92001 Practice Development 2: Medical Surgical Nursing

Subject level: Undergraduate

Handbook description

This subject is the first of two subjects which make up the Medical–Surgical Nursing sub-major. The subject provides students with extended clinical experience and extends theoretical and practical skills developed in the first two years of the program.

Subject objectives/outcomes

On successful completion of this subject, students should be able to:

1. appreciate the roles and responsibilities of registered nurses managing the care of medical/surgical patients in acute care settings (ANMC competencies: 1.1; 1.2; 1.3)
2. recognise the relevance of professional development for self and others and the importance of using research evidence to evaluate nursing practice (ANMC competencies: 3.1; 3.2; 4.1; 4.2; 4.3)
3. provide nursing care that is culturally competent (ANMC competencies: 2.3; 2.4)
4. perform nursing activities with increasing confidence in the clinical area of their sub-major (ANMC competencies: 5.1; 5.2; 5.3)
5. integrate relevant knowledge drawn from nursing and other disciplines such as biomedicine, physical, social and behavioural sciences, law and ethics (ANMC competencies: 2.1; 2.5; 2.6)
6. understand the implications of policy and procedure guidelines in the health care settings (ANMC competencies: 1.2; 2.2)
7. conduct accurate nursing assessments of medical/surgical patients in order to manage and plan patient care (ANMC competencies: 7.1; 7.4)
8. formulate a plan of care in consultation with the patient, significant others and members of the health care team (ANMC competencies: 6.1; 6.2; 6.3)
9. implement planned nursing care to achieve identified goals(ANMC competencies: 6.2; 7.1)
10. evaluate the patient's progress and revise nursing care planning as required (ANMC competencies: 7.1; 7.4)
11. establish and maintain effective therapeutic relationships (ANMC competencies: 9.1; 9.2; 9.3; 9.4; 9.5)
12. work effectively as members of the health care team (ANMC competencies: 10.1; 10.2; 10.3; 10.4)
13. practise in a manner that is consistent with agreed standards of the profession (ANMC competencies: 2.1; 2.5; 2.6)
14. identify the particular environmental concerns relevant to their area of clinical practice(ANMC competencies: 4.4).

Content

Practice Development 2 builds on Practice Development 1 where students increase the depth of their understanding of complex nursing in their chosen sub-major. The speciality of the medical surgical sub-major area is addressed as students apply their knowledge of pathophysiology and psychosocial theories in increasingly complex nursing care delivery. The focus is on using the functional health patterns where applicable to identify patient problems. Each student is expected to understand the specific conditions and management of the patients for whom they are caring.

As well as understanding specific patient conditions, it is expected that each student will understand the following aspects:

• Pathophysiology, clinical manifestations and diagnostic studies
• Assessment analysis
• Roles of other members of the health care team involved in the patients' care
• Nursing and collaborative management
• Psychosocial care

A component of the clinical assessment requires students to be able to adequately explain the patient's medical/nursing problem. Co-morbidities impact on patient treatment strategies and an understanding of these is also expected.

As key providers of direct care, nurses work in collaboration with the medical and allied health staff. Nurses need to understand the different roles and functions of each profession in order to work as effective members of a collaborative health team. Thus, there is the expectation that each student develops effective working relationships with the other members of the health team and is able to communicate appropriately in a professional manner about patients' conditions.

As students continue in the acute care setting, they expand and increase their depth of understanding and ability to practise in this area. Students acquire a greater knowledge of medications and managing their time more effectively. In the medical surgical sub-major of Practice Development 2, students build on the knowledge and experience acquired in Practice Development 1 and work towards managing an increased and complex patient load. It is important to set learning goals as students become more familiar within the clinical setting. In the speciality clinical area, Clinical Resource Nurse (CRN) is an invaluable resource in assisting students to determine these specific goals.