Cancer&Palliative Care Nursing Practice

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 (Cancer and Palliative 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/

In this subject students will apply theoretical principles in Applied Pathophysiology and Cancer and Palliative Care Nursing 1 and 2 subjects to support comprehensive patient assessment, care planning and interventions in cancer and palliative care nursing practice. Students will incorporate knowledge of the cancer including factors influencing patient experience to inform their evidence based practice and clinical decision making.

Students will engage in field practice and demonstrate competency in the specialty through the :
1. Integration of core principles covered in the subject and its pre-requisite, Applied Pathophysiology, and Cancer and Palliative Care Nursing 1 to develop practice knowledge that supports comprehensive patient assessment
2. Application of knowledge and skills to recognise, prioritise and respond to patients experiencing changes to health status;
3. Evaluation of evidence based or best-practice nursing interventions in the delivery of safe, competent nursing care;
4. Application of skills in problem-solving, critical thinking, collaborative, reflective practice and selfdirected learning to the delivery of specialist nursing care;

• 6 x Clinical Skills Assessments (Distributed evenly across the year) - Hurdle
• A minimum of 2 clinical performance appraisals (one per semester) - Hurdle
• 1000 word reflective essay due Week 30 - 20%
• Patient Assessment and Care Plan x 2 (2000 words per plan) (one per semester) - 80%

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:
• Ability to work collaboratively as part of a multidisciplinary health care team
• An understanding of the responsibilities of professional nursing practice
• Skills in critically appraising clinical practice.