The ability to undertake a focused and comprehensive patient assessment is fundamental to nursing practice. Undertaking patient assessment allows nurses to gather the requisite information to make sound clinical judgements thus this unit of study places an emphasis on the systematic collection of reliable and valid assessment data. This unit of study examines the knowledge, capabilities and clinical skills required to undertake comprehensive health assessment inclusive of physical and mental health status in complex clinical situations. Underpinning any patient assessment is a detailed understanding of normal physiological processes and the ways in which illness and injury alters these processes. In this unit of study students will have the opportunity to demonstrate their ability to synthesise concepts of altered physiology and patient assessment with the implementation and evaluation of appropriate management strategies.

This unit aims to consolidate and extend students' understanding of a range of mental health issues and their associated management and treatment approaches. The evidence-base for mental health nursing practice will be applied to mental health issues and problems including anxiety, mood, psychotic and personality problems. The issues and needs of specific populations, including children and young people experiencing mental health problems, and the co-morbidity of mental health with substance misuse and physical health, are also explored. Therapeutic and psychopharmacological approaches to mental health issues will be critically explored with regard to their relevance and efficacy, and ethico-legal aspects of mental health nursing care and clinical decision-making addressed.

The focus of this unit of study is to extend students' ability to engage in advanced mental health nursing practice in several ways. Firstly, this includes viewing the lived experience of mental illness from the perspective of the consumer and family/carers. Secondly, through examining the theoretical approaches and philosophical underpinnings of models of mental health care; emphasizing mental health promotion and prevention, early intervention, building strengths, enhancing resilience, working collaboratively, and rehabilitation and recovery. Specific international, national, and state policies and plans will be appraised to facilitate understanding of the broader impact that socio-political issues have on the provision and delivery of mental health care.

The foundation of effective mental health nursing care is the development of a therapeutic relationship with consumers and their family/carers. This unit focuses on the theoretical basis and philosophical frameworks for mental health nursing practice, and aims to develop communication and interpersonal skills required for building and maintaining an effective nurse/client relationship. Students will explore the personal and professional qualities of effective mental health nurses, and through practical learning experiences will extend their skills in building and sustaining effective nurse/client relationships. Students will also be required to submit a clinical skills portfolio as part of their assessment.

This unit of study will examine and critique established and emerging ways of researching nursing and health care through discussion of the philosophical and theoretical origins of the research traditions and knowledge generation in nursing research. Conceptualisation of research questions, selection of research designs, governance of research and research utilisation in the clinical setting will be explored. Opportunities will be provided to engage in the research process with reference to clinically related situations.

This unit of study pursues a critical analysis of the theoretical constructs and practical applications underpinning good clinical governance in health care organisations. Many studies identify the factors influencing a culture of safety and quality in the clinical environment and most concur with six main domains: the safety climate, teamwork, perceptions of management, working conditions, job satisfaction and stress recognition. These factors and how to influence them positively will be examined in this unit of study utilising a better practice (quality/continuity of care/health outcomes/governance) framework.

The need for leadership across all clinical disciplines has been shown to be integral to safe practice and strong staff morale. Providing a clear and unambiguous framework for practice and fostering skills in moral stewardship are known to enable personal growth and strong clinical care. This unit explores a range of issues for clinicians including their legal and ethical obligations, concepts of accountability and collegiality, and strategies to increase resilience and emotional intelligence. It aims to equip nurses to take initiative, create supportive and sustaining clinical environments, have the courage of their convictions, and to celebrate curiosity.

This unit of study is designed to extend students' ability to engage in advanced mental health nursing practice. The unit focuses on enhancing specialist knowledge and skills in a range of psychosocial approaches used in mental health care. Theoretical approaches and philosophical underpinnings of therapeutic strategies will be examined, and the nature of effective and ineffective interpersonal relationships critically explored. Through application of evidence-based knowledge, students will explore individual, family, and group therapeutic skills-based strategies, including psycho-education, relaxation techniques, group work, and problem-solving skills, and key psychosocial interventions, for example Solution Focused Therapy and Dialectical Behaviour Therapy. Students will be provided with structured learning experiences to extend their practice in these areas.

This unit of study will assist students to extend their development of a critically informed personal/professional position on the many issues impacting clinical nursing practice with which, as potential senior clinicians, they will continue to engage and to further develop the skills required to argue that position effectively within current clinical contexts and climates. The unit will provide a framework within which students will explore selected current clinical and professionally related situations from several perspectives. These may include those of tertiary and professional education, local, state and federal government policy development and implementation, management, and industry, workforce and regulatory perspectives. Students will also negotiate and participate in a period of partnered clinical observation with senior nurse clinicians whose work relates to the student's clinical focus, to develop a personal portfolio which will incorporate the work undertaken during the award and extend to include guided reflection on their observation and understanding of advanced practice roles in nursing.

This unit of study will provide an opportunity for students with an interest in research to conduct an in-depth exploration of a topic of professional relevance. The independent work required to develop the thesis will be undertaken under the guidance of a supervisor. The thesis will be assessed in a manner suitable for determining equivalence to work undertaken during an Honours program. Completion of high level work will therefore assist students wishing to apply for Australian Postgraduate Awards to support PhD candidature when the Capstone is completed as part of the 60 credit point master's degree. It is anticipated that a student's thesis topic will have been identified during the pre-requisite units of study and students are advised to indicate their interest in undertaking the research capstone to the Director of Postgraduate Studies as they complete the first pre-requisite unit of study NURS5069 Research in Nursing & Health Care so that specific academic advice can be provided.

The use of simulation (the process of mimicking reality in an environment that can be manipulated to reflect real clinical situations) is an educational tool that is becoming increasingly prevalent in health care practice and education. Simulation activities have strong relevance to a broad range of learner levels across health professions providing a safe and controlled learning environment. Simulation can be used in task or situational training areas in order to train clinicians to anticipate certain situations and develop capability to react appropriately. Additionally, simulation has the potential to create a dynamic interprofessional learning environment, facilitating the process of learning through assessment, decision making, evaluation and error prevention or correction within the healthcare team.
This unit of study will provide learners with the opportunity to critically examine the current literature related to the instructional use of simulation in health education and practice. They will become familiar with evolving theoretical frameworks associated with the use of simulation in education and explore concepts related to technical and non-technical skill development such as: participant consent and confidentiality, levels and types of fidelity, models of instruction/tuition, immersive and non-immersive scenarios, virtual reality simulation, debriefing, participant assessment and translation to practice. Students will be encouraged to further expand their clinical and theoretical repertoire by developing a simulated learning experience, based on best evidence, and linked to education outcomes.