University of Sydney Handbooks - 2013 Archive

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Bachelor of Health Sciences/Master of Nursing

Units of study

Bachelor of Health Sciences/Master of Nursing

BIOL1003 Human Biology

Credit points: 6 Session: Semester 1,Summer Main Classes: 2x1 hr lectures/week (3 lectures in some weeks), 1x3 hr practical class/fortnight, 1x2hr workshop/fortnight, 6-9 hrs HBOnline work/fortnight covering online practical activities, prework and homework. Prohibitions: BIOL1903, BIOL1993. Assessment: 1x2 hr exam, assignments and tests (100%) Campus: Camperdown/Darlington Mode of delivery: Normal (lecture/lab/tutorial) Day Faculty: Science
Note: Students should attempt no more than two of the three Junior BIOL units of study; thus this unit can be taken with BIOL1002/1902 OR BIOL1001/1911/1991.
This Unit of Study has four main components: lectures, practicals, workshops and HBOnline activities. The unit of study provides an introduction to human anatomy and physiology. It includes an overview of cell and tissue structures, the skeletal system, nutrition, digestion and excretion. Human Biology will also look at how our bodies respond to environmental stimuli with respect to the endocrine, nervous and immune systems. After discussion of reproduction and development, it concludes with an overview of modern studies in human genetics.
HSBH1006 Foundations of Health Science

Credit points: 6 Session: Semester 1 Classes: 2x1-hr lecture/week, 1-hr tutorial/week and eLearning online learning support. Assessment: Tutorial attendance (10%), presentation (15%), literature review (25%), 2hr final exam (50%) Campus: Camperdown/Darlington Mode of delivery: Normal (lecture/lab/tutorial) Day Faculty: Health Sciences
This is an introductory unit for students entering the health sciences. This unit aims to expose students to a range of definitions of health, and key concepts in health and health systems. Students will develop a range of core skills and competencies needed in the study and practice of health sciences and a basis for work practice in the health system or for postgraduate study. Topics include: what is health; how is health status classified; biomedical, psychological and sociological aspects of health and health care; what 'should' a health care system do; how do we measure health status in an individual, a community and a nation? An integrated sciences model of health care is explored which covers different domains of health, including biological, behavioural, socio-cultural and environmental.
HSBH1007 Health Science and Research

Credit points: 6 Session: Semester 1,Semester 2 Classes: 2x1-hr lectures/week, 1x1-hr tutorial/week Assessment: Individual written report (20%), group written report (20%), 90 min end of semester exam (60%) Campus: Cumberland Mode of delivery: Normal (lecture/lab/tutorial) Day Faculty: Health Sciences
This unit introduces students to key research paradigms in health, and to the major approaches to designing and evaluating basic and applied research in health. Students are exposed to the types of research which inform our understanding of normal and abnormal functions of the human body and of treatment and preventative health care. Students will be engaged in the generation of new knowledge through evidence-based practice and evidence-based innovation. Current issues in health science research will be identified, with emphasis on the role of technology and e-health.
HSBH1008 Health Determinants and Interventions

Credit points: 6 Session: Semester 2 Classes: 2-hr lecture/week, 1-hr tutorial /week Assessment: Multiple choice test (30%), in class discussion contribution (30%), essay (40%). Campus: Camperdown/Darlington Mode of delivery: Normal (lecture/lab/tutorial) Day Faculty: Health Sciences
This unit has two components. Health Determinants will introduce students to the key factors determining health status in the Australian context. It will explore biomedical and genetic factors, acquired health behaviours, and social, cultural and environmental determinants of health status. Health and wellbeing will be explored through life expectancy, functioning, disability, illness, disease and injury. Initiatives to promote preventable hospitalisation and increased health and wellbeing across population groups will be examined. Health Interventions outlines the distinction between primary and secondary prevention and examines the evidence base for a range of intervention strategies including public health, preventative and restorative health care. Traditional interventions to promote outcomes through prevention, health promotion, treatment, care, rehabilitation and counselling will be explored alongside complementary and alternative medical (CAM). Healthy ageing and age-related illness will be highlighted.
HSBH1009 Health Care Resources and Systems

Credit points: 6 Session: Semester 2 Classes: 2x1-hr lectures/week, 1-hr tutorial/week and eLearning online learning support. Assessment: Assignment (30%), team project (30%), final exam (40%) Campus: Camperdown/Darlington Mode of delivery: Normal (lecture/lab/tutorial) Day Faculty: Health Sciences
This unit explores the organisation and structure of health care delivery systems. National and international frameworks regarding the provision of services to minority and culturally diverse groups, health care policy frameworks, and health care service structure and models of health care funding will be examined. Specifically, students will view the globalisation of health through human, material, financial, research, evaluation, monitoring, surveillance and technology. Issues of communication, advocacy and service delivery in teams will be examined. Safety and quality in health care systems will be highlighted.
HSBH3001 Health and Indigenous Populations

Credit points: 6 Session: Semester 1,Semester 2 Classes: 1x2-hr lecture/week, 1x1-hr tutorial/week. Prerequisites: (HSBH1006, HSBH1007, HSBH1008 and HSBH1009) or (NURS1003) Assessment: On line quizzes (4x10%), report 1 500wd (30%), on line discussion 1500wd (30%). Campus: Camperdown/Darlington Mode of delivery: Normal (lecture/lab/tutorial) Day Faculty: Health Sciences
This unit of study aims to discuss the complexities of Aboriginal and Torres Straight Islander health, from the various health policies that have influenced the health and well-being of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people to the current trends that continue to impact on their health. It will explore how these issues, pertaining to Australia`s Indigenous people`s health, have become a national agenda as Australia attempts to find the appropriate approach and the right model of care to improve all avenues of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people`s health today.
HSBH3002 Health Information Science

