514-221 Health Nursing and Society

None

This subject locates contemporary nursing within a socio-historical context and examines legal and ethical responsibilities in nursing practice. Students will have the opportunity to examine health and healing within our culturally and linguistically diverse community. In addition students will further examine the role of epidemiology, in particular the impact that the environment, occupation, race, gender and poverty has on health status. Students will explore the disciplines of knowledge which inform nursing practice and research. They will examine the question of evidence and the ways in which it is used in nursing therapeutic interventions and will also have the opportunity to develop critical appraisal skills in the examination of evidence-based practice.

At the completion of this subject students will be able to:

• demonstrate an understanding of contemporary nursing practice within a socio-historical context;

• discuss legal and ethical responsibilities in nursing practice;

• demonstrate an understanding of health and illness from an epidemiological perspective;

• identify factors that impact on the health status of individuals and populations;

• understand the principles of evidence-based practice and apply an evidence-based approach to the exploration of an aspect of beginning nursing practice;

• describe the impact of the environment, occupation, race, gender, age, poverty, nutrition and lifestyle specific to infectious diseases, reproductive health, cancer, cardiovascular health and diabetes.

At the completion of this subject students will be able to demonstrate:

• critical thinking and analytical skills;

• the capacity for information seeking, retrieval and evaluation;

• communication of knowledge using written and oral presentation methods;

• intercultural sensitivity;

• an openness to new ideas

1) One 1000-word written assignment - 30%

2) One 1000-word written case study - 30%

3) One 1500-word written assignment - 40%

Students must achieve a pass in all components of assessment to pass the subject.

• Borbasi S, Jackson D and Longford R (2004), Navigating the maze of nursing research: an interactive learning adventure.. Sydney: Mosby.
• Perrin R (2004), Pocket guide to APA style. Houghton Mifflin College: Boston.
• Stedman, Stedman's medical dictionary for the health professions and nursing. Australian and New Zealand edition (5th ed) (2005). Lippincott, Williams and Wilkins: Philadelphia.