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Overview

Course Prescription

Nurses make a variety of diagnoses in their daily practice. Advanced nursing practice requires skilled health assessment, estimation of probabilities and evidence-based diagnostic reasoning. This complex cognitive process is developed in relation to skills and knowledge required for sound clinical reasoning.

Course Overview

Clinical Assessment provides the basis for advanced nursing practice. A fundamental requirement is that patient care is safe, evidenced-based care to allow nurses master a range of core and specialty-based clinical assessment skills. Within an expanding scope of practice, nurses are required to demonstrate competency to take a detailed history, undertake physical assessments, make provisional diagnoses, request and interpret diagnostic tests and prescribe therapeutic interventions and nursing care to facilitate clinical decision-making. The clinical assessment of clients requires a comprehensive approach within a nursing framework, which includes the integration of physical and psycho-social dimensions.

The paper's content is disseminated using a combination of lectures, tutorials and clinical skills teaching sessions. Lectures and tutorials allow for both knowledge dissemination and case-scenario group work to facilitate critical analysis and problem solving. Clinical skills teaching sessions involve peer examination, where students practice on each other to learn physicals assessment skills. The skills teaching session are facilitated by an experienced nurse teacher who provides real-time guidance to support learning. The aim is that students will apply the knowledge, physical exam skills and clinical reasoning process to their work-place clinical environment.

The paper is delivered face-to-face over five study days, with a Observed Structured Clinical Exam (OSCE) on day six.

Main Programme

Course Contacts

N773 Paper Administrator: Shireen Nezhad. Email: shireen.nezhad@auckland.ac.nz N773 Course Director: Wendy Sundgren. Email: w.sundgren@auckland.ac.nz  

Workload Expectations

This course is a standard [30] point course and students are expected to spend 10 hours studying per week. 

The Nursing 773 paper centres on [40] hours of lectures,  [120] hours of self-directed study and [140] hours of work on assignment and MCQ exam and OSCE preparation.

Course Prerequisites, Corequisites and Restrictions

Restriction

Locations and Semesters Offered

LocationSemester
Tai Tokerau
Grafton
Unspecified within New Zealand
Tai Tokerau
Unspecified within New Zealand
Rotorua
Grafton

Teaching and Learning

Campus Experience

Students are expected to attend for face-to-face scheduled activities including lectures/clinical skill sessions to complete the learning components of the course. Attendance on campus is required for the MCQ test and OSCE.

Each of the paper's study day's is timetabled. This gives students the opportunity to undertake pre-reading and skills preparation prior to each study day

Learning Resources

Taught courses use a learning and collaboration tool called Canvas to provide students with learning materials including reading lists and lecture recordings (where available). Please remember that the recording of any class on a personal device requires the permission of the instructor.

Additional Information on Learning Resources

The required course text for 773 is: Bickley, L. S., & Szilagyi, P. G. (2021). Bates' guide to physical examination and history taking (13th ed.). Lippincott  Williams & Wilkins. We also have an extensive reading list for you to use. The majority of texts, journals articles are available online 24/7 through the university's library website. 

Copyright

The content and delivery of content in this course are protected by copyright. Material belonging to others may have been used in this course and copied by and solely for the educational purposes of the University under license.


You may copy the course content for the purposes of private study or research, but you may not upload onto any third-party site, make a further copy or sell, alter or further reproduce or distribute any part of the course content to another person.

Learning Continuity

In the event of an unexpected disruption, we undertake to maintain the continuity and standard of teaching and learning in all your courses throughout the year. If there are unexpected disruptions the University has contingency plans to ensure that access to your course continues and course assessment continues to meet the principles of the University’s assessment policy. Some adjustments may need to be made in emergencies. You will be kept fully informed by your course co-ordinator/director, and if disruption occurs you should refer to the university website for information about how to proceed.

Other Information

This is a highly practical course with a significant amount of content concentrated into the five teaching days. Students are strongly encouraged to plan well in advance and prioritise reading pre and post for each study day.

We are acutely aware that students have different life experiences and learning styles. We aim to facilitate as much as possible to support your learning needs through the learning resources available at the university.

A core part of learning physical assessment skills is peer examination. This requires students physically examining each other. This involves inspecting and palpating your student peer's head, chest, abdomen and legs. On each of the study days, students are asked to wear light movable clothing and sports bras to facilitate meaningful examination of the body's systems.

Academic Integrity

The University of Auckland will not tolerate cheating, or assisting others to cheat, and views cheating in coursework as a serious academic offence. The work that a student submits for grading must be the student's own work, reflecting their learning. Where work from other sources is used, it must be properly acknowledged and referenced. This requirement also applies to sources on the internet. A student's assessed work may be reviewed for potential plagiarism or other forms of academic misconduct, using computerised detection mechanisms.

