Learning outcomes

To successfully complete this unit you will be able to demonstrate you have achieved the learning outcomes (LO) detailed in the below table.

Each outcome is informed by a number of graduate capabilities (GC) to ensure your work in this, and every unit, is part of a larger goal of graduating from ACU with the attributes of insight, empathy, imagination and impact.

Explore the graduate capabilities.

Content

Topics will include:

Older people, families, communities and healthy ageing

• Demographic profile of the Australian older population
• Impact of multiculturalism on health care needs of older Australians, including Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander(A&TSI) and Culturally and Linguistically Diverse (CALD) older people.
• Impact of demographics on older adults, their family, community and health care
• General health status of older people;
• Common health issues for older Australian people, including Australian and Torres Strait Islander (A&TSI) and Culturally and Linguistically Diverse (CALD) older people;
• Australian National Health Priorities and their implications for nursing care for older people
• Healthy ageing
• Definition
• Strategies 
• Theoretical approaches to ageing
• Biological and physiological ageing
• Biological theories (e.g., genetic, wear-and-tear, immunity, cross-linkage, free radicals)
• Normal age-related physiological changes and their consequences
• Ageing changes in specific organ systems and their consequences (e.g. cardiovascular, respiratory, ENT, endocrine, gastrointestinal, genital/sexual, renal, musculoskeletal, dermatological, and neurological)
• Dementia
• Psychological aspects of ageing
• Psychological theories (e.g. theory of personhood, life course and personality development, gerotranscendence)
• Risk factors that impact on psychosocial well-being
• Social and spiritual aspects of ageing
• Sociological theories and the experience of ageing (e.g., health inequalities, disengagement, activity, person-environment fit)
• Ageism, stereotypes and myths of ageing
• Social determinants, such as gender and social class
• Spiritual theories (e.g., innovation, spiritual needs, multi-paradigm model)
• Spiritual growth and identity
• Spiritual well-being and activities

Person-centred nursing care for older people

• Holistic nursing assessment of the older adult (informed by the models of nursing)
• Use of assessment tools/instruments
• Prioritising care
• Choice and dignity for older person
• Overview of continuum of care services for older adults
• Community care services including a range of government funded services
• Models of care coordination (i.e. chronic care models, and case management services)
• Respite services
• Acute and subacute care services
• Residential aged care facilities
• Working within an interprofessional team
• Nurses’ roles
• Evidence-based care
• Palliative approach in aged care
• Health practitioners’ attitudes toward care of the older person 
• Factors which can influence activities of living for older people and families
• Mobility/balance issues
• Cognitive impairment
• Continence issues
• Independent self-care issues
• Nutrition/hydration issues
• Sensory deficits
• Sexuality in older age
• Social isolation

Quality use of medicines

• Pharmacological issues
• National Medicines Policy - Quality Use of Medicines
• Polypharmacy
• Evidence-based nursing strategies to promote medication safety

Nursing strategies to promote health and quality of life for older adults and their families, within a legal and ethical framework

• Quality of life
• Loss and grief
• Care-giver burden
• Promoting carer wellness
• Needs of family and carers
• Legal and ethical issues across a continuum of care settings
• Autonomy and rights
• Advance care planning
• Advance care directives
• Facilitating decisions about care
• Transition to residential care
• Elder abuse and neglect

Learning and teaching strategy and rationale

Learning and teaching methods in this unit include lectures, tutorials, online activities and self-directed study. Consistent with adult learning principles, the teaching and learning strategies used within these modes of delivery will provide students with foundational knowledge and skills relevant to professional nursing practice. This strategy will also support students in meeting the aim, learning outcomes and graduate attributes of the unit and the broader course learning outcomes. Learning and teaching strategies will reflect respect for the individual as an independent learner. Students will be expected to take responsibility for their learning and to participate actively with peers.

Students at university need to operate effectively as self-sufficient learners who drive their own learning and access the learning supports they require. To guide students in their learning, feedback is required to identify what is being done well, what requires additional work and to identify progress toward required learning outcomes. Located in the second year of the programme, this theory unit includes moderate face-to-face teaching hours and an increasing online component of learning to build life-long learning skills. Online recorded Lectures are utilised to convey content and its central principles while tutorials provide an opportunity to consolidate students’ understanding of content through collaboration and discussion. Tutorials deliver interactive and student driven learning sessions which require an increasing reliance on students to extend their community of learners and increase self-reliance. Online materials provide students with the opportunity to undertake directed, self-motivated study and continue to transition to independent study and life-long learning.