Credit points: 6 Session: Semester 1 Classes: 2-hr lecture/week, 1-hr tutorial/fortnight Prerequisites: HSBH1006, HSBH1007, HSBH1008, HSBH1009 Assessment: Participation (10%), online quiz's (10%), group assignment (30%), final exam (50%) Campus: Camperdown/Darlington Mode of delivery: Normal (lecture/lab/tutorial) Day Faculty: Health Sciences
This unit will explore basic concepts in the e-Health field including data, information and knowledge in relation to the collection, use and storage of health information. The role of e-Health and health information systems from the perspective of how they can support health care practitioners will be covered. In addition, e-Health will be considered from the perspective of health consumers. Topics can include amongst others: web-based health information systems; legacy data in the Australian healthcare system; electronic health records and personal health records; structuring and searching health data and databases; point of care clinical systems. Consideration of informatics principles will be included.
HSBH3003 Health Service Strategy and Policy

Credit points: 6 Session: Semester 2 Classes: 2x1-hr lectures/week, 1-hr tutorial/week Prerequisites: HSBH1006, HSBH1007, HSBH1008, HSBH1009 Assessment: Participation (10%), 1200wd assignment (40%), final exam (50%) Campus: Camperdown/Darlington Mode of delivery: Normal (lecture/lab/tutorial) Day Faculty: Health Sciences
This unit of study offers students an insight into the larger picture of how a nation sets priorities for health services. The importance of evidence-based health policy development in planning health services will be highlighted. Strategies for increasing the cost-effectiveness of health services will be covered. Issues of communication and advocacy in health are portrayed. Students will gain skills in health service needs assessment, measuring cost-effectiveness, macroeconomic evaluation of health services and systems and health equity assessment. It is envisaged that students will develop a capacity to understand the concept of health policy and its relevance to the delivery of health care services and to take a problem-oriented approach to analysing and evaluating current policy provisions and strategies in the Australian context.
HSBH3004 Health, Ethics and the Law

Credit points: 6 Session: Semester 1 Classes: 2x1-hr lectures/week, 1-hr tutorial/week Prerequisites: HSBH1006, HSBH1007, HSBH1008, HSBH1009 Assessment: Participation (10%), mid-semester exam (20%), group project (50%) final exam (20%) Campus: Camperdown/Darlington Mode of delivery: Normal (lecture/lab/tutorial) Day Faculty: Health Sciences
This unit of study outlines the legislative role of governments and the role of legislation in health and health services. Fundamental ethical principles applied to ethical issues in health and health research are covered. Medico-legal aspects of health and health services as well as standards and medico-legal privacy principles will be explored. Students will develop an understanding of professionally acceptable behaviours appropriate to practice in the health professions.
HSBH3005 Evidence Based Health Care

Credit points: 6 Session: Semester 2 Classes: 2-hr lecture, 1-hr tutorial/week Prerequisites: HSBH1006, HSBH1007, HSBH1008, HSBH1009 Assessment: 1500wd essay (40%), 2500wd critical appraisal (60%) Campus: Camperdown/Darlington Mode of delivery: Normal (lecture/lab/tutorial) Day Faculty: Health Sciences
This unit will explore theoretical frameworks and practical applications of evidence based health care (EBHC) within the allied health professions and health service. EBHC is an approach to health care practice in which the practitioner is aware of the evidence (based on research) that bears on practice, the strength of that evidence in the context of decision making regarding an individual client. This unit will also introduce students to the social, philosophical and historical underpinnings of EBHC, emphasising the importance of developing a critical understanding of the production, application and translation of 'evidence' in a range of healthcare contexts
HSBH3006 Research Methods in Health

Credit points: 6 Session: Semester 1 Classes: 1x2-hr lecture/week, 1x1-hr tutorial/week Prerequisites: HSBH1006, HSBH1007, HSBH1008, HSBH1009 Prohibitions: BACH4043, BACH4055, BACH5253 Assessment: Class participation (10%), in class test (15%), report 1000wd (15%), end semester exam (60%). Campus: Camperdown/Darlington Mode of delivery: Normal (lecture/lab/tutorial) Day Faculty: Health Sciences
The aim of this unit is to provide a foundation for critical appraisal of techniques used in health research. The major quantitative and qualitative techniques appropriate for analysing research data in an evidence-based practice environment will be studied. The focus of this unit will be on research methodology that promotes the integration of health-relevant disciplinary perspectives.
HSBH3009 International Health Project

Credit points: 6 Session: Semester 2 Classes: 2-hour lecture/week Prerequisites: HSBH1006, HSBH1007, HSBH1008, HSBH1009 Assessment: Mid semester exam (50%), report 3000wd (50%) Campus: Camperdown/Darlington Mode of delivery: Normal (lecture/lab/tutorial) Day Faculty: Health Sciences
This unit examines health, illness and health care issues from international perspectives. The unit focuses on global burden of disease, global governance, structural adjustment program and the Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) and their implications at national and international levels. It integrates organisational dimensions, changing patterns of global economy, restructuring of health care and socio-cultural approaches to international health. The unit uses both theoretical and practical approaches. Students will complete an in-depth study of global health issues and discuss potential local solutions. They will work on a project based on secondary data, in particular international databases, and are expected to develop a series of alternate approaches in a problem-solving project related to health and health care policies. the project will be selected from the World Health Organization priority areas of health and global burden of disease.
HSBH3010 Health and Lifelong Disability

