Master of Advanced Nursing Practice (Neonatal Intensive Care)

The Master of Advanced Nursing Practice is a graduate coursework degree consisting of 200 points (typically 6-12 subjects), normally taking two years of full-time study or part-time equivalent. The course is offered with clinical specialisation in neonatal intensive care to develop advanced level competency in specialist practice. Theoretical content is delivered face to face and online, and includes clinical practice in a hospital setting to provide a unique specialist training program in Neonatal Intensive Care.

The course provides nurses with the confidence and skill to provide the best possible health care for consumers. Masters prepared nurses will assume a major responsibility in developing new professional roles, devising new models of care and overseeing dynamic changes to practice. As clinically proficient and professionally articulate practitioners, graduates of the Master of Advanced Nursing Practice will make their mark on the profession and on health care.

The first year of study provides the opportunity for nurses to extend their nursing knowledge into an area of specialty practice. The second year of study focuses on advanced practice skills and knowledge, preparing nurses for leadership roles in practice and education and for extended clinical roles.

Enrolment in clinical components of the Master of Advanced Nursing Practice is dependent on meeting the registration and clinical experience requirements outlined in the admission requirement section. Students must also have the support of their current employer to facilitate completion of specialty clinical competencies.

As a graduate of the Master of Advanced Nursing Practice students are expected to have:

• a comprehensive knowledge of relevant research literature related to their field of practice

• the capacity to critically think, problem-solve, seek, retrieve and evaluate information

• the ability to analyse the socio-political influences on nursing practice

• the ability to explore and evaluate the status of (and potential for) advanced nursing practice in national and international contexts

• the ability to undertake an assessment of their practice, develop a plan and complete a planned program of knowledge and skill development

• mastery of knowledge and skills to support extension to practice and the development of therapeutic and evidence-based nursing interventions in their work environment

• the ability to develop, implement and undertake new and innovative practices within legislative and professional boundaries

• attained oral and written communication skills to support advanced practice

• developed planning, time management and teamwork skills to support advanced practice

• knowledge and skills to support culturally competent practice, leadership and/or education relevant to advanced practice in their chosen specialty practice

Students must complete

NURS90003 Foundations in Acute and Critical Care 1 (25 credit points)
NURS90005 Foundations in Acute and Critical Care 2 (12.5 credit points)
NURS90009 Evidence for Practice (12.5 credit points)
NURS90023 Applied Concepts in Paediatrics (12.5 credit points)
NURS90024 Complexity in Paediatrics (12.5 credit points)

and one of either

NURS90070 Implementing Evidence in Practice (25 credit points)
or
NURS90103 Research in Practice (25 credit points).

The remainder of the degree is made up of elective subjects or minor thesis plus elective subjects

Core

Option

Elective

Minor Thesis

Admission requirements for all specialty and advanced practice courses:

• a Bachelor of Nursing (or equivalent training)
• at least one year of clinical experience as a registered Division 1, 3 or 4 nurse within the five years prior to applying for the course
• current unrestricted registration with the Nursing and Midwifery Board of Australia (formerly the Nurses Board of Victoria) in Division 1, 3 or 4 of the Register (courses with clinical components only)
• current employment and clinical support in your specialty area (courses with clinical components only)
• meet the University of Melbourne's English language requirements.

If students are applying for a clinical specialisation in the Master of Advanced Nursing Practice, they are required to provide evidence of current clinical employment and support by submitting a completed Confirmation of Clinical Employment and Support Form with their application.

For the purposes of considering request for Reasonable Adjustments under the Disability Standards for Education (Cwth 2005), and Student Support and Engagement Policy, academic requirements for this subject are articulated in the Subject Overview, Learning Outcomes, Assessment and Generic Skills sections of this entry.

It is University policy to take all reasonable steps to minimise the impact of disability upon academic study, and reasonable adjustments will be made to enhance a student's participation in the University's programs. Students who feel their disability may impact on meeting the requirements of this subject are encouraged to discuss this matter with a Faculty Student Adviser and the Disability Liaison Unit: http://www.services.unimelb.edu.au/disability/

The Melbourne Experience enables our graduates to become:

• Academically excellent:
• have a strong sense of intellectual integrity and the ethics of scholarship
• have in-depth knowledge of their specialist discipline(s)
• reach a high level of achievement in writing, generic research activities, problem-solving and communication
• be critical and creative thinkers, with an aptitude for continued self-directed learning
• be adept at learning in a range of ways, including through information and communication technologies
• Knowledgeable across disciplines:
• examine critically, synthesise and evaluate knowledge across a broad range of disciplines
• expand their analytical and cognitive skills through learning experiences in diverse subjects
• have the capacity to participate fully in collaborative learning and to confront unfamiliar problems
• have a set of flexible and transferable skills for different types of employment
• Leaders in communities:
• initiate and implement constructive change in their communities, including professions and workplaces
• have excellent interpersonal and decision-making skills, including an awareness of personal strengths and limitations
• mentor future generations of learners
• engage in meaningful public discourse, with a profound awareness of community needs
• Attuned to cultural diversity:
• value different cultures
• be well-informed citizens able to contribute to their communities wherever they choose to live and work
• have an understanding of the social and cultural diversity in our community
• respect indigenous knowledge, cultures and values
• Active global citizens:
• accept social and civic responsibilities
• be advocates for improving the sustainability of the environment
• have a broad global understanding, with a high regard for human rights, equity and ethics

At the completion of the Master of Advanced Nursing Practice (Neonatal Intensive Care) graduates are expected to have gained knowledge and skills in each of the following domains:

Critical Thinking and problem-solving skills

• generate curiosity as to the cause and effect of health and illness, and an ability to use clinical evidence and assessment to develop and implement nursing interventions;
• analyse the determinants of health for an individual and a population, and evaluate the impact of such determinants for particular individuals;
• identify the inter-relationship between biological, social and psychological factors in an individual's experience of health and illness;

Attitudes towards knowledge

• identify ethical principles including autonomy, confidentiality and justice as they apply to the nurse-patient interaction, the information obtained, and apply these in their own interactions with patients;
• value diversity of opinion within health care;
• capacity for information seeking, evaluation and retrieval;
• analyse the information required to solve health-related problems;
• evaluate the depth and breadth of knowledge within own nursing practice and recognise knowledge of other members of health care team to inform and support nursing activities;
• identify appropriate use of the information gathered, with respect for the privacy of the individual;
• demonstrate physical examination and clinical nursing skills and identify appropriate use of these skills to gather information and implement nursing care.

Intercultural sensitivity

• value diversity in health beliefs, lifestyles, ethnic and cultural background;
• demonstrate a non-judgmental approach to their interactions within the health care system, with other health professionals and patients;
• demonstrate the capacity to adjust nursing interventions to ensure safe and effective care for people of diverse backgrounds;

Communication skills

• identify personal communication skills that can be developed to enhance the quality of nurse-patient and inter-professional relationships;
• generate methods to provide information to patients in language which they can understand;
• develop a patient-centred approach to communication, with respect for human dignity and human rights;
• develop communication skills sufficient to describe a patient's presentation, symptom profile and physical signs to a colleague;
• demonstrate skills in health teaching and patient education that enhance patient and family self-management;

Planning and time management

• develop skills in conducting a health assessment and implementing nursing interventions under particular time constraints;
• Teamwork skills;
• evaluate the efficiency and effectiveness of health care teams, analyse knowledge skills and attitudes that enhance such teams;
• analyse their own contribution to a team.