MSc Adult Nursing

Year of entry: 2024

Course unit details:
Knowledge & Skills for Nursing 2

Course unit fact file
Unit code NURS70012
Credit rating 45
Unit level FHEQ level 7 – master's degree or fourth year of an integrated master's degree
Teaching period(s) Semester 2
Available as a free choice unit? No

Overview

This unit develops students' critical thinking and deeper understanding of the nursing care of individuals and their families, and evidence-based practice. Students will learn about self-management of long term conditions, health promotion;health psychology and behaviour change; ethics applied to nursing and the dilemmas nurses face; palliative care; and pathophysiology and pharmacology.

In addition, students will learn about digital health and heath informatics; evidence based wound management; falls prevention; maternal and foetal health; and managing people with serious and enduring mental health problems.

Aims

  • Build on the knowledge and skills learned in the first course unit, and during their first practice placement, where students learned about the context of care, social determinants of health, research methods, and anatomy and physiology. The focus of this unit is on the individual and their family.

Knowledge and understanding

  • Knowledge, critical understanding and application of the proficiencies associated with accountable professional practice within the discipline of adult nursing.
  • Ability to critique and evaluate the philosophies, models and frameworks for legal, ethical, safe and competent adult nursing care.
  • Critical understanding of the application of health psychology and behavioural theories to adult nursing
  • Knowledge and critical understanding of the concepts of human anatomy, physiology, pathology, pathophysiology and pharmacology that underpin the assessment of health needs and the planning, implementation and evaluation of person-centred care from conception to death.
  • Ability to effectively retrieve and critically appraise a range of data/information that underpins and informs the evidence base for adult nursing practice.
  • Digital literacy and critical understanding of health informatics.

Intellectual skills

  • Skills in critical evaluation, synthesis and application of knowledge and research evidence from a range of sources and disciplines.
  • Originality in the application of knowledge and research evidence whilst appreciating its limits and having the confidence to challenge orthodoxy.
  • Logical and systematic thinking and the ability to draw reasoned conclusions and sustainable judgements, engaging effectively in debate about current research and advanced scholarship in the discipline.
  • Ability to critically reflect on their own professional development to identify abilities, limitations and opportunities to improve their performance as practitioner, supervisor and educator in a range of practice settings.
  • Ability to act with professional integrity, demonstrating fitness to practice, purpose and achievement of the NMC (2018) standards for pre-registration nursing.

Practical skills

  • Effectively communicate and manage relationships with individuals of all ages with a range of mental, physical, cognitive and behavioural health challenges.
  • Undertake systematic, holistic assessment and accurate recording of the health and social needs of individuals, groups and communities, drawing on evidence from the forefront of the discipline.
  • Create and maintain safe environments of care through the effective use of quality assurance and risk management strategies.
  • Demonstrate the ability to deal with complex issues both systematically and creatively, make sound judgements in the absence of complete data, and communicate their conclusions clearly to specialist and non-specialist audiences.
  • Adapt and respond appropriately to changing situations of care, demonstrating commitment to the principles of inter-professional learning and working whist acting independently where appropriate.

Transferable skills and personal qualities

  • Manage both independent study and the demands of professional practice effectively.
  • Demonstrate excellent digital literacy to develop fundamental skills for life-long learning.
  • Demonstrate advanced verbal, non – verbal and written communication skills in a variety of settings with a range of individuals. 
  • Demonstrate competent public speaking and presentation skills to accurately and reliably communicate information to a live audience that may include peers or practice colleagues.

Assessment methods

Method Weight
Written exam 37%
Written assignment (inc essay) 44%
Oral assessment/presentation 19%

Feedback methods

Students will normally have the opportunity to receive feedback on formative work submitted prior to the summative assessment. Other feedback opportunities will also be available in class and online discussion boards. Online feedback is provided in Grademark. Provisional feedback based on internal marking will be made available prior to the Exam Board on the basis that these marks are yet to be ratified at the Exam Board and therefore may be subject to change. A standard feedback mechanism in Grademark is utilised across all postgraduate programmes within the School which provides detailed and constructive feedback on each component and aspect of assessment and identifies areas of strength and those aspects which could be enhanced.

Student feedback is obtained through open discussion forums on blackboard, in class discussions, via formal University unit evaluation forms and also qualitative, in house evaluations at the end of the unit.

Recommended reading

Study hours

Scheduled activity hours
Lectures 160
Independent study hours
Independent study 290

Teaching staff

Staff member Role
Jane Griffiths Unit coordinator

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