NURS12162 - Mental Health Nursing with Professional Experience Placement

General Information

Unit Synopsis

Mental health nursing is a specialised area of nursing that focuses on the care of people with mental health challenges. Nurses who work within the mental health care framework operate from a strengths-based approach to assist people in their recovery to emotional health and physical wellbeing. In this unit, you will learn about your nursing role in mental health care and recovery. You will develop your skills in establishing a therapeutic relationship in the clinical setting. You will apply the Nursing and Midwifery Board of Australia (NMBA) Registered nurse standards for practice (2016). You will continue to explore the importance of the National Safety and Quality Health Service (NSQHS) Standards (2017) to all nursing practice in Australia and use the Patient Safety Competency Framework (PSCF) (Levett-Jones et al., 2017) in your practice as a nursing student. You will be expected to identify risk and recognise and respond appropriately in the simulated and clinical environment. You will work within your scope of practice using the decision-making framework (DMF) (NMBA, 2020). You will participate in a compulsory two (2) day residential school prior to attending professional experience placement for this unit. This unit includes a 80 hour block professional experience placement in a mental health care setting. You must meet specific mandatory health, safety and security requirements to be eligible to attend each professional experience placement. Professional experience placements may be limited in your community and you may be placed in other locations. Please be prepared financially and personally to cover the costs to relocate for placements. Due to the limited availability of placements, some block placements have to start and/or end on dates that fall outside standard term dates.

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:

BIOH12011 Pathophysiology and Pharmacology 1 or BIOH11006 Advanced Anatomy and Physiology and NURS12154 Pharmacology for Nursing Practice

NURS11170 Professional Experience Placement 1 or NURS11161 Clinical Nursing Practice 1

Co-requisite:

BIOH12012 Pathophysiology and Pharmacology 2 or BIOH12008 Human Pathophysiology

NURS12161 Professional Experience Placement 2 or NURS12158 Clinical Nursing Practice 2

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 Compulsory Residential School
View Unit Residential School

Unit Availabilities from Term 1 - 2025

Term 2 - 2025 Profile
Mixed Mode
Rockhampton
Term 3 - 2025 Profile
Mixed Mode

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. In-class Test(s) 0%
2. Professional Practice Placement 0%

This is a pass/fail (non-graded) unit. To pass the unit, you must pass all of the individual assessment tasks shown in the table above.