An optional formative online quiz for this unit will be made available to students in week 4 of semester. This quiz will provide students with feedback on their progress and guide their unit learning. The formative quiz does not contribute to the student’s grade and follows the same format as the online quizzes used in first year. First year quizzes were summative and did contribute to the unit grade; second year quizzes are predominantly formative and will not contribute to the final unit grade – they are designed to assist students in reinforcing good study patterns which will assist them in their transition toward independent study and life-long learning.

This unit may be offered on or off campus in intensive mode for sponsored / special cohorts, with the learning and teaching strategies being equitable with on campus mode offerings as endorsed by the Discipline Curriculum Implementation Committee. 

Nursing and Midwifery Board of Australia Registered Nurse Standards for Practice

In connection to the learning outcomes, these are the national Registered nurse standards for practice for all RNs. Together with NMBA standards, codes and guidelines, these Registered nurse standards for practice should be evident in current practice, and inform the development of the scopes of practice and aspirations of RNs.

• NMBA(RN)1

  Relating toThinks critically and analyses nursing practice

  Relevant Learning OutcomeLO1, LO2, LO4, LO5

• NMBA(RN)1.1

  Relating toAccesses, analyses, and uses the best available evidence, that includes research findings, for safe, quality practice

  Relevant Learning OutcomeLO1, LO2, LO4, LO5

• NMBA(RN)1.2

  Relating toDevelops practice through reflection on experiences, knowledge, actions, feelings and beliefs to identify how these shape practice

  Relevant Learning OutcomeLO1, LO2, LO4, LO5

• NMBA(RN)1.3

  Relating toRespects all cultures and experiences, which includes responding to the role of family and community that underpin the health of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples and people of other cultures

  Relevant Learning OutcomeLO1, LO2, LO4, LO5

• NMBA(RN)1.4

  Relating toComplies with legislation, regulations, policies, guidelines and other standards or requirements relevant to the context of practice when making decisions

  Relevant Learning OutcomeLO1, LO2, LO4, LO5

• NMBA(RN)1.5

  Relating toUses ethical frameworks when making decisions

  Relevant Learning OutcomeLO1, LO2, LO4, LO5

• NMBA(RN)1.6

  Relating toMaintains accurate, comprehensive and timely documentation of assessments, planning, decision-making, actions and evaluations, and

  Relevant Learning OutcomeLO1, LO2, LO4, LO5

• NMBA(RN)1.7

  Relating toContributes to quality improvement and relevant research.

  Relevant Learning OutcomeLO1, LO2, LO4, LO5

• NMBA(RN)2

  Relating toEngages in therapeutic and professional relationships

  Relevant Learning OutcomeLO4, LO5

• NMBA(RN)2.1

  Relating toEstablishes, sustains and concludes relationships in a way that differentiates the boundaries between professional and personal relationships

  Relevant Learning OutcomeLO4, LO5

• NMBA(RN)2.2

  Relating toCommunicates effectively, and is respectful of a person’s dignity, culture, values, beliefs and rights

  Relevant Learning OutcomeLO4, LO5

• NMBA(RN)2.3

  Relating toRecognises that people are the experts in the experience of their life

  Relevant Learning OutcomeLO4, LO5

• NMBA(RN)2.4

  Relating toProvides support and directs people to resources to optimise health-related decisions

  Relevant Learning OutcomeLO4, LO5

• NMBA(RN)2.5

  Relating toAdvocates on behalf of people in a manner that respects the person’s autonomy and legal capacity

  Relevant Learning OutcomeLO4, LO5

• NMBA(RN)2.6

  Relating toUses delegation, supervision, coordination, consultation and referrals in professional relationships to achieve improved health outcomes

  Relevant Learning OutcomeLO4, LO5

• NMBA(RN)2.7

  Relating toActively fosters a culture of safety and learning that includes engaging with health professionals and others, to share knowledge and practice that supports person-centred care

  Relevant Learning OutcomeLO4, LO5

• NMBA(RN)2.8

  Relating toParticipates in and/or leads collaborative practice, and

  Relevant Learning OutcomeLO4, LO5

• NMBA(RN)3

  Relating toMaintains the capability for practice

  Relevant Learning OutcomeLO1, LO2, LO3, LO4, LO5, LO6

• NMBA(RN)3.1

  Relating toConsiders and responds in a timely manner to the health and wellbeing of self and others in relation to the capability for practice

  Relevant Learning OutcomeLO1, LO2, LO3, LO4, LO5, LO6

• NMBA(RN)3.2

  Relating toProvides the information and education required to enhance people’s control over health

  Relevant Learning OutcomeLO1, LO2, LO3, LO4, LO5, LO6

• NMBA(RN)3.3

  Relating toUses a lifelong learning approach for continuing professional development of self and others

  Relevant Learning OutcomeLO1, LO2, LO3, LO4, LO5, LO6

• NMBA(RN)3.4

  Relating toAccepts accountability for decisions, actions, behaviours and responsibilities inherent in their role, and for the actions of others to whom they have delegated responsibilities

  Relevant Learning OutcomeLO1, LO2, LO3, LO4, LO5, LO6

• NMBA(RN)3.7

  Relating toIdentifies and promotes the integral role of nursing practice and the profession in influencing better health outcomes for people.

