NURS12165 - Evidence to Inform Nursing Practice

General Information

Unit Synopsis

The Nursing and Midwifery Board of Australia (NMBA) Registered Nurse Standards for Practice (2016) expect that a registered nurse is able to think critically and analyse nursing practice. This is achieved by accessing, analysing, and using the best available evidence, that includes research findings for safe quality practice. In this unit, you will be introduced to an evidence-based approach to clinical inquiry and decision making that informs nursing practice. You will develop skills in locating evidence, evaluating and applying research findings to inform best practice.

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-requisite: NURS11164 OR NURS11163, BIOH11005 OR BMSC11010, NURS11165 OR NURS11159, NURS11166 OR NURS11160 OR admission to CM77

Must be enrolled in CL91 Bachelor of Nursing OR CM77 Bachelor of Nursing (Enrolled Nurse Pathway)

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 2 - 2025 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 30%
2. Online Quiz(zes) 20%
3. Written Assessment 50%

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 55.29% (`Agree` and `Strongly Agree` responses), based on a 14.99% 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 student feedback
Feedback
Assignments must be clear and easy to understand at the beginning of the term; frustrating when we get clarification on the content of the assignments weekly, many students feel confused about what was expected for the assessments.
Recommendation
Ensure that the assessment instructions are clear and easy to understand. Consider moving the 'Explaining the Assessment' tutorial earlier in the term, possibly to weeks 2 or 3.
Action Taken
All essential resources were provided to students on the Moodle site being made available to students. Week one detailed the expectations regarding the assessment tasks. Seven additional workshop sessions were provided to students to work through the assessment task using a teaching scenario. The recommendation is for greater emphasis on attending the orientation session and the workshops to be provided.
Source: SUTE student feedback
Feedback
A very practical unit that will be useful throughout my undergraduate studies and during my nursing career. I wish this unit was presented in first year.
Recommendation
Continue to emphasise the practical application of Evidence-Based Practice in clinical nursing practice. Suggest that the unit be moved back to the first year of the BN program in the next course revision.
Action Taken
Each module had a stimulus question and an activity that linked a practical nursing challenge and the application of a skill set presented during that module. For example, in considering the challenge of patient positioning, students' activities are required to construct a question for exploration around the topic, identify keywords, form search strings, and determine where to search for valid information. It is recommended that this strategy be retained.
Source: SUTE student feedback
Feedback
I actually enjoyed this unit. Content was great, educators were very helpful and the support for assessments such as exemplars etc was fantastic.
Recommendation
Continue to support the student's learning, by providing assessment support material both from the unit coordinators and from the ALC. Continue to involve the ALC in this unit.
Action Taken
The involvement of the ALC was helpful, particularly to students entering the program without prior first-year academic literacy skills. The ALC workshops will be retained. Students reported that the additional "hands-on" workshops were beneficial, using example questions, and the use of evening sessions to cater to their availability was also positively received. These elements are recommended to be retained.
Source: SUTE student feedback
Feedback
The teaching team provides excellent support regarding assessments; and amazing feedback, including constructive criticism.
Recommendation
Continue to use Grade Form in Turnitin. It encourages the markers to provide detailed student feedback for each marking criterion. Students have a better understanding of the marks they achieved and areas needing possible improvement.
Action Taken
Feedback was provided online and via an upload of an individualised marking rubric. Students reported that this process guided them in their final assessment. All of the assessment components scaffolded the final assessment, and this, too, was positively received. These strategies are recommended to be retained for subsequent offerings.
Source: Student emails and class discussions.
Feedback
Live drop-in/consultation sessions were reported as an excellent strategy by students who attended. It provided an opportunity to create examples and have the coordinators demonstrate an actual search and the refinement process. These sessions were also recorded; however, those students who attended in real-time indicated they received the most benefit
Recommendation
Maintain the live sessions.
Action Taken
In Progress
Source: Student emails.
Feedback
Providing drop-in/consultation sessions in the evening was reported to be very beneficial for students who were balancing family, work, and study requirements.
Recommendation
Maintain some evening sessions to ensure that students who are working or attending to other responsibilities during the day are not disadvantaged.
Action Taken
In Progress
Source: Class discussions and SUTE data.
Feedback
Promoting research skills in locating supporting journal articles through databases was well received. Students reported that gaining these skills not only assisted with NURS12165, but also enhanced their confidence and use of databases, improving results in their other units.
Recommendation
Demonstrating examples of how to use databases effectively should be maintained. Having coordinators who can use databases with ease and also demonstrate the refinement processes in response to student-directed questions was also identified as good practice of learning and teaching design as a variation of the "flipped classroom".
Action Taken
In Progress
Source: SUTE data and class feedback.
Feedback
Another positive feature of NURS12165 was the ability to provide a choice of topics for the written assessments. Students were able to select a topic area and formulate a clinical challenge question that aligned with their interests. Students reported that this made learning and undertaking the associated tasks more enjoyable, as they had input and became active contributors to the process.
Recommendation
Embedding this practice of adult learning should be maintained.
Action Taken
In Progress
Unit learning Outcomes

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

  1. Apply information literacy skills.
  2. Employ a systematic approach to locating evidence to address a specific clinical situation.
  3. Appraise evidence and use critical thinking skills when applying evidence in clinical contexts.
  4. Reflect on the purpose of evidence in nursing practice and explain why clinical decision making should be based on the best available evidence.

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

Comprehensive care

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

Organisation’s service environment

Feedback and complaints

Organisation governance

Alignment of Assessment Tasks to Learning Outcomes
Assessment Tasks Learning Outcomes
1 2 3 4
1 - Written Assessment • • • •
2 - Online Quiz(zes) •
3 - Written Assessment • • • •
Alignment of Graduate Attributes to Learning Outcomes
• Introductory Level
• Intermediate Level
• Graduate Level
Graduate Attributes Learning Outcomes
1 2 3 4
2 - Problem Solving •
3 - Critical Thinking • • • •
4 - Information Literacy • • •
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