The ability to undertake a focused and comprehensive patient assessment is fundamental to nursing practice. Conducting patient assessment allows nurses to gather the requisite information to make sound clinical judgements. With 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, mental health, social, ethnic and cultural dimensions 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.

Critical illness is associated with rapidly changing clinical presentations consequently nurses providing care for the critically ill must integrate complex physiological knowledge with advanced assessment skills in order to make sound clinical decisions. In this unit of study students will explore a variety of clinical presentations including those associated with single and multiple organ failure; traumatic injury; and chronic and complex illness. Management of these clinical conditions will be explored, specifically focusing on the evidence-base of interventions and their influence on patient outcome. Critical illness is also associated with short and longer term consequences for psychosocial wellbeing of both the patient and their family. As such, an emphasis will be placed on the experience of critical illness, psychosocial recovery and the influence of critical illness on the family unit.

With the ongoing changes in health care, particularly associated with increase patient acuity, technological development and consumer expectations, nurses are expected to ensure they provide patient care based on the best available evidence. This requires a sound understanding of alterations to normal physiological processes which assists nurses to make decisions about patient assessment and management. Within this unit of study an emphasis will be placed on exploring alterations to key physiological concepts and the associated patient assessment and management. Within in the context of these altered physiological states the acquisition of clinical assessment data, such as that obtained from laboratory and diagnostic testing, will be interpreted and applied to specific patient clinical presentations. Strategies to support evidence-based practice and to maintain physiological function will be examined with students undertaking critical appraisal of treatment guidelines. As part of specialty nursing practice, clinicians are required to have a comprehensive clinical skills repertoire and the requisite knowledge and skills to effectively use research and other information as the basis of their practice thinking. In the context of your area of practice, you will explore the complexity of and uncertainty in practice, while developing discipline-specific knowledge and skills that enable you to build the capacity for clinical judgement and practice.

Patients who experience severe traumatic injury or episodes of critical illness require advanced assessment and management in the pre-hospital phase, during transport to and stabilisation in the emergency department, and ongoing care in the intensive care unit. The critical illness/injury trajectory is complex and interdependent and effective care at each stage requires an appreciation of the care which has been provided as well as an understanding of potential ongoing management of the patient. In this unit of study we will examine the critical illness/injury trajectory from physiological and psychosocial perspectives. An evidence-based approach to patient management will focus on collaborative decision-making and the ways in which synthesised evidence informs patient care. This unit of study allows students to consolidate theoretical underpinnings of their practice and demonstrate the requisite knowledge, skills and attributes required to care for critically ill or injured patients through the completion of clinical assessments.

Students will have the opportunity to examine the nature of nursing work in relation to the effects of and assumptions underlying the models of care and ward organisation; organisation of shiftwork; occupational health and safety; workforce supply and demand and the effects of such issues on the agency and professional boundaries of nurses. The unit will examine the nature of nursing work in relation to its industrial and socio-political origins by taking a critical evaluative focus on the perceptions and practices that have shaped the construction of clinical nursing practice. Wider issues such as the impact of the knowledge economy; globalisation and the patterns of global workforce migration; and the increasing use of technology in nursing work will also be explored.

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 is 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 students to take initiative, create supportive and sustaining clinical environments, have the courage of their convictions, and to celebrate curiosity.The Australian health care system has experienced significant clinical, structural and socio-political transformations over the last two decades (collectively referred to as reform). The need for stronger and more effective leadership has never been more evident, particularly at the clinical interface. The chronic recruitment and retention issues and the changed nature of the nursing workforce and health workforce generally, vis-à-vis different levels of carers with diverse skill mix, have constructed a healthcare environment in which experienced (advanced) clinicians are positioned at the core of leadership development. While the concept of leadership is not new, the provision of leadership in the clinical arena is now a central component of clinical practice for all health professionals, regardless of experience, education or position. As we increasingly experience a globalised world, we recognise that leadership is not the same in all contexts. This unit is structured on an innovative case-based approach. Through using case studies along with the theoretical constructs / perspectives, students are encouraged to critique the achievements and failures of real-time leadership scenarios (and the leaders). This approach to student learning moves away from the traditional 'constructivistic approach' to management education, which is both subjective and prescriptive (Darmer 2000). The case study method facilitates examination of real leadership scenarios through which students can gain greater insight into the challenges that confront leaders in complex environments and how these challenges impact decision-making processes.As a postgraduate unit of study, this unit pursues critical analysis of the context in which leadership occurs. In the process of completing this unit, students cover a broad range of topics and explore the literature from a number of disciplines including management, sociology and nursing. While this unit of study is broad, it is designed to allow students to gain a more detailed understanding of the multiple and often conflicting contexts in which health leadership is now situated.

Nurses working in leadership positions within emergency departments and intensive care units are pivotal in coordinating care for patients and their families. In doing so nurses must consider the needs of the individual along with the requirements of the specialist unit, hospital and local health district. The provision of coordinated care to critically ill or injured patients is supported by organisational structures at the hospital and local health district level, and these are guided by organisations such as the NSW Ministry of Health Intensive Care and Emergency Department Planning Services, the Agency for Clinical Innovation and the Clinical Excellence Commission. Professional bodies such as the Australian College of Critical Care Nurses (ACCCN) and the College of Emergency Nurses Australasia (CENA) also inform practice. In this unit of study students will explore ways in which government and professional bodies provide information that supports decision-making regarding the provision of care to critically ill and injured patients. Additionally, students will be encouraged to expand their clinical and theoretical repertoire by developing an in-depth understanding of a specific practice issue in intensive care or emergency nursing practice.

This unit of study will assist students (as potential senior clinicians) to extend their development of a critically informed personal/professional position on the many issues impacting clinical nursing practice 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 current professionally relevant clinical and professionally related situations from several perspectives such as those of tertiary and professional education, local, state and federal government policy development and implementation, health services management, workforce and regulatory perspectives. Students will also conceptualise and develop a personal portfolio incorporating the work undertaken during their degree and including guided reflections on their observation and analysis of senior/advanced practice roles in nursing and assess their current state of readiness to undertake the role of a senior clinician within a personally relevant workplace.

This unit of study will provide an opportunity for students with an interest in research to conduct an in-depth exploration of a topic that you have identified as being of personal professional relevance and/or research interest. To complete this unit you will be expected to work independently selecting, locating and analysing the relevant literature to prepare a scholarly piece of work reviewing current knowledge on the self-identified topic. While you will be expected to pursue your investigation as an independent scholar you will be assisted in your work by regular meetings with the unit coordinator, student colleagues and an academic advisor appointed on the basis of your area of interest as identified by the topic. Your work may be presented in either thesis or journal manuscript formats and will be assessed in a manner appropriate for determining suitability for further research higher degree work. Students are advised to indicate their interest in undertaking the research capstone to the Director of Postgraduate Studies as they complete the unit of study NURS5069 Research in Nursing and Health Care so that specific academic advice can be provided. Capstone (Research) is also an important component of the Sydney Nursing School pathway to research higher degree enrolment and students interested in pursuing this pathway should also seek Academic advice from the Director of Postgraduate Studies before enrolling in the second semester of their course.

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.