NURS11164 - Effective Communication in the Health Care Environment

General Information

Unit Synopsis

This unit introduces you to the important role of communication in nursing practice and strategies to effectively communicate as a nurse. You will examine types of communication strategies that are relevant to different health contexts. In particular, you will explore your own strengths in communication and how you can best use these to manage future challenges when nursing. Throughout this unit you will have the opportunity to work in small teams to explore the many different facets of communication in nursing and to build a portfolio that documents your learning and your development of skills and strategies to use in future nursing practice.

Details

Level Undergraduate
Unit Level 1
Credit Points 6
Student Contribution Band SCA Band 1
Fraction of Full-Time Student Load 0.125
Pre-requisites or Co-requisites

Students need to be enrolled in CL91 or Start Unit Now in order to undertake this unit. 

Important note: Students enrolled in a subsequent unit who failed their pre-requisite unit, should drop the subsequent unit before the census date or within 10 working days of Fail grade notification. Students who do not drop the unit in this timeframe cannot later drop the unit without academic and financial liability. See details in the Assessment Policy and Procedure (Higher Education Coursework).

Class Timetable View Unit Timetable
Residential School No Residential School

Unit Availabilities from Term 1 - 2025

Term 1 - 2025 Profile
Brisbane
Online
Rockhampton
Term 2 - 2025 Profile
Online
Rockhampton

Attendance Requirements

All on-campus students are expected to attend scheduled classes - in some units, these classes are identified as a mandatory (pass/fail) component and attendance is compulsory. International students, on a student visa, must maintain a full time study load and meet both attendance and academic progress requirements in each study period (satisfactory attendance for International students is defined as maintaining at least an 80% attendance record).

Assessment Overview

Recommended Student Time Commitment

Each 6-credit Undergraduate unit at CQUniversity requires an overall time commitment of an average of 12.5 hours of study per week, making a total of 150 hours for the unit.

Assessment Tasks

Assessment Task Weighting
1. Portfolio 40%
2. Portfolio 60%

This is a graded unit: your overall grade will be calculated from the marks or grades for each assessment task, based on the relative weightings shown in the table above. You must obtain an overall mark for the unit of at least 50%, or an overall grade of ‘pass’ in order to pass the unit. If any ‘pass/fail’ tasks are shown in the table above they must also be completed successfully (‘pass’ grade). You must also meet any minimum mark requirements specified for a particular assessment task, as detailed in the ‘assessment task’ section (note that in some instances, the minimum mark for a task may be greater than 50%).

Consult the University's Grades and Results Policy for more details of interim results and final grades

Past Exams

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Previous Feedback

Term 1 - 2024 : The overall satisfaction for students in the last offering of this course was 84.58% (`Agree` and `Strongly Agree` responses), based on a 54.83% response rate.

Feedback, Recommendations and Responses

Every unit is reviewed for enhancement each year. At the most recent review, the following staff and student feedback items were identified and recommendations were made.

Source: SUTE Data
Feedback
Unclear unit requirements.
Recommendation
Revise group work requirements and introduce group work at the beginning of term as offered previously. Revised Unit Introduction Information to insure clarity.
Action Taken
Group work was reintroduced to the beginning of term. Students were supported to form and register groups by week 2. This was reflected in the marking rubric and majority of students had successfully formed and registered their group by the due date with staff support due to the technical difficulties.
Source: Emails
Feedback
Students reported value in working in groups
Recommendation
Continue to include group work within the unit to facilitate engagement with learning material.
Action Taken
Groups were required for assessment purposes and utlised within workshops to assist in working through learning activities.
Source: Emails
Feedback
Students felt staff allocating group meant mismatch of personalities and time allocation towards study made it difficult to form studying relationships.
Recommendation
Reconsider students self allocating based on connections and their own study habits.
Action Taken
Students were able to self allocate and register their groups. Students were guided on finding similar study habits via the virtual study tree. This reduced a lot of confusion and upset amongst their groups with different personalities. Some groups still found a mismatch in study habits and these students found it difficult to continue the study relationship.
Source: Staff feedback Student Feedback - Email, SUTE
Feedback
Increased staff workload due to Moodle error while registering student groups.
Recommendation
This resulted in an increased staff workload. Remove compulsory group work for assignments for term 2.
Action Taken
In Progress
Source: Student feedback - Verbal, Email, SUTE
Feedback
Students felt group work assisted in deeper learning and understanding on the content.
Recommendation
Students in term 2 will be encouraged to form groups to continue to receive this benefit.
Action Taken
In Progress
Source: Student feedback - SUTE, Verbal, Email
Feedback
Students felt the portfolio focused on too much reflection.
Recommendation
Portfolio tasks changed from practical activities in groups and individual reflection to theoretical individual activities.
Action Taken
In Progress
Unit learning Outcomes

On successful completion of this unit, you will be able to:

  1. Examine the fundamental role of communication in in nursing practice as informed by professional standards
  2. Explain communication strategies that enable effective professional relationships
  3. Adapt communication strategies to facilitate effective communication in one-on-one and group contexts
  4. Analyse and evaluate your communication strengths and identify communication challenges you may encounter in future clinical practice.

Content in this unit incorporates a number of professional nursing requirements

Nursing and Midwifery Board of Australia (NMBA) Registered Nurse Standards for Practice

Thinks critically and analyses nursing practice

Engages in therapeutic and professional relationships

Maintains the capability for practice

Provides safe, appropriate and responsive quality nursing practice

Evaluates outcomes to inform nursing practice

Nursing and Midwifery Board of Australia Nursing Code of Conduct

Person-centred practice

Cultural practice and respectful relationships

Professional behaviour

Health and wellbeing

International Council of Nurses Code of Ethics for Nurses

Nurses and People

National Safety and Quality Health Service Standards

Partnering with consumers

Comprehensive care

Communicating for safety

Nurses and Practice

Patient Safety Competency Framework

Person-centred care

Therapeutic communication

Cultural competence

Teamwork and collaborative practice

Evidence-based practice

Preventing, minimising and responding to adverse events

Nurses and the Profession

Aged Care Quality Standards

Consumer dignity and choice

Nurses and co-workers

Alignment of Assessment Tasks to Learning Outcomes
Assessment Tasks Learning Outcomes
1 2 3 4
1 - Portfolio • • • •
2 - Portfolio • • • •
Alignment of Graduate Attributes to Learning Outcomes
• Introductory Level
• Intermediate Level
• Graduate Level
Graduate Attributes Learning Outcomes
1 2 3 4
1 - Communication • • • •
3 - Critical Thinking • • • •
4 - Information Literacy • • •
5 - Team Work • • • •
6 - Information Technology Competence • • •
7 - Cross Cultural Competence • • • •
Alignment of Assessment Tasks to Graduate Attributes
• Introductory Level
• Intermediate Level
• Graduate Level
Assessment Tasks Graduate Attributes
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10