knowledge and skills that they can reasonably be expected to have acquired before enrolling in the course. This includes knowledge contained in pre-requisite courses and appropriate communication, information literacy, analytical, critical thinking, problem solving or numeracy skills. Students who do not possess such knowledge and skills should not expect to achieve the same grades as those students who do possess them.

  3. Students of clinical courses must submit the following mandatory documents to the Clinical Office by the date given for the INPLACE clinical placement allocations for the current semester's clinical placement or clinical practice will not be offered. These mandatory documents include:
    1. Blue Card (Renewed every 3 years) – Pre filled Application form is available on the BNUR2015 site on USQ ¾«¶«´«Ã½appDesk.
    Complete the form online, then print off and bring the application and copies of your I.D. evidence to the Professional Experience Placements Office to be processed and submitted to Blue Card.

    2. Australian Federal Police Certificate - Name Check only – (Valid for three years). Please submit a copy.
    Form is available from the link below. NB: There is a payment to be sent with the application.


    3. Hepatitis B Immunisation (Submit once only) Please submit a copy. - Evidence of 3 injections or Immunity (Titre level).
    To complete the course of 3 injections, they must be started 6 months before placement.

    4. Measles, Mumps, Rubella & Pertussis (Whooping Cough) Immunisation. (Submit once only)
    Please submit a copy. - Evidence of Immunity or current Immunisation report within the last 10 years.
    • Preference to have annual influenza immunisation (Not Mandatory)
    • TB Testing / Mantoux testing (Not Mandatory but highly recommended)

    While it is not a compulsory requirement to undergo TB screening or influenza immunisation, it is highly recommended for your own safety. (Please see your Medical practitioner regarding any other immunisations that may be appropriate).

    5. CPR Certificate (Renewed Yearly) - Please submit a copy. Certificate must display the Nationally Recognised logo.

    6. Queensland Health Student Orientation Requirements (Submit once only)
    Read and print the Student Orientation Checklist and the Deed Poll (6 pages).
    Available on BNUR site on USQ ¾«¶«´«Ã½appDesk or the QHealth website.


    7. QHealth-Occupational Health & Safety Certificates (4): (Submit copy once only) Complete the red asterix areas only.
    • Work Health and Safety Induction
    • First-Response Evacuation Instructions
    • Occupational Violence Prevention Fundamentals
    • Prevention and Management of Musculoskeletal Disorders (MSD)
    Instructions are available on the BNUR site to complete the modules.

    8. Clinical Placement Student Declaration - Print Declaration page & Sign (Submit once only)
    The Declaration is the last page of the Clinical Placement, Student Procedures and Declaration Guide booklet on the BNUR Site on your USQ ¾«¶«´«Ã½appDesk.
    If any of these documents are NOT current, you will NOT be allocated a placement on InPlace.
    Other: In some cases some facilities require Disability Services QLD Card

    Failure to adhere to submission of all required documentation by the due date will result in the student unable to attend a clinical placement and may result in a failed grade in the course

  4. Mandatory Reporting with AHPRA
    It is the student’s responsibility to notify the course examiner if they have a health impairment, which may result in conditions being placed upon their student registration with AHPRA. Education providers, such as USQ are required by law to report certain notifiable conduct (see and students must be aware of their responsibilities under this legislation. Administrative action may occur if a student fails to notify the course examiner of an APHRA notification made in relation to their practice.

Date printed 19 June 2020