NS5902 - Diagnostic Reasoning and Clinical Decision Making for Nurse Practitioners

Credit points:	03
Year:	2007
Student Contribution Band:	National Priority Band
Administered by:	School of Nursing, Midwifery & Nutrition

Available to students enrolled in Master of Nursing (Nurse Practitioner)

This subject is designed to enhance the student nurse practitioner's physical assessment proficiency, by focusing upon critical thinking and diagnostic reasoning skills. Students will learn to identify, collate and incorporate appropriate diagnostic data, and analyse this evidence to arrive at a hypothesis that will lead to a further narrowing of differential diagnoses. Clinical diagnostics will be incorporated into the assessment process and these will include laboratory and radiology diagnostics and a variety of cardiovascular monitoring techniques. As part of this process, students will refine their documentation and medical record-keeping skills. The knowledge and skills gained in this subject will complement that gained in NS5901 (Extended Health Assessment for Nurse Practitioners), to provide students with a comprehensive framework within which to make clinical decisions. As such, it provides the platform for the application of these processes to specific client groups and a number of extended nursing roles.

Learning Outcomes

• develop knowledge, skills and professional attributes required for safe and effective practice as a Nurse Practitioner.

Graduate Qualities

• The ability to adapt knowledge to new situations;
• The ability to define and to solve problems in at least one discipline area;
• The ability to think critically, to analyse and evaluate claims, evidence and arguments, and to reason and deploy evidence clearly and logically;
• The ability to deploy critically evaluated information to practical ends;
• The acquisition of coherent and disciplined sets of skills, knowledge, values and professional ethics from at least one discipline area;
• The ability to reflect on and evaluate learning, and to learn independently in a self directed manner;
• The ability to manage future career and personal development;
• The ability to read complex and demanding texts accurately, critically and insightfully;
• The ability to speak and write clearly, coherently and creatively;
• The ability to generate, calculate, interpret and communicate numerical information in ways appropriate to a given discipline or discourse;
• The ability to communicate effectively with a range of audiences;
• The ability to lead, manage and contribute effectively to teams;
• The ability to work with people of different gender, age, ethnicity, culture, religion and political persuasion;
• The ability to work individually and independently;
• The ability to select and use appropriate tools and technologies;
• The ability to use online technologies effectively and ethically.

Availabilities
Townsville, Limited, Study Period 1
Census Date 30-Mar-2007
Face to face teaching 14-May-2007 to 19-May-2007 (Flexible delivery requiring some on-campus attendance)
Coordinator:	Assoc. Professor David Lindsay
Lecturers:	Dr Rebecca Stewart, Dr Ann Bonner, Ms Maggie Grant.
Contact hours:	24 hours - 3 Days compulsory residential. Total workload for this subject is 150 hours. This indicates a workload of about 10 hours per week. This time is divided between attending the residential, reading the study guide and recommended readings, and completing the activities. Additional time needs to be set aside for assignments (approx 6 hours for every 500 words of assignments). Clinical practicum is required concurrently.
Assessment:	end of semester exam (60%); assignments (20%); clinical portfolio (20%).
Restrictions:	An enrolment quota applies to this offering.

Note: Minor variations might occur due to the continuous Subject quality improvement process, and in case of minor variation(s) in assessment details, the Subject Outline represents the latest official information.