Credit points: 6 Session: Semester 2 Classes: 2-hr lecture/week, 1-hr tutorial/week. Prerequisites: HSBH1006, HSBH1007, HSBH1008, HSBH1009 Assessment: On line participation (15%), essay 2000wd (45%), case based final exam (40%). Campus: Camperdown/Darlington Mode of delivery: Normal (lecture/lab/tutorial) Day Faculty: Health Sciences
This unit of study will explore the roles and responsibilities of health professionals who work with children, adolescents and adults with lifelong physical and intellectual disabilities, and their families. Using an inter-professional case-based curriculum, students will examine the nature of lifelong disability; factors which affect the participation of persons with lifelong disability in everyday life activities including education, leisure, and employment; and strategies for increasing their participation in these activities. Students will be supported to critique research literature, to examine the roles and responsibilities of allied health professionals in the context of working with persons with lifelong disability, and to develop practical strategies for interacting and working collaboratively and successfully with children, adolescents, and adults with lifelong disabilities, their families and fellow professionals. It is expected that through a combination of face-to-face teaching and online learning activities, this unit will assist students in preparing to work with individuals with lifelong disabilities in a range of workplace settings.
HSBH3011 Rural Health

Credit points: 6 Session: Semester 1 Classes: Distance education mode, web-based learning: Week 1 lecture (2hrs) and Week 7 workshop (4hrs) on campus with mandatory attendance; 1-hr tutorial/week by teleconference. Prerequisites: HSBH1006, HSBH1007, HSBH1008, HSBH1009 Assessment: Participation (20%), group paper (15%), mid term exam (30%), case study (35%) Campus: Camperdown/Darlington Mode of delivery: Distance Education/Intensive on Campus Faculty: Health Sciences
This unit introduces students to issues in rural health care. Topics covered include the nature and varieties of rural lifestyles, impact of lifestyle on health status, population health perspectives, common health conditions in rural Australia, rural health promotion, injury prevention and education, settlement and health care for refugees, indigenous health services, community-based health service delivery in rural settings, rural health workforce, eHealth, eLearning and eResearch for rural health practice, and innovation in health service delivery, for example, cross-sector service coordination and interprofessional practice.
HSBH3012 FHS Abroad

Credit points: 6 Session: Semester 1,Semester 2 Classes: 1x4-hr briefing session,1x2-hr debriefing session, and online learning activities Prerequisites: Successful completion of all 1st year units in an undergraduate FHS degree Assessment: Pre placement briefing paper and online discussion (20%), reflective diary (30%), report (40%), oral presentation (10%). Campus: Cumberland Mode of delivery: Field Experience Faculty: Health Sciences
Note: Department permission required for enrolment
This unit provides students with the opportunity to gain international experience in a health services setting in a developing country. As part of the unit, students will participate in a 4-6 week placement with a community based organisation in South or South East Asia. They will participate in local development programs, living within the community that they are visiting, and report on their experiences working with the local community.
Participants in the FHS Abroad program develop skills in:
- assessing the welfare requirements of individuals, groups and communities
- assisting individuals, groups and communities in relation to health and rehabilitation
- assisting individuals, groups and communities to utilise their own resources to improve their wellbeing
- communicating with young children, parents and other professionals
- planning, organising and implementing programmes for the care of adults and children in their host community
- demonstrating project management skills including time management and reporting abilities;
- demonstrating cross-cultural sensitivity and the ability to adapt to new environments;
- developing an awareness of complex global health issues;
HSBH3014 Workplace Injury Prevention/Management

Credit points: 6 Session: Semester 1 Classes: 1x2-hr lecture/week and 7x2-hr tutorials Assessment: 1x2hr end of semester exam (50%), workplace assessment (group task) (30%), quizzes (20%) Campus: Cumberland Mode of delivery: Normal (lecture/lab/tutorial) Day Faculty: Health Sciences
Note: This is a senior unit of study. Bachelor of Health Sciences students must have completed 24 credit points of HSBH junior units for enrolment into this unit. All other students must have completed 48 credit points.
This unit provides a framework for exploring the role of health professionals in the field of workplace rehabilitation and occupational health and safety, with a focus on work injury prevention and early injury assessment and management. This unit will develop student's knowledge and skills in assessing the physical, cognitive and psychosocial demands of work and explore workplace modifications and functional restorative strategies to assist people with injuries and disability return to meaningful and productive employment. An evidence-based, approach will be used to explore the patterns, causation and management of workplace injury and illness, and associated legislation in NSW. Students will gain an understanding of the principles and practice of ergonomics, workplace assessments and functional evaluations and how these can be applied to the prevention and management of work injuries. To this effect, the role of the health professional as a consultant in the workplace will be discussed.
HSBH3015 Mental Health Rehabilitation