Similarly, research students must meet the University’s expectations of good research practice. This requires:

  • Honesty - in all aspects of research work
  • Accountability - in the conduct of research
  • Professional courtesy and fairness – in working with others
  • Good stewardship – on behalf of others
  • Transparency – of research process and presentation of results
  • Clarity - communication to be understandable, explainable and accessible

For more information on the University’s expectations of academic integrity, please see the Academic Conduct section of the University policy hub.

Disclaimer

Elements of this outline may be subject to change. The latest information about taught courses is made available to enrolled students in Canvas.

Students may be asked to submit assessments digitally. The University reserves the right to conduct scheduled tests and examinations online or through the use of computers or other electronic devices. Where tests or examinations are conducted online remote invigilation arrangements may be used. In exceptional circumstances changes to elements of this course may be necessary at short notice. Students enrolled in this course will be informed of any such changes and the reasons for them, as soon as possible, through Canvas.


Additional Information on Academic integrity

It is your responsibility to ensure the written work you submit is an original piece of academic writing, created and written by you for the N773 paper. Accessing information and not acknowledging the source and using previous student's academic work in your assignment is deemed plagiarism and is managed through the university's academic misconduct processes. The use of artificial intelligence software such as CHAT GPT is not permitted to support you writing your N773 written assignment. Students who plagiarise will be heavily penalised.        

Assessment and Learning Outcomes

Course Learning Outcomes

CLO #OutcomeProgramme Capability Link
1
2
3
4
5
6

Assessments

Assessment TypeAssessment PercentageAssessment Classification

Assessment to CLO Mapping

Assessment Type123456

Student Feedback, Support and Charter

Student Feedback

Feedback on taught courses is gathered from students at the end of each semester through a tool called SET or Qualtrics. The lecturers and course co-ordinators will consider all feedback and respond with summaries and actions. Your feedback helps teachers to improve the course and its delivery for future students. In addition, class Representatives in each class can take feedback to the department and faculty staff-student consultative committees.

Additional Information on Student Feedback

Suggestions were: -  Up date the exam videos - planning is in place to update the videos- Provide zoom sessions between the day 5 and the OSCE days

Class representatives

Class representatives are students tasked with representing student issues to departments, faculties, and the wider university. If you have a complaint about this course, please contact your class rep who will know how to raise it in the right channels. See your departmental noticeboard for contact details for your class reps.

Additional Information on Class Representatives

On day one, a student is asked to volunteer to be the class representative. 

Tuākana

Tuākana is a multi-faceted programme for Māori and Pacific students providing topic specific tutorials, one-on-one sessions, test and exam preparation and more. Explore your options at Tuakana Learning Communities.

Inclusive Learning

All students are asked to discuss any impairment related requirements privately, face to face and/or in written form with the course coordinator, lecturer or tutor.

Student Disability Services also provides support for students with a wide range of impairments, both visible and invisible, to succeed and excel at the University. For more information and contact details, please visit the Student Disability Services’ website.

Additional Information on Inclusive Learning

If you do have an impairment that you feel could affect your learning experience at the university. Please let us know so we can put in place  mechanism to support your learning. 

Wellbeing

We all go through tough times during the semester, or see our friends struggling. There is lots of help out there - please see the Support Services page for information on support services in the University and the wider community.

Special Circumstances

If your ability to complete assessed work is affected by illness or other personal circumstances outside of your control, contact a member of teaching staff as soon as possible before the assessment is due. If your personal circumstances significantly affect your performance, or preparation, for an exam or eligible written test, refer to the University’s aegrotat or compassionate consideration page. This should be done as soon as possible and no later than seven days after the affected test or exam date.

Additonal Information on Special Circumstances

PLEASE NOTE: if a student is unwell or deemed unfit to sit an assessment point, they should contact the Course Director before the due date /they make a submission. Students completing the Nursing 773 paper will not be eligible for aegrotat grading.

Student Charter and Responsibilities

The Student Charter assumes and acknowledges that students are active participants in the learning process and that they have responsibilities to the institution and the international community of scholars. The University expects that students will act at all times in a way that demonstrates respect for the rights of other students and staff so that the learning environment is both safe and productive. For further information visit Student Charter.

Student Academic Complaints and Disputes

Students with concerns about teaching including how a course is delivered, the resources provided, or supervision arrangements, have the right to express their concerns and seek resolution. The university encourages informal resolution where possible, as this is quicker and less stressful. For information on the informal and formal complaints processes, please refer to the Student Academic Complaints Statute in the Student Policies and Guidelines section of the Policy Hub.