NURS20160 - The Nurse Professional

General Information

Unit Synopsis

This unit provides you with advanced knowledge of contemporary nursing practice in the Australian healthcare industry. You will examine current legislation, registration standards and scope of practice documents in order to organise and delegate safe and effective healthcare for individuals, families and groups. Ethical and legal considerations that arise from working in the nursing profession will be critically analysed and you will consider ethical, professional and self-management implications for practice. You will be encouraged to demonstrate sound judgement in applying legal and ethical frameworks in a simulated activity. You will critically evaluate the use of evidence-informed practice in nursing and will examine its significance in clinical leadership. This allows you to design and communicate a quality improvement plan in a simulated health setting.

Details

Level Postgraduate
Unit Level 8
Credit Points 6
Student Contribution Band SCA Band 1
Fraction of Full-Time Student Load 0.125
Pre-requisites or Co-requisites

Students must be enrolled in either:

  • CH79 Graduate Certificate in Nursing (Re-Entry) or
  • CL02 Graduate Certificate in Nursing (International Registered Nurse Entry)


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
Online
Term 2 - 2025 Profile
Online
Term 1 - 2026 Profile
Online
Term 2 - 2026 Profile
Online

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 Postgraduate 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 50%
2. Online Quiz(zes) 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 - 2025 : The overall satisfaction for students in the last offering of this course was 63.64% (`Agree` and `Strongly Agree` responses), based on a 36.67% 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: Data smart
Feedback
I loved this unit. It was insightful into research and evidence-based practice. Thanks for the feedback.
Recommendation
Continue feedback for the assessment in weeks 3 and 5.
Action Taken
Continued with the formative feedback in weeks 3 and 5. Invited students for discussion regarding concerns or questions in an open office format twice a week.
Source: Data smart
Feedback
Working in groups is hard for those students who don't prepare
Recommendation
Remind students one week before the lesson about the topic and any preparation they need to complete.
Action Taken
Students were reminded of what to prepare for the following week.
Source: anonymous questionnaire on Microsoft Teams
Feedback
Nine of the 12 students who responded strongly agreed that the learning expectations were clearly defined.
Recommendation
Clearly define the expectations for each term.
Action Taken
In Progress
Source: anonymous questionnaire on Microsoft Teams
Feedback
Nine of the 12 students who responded agreed that the course was well organised, while an additional three students strongly agreed.
Recommendation
Build on these successful methods by developing additional learning materials (e.g., visual aids, practical examples, or interactive tools) that align with the teaching approach.
Action Taken
In Progress
Source: anonymous questionnaire on Microsoft Teams
Feedback
All twelve students who responded strongly agreed that the course was taught in a manner that helped them understand the underlying concepts.
Recommendation
Continue using the current teaching strategies, as they effectively support student understanding of underlying concepts.
Action Taken
In Progress
Source: anonymous questionnaire on Microsoft Teams
Feedback
Ten of the 12 students who responded agreed that the course was interesting and important.
Recommendation
Given that ten students agreed the course was both interesting and important, it is recommended that the current course content and structure be retained and further enhanced through engaging, real-world applications. This positive feedback also suggests value in promoting the course more widely to attract future enrolments and support student engagement across similar programs.
Action Taken
In Progress
Source: email
Feedback
Content and teaching were relevant, well organised and effective. The weekly classes prepared us well for the quiz. I appreciate that it was referred to as a quiz and not an exam. It lightened the pressure. Having the time we did for the quiz was excellent as it gave me the chance to actually think about the questions, refer to notes and references, and then answer. Thinking critically doesn't happen instantly Having that time is important.
Recommendation
Continue to structure weekly classes to align closely with assessment tasks, as students have found this approach effective in preparing for the quiz. Maintain the use of the term quiz rather than exam, as this has been shown to reduce student anxiety and foster a more positive learning environment. Additionally, preserve the time allocation for the quiz, as it supports deeper critical thinking and allows students to engage meaningfully with the content, refer to notes and references, and respond thoughtfully. These elements collectively contribute to a supportive and pedagogically sound assessment experience.
Action Taken
In Progress
Unit learning Outcomes

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

  1. Apply legal and ethical frameworks and professional codes and guidelines to nursing practice
  2. Delegate nursing care in an appropriate manner, to optimise patient outcomes in simulated scenarios
  3. Evaluate sources of evidence in order to design an evidence-informed nursing care plan
  4. Apply the principles of clinical leadership to construct a best-practice change concept.

The unit learning outcomes are linked to the Nursing and Midwifery Board of Australia's "Registered Nurses Standards for Practice".

Alignment of Assessment Tasks to Learning Outcomes
Assessment Tasks Learning Outcomes
1 2 3 4
1 - Written Assessment • •
2 - Online Quiz(zes) • •
Alignment of Graduate Attributes to Learning Outcomes
• Professional Level
• Advanced Level
Graduate Attributes Learning Outcomes
1 2 3 4
1 - Knowledge • • • •
2 - Communication • •
3 - Cognitive, technical and creative skills • • • •
4 - Research •
5 - Self-management •
6 - Ethical and Professional Responsibility •
7 - Leadership • •
Alignment of Assessment Tasks to Graduate Attributes
• Professional Level
• Advanced Level
Assessment Tasks Graduate Attributes
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 8