Credit points: 6 Session: Semester 1 Classes: Web-based supplemented by 4 non-compulsory on-campus tutorials. Assessment: 2x online quizzes (40%) ,1x2000wd essay (60%) Campus: Camperdown/Darlington Mode of delivery: On-line Faculty: Health Sciences
Note: This is a senior unit of study. Bachelor of Health Sciences students must have completed 24 credit points of HSBH junior units for enrolment into this unit. All other students must have completed 48 credit points.
Poor mental health poses a major challenge to our society, and health care professionals, among others, are charged with 'making a difference'. To do so, they need to be equipped with the most up-to-date knowledge of effective mental health approaches and interventions. This unit will overview major mental health conditions and significant social, philosophical, and historical influences on health care service delivery and reform to provide a context for contemporary rehabilitation practice. Students will be introduced to the goals, values and guiding principles of psychiatric rehabilitation and to practices that aim to address the culture of stigma and low expectations by society of people with mental health conditions. Rehabilitation interventions that have demonstrated efficacy in promoting recovery by reducing obstacles to participation for people with mental health conditions will be examined. Local and international research underpinning best practice in rehabilitation management and service delivery will be reviewed and consumer perspectives and experiences explored.
NURS5002 Social Contexts of Health

Credit points: 6 Session: Semester 1 Classes: Thirteen 2 hour lectures and five 2 hour tutorials Assessment: essay (40%), group work (10%) and exam (50%) Campus: Mallett Street Mode of delivery: Normal (lecture/lab/tutorial) Day Faculty: Nursing (Sydney Nursing School)
Ideas and beliefs about health, illness and care are intrinsically connected to particular social and historical contexts. This unit of study explores a range of such ideas and beliefs that are relevant within Australia today. A focus on social, cultural and philosophical theories of embodiment will help students to understand how proper relations to bodily products are a part of ordering of society and relevant for critical analyses of beliefs and ideas about health, illness, wellbeing and care. A major component of this unit is Indigenous Australian people's health and history, including their understandings of health and wellbeing. The unit also explores theories about health, illness and care from western and non-western perspectives. Drawing on such theories, a major component of the unit is a critical analysis of the relationships between social factors (for example ethnicity, gender, class, employment) and patterns of health and illness across the lifespan in contemporary Australia.
NURS5006 Illness Experience and Nursing Care

Credit points: 6 Session: Semester 2 Classes: thirteen 1.5 hour lectures, thirteen 1.5 hour tutorials and clinical placements Prerequisites: NURS5081 Assessment: essay (45%), nurse-patient interaction/relationship skills (10%), written examination (45%) and satisfactory off-campus clinical assessment Campus: Mallett Street Mode of delivery: Normal (lecture/lab/tutorial) Day Faculty: Nursing (Sydney Nursing School)
The ways in which individual people subjectively experience illness and care, particularly nursing care, is the focus of this unit of study. The unit firstly examines theories that inform understandings of what it means to be human, including theories of early childhood development. The unit also introduces students to qualitative research methodologies that are used to explore illness experiences. Many different illness experiences are then examined. Attention is drawn to such factors as emotions arising in illness, issues of self identity, embodiment, and social attitudes to illness and disability. With this knowledge about illness experiences in mind, the nurse-patient relationship is then critically examined. From within a communication-based framework, students focus on ideas about therapeutic listening and use of self as well as the concept of knowledge transfer as it is relevant to nurse-patient interactions. Students also engage with contemporary debates about the nature of nurse-patient interactions and relationships today and explore the ways in which these might vary in different health care settings, and with people from different cultural backgrounds, including Indigenous people.
NURS5081 Introduction to Nursing Practice

Credit points: 6 Session: Semester 1 Classes: Two 1 hour lectures per week, one 1 hour tutorial per week, two 2 hour laboratory per week, clinical placements Assessment: practice development portfolio (60%), exam (40%), clinical performance appraisal, and completion of OH&S mastery quiz Campus: Mallett Street Mode of delivery: Normal (lecture/lab/tutorial) Day Faculty: Nursing (Sydney Nursing School)
This unit of study provides an opportunity for students to develop an understanding of professional nursing; "what it is and what it is not" (Nightingale, 1859) and to observe and explore the roles and relationships among nurses, patients and other health professionals in a practice setting. This unit of study will introduce physical assessment, occupational health and safety and will equip nursing students to develop a "toolkit" of fundamental nursing practice strategies and "craft" skills. This will include a focus on working with patients across the lifespan and within different cultural groups. Students will be introduced to the cycle of clinical judgement and patterns of knowing that underpin nursing practice.
NURS5082 Developing Nursing Practice

Credit points: 6 Session: Semester 1 Classes: Thirteen 2 hours lectures, twelve 2 hour laboratory, six 2 hour tutorials and clinical placements Corequisites: NURS5081 Assessment: essay - case study (40%), written examination (50%), clinical performance appraisal (10%) and satisfactory off-campus clinical performance Campus: Mallett Street Mode of delivery: Normal (lecture/lab/tutorial) Day Faculty: Nursing (Sydney Nursing School)
This unit of study complements Introduction to Nursing Practice and further develops the understanding of the exercise of clinical judgement in practice and the role of nursing in assisting those experiencing hospitalisation. Such assistance includes but is not limited to: maintenance of appropriate fluid status, infection control, oral medications, effective levels of oxygenation and pain relief. This knowledge will be extended to incorporate the experience of caring for patients when the body fails to function as expected, particularly where surgery is required. This unit of study will further develop skills in physical assessment, communication, and documentation.
NURS5083 Human Bioscience in Health

