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.

The unit will address characteristics of the advanced registered nurse role and how the specialty-focussed development of nursing practice impacts on patient care. This will involve an exploration of the role of the advanced registered nurse and how nurses conceptualise, adapt and lead practice in contemporary paradigms. In addition, this unit of study will explore the accuracy of information and data used to formulate evidence-based practice. In particular, students will explore relevant literature that supports contemporary nursing practice and examine information and evidence foundation and implementation to support advanced nursing practice to diverse groups of patients. To investigate the support of advanced nursing practice, students will examine in detail an area of relevant practice to their professional role. Students will chose a topic related to their current practice and undertake an investigation of the literature base and how this may be used to support or change current practice.

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.

Nurses working in senior clinical positions assist in providing care to groups of patients and their families, both directly and indirectly. In doing so nurses must incorporate individual need with the requirements of the department/unit, hospital and local health district. The provision of coordinated patient care is supported by organisational structures at the hospital and area health service level, which are guided by the NSW Ministry of Health and organisations such as the Agency for Clinical Innovation and the Clinical Excellence Commission. Nursing practice is also informed by relevant nursing professional bodies and associations. This unit will assist students to envisage possibilities for their own expanding practice within the existing professional and legislative frameworks. As part of expanding the individual nurse's repertoire, students will be encouraged to broaden their specialty knowledge and nursing practice and will have the opportunity to further develop specialist knowledge and practice related to a specific practice topic.

In this unit of study you will critically analyse approachs to research through examination of the philosophical and theoretical origins of the research traditions and knowledge generation in nursing and other health 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.

The acuity and complexity of patients admitted to hospital requires registered nurses to apply advanced assessment skills and immediate interventions in order to detect and prevent further deterioration. Such early detection and early interventions may prevent the development of serious adverse events such as prolonged hospitalisation, an unexpected admission to a critical care unit, or cardiac arrest. In this unit of study students will explore the role of organisational and patient emergency response systems designed to promote early detection of the deteriorating patient and consider how these systems impact on their nursing practice. Students will have the opportunity to further integrate knowledge with technical and non-technical skills for assessing and managing the rapidly deteriorating patient. Specific consideration will be given to incorporating evidence-based principles when making judgements about patient care. The distinctiveness of each student's clinical practice is recognised and students will be expected to explore, in depth, an area of clinical practice relevant to their current work.

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 and student colleagues. Your work may be presented in either minor 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 NURS5080 unit of study coordinator as they complete the unit of study NURS5069 Research in Nursing and Health Care so that specific academic advice can be provided. NURS5080 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 Postgraduate Coordinator (Research) 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.

Professionals from varied backgrounds routinely encounter families of clients/students/patients. Engagement with families may be crucial to improving our understanding and for optimising outcomes; however, this process can also be challenging and complex. This unit of study explores ideas and practices for working with families and other systems drawing on systemic, dialogical and reflective practice approaches. Students are invited to consider the relevance of the unit of study content to their own professional practice and draw on their professional and personal contexts to learn with and from each other.

The Australian social and health care workforce needs to adapt to rapidly changing emphases on health care service provision, in particular working with a stronger focus on early intervention, families and community. The innovative Open Dialogue approach orients service provision around a series of network meetings that involve the individual in crisis or psychological distress, family members, and others in the individual's support network, including professional helpers. The Open Dialogie approach is based on seven principles of treatment: 1) Immediate help, 2) A social network perspective 3) Flexibility and mobility 4) Responsibility 5) Psychological continuity 6) Tolerance of uncertainty; and 7) Dialogism.
This unit of study introduces these principles by focusing on how health care services can be organised, and healthcare practices adapted, to facilitate Open Dialogue network meetings, and how network meetings are organised to empower service users and families to genuinely participate in transparent decision-making processes. The course will be taught using a blended learning approach of both online discussions to familiarise students with key readings and ideas, and four study intensive blocks that will provide opportunity for experiential learning. At all points in the course, students are encouraged to reflect on the relevance of course content to their own practice context.