NURSING 784 : Advanced Emergency Nursing Practicum

Medical and Health Sciences

2025 Semester Two (1255) (30 POINTS)

Course Prescription

Specialty Emergency nurses provide advanced nursing care and need expertise in assessment, diagnostic processes and therapeutic decision making. Advanced assessment skills along with injury and condition specific management models are taught with a focus on clinical decision making for clients in emergency and accident and medical clinic settings. Designed to refine advanced emergency nursing skills for nurses working in specialty emergency nursing roles.

Course Overview

This course aims to support the development of nurses who are working in an expanded practice* role in an emergency care setting. The course provides theoretical knowledge as well as mentored clinical practice in the assessment, clinical decision making and treatment of common emergency department patient conditions. This course will provide both study day based learning and practical application of knowledge in the clinical setting supporting nurses in development of the skills required for independent clinical management of common problems. Assessments will validate acquisition of clinical and theoretical knowledge.
* the phrase "expanded practice" is used by the Nursing Council to describe registered nurses who practice beyond the established contemporary or ‘traditional’ scope of practice.

The course requirements for students are as follows:  
  • employed as a nurse specialist in an emergency care setting and can complete 100 supervised clinical hours
  • have completed an advanced assessment and clinical reasoning paper equivalent to University of Auckland Nursing 773
  • have the support of their manager to attend the ten study days and the exam day
  • have a clinical supervisor and mentor in your clinical setting.
All days on-site at University of Auckland Grafton Campus.

Course Requirements

Prerequisite: NURSING 773 or equivalent, and practising in an advanced nursing role

Course Contacts

Course Coordinator: To be confirmed
Contact: postgradnursing@auckland.ac.nz
Course administrator:  To be confirmed
 

Capabilities Developed in this Course

Capability 1: People and Place
Capability 2: Sustainability
Capability 3: Knowledge and Practice
Capability 4: Critical Thinking
Capability 5: Solution