Credit points: 6 Session: Semester 1 Classes: Two 1 hour lectures per week (3 lectures in weeks 1 and 11). One 3 hour practical class and 6-9 hours HBOnline work every two weeks covering online practical activities, prework and homework. Prohibitions: BIOL1003, BIOL1903, NURS6001 Assessment: on-line test (15%), bioscience workbook (35%) and written examination (50%) Campus: Mallett Street Mode of delivery: Normal (lecture/lab/tutorial) Day Faculty: Nursing (Sydney Nursing School)
This unit of study will examine various biological processes to assist students in developing their understanding of human cellular structure and function and the contribution this makes to body functions in health. The major body systems and following physiological concepts will be addressed within the context of neuro-hormonal regulation, and the body's maintenance of a general state of homeostasis: Oxygenation, metabolism, elimination, movement, pH & fluid-electrolyte balance, immunity & reproduction.
NURS5084 Nursing the Acutely Ill Person

Credit points: 6 Session: Semester 2 Classes: thirteen 2 hour lectures, thirteen 2 hour labs, six 2 hour tutorials, and clinical placements Prerequisites: NURS5081 and NURS5082 Assessment: poster presentation (15%), essay (25%), satisfactory medication assessment, written examination (50%), clinical performance appraisal (10%) and satisfactory clinical performance Campus: Mallett Street Mode of delivery: Normal (lecture/lab/tutorial) Day Faculty: Nursing (Sydney Nursing School)
This unit of study complements Illness Experience and Nursing Care, focusing on the responses of individuals and others to disruption to health. Here the focus is particularly on the commonly occurring conditions which are often chronic but which may exhibit acute phases. Such conditions may include: asthma, cardiac disease, diabetes, renal failure. A life span approach will be in evidence throughout as these diseases manifest and are treated differently as they occur at different life stages. In this unit of study students will further develop comprehensive health assessment skills and their understandings of accurate medication administration.
NURS5085 Mental Health Nursing Practice

Credit points: 6 Session: Semester 2 Classes: thirteen 2 hour lectures, thirteen 2 hour tutorials, two 2.5 hour workshops and clinical placements Corequisites: NURS5084 Assessment: case study essay (40%), written examination (50%), clinical skills assessment (10%) and satisfactory off-campus clinical performance Campus: Mallett Street Mode of delivery: Normal (lecture/lab/tutorial) Day Faculty: Nursing (Sydney Nursing School)
This unit of study is based on the principle that mental health knowledge and skills are essential for all nurses. Students are introduced to constructs of mental health and wellbeing and mental illness and the role of the nurse in promoting mental health, preventing mental illness and minimising the negative effects of the latter for individuals, their family/carers and the community. Consumer and carer perspectives will inform students' understandings of mental health problems as experienced by children, young people and adults, including older persons, of varying cultural and gender backgrounds. These problems are explored in view of the latest evidence for risk/protective factors, symptomatology, nursing care, and psychotherapeutic and physical treatment approaches. Co-morbidities, including substance use and physical health conditions, will also be explored. The nurse's effective use of self and the therapeutic nurse/client interpersonal relationship as core mental health nursing skills are addressed from both a theoretical and practical perspective. Students will develop and consolidate key mental health assessment and clinical skills including foundation counselling skills. The care continuum in mental health, and the scope of nursing practice in a range of mental health and ethico-legal contexts are addressed with the overall aim of generating nursing care that supports effective outcomes for mental health consumers and their family/carers.
NURS5086 Drug Therapy, Disease & Nursing Practice

Credit points: 6 Session: Semester 2 Classes: thirteen 2 hour lectures, six 2 hour tutorials Prerequisites: NURS5083 or BIOL1003 or BIOL1903 or NURS6001 Assessment: essay (25%), tutorial report (25%) and written examination (50%) Campus: Mallett Street Mode of delivery: Normal (lecture/lab/tutorial) Day Faculty: Nursing (Sydney Nursing School)
The knowledge acquired in Bioscience in Health about the cellular and systemic organisation and normal functioning of the human body will be used as a foundation for this unit of study. Basic cellular changes associated with disease processes such as inflammation, infection, neoplasia, thrombosis, ischaemia, haemodynamic disturbance and disturbances of neuro and hormonal transmission will be explored. Pharmacological interventions aimed at restoring or replacing the function of specific cells, tissues or organs affected by these pathological changes will be considered.
NURS6004 Nursing and the Politics of Health Care

Credit points: 6 Session: Semester 2 Classes: Six 2 hour lectures and four 2 hour tutorials Prerequisites: NURS5002 and NURS5081 and NURS5082 and (NURS5083 or NURS6001) and NURS5006 and NURS5084 and NURS5085 and NURS5086 Assessment: essay (40%), tutorial presentation (15%) and written examination (45%) Campus: Mallett Street Mode of delivery: Normal (lecture/lab/tutorial) Day Faculty: Nursing (Sydney Nursing School)
This unit of study critically analyses the Australian health-care system, with an emphasis on its structure, funding arrangements, and the ways in which it is influenced by contemporary ideologies and economic and political factors. The unit focuses on current political issues and debates (including those concerning nursing) and the ways in which these affect health policy and the delivery of care in Australia and elsewhere, as well as on issues of access and equity and resource allocation. The Australian health care system is compared with other OECD country systems to help students to think critically about the effectiveness of the Australian system in global terms.
NURS6008 Inquiry and Research in Nursing