Past Exams

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Previous Feedback

Term 2 - 2024 : The overall satisfaction for students in the last offering of this course was 79.59% (`Agree` and `Strongly Agree` responses), based on a 17.19% 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
Feedback
It is my pleasure to share my gratitude for this subject and appreciate how the unit is delivered. The unit content was well organised. I enjoyed how the course focused on classic theory/models and modern theory/models of care. I have already submitted my feedback regarding the Residential School component of the course. I will take this time to express my positive feedback. Craig Morris did an excellent job preparing me for my Acute Mental Health Unit Townsville placement. Thank you. Thank you to both Carmen Barnard and Stephen Haines. I sent out a "cry" for help as I managed to email my Formative Australian Nursing Standards Assessment Tool (ANSAT) paperwork to no one. The Sonia database system is clunky and not user-friendly. Both Carmen and Stephen promptly contacted me and resolved my error. Placement: I was apprehensive about my placement. I chose the Acute Mental Health Unit in Townsville. It was challenging. Caring for consumers in a mental health setting was enlightening. I'm thankful for the learning opportunity. The challenging aspect was the system. The system doesn't match the mental health theory/models of care: chalk and cheese. Finally, Shunil Raina. Thank you for your time and stimulating conversation post-placement. Shunil provided post-placement feedback and was very personable. Shunil is genuinely invested in the personal, academic and professional growth of students. Thank you
Recommendation
Unit Coordinators will continue to apply diverse teaching, learning and assessment philosophies and methods aligned with Pedagogy, Andragogy, Bloom's taxonomy framework, Benner's concept relating to stages of clinical competence and principles of equality, diversity and inclusion. Unit Coordinators will also continue to underpin their educationalist practice with recognised educational and mental health nursing theories and practice skills; Australian College of Mental Health Nursing (ACMHN) Standards of Practice and Scope of Practice; NMBA Standards and Codes; ICN Code of Ethics and the CQUniversity Values (Engagement, Can do, Openness, Leadership, Inclusiveness).
Action Taken
Unit Coordinators continued to apply diverse teaching, learning and assessment philosophies and methods that are aligned with pedagogy, andragogy, Bloom's taxonomy framework, Benner's concept relating to stages of clinical competence and principles of equality, diversity and inclusion. Unit Coordinators continued to underpin their educationalist practice with recognised educational and mental health nursing theories and practice skills as guided by the Australian College of Mental Health Nursing (ACMHN) Standards of Practice and Scope of Practice; NMBA Standards and Codes; ICN Code of Ethics and in alignment with the CQUniversity Values (Engagement, Can do, Openness, Leadership, Inclusiveness).
Source: 2-Day Residential Schools and SUTE
Feedback
Why do need to complete a medication-focused Assessment One at the 2-Day Residential School and also at the PEP 3 Residential School?   I was disappointed that there wasn't a written assignment for this subject, I have a love of mental health and was excited to do some research for an assignment but that wasn't the case. Although I could have done independent research it is unrealistic with full-time study and work to do any other learning than needed. A unit with no assessment in my opinion is a waste of time as was placement. I feel that the two-day residential school is not enough for this placement. It needs to be an entire 12-week learning unit, with weekly content etc, rather than the 2-day res school and placement.
Recommendation
As directed by the School of Nursing & Midwifery, the unit in Term 2, 2023 changed from when it was last delivered in Term 2, 2022. This change included introducing a summative Assessment One (Medication In-class Test/Online Quiz) completed by students at the 2-Day Residential School, which replaced the previous unit summative Assessment One (Mental Health Assessment/Mental State Examination) completed by students at the 2-Day Residential School. The change also included ceasing a summative Assessment Three (Mental Health Nursing-Written Reflective Assessment) students completed at the latter stage of the term. This left the unit in Term 2, 2023 with two instead of the three assessments it had in Term 2, 2022. These were Assessment One (Medication In-class Test/Online Quiz) and Assessment Two (Professional Experience Placement).  At the time of writing this Annual Unit Enhancement Review (AUER) for Term 2, 2023, the unit is already being delivered in Term 3, 2023. Therefore, moving forward to and for the next offering of the unit in Term 2, 2024; the assigned Unit Coordinators and Mental Health Nurse Academics teaching in the unit ongoing have requested the Bachelor of Nursing-Head of Course (BN-HOC) to assess and consider ceasing the summative Assessment One (Medication In-class Test/Online Quiz) completed by students at the 2-Day Residential School and re-introducing the summative Assessment One (Mental Health Assessment/Mental State Examination), re-introducing the summative Assessment Three (Mental Health Nursing-Written Reflective Assessment), and retaining the summative Assessment Two (Professional Experience Placement). The Bachelor of Nursing-Head of Course (BN-HOC) has kindly relayed that the requested changes will be discussed by her with the School of Nursing & Midwifery executive when they next meet.  
Action Taken
The Bachelor of Nursing-Head of Course (BN-HOC)/School of Nursing & Midwifery executive authorised unit coordinators to change the summative Assessment One (Medication In-class Test/Online Quiz) to a summative Assessment One-In-class Test-Invigilated Medication Safety Quiz (Online).
Source: SUTE
Feedback
I am yet to attend my placement at the Vic camp. I learnt so much from our residential school. The online learning also gave me a great insight into mental health. I learned tools to assist myself in stressful situations. I work as an AIN in ED and daily have interactions with mental health patients. I have gained skills and tools and knowledge to empower me further to work with the patients. Thank you for the res school I really appreciated it. Really enjoyed the content of this unit. was informative and down to earth. Placement was a wonderful experience. Thank you.
Recommendation
Unit Coordinators continued to apply evidence-informed diverse teaching, learning and assessment philosophies and methods that are person-centred/student-focused and culturally sensitive to enhance individual students’ motivation, commitment and ability to complete all the unit assessments and meet the set learning outcomes.
Action Taken
Unit Coordinators continued to apply evidence-informed diverse teaching, learning and assessment philosophies and methods that are person-centred/student-focused and culturally sensitive to enhance individual students’ motivation, commitment and ability to complete all the unit assessments and meet the set learning outcomes.
Source: SUTE
Feedback
I thoroughly enjoyed the mental health residential school, the teacher was very knowledgeable. I very much liked not having the pressure of taking the practical assessment at the end of residential. But still being able to practice the assessment without the marking. The best subject this term! Really enjoyed res school. Placement was challenging and I have a whole next level of respect for anyone that specialises in mental health nursing. I don't think it's for me but I really do appreciate the opportunity to experience it.
Recommendation
Unit Coordinators will continue to develop and ensure the 2-Day Residential School learning content, teaching and assessment methods are underpinned by current evidence-informed educationalist and mental health nursing theoretical knowledge and practice skills.
Action Taken
Unit Coordinators continued to develop and ensure the 2-Day Residential School learning content, teaching and assessment methods are underpinned by current evidence-informed educationalist and mental health nursing theoretical knowledge and practice skills.
Source: SUTE
Feedback
This was an exceptional unit both in the quality of teaching and the content. By far the most beneficial unit to my learning experience. Every aspect from the weekly content to the res school, assessment and placement was a powerful and needed insight into mental health nursing. It has forever changed my personal and professional mindset in the most positive ways. Thank you for giving me this learning opportunity!!!!
Recommendation
Unit Coordinators will continue to apply diverse teaching, learning and assessment philosophies and methods aligned with pedagogy, andragogy, Bloom's taxonomy framework, Benner's concept relating to stages of clinical competence and principles of equality, diversity and inclusion.
Action Taken
In Progress
Source: 2-Day Residential Schools and SUTE
Feedback
The learning material and residential school attached to this unit were valuable and well delivered. However, this unit is not enough to adequately prepare nurses to care for those with mental health concerns. I am disappointed that further content and written assessments were not included as part of learning for mental health. I believe this would have best been delivered as another unit. I am aware that post-graduate study is an option, but there are many nurses that will undertake this study and this will result in a lack of understanding and adequate care of patients that are suffering with mental illness. The small amount of time dedicated to mental health demonstrates that the university does not consider mental health to be a serious or worthwhile topic to educate their about. Unfortunately, this is reflected by the attitudes of nurses across the profession. It is unlikely to improve without a solid foundation of learning provided by universities throughout Australia.
Recommendation
Unit Coordinators will continue to develop and ensure the 2-Day Residential School and Moodle learning content, teaching and assessment methods are underpinned by current evidence-informed educationalist and mental health nursing theoretical knowledge and practice skills. The Bachelor of Nursing-Head of Course (BN-HOC)/School of Nursing & Midwifery executive will incorporate this feedback when planning and formulating the revised Bachelor Of Nursing (BN) degree curriculum.
Action Taken
In Progress
Source: SUTE
Feedback
[Unit Coordinator] was a fantastic facilitator and shared so openly his experiences with nursing. He checked in regularly while on placement and I felt very supported. He also contacted me once my placement was done to commend me on my feedback and ask me about my experience. I have never had this from any other university facilitator and it showed such wonderful personalisation and support.
Recommendation
Unit Coordinators will continue to apply evidence-informed diverse teaching, learning and assessment philosophies and methods that are person-centred/student-focused and culturally sensitive to enhance individual students’ motivation, commitment and ability to complete all the unit assessments and meet the set learning outcomes.
Action Taken
In Progress
Unit learning Outcomes

