NURS13140 - Law and Ethical Considerations in the Profession of Nursing

General Information

Unit Synopsis

As a nursing student, you may be confronted by legal and ethical dilemmas that will require you to be able to apply appropriate decision-making skills. This unit will support your transition to a graduate nurse by ensuring that you understand the healthcare laws that govern the profession of nursing. In this unit, you will examine the legal concepts and ethical principles and explore how registered nurses apply these in a healthcare context.

Details

Level Undergraduate
Unit Level 3
Credit Points 6
Student Contribution Band SCA Band 1
Fraction of Full-Time Student Load 0.125
Pre-requisites or Co-requisites

Pre-requisites:

BIOH12012 Pathophysiology and Pharmacology 2 or BIOH12008 Human Pathophysiology or NURS12158 Clinical Nursing Practice 3.

Co-requisites:

NURS12162 Mental Health Nursing with Professional Experience Placement or NURS12157 Concepts of Mental Health Nursing.

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 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. Online Quiz(zes) 15%
2. Presentation 25%
3. Written Assessment 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 84.34% (`Agree` and `Strongly Agree` responses), based on a 13.81% 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: Students in the session.
Feedback
Drop in sessions nearing assessment submission times were well received by students.
Recommendation
Continue to facilitate this connection with coordinators.
Action Taken
Drop-in sessions near assessment submission times were not offered this term. Instead, bi-weekly workshops were implemented, providing students with opportunities to ask questions about their assessments and engage more actively with the course content.
Source: Students who attended the session and viewed the recording.
Feedback
Using a similar type scenario to deconstruct the essay assessment task was very useful.
Recommendation
Continue with this deconstruction process
Action Taken
Scenarios were utilised in the bi-weekly workshops to help deconstruct key concepts using real-world examples. This approach provided students with a deeper understanding and enhanced their ability to tackle their assessments effectively.
Source: Students who attended the session, emails and calls to coordinators.
Feedback
Opportunities to attend a drop in session and not be recorded.
Recommendation
While student's appreciated the recordings of sessions, a number of students also requested time in these sessions where the recording was stopped do they could discuss their personal perceptions on topics. They indicated that recording would then open up to all students an individuals students conceptualising on some sensitive topics. To record the first general discussion and to give off camera time to discussion at the end of each session.
Action Taken
Drop-in sessions were not utilised this term. Instead, bi-weekly workshops were provided, with dedicated time for students to engage with lecturers and ask questions about the assessments.
Source: Drop in sessions, SUTE data
Feedback
While some students indicated four small short answer tasks submitted every two weeks was challenging, other students applauded the smaller items.
Recommendation
Retaining the smaller short answer tasks is ideal however, giving students more flexibility with the submission dates might be of benefit. For example Task A due prior to census date and Tasks B, C & D due by week 10. The compromise is possibly the amount of feedback the student will receive prior to their final assessment task 2. This will also need consideration in relation to the assessment schedule for other final years units.
Action Taken
The four short answer tasks were removed after students indicated they were challenging. In their place, a multiple-choice quiz was introduced to be completed prior to the census date, and a video presentation was used for Assessment Two. Additionally, the workbook was reintroduced and received a positive response from students.
Source: SUTE feedback.
Feedback
Students found the range of learning materials, particularly the podcasts, short videos, and workbook, to be highly effective in supporting their learning and engagement with the content.
Recommendation
The current approach to content delivery, which utilises multiple formats (short lectures, podcasts, transcripts, and downloadable workbooks), will continue to be used in future iterations of the unit. These were positively received and supported diverse learning styles.
Action Taken
In Progress
Source: SUTE feedback.
Feedback
Students valued real-world examples and the teaching team’s ability to make complex legal and ethical concepts accessible and engaging, particularly through humour and shared professional experiences.
Recommendation
The inclusion of real-life clinical examples and an engaging delivery style will continue to be embedded in the teaching approach. This method has proven to increase student understanding and application of content in a clinical context.
Action Taken
In Progress
Source: SUTE feedback.
Feedback
Students appreciated the structure of the unit, particularly how the content was broken down into manageable weekly modules and aligned with the final assessment.
Recommendation
The current structure of weekly content, which aligns with assessment tasks, will be maintained to support student engagement and gradual learning. This scaffolded approach enables students to build knowledge over time, reducing cognitive overload.
Action Taken
In Progress
Source: SUTE feedback.
Feedback
Some students expressed concerns that the volume of legal content felt overwhelming or too detailed for their level, particularly in relation to their role as graduate nurses.
Recommendation
While it is essential to provide a strong foundation in law and ethics, the content will be reviewed to ensure that the level of depth remains appropriate for undergraduate students. Key concepts will be prioritised and clearly linked to practical nursing contexts.
Action Taken
In Progress
Source: SUTE feedback.
Feedback
Students praised the responsiveness, support, and communication of the teaching team throughout the term, particularly the quick replies to questions and clear guidance.
Recommendation
Maintaining high levels of communication and support from the teaching team remains a priority. The use of forums, timely email responses, and ongoing availability during weekly sessions will remain core components of the unit's delivery.
Action Taken
In Progress
Unit learning Outcomes

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

  1. Demonstrate an informed understanding of the basic concepts and principles that underpin Australian healthcare law.
  2. Analyse and reflect on healthcare problems and identify relevant ethical and legal issues.
  3. Develop a broad and coherent body of knowledge of how legislation, policies, frameworks, codes, and guidelines are applied to nursing practice in Australia.

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

Engages in therapeutic and professional relationships

Maintains the capability for 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

Teaching, supervising and assessing

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

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

Organisation’s service environment

Feedback and complaints

Human resources

Organisation governance

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