Credit points: 6 Session: Semester 1 Classes: Nine 2 hour lectures Prerequisites: NURS5002 and NURS5081 and NURS5082 and (NURS5083 or NURS6001) and NURS5006 and NURS5084 and NURS5085 and NURS5086 Assessment: critical literature review (40%), mini-poster (20%), research roundtable (5%) and written examination (35%) Campus: Mallett Street Mode of delivery: Normal (lecture/lab/tutorial) Day Faculty: Nursing (Sydney Nursing School)
Note: Teaching for this unit of study starts in February before the commencement of the semester. Students will be notified of specific dates during second semester in the year prior.
This unit of study will extend students' ability to utilise research in their nursing practice and understand research approaches that have proved successful for improving nursing practice(s) and patient care. Students will develop skills and knowledge appropriate to working in a research-informed manner, identifying areas where research could enhance practice and generate knowledge, and using this in their professional role in assessing research relevant to their professional practice. This unit of study will provide students with the tools to appreciate the process of inquiry, and the methods used to construct nursing knowledge and provide evidence for practice. The ability to differentiate between these various modes of inquiry and the appropriateness of their use in the investigation of nursing practice will be developed.
Students will have the opportunity to critique the contribution of research to informing nursing practice and healthcare. Throughout the unit students will gain knowledge and experience of literature reviews, critiquing studies, research ethics and governance, and the factors that guide the development of a research project.
NURS6018 Care and Chronic Conditions

Credit points: 6 Session: Semester 1 Classes: six two hour lectures and six two hour labs and clinical placements Prerequisites: NURS5002 and NURS5081 and NURS5082 and (NURS5083 or NURS6001) and NURS5006 and NURS5084 and NURS5085 and NURS5086 Corequisites: NURS6019 Assessment: family practicum e-portfolio and record of attendance (30%), written examination (60%), clinical performance appraisal (10%), off-campus clinical assessments Campus: Mallett Street Mode of delivery: Normal (lecture/lab/tutorial) Day Faculty: Nursing (Sydney Nursing School)
This unit of study addresses nursing practices designed to meet the needs of individuals and families who are either living with long-term health conditions or terminal illness. A lifespan approach, childhood to old age, will provide an overview. An emphasis is placed on an holistic approach to nursing care irrespective of setting. Continuity of care provision between hospital and community is emphasised using a case management model of care. The dynamics of self management for persons living with chronic conditions will be highlighted.
Common chronic conditions in the Australian population will be identified together with their lifestyle and biomedical risk factors. Mental health issues will be addressed where appropriate, and chronic pain, its impact and management will be discussed as many chronic conditions have pain as a component. Co-morbidities, particularly within the care of elderly persons, will be explored. The importance of community engagement in addressing issues associated with chronic conditions in Indigenous communities will be studied. Palliative nursing skills will be a focus, including symptom management and psychosocial care which facilitate a peaceful death.
NURS6019 High Acuity Nursing

Credit points: 6 Session: Semester 1 Classes: six two hour lectures and six two hour labs and clinical placements Prerequisites: NURS5002 and NURS5081 and NURS5082 and (NURS5083 or NURS6001) and NURS5006 and NURS5084 and NURS5085 and NURS5086 Corequisites: NURS6018 Assessment: written examination (50%), essay (35%), online activity: reflection on practice (5%) and clinical performance appraisal (10%) and satisfactory off-campus clinical performance Campus: Mallett Street Mode of delivery: Normal (lecture/lab/tutorial) Day Faculty: Nursing (Sydney Nursing School)
This unit of study primarily addresses nursing practices and interventions designed to meet the needs of seriously or critically ill people being nursed in high acuity settings. It explores the high acuity environment and the technological monitoring devices that can be used to assist in the management of these acutely ill patients. It builds on knowledge and capabilities developed in Nursing the Acutely Ill Person.
The unit explores (through the use of case studies) acute life threatening health problems such as interruptions to circulation, neurological functioning and respiratory function. In this context, specific clinical situations will be explored, such as the emergency presentation of a woman experiencing potentially life threatening complications of pregnancy and the rapid deterioration of the adult, elderly adult, Indigenous or paediatric patient. An important component of this unit of study is the understanding of nursing assessment and management required when caring for patients with rapidly changing clinical conditions.
NURS6022 Community Health Nursing

Credit points: 6 Session: Semester 2 Classes: eight two hour lectures and eight two hour tutorials and clinical placements Prerequisites: NURS5002 and NURS5081 and NURS5082 and (NURS5083 or NURS6001) and NURS5006 and NURS5084 and NURS5085 and NURS5086 and NURS6018 and NURS6019 Assessment: community profile (10%), essay (40%), satisfactory off-campus clinical record and written examination (50%) Campus: Mallett Street Mode of delivery: Normal (lecture/lab/tutorial) Day Faculty: Nursing (Sydney Nursing School)
This unit of study examines the major concepts and principles of community health nursing including self care, continuity of care, primary health care, health promotion/illness prevention, community assessment, family assessment, and home care. Increasingly complex and chronic health conditions are being managed in the community. Approaches to the provision of nursing care for people of all ages with acute, chronic, or life threatening illness in settings where they live will be critiqued. Particular attention is given to the home visit process: its therapeutic nature, communication skills and safety issues. The nurse's role in health promotion and disease prevention within a developmental life stage approach will be explored with special consideration given to children and adolescents.
Epidemiological concepts and methodologies integral to community health nursing are explored. Students undertake a community assessment using a 'community profile' approach. This approach will be extended to explore and plan for the health needs of communities who experience health disparities including Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, people living with physical, intellectual or psychiatric disabilities, minority cultural groups, and the homeless. Community clinical placements afford students the opportunity to consolidate and integrate theoretical knowledge and community nursing practice.
NURS6023 Professional Practice of Nursing

