NURS12160 - Acute Alterations in Health

General Information

Unit Synopsis

Australians are living longer. Traditionally health care has been focused on acute illness. The number of people living with chronic disease is growing. This is an important intersection as many chronic illnesses begin as an acute alteration or can cause an acute alteration in health. Australia's National Health Priority Areas (NHPAs) are diseases and conditions given focused attention by government because they significantly contribute to the burden of illness and injury in the Australian community. In this unit, you will identify the NHPAs and explore their link to lifestyle factors such as obesity, insufficient physical activity, tobacco smoking, and alcohol use and their impact on acute health conditions. You will consider the nursing process required to support people with acute conditions or deterioration of people. You will examine factors to assist you in the early recognition of sepsis and determine the nursing role in each phase of the perioperative period. This unit provides the theoretical underpinning for NURS12161 Professional Experience Practice 2 and should be completed with or before NURS12161.

Details

Level Undergraduate
Unit Level 2
Credit Points 6
Student Contribution Band SCA Band 1
Fraction of Full-Time Student Load 0.125
Pre-requisites or Co-requisites

 

Pre-requisites:

NURS11170 Professional Experience Placement 1 or NURS11161 Clinical Nursing Practice 1or admission to CM77

 

 

 

 

 

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 2 - 2025

Term 3 - 2025 Profile
Online
Term 1 - 2026 Profile
Brisbane
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. Written Assessment 40%
2. Case Study 40%
3. Online Quiz(zes) 20%

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 - 2025 : The overall satisfaction for students in the last offering of this course was 73.56% (`Agree` and `Strongly Agree` responses), based on a 10.1% 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
I really enjoyed the variety of learning resources provided, especially the addition of podcasts.
Recommendation
Enhance student learning by continuing to integrate diverse resources into the weekly modules. Additionally, introduce weekly podcasts featuring industry experts to foster engagement and offer authentic insights into the nursing profession.
Action Taken
We continued to integrate weekly podcasts into the unit, featuring industry experts to provide authentic clinical insights and enhance engagement. Interactive weekly tutorials were maintained and further developed to reinforce lecture content, encourage peer discussion, and promote active learning. These initiatives ensured that students had multiple avenues to engage with content in ways that suited their learning preferences and schedules.
Source: Self-reflection
Feedback
The 2024 Assessment 2 was not well received by the student cohort and, at times, was unnecessarily confusing.
Recommendation
Review and update Assessment 2 to ensure it aligns with the prescribed Learning Outcomes and is tailored to effectively meet the needs of the student cohort. Additionally, ensure that the task and rubric are closely matched to provide clear and consistent guidance for student performance.
Action Taken
Assessment 2 was redesigned into a structured case study format with clear, scenario-based questions directly aligned to the prescribed Learning Outcomes. The rubric was revised to match the task requirements, and marking guides were updated to support consistency. These changes improved clarity for students and the marking team, contributing to an increase in student satisfaction with this assessment in 2025, as reflected in both formal SUTE feedback and informal student comments.
Source: SUTE Unit Comments 2025
Feedback
Students valued the range of learning resources, including podcasts and interactive tutorials, which supported flexible and engaging learning.
Recommendation
Continue offering diverse learning resources, including weekly podcasts with industry experts and interactive tutorials, to maintain high engagement and accommodate different learning preferences.
Action Taken
In Progress
Source: SUTE Unit Comments 2025, End of Term UC Report 2025
Feedback
Some students found Assessment 1 timing too early in the term and Assessment 2 word count too restrictive for the required depth of analysis.
Recommendation
Move Assessment 1 to Week 5 to allow for greater content assimilation, particularly for Enrolled Nurse (EN) and direct-entry students. Increase word limit for Assessment 2 to allow for more comprehensive responses, while ensuring alignment between the task, rubric, and tutorial guidance.
Action Taken
In Progress
Source: SUTE Unit Comments 2025
Feedback
Students noted inconsistencies in marking and feedback across assessors, with some feedback perceived as unclear or overly critical.
Recommendation
Strengthen marker calibration through consensus moderation sessions, provision of exemplar responses, and clearer marking guidelines to ensure consistent interpretation of rubrics and constructive feedback delivery.
Action Taken
In Progress
Source: SUTE Unit Comments 2025
Feedback
Some students indicated that assessment support sessions occurred too close to due dates, limiting the opportunity to apply feedback or clarification.
Recommendation
Schedule assessment Q&A sessions and Academic Learning Centre drop-ins at least two weeks before submission dates to maximise usefulness and reduce last-minute confusion.
Action Taken
In Progress
Unit learning Outcomes

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

  1. Identify the National Health Priority Areas (NHPA) and discuss their impact on a person’s acute health status
  2. Discuss socio-cultural and lifestyle issues that may predispose a person to an acute alteration in health
  3. Identify factors associated with the early recognition of deteriorating patients in the acute care environment
  4. Identify factors associated with the early recognition of sepsis in the acute care environment
  5. Determine the nursing role in each phase of the perioperative period.

Content in this unit incorporates a number of professional nursing requirements

Nursing and Midwifery Board of Australia Registered Nurse Standards for Practice

Thinks critically and analyses nursing practice

Maintains the capability for practice

Develops a plan for nursing practice

Evaluates outcomes to inform nursing practice

Nursing and Midwifery Board of Australia Nursing Code of Conduct

Legal compliance

Person-centred practice

Cultural practice and respectful relationships

Professional behaviour

Research in health

Health and wellbeing

International Council of Nursing Code of Ethics for Nursing

Nurses and People

Nurses and Practice

Nurses and the Profession

Nurses and co-workers

National Safety and Quality Health Service Standards

Clinical governance

Partnering with consumers

Preventing and Controlling healthcare-associated infection

Medication safety

Comprehensive care

Communicating for safety

Recognising and responding to acute deterioration

Patient Safety Competency Framework

Person-centred care

Therapeutic communication

Cultural competence

Teamwork and collaborative practice

Clinical reasoning

Evidence-based practice

Preventing, minimising and responding to adverse events

Infection prevention and control

Medication safety

Aged Care Quality Standards

Consumer dignity and choice

Ongoing assessment and planning with consumers

Personal care and clinical care

Services and supports for daily living

Organisation’s service environment

Alignment of Assessment Tasks to Learning Outcomes
Assessment Tasks Learning Outcomes
1 2 3 4 5
1 - Written Assessment • •
2 - Case Study • • • •
3 - Online Quiz(zes) • • • • •
Alignment of Graduate Attributes to Learning Outcomes
• Introductory Level
• Intermediate Level
• Graduate Level
Graduate Attributes Learning Outcomes
1 2 3 4 5
3 - Critical Thinking • • • • •
5 - Team Work •
6 - Information Technology 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