Study-Unit Description

Study-Unit Description


CODE NUR4149

 
TITLE Achieving Nursing Competence in EU Practice Settings

 
UM LEVEL 04 - Years 4, 5 in Modular UG or PG Cert Course

 
MQF LEVEL 6

 
ECTS CREDITS 10

 
DEPARTMENT Nursing

 
DESCRIPTION During the course of this study-unit, registered students will be allocated to a clinical area in the health care system in Malta, where they will be responsible for a number of patients with varying levels of dependency under the supervision of a qualified member of staff (identified by the Department of Nursing at the University of Malta), who will act as the student's mentor.

The lectures delivered will be related to the practical delivery of nursing care.

By the end of the placement, the students will be expected to practice independently in a safe and competent manner.

This placement is 300 hours over a 13-14 week period in which the student must complete a minimum of 270 hours (90 % of 300) to be eligible for the publication of the final mark of the continuous assessment of this study-unit.

Study-unit Aims:

The study-unit aims to equip the registered students with the knowledge, skills and competences needed to deliver nursing care in line with respective EU directive/s for nurse education and professional regulation. In addition, the study-unit will seek to assist students develop basic medical Maltese language skills.

Learning Outcomes:

1. Knowledge & Understanding
By the end of the study-unit the student will be able to:

- Show an understanding of the care required for the patient's underlying condition;
- Demonstrate an understanding of the medications that the client is receiving, the reasons why these medications are given, any side effects. He/she should also be knowledgeable of the legal implications surrounding drug administration;
- Give care using the four staged process to care delivery known as the nursing process;
- Act within the remit of the nurses' code of conduct of a context at all times;
- Teach junior students;
- Provide effective patient education;
- Speak and understand the Maltese language to a satisfactory level required for the safe efficient delivery of nursing care;
- Identify his/her own learning needs in an unfamiliar clinical setting;
- Acknowledge personal and professional boundaries in an unfamiliar clinical setting;
- Identify broad learning needs relating to clinical setting in a different culture;
- Identify the prevalence of global conditions and illnesses such as diabetes, cardiovascular disease, cancer in Malta in comparison with international contexts;
- Identify means of communication with the multidisciplinary team and patients in modern health care organisations;
- Discuss any cultural differences in the organisation of healthcare services in Malta in the context of the international health care arena;
- Gain insight into the cultural issues that contribute/protect from ill-health in Malta;
- Gain an understanding of the nursing care indicated by patients across different health conditions and status in various health care settings; and
- Gain an understanding of medications prescribed to the patient in relation to the effects and side effects.

2. Skills
By the end of the study-unit the student will be able to:

- Assess a patient's needs;
- Prioritize care to be given to a group of patients;
- Communicate effectively with other members of the health care team, clients and their families/friends;
- Communicate in Maltese to a satisfactory level;
- Delegate care appropriately to other members of staff/students;
- Carry out nursing skills independently;
- Demonstrate good time management skills;
- Evaluate the effectiveness of care implemented and suitably adapt the plan of care in response to the outcomes of the evaluation;
- Distinguish between social and professional communication in a different culture;
- Communicate with the members of staff and patients across different cultures;
- Demonstrate awareness about the use of verbal/non-verbal methods of communication with patients and staff in a different culture;
- Show awareness of the importance of collaborating with the health care team;
- Distinguish the different roles of the multidisciplinary team in an unfamiliar health care organisation in a different culture;
- Prioritise the care to be given to a group of patients;
- Delegate care appropriately to other health care professionals; and
- Evaluate the nursing care interventions and implement change in the care plan as required.

Main Text/s and any supplementary readings:

Main Text:

- Gulanick M & Myers J (2010) (7th Edition) Nursing Care Plans: Diagnosis, Interventions and Outcomes. UK Elsevier.

Supplementary Readings:

- Aston J, Wakefield J & McGown R (2010) The student nurse guide to decision making in practice Glasgow Bell & Bain.
- Benbow W (2013) A handbook for Student Nurses UK. Lantern Publishing.
- British National Formulary (BNF) latest edition.
- Castledine G. and Close A. (2009) Oxford Handbook of Adult Nursing OUP Oxford U.K.
- Grove T. and Rackham, O. The Nature of Mediterranean Europe: An Ecological History (Yale University Press, 2003).
- Hart S (2010) Nursing: Study and Placement Learning Skills Oxford. Oxford University Press.
- Holland K. and Rees C. (2010) Nursing Evidence-Based Practice Skills (Prepare for Practice) OUP Oxford U.K.
- Mosby (2012) (9th Ed) Mosby's Dictionary of Medicine, Nursing and Health Professions USA Mosby.
- Perry Potter (2010) Clinical Nursing Skills and Techniques 8th Edition; London; Elsevier.
- Randle A., Coffey, F. Bradbury M. (2009) Oxford Handbook of Clinical Skills in Adult Nursing OUP Oxford U.K.
- Richards A (2012) (3rd Ed) A nurses' survival guide to the ward. UK Churchill Livingstone.
- Savona-Ventura C. Outlines of Maltese Medical History. Midsea Books, Malta 1997.

 
ADDITIONAL NOTES Please note that a pass in all the assessment components is obligatory for an overall pass mark to be awarded.

 
STUDY-UNIT TYPE Placement and Tutorial

 
METHOD OF ASSESSMENT
Assessment Component/s Assessment Due Sept. Asst Session Weighting
Logbook [See Add. Notes] See note below Yes 20%
Clinical Assessment [See Add. Notes] See note below Yes 80%
Note: Assessment due will vary according to the study-unit availability.

 
LECTURER/S Catherine Sharples

 

 
The University makes every effort to ensure that the published Courses Plans, Programmes of Study and Study-Unit information are complete and up-to-date at the time of publication. The University reserves the right to make changes in case errors are detected after publication.
The availability of optional units may be subject to timetabling constraints.
Units not attracting a sufficient number of registrations may be withdrawn without notice.
It should be noted that all the information in the description above applies to study-units available during the academic year 2023/4. It may be subject to change in subsequent years.

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https://www.um.edu.mt/course/studyunit