Credit points: 6 Session: Semester 1 Classes: Eight 2 hour lectures and eight 2 hour tutorials and two study days Prerequisites: NURS5002 and NURS5081 and NURS5082 and (NURS5083 or NURS6001) and NURS5006 and NURS5084 and NURS5085 and NURS5086 Assessment: essay (45%), professional e-portfolio (25%) and poster presentation (30%) Campus: Mallett Street Mode of delivery: Normal (lecture/lab/tutorial) Day Faculty: Nursing (Sydney Nursing School)
Note: Teaching for this unit of study starts in February before the commencement of the semester. Students will be notified of specific dates during second semester in the year prior.
This unit of study examines key relevant parts of the four elements of the regulation of health care professionals, using nursing as the example. The four elements are: 1. Registration; including continuing competence and professional portfolios, life-long learning and currency and recency of practice 2. Education; including accreditation of programs 3. Professional standards; including codes of professional conduct and ethics, standards for registered nurses, enrolled nurses, midwives and nurse practitioners, professional boundaries, legal frameworks for practice and decision making frameworks; and 4. Professional competence; including conduct, health and performance.
The unit will explore the key elements of this framework in relation to the professional practice of nurses and will enable the student to understand their legal and ethical framework for professional practice and the regulatory environment they will enter upon registration. The unit will focus particularly on providing a helpful frame of reference for the student that will give them the confidence to practise within a professional framework and the resources to access should professional issues arise. This unit is also designed to assist students prepare for making the transition into the workforce.
NURS6024 Global Health and Nursing

Credit points: 6 Session: Semester 2 Classes: One 2 hour lecture/week and one 2 hour tutorial/week Prerequisites: NURS5002 and NURS5081 and NURS5082 and (NURS5083 or NURS6001) and NURS5006 and NURS5084 and NURS5085 and NURS5086 Assessment: written report (50%), written examination (40%) and group tutorial presentation (10%) Campus: Mallett Street Mode of delivery: Normal (lecture/lab/tutorial) Day Faculty: Nursing (Sydney Nursing School)
This unit of study explores the emerging role of nurses as global citizens and the role of the profession in its global context. The ways in which individual and local nursing activities may impact on global health and sustainability will be explored through examination of some of the current debates. Analyses of demographic trends surrounding newly emerging and re-emerging major physical and mental health issues will be examined. The unit will also focus on the integration of non-western and western approaches to providing care, the related issue of knowledge translation in developing countries, and international nurse migration patterns and associated ethical issues.
Students will be encouraged to think critically about the way forward for nursing as a profession through an examination of past and current interventions such as Human Rights, Primary Health Care and Millennium Development Goals, along with a focus on the organisations tasked with the responsibility of implementation such as UN, WHO, UNESCO and UNDP together with the Nursing and Midwifery international organisations such as ICN and ICM. Concepts and initiatives that have proven effective in achieving more sustainable outcomes such as health promoting settings and global health reform will be explored as possible strategies for achieving sustainability.
NURS6025 Nursing Practice (Mental Health Option)

Credit points: 6 Session: Semester 2 Classes: eight two hour lectures and eight two hour tutorials and clinical placements Prerequisites: NURS5002 and NURS5081 and NURS5082 and (NURS5083 or NURS6001) and NURS5006 and NURS5084 and NURS5085 and NURS5086 and NURS6018 and NURS6019 Assessment: discussion paper (40%), group presentation (20%), mental health consumer experience report (40%) and satisfactory off-campus clinical assessment Campus: Mallett Street Mode of delivery: Normal (lecture/lab/tutorial) Day Faculty: Nursing (Sydney Nursing School)
Note: Department permission required for enrolment
This unit of study provides an opportunity for students to extend and develop their understandings of mental health problems and practices and explore a range of complex mental health issues in further depth. The needs of special populations are a particular focus. These include perinatal mental health, infant, child and adolescent mental health issues, mental health issues affecting the older person, and the mental health of incarcerated and displaced persons. The relationship between trauma and mental health and the impact of violence and trauma on mental health is also explored.
Therapeutic and complementary/alternative approaches to mental health are an associated focus and students will have the opportunity to extend their understandings of specific approaches in respect to individual and group implementation. The unit also assists in preparing students for an extended clinical placement in mental health in the final semester of the program.
NURS6026 Nursing Practice (Paediatric Option)

Credit points: 6 Session: Semester 2 Classes: eight two hour lectures and eight two hour tutorials and clinical placements Prerequisites: NURS5002 and NURS5081 and NURS5082 and (NURS5083 or NURS6001) and NURS5006 and NURS5084 and NURS5085 and NURS5086 and NURS6018 and NURS6019 Assessment: clinical project outline (20%), tutorial presentation (20%), clinical project written assessment (60%) and satisfactory off-campus clinical assessment Campus: Mallett Street Mode of delivery: Normal (lecture/lab/tutorial) Day Faculty: Nursing (Sydney Nursing School)
Note: Department permission required for enrolment
This unit of study will examine the integration of theoretical and clinical components of nursing knowledge to enable the provision of care to children and adolescents. Building on all of the units previously undertaken, the responses of children and adolescents and their families to disruptions to health will be explored. Using those illnesses commonly found in our community, the experiences of illness and how these illnesses impact on children, adolescents, families and communities will be examined. The family, however defined, will remain as the central organising frame through which parenting, childhood and adolescence will be further examined, and a developmental life stage approach will be maintained. This unit of study will include accident prevention and actions to enhance health. Throughout this unit of study cultural and Indigenous health practices and their potential implications for the care provided in these situations will be considered.
NURS6027 Nursing Practice (High Acuity Option)