  Relevant Learning OutcomeLO1, LO2, LO3, LO4, LO5, LO6

• NMBA(RN)4

  Relating toComprehensively conducts assessments

  Relevant Learning OutcomeLO1, LO2, LO3, LO5

• NMBA(RN)4.1

  Relating toConducts assessments that are holistic as well as culturally appropriate

  Relevant Learning OutcomeLO1, LO2, LO3, LO5

• NMBA(RN)4.2

  Relating toUses a range of assessment techniques to systematically collect relevant and accurate information and data to inform practice

  Relevant Learning OutcomeLO1, LO2, LO3, LO5

• NMBA(RN)4.3

  Relating toWorks in partnership to determine factors that affect, or potentially affect, the health and wellbeing of people and populations to determine priorities for action and/ or for referral, and

  Relevant Learning OutcomeLO1, LO2, LO3, LO5

• NMBA(RN)4.4

  Relating toAssesses the resources available to inform planning.

  Relevant Learning OutcomeLO1, LO2, LO3, LO5

• NMBA(RN)5

  Relating toDevelops a plan for nursing practice

  Relevant Learning OutcomeLO1, LO2, LO3, LO4, LO5

• NMBA(RN)5.1

  Relating toUses assessment data and best available evidence to develop a plan

  Relevant Learning OutcomeLO1, LO2, LO3, LO4, LO5

• NMBA(RN)5.2

  Relating toCollaboratively constructs nursing practice plans until contingencies, options priorities, goals, actions, outcomes and timeframes are agreed with the relevant persons

  Relevant Learning OutcomeLO1, LO2, LO3, LO4, LO5

• NMBA(RN)5.3

  Relating toDocuments, evaluates and modifies plans accordingly to facilitate the agreed outcomes

  Relevant Learning OutcomeLO1, LO2, LO3, LO4, LO5

• NMBA(RN)5.4

  Relating toPlans and negotiates how practice will be evaluated and the time frame of engagement, and

  Relevant Learning OutcomeLO1, LO2, LO3, LO4, LO5

• NMBA(RN)6

  Relating toProvides safe, appropriate and responsive quality nursing practice

  Relevant Learning OutcomeLO1, LO2, LO3, LO4, LO5, LO6

• NMBA(RN)6.1

  Relating toProvides comprehensive safe, quality practice to achieve agreed goals and outcomes that are responsive to the nursing needs of people

  Relevant Learning OutcomeLO1, LO2, LO3, LO4, LO5, LO6

• NMBA(RN)6.2

  Relating toPractises within their scope of practice

  Relevant Learning OutcomeLO1, LO2, LO3, LO4, LO5, LO6

• NMBA(RN)6.3

  Relating toAppropriately delegates aspects of practice to enrolled nurses and others, according to enrolled nurse’s scope of practice or others’ clinical or non-clinical roles

  Relevant Learning OutcomeLO1, LO2, LO3, LO4, LO5, LO6

• NMBA(RN)6.4

  Relating toProvides effective timely direction and supervision to ensure that delegated practice is safe and correct

  Relevant Learning OutcomeLO1, LO2, LO3, LO4, LO5, LO6

• NMBA(RN)6.5

  Relating toPractises in accordance with relevant policies, guidelines, standards, regulations and legislation, and

  Relevant Learning OutcomeLO1, LO2, LO3, LO4, LO5, LO6

• NMBA(RN)6.6

  Relating toUses the appropriate processes to identify and report potential and actual risk related system issues and where practice may be below the expected standards.

  Relevant Learning OutcomeLO1, LO2, LO3, LO4, LO5, LO6

• NMBA(RN)7

  Relating toEvaluates outcomes to inform nursing practice

  Relevant Learning OutcomeLO1, LO4, LO5

• NMBA(RN)7.1

  Relating toEvaluates and monitors progress towards the expected goals and outcomes

  Relevant Learning OutcomeLO1, LO4, LO5

• NMBA(RN)7.2

  Relating toRevises the plan based on the evaluation, and

  Relevant Learning OutcomeLO1, LO4, LO5