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

  1. Demonstrate adherence to the Nursing and Midwifery Board of Australia (NMBA) standards, codes and guidelines in the physical and psychosocial assessment, planning, implementation and evaluation to support mental health consumers, their carers and their significant others in the simulated and clinical environment.
  2. Apply a trauma-informed, recovery-oriented approach when collaborating with mental health consumers, their carers and significant others.
  3. Undertake comprehensive, holistic and culturally appropriate assessments to appraise plans that are responsive to the nursing needs of people with mental health challenges.
  4. Reflect on ethical, legal and professional issues that may influence the therapeutic relationship with mental health consumers, carers, and significant others.

Content in this unit incorporates a number of professional nursing requirements

Nursing and Midwifery Board of Australia decision-making framework (DMF) - nursing

Nursing and Midwifery Board of Australia Registered Nurse Standards for Practice

Thinks critically and analyses nursing practice

Engages in therapeutic and professional relationships

Maintains the capability for practice

Comprehensively conducts assessments

Develops a plan for nursing 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

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
1 - In-class Test(s) •
2 - Professional Practice Placement • • • •
Alignment of Graduate Attributes to Learning Outcomes
• Introductory Level
• Intermediate Level
• Graduate Level
Graduate Attributes Learning Outcomes
1 2 3 4
1 - Communication • • • •
2 - Problem Solving • •
3 - Critical Thinking • • •
5 - Team Work • • •
7 - Cross Cultural Competence • • •
8 - Ethical practice • • • •
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