Credit points: 6 Session: Semester 2 Classes: eight two hour lectures and eight two hour tutorials and clinical placements Prerequisites: NURS5002 and NURS5081 and NURS5082 and (NURS5083 or NURS6001) and NURS5006 and NURS5084 and NURS5085 and NURS5086 and NURS6018 and NURS6019 Assessment: essay (40%), essay (60%) and satisfactory off-campus clinical component Campus: Mallett Street Mode of delivery: Normal (lecture/lab/tutorial) Day Faculty: Nursing (Sydney Nursing School)
Note: Department permission required for enrolment
This unit of study provides the opportunity for students to examine the theoretical and professional aspects of critical care nursing practice. The unit will build from the work of High Acuity Nursing to specifically focus on nursing practices for patients with an increased dependence on nursing support in a critical care environment. This unit will foster the development of specific knowledge, skills, and attitudes that will enable students to understand the needs of critically ill patients. The legal and ethical constraints and frameworks in which critical care nursing practice is conducted will be explored. A period of clinical education within an appropriate critical care setting is also included, for example, intensive care, high dependency or coronary care units and emergency.
NURS6028 Nursing Practice (Clinical Nursing Opt)

Credit points: 6 Session: Semester 2 Classes: eight two hour lectures and eight two hour tutorials and clinical placements Prerequisites: NURS5002 and NURS5081 and NURS5082 and NURS5083 and NURS5006 and NURS5084 and NURS5085 and NURS5086 and NURS6018 and NURS6019 Assessment: learning contract proposal (30%), final contract contribution (60%), online reflective journal (10%) and satisfactory off-campus clinical placement Campus: Mallett Street Mode of delivery: Normal (lecture/lab/tutorial) Day Faculty: Nursing (Sydney Nursing School)
Note: Department permission required for enrolment
This unit provides students with an opportunity to consolidate prior learning, and expand their knowledge base and nursing practice expertise within areas fundamental to nursing across a variety of health care settings. Attention will be directed to areas of nursing practice such as aged care, palliative care, and the adult person experiencing surgery or medical illness. The framework of the nursing practice thinking cycle will be used to guide the teaching and learning strategies, while each phase of the cycle will be addressed in detail as related to specific contexts in a range of clinical settings. Elements of care may include patient education, pain management, models of care, discharge planning, quality use of medications, consumer advocacy, obtaining informed consent, and other interventions to restore or maintain patients' /clients' physical and psychosocial health.
REHB3064 Alcohol and Drug Misuse Rehabilitation

Credit points: 6 Session: Semester 1,Semester 2 Classes: Distance education with Blackboard online site only Assessment: 2 on line MCQ (50%), 2000 word essay (50%) Campus: Cumberland Mode of delivery: Distance Education Faculty: Health Sciences
Note: Department permission required for enrolmentin the following sessions:Semester 2
Note: This is a senior unit of study. Bachelor of Health Sciences students must have completed 24 credit points of HSBH junior units for enrolment into this unit. All other students must have completed 48 credit points.
This unit introduces students to issues relating to a major public health problem: the misuse of alcohol and other addictive drugs. The unit introduces students to two major aspects of this area: issues relating to the development of health prevention/health promotion policy, covering the philosophies of harm minimisation and zero tolerance; approaches to rehabilitation and treatment of those overusing both alcohol and other drugs. The unit commences with an analysis of public health policy approaches to the rehabilitation and treatment of people overusing alcohol and other harmful drugs. Students will be required to undertake an exercise involving an analysis of the effectiveness of the two major policy approaches to the problem of drug overuse and abuse: harm reduction and zero tolerance. They will be required to examine the evidence supporting these two approaches to public health policy. In the second part of the unit students will study the major therapeutic approaches to treatment and rehabilitation. This will include familiarisation with Alcoholics Anonymous, clinically based approaches including transactional analysis and other group therapy oriented approaches, the various behavioural therapies, therapeutic communities, methadone maintenance, needle exchange and recent trails in safe injection facilities. They will become familiar with the nature of services offered, the role of the various health professionals in these services and the nature of effective treatment and rehabilitation outcomes.
PSYC1001 Psychology 1001

Credit points: 6 Session: Semester 1,Summer Main Classes: Three 1 hour lectures and one 1 hour tutorial per week, plus 1 hour per week of additional web-based (self-paced) material related to the tutorial. Assessment: One 2.5hr exam, one 1000w essay, multiple tutorial tests, experimental participation (100%) Campus: Camperdown/Darlington Mode of delivery: Normal (lecture/lab/tutorial) Day Faculty: Science
Psychology 1001 is a general introduction to the main topics and methods of psychology, and is the basis for advanced work as well as being of use to those not proceeding with the subject. Psychology 1001 covers the following areas: science and statistics in psychology; behavioural neuroscience; applied psychology; social psychology; personality theory; human development.
This unit is also offered in the Sydney Summer School. For more information consult the website:
http://sydney.edu.au/summer_school/