Rural Critical Care Nursing 1

This subject has the following teaching availabilities in 2016:

170 hours

To enrol in this subject, you must be admitted in one of the Graduate Certificate in Nursing Practice (Rural Critical Care). This subject is not available for students admitted in any other courses. Please contact the School of Melbourne Custom Programs for more information.

For the purposes of considering requests for Reasonable Adjustments under the Disability Standards for Education (Commonwealth 2005), and Students Experiencing Academic Disadvantage Policy, academic requirements for this subject are articulated in the Subject Overview, Objectives, 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 course are encouraged to discuss this matter with the Student Equity and Disability Support Team: http://www.services.unimelb.edu.au/disability/

This subject is designed to provide the foundation for entry into specialty nursing in a rural critical care context. Students will extend their understanding of general to systemic pathology of organ systems for patients across the lifespan who are acutely or critically ill. This knowledge will be applied to the assessment and management of common conditions encountered in rural critical care settings. Students will learn the scientific principles and research evidence underpinning practice. The underpinning
biological basis and evidence based principles behind treatment and symptom management (including pharmacology) of diseases/illnesses commonly treated in the rural critical care context will be described.

On successful completion of this subject students will demonstrate theoretical knowledge in rural critical care by:
1. Integration of the theoretical content covered within the subject to develop new knowledge that supports safe practice as a beginning specialty rural critical care nurse in the rural critical care context;
2. Applying knowledge learnt in the subject to recognise and plan a response to patients experiencing alterations to health and wellness that occur in the context of rural critical care environments;
3. The ability to understand and evaluate specialised interventions as described in the subject content to provide a foundation for participating in the delivery of care at the beginning level of rural critical care practice;
4. The capacity to use skills in problem-solving, critical thinking, rational inquiry and self-directed learning to apply knowledge learnt in the subject to beginning level rural critical care practice;
5. An understanding of the changing knowledge base in the rural critical care context.

Written assignment (1000 words) Week 5 - 20%
Written assignment (2000 words) Week 10 - 30%
4 Closed Book tests (Weeks 4, 7, 9, 12) - 50%

This subject is not available as a breadth subject.

On completion of the subject students should have developed the following generic skills of the Melbourne graduate and graduate coursework student:
1. a capacity to articulate their knowledge and understanding in written modes of communication;
2. a capacity to manage competing demands on time, including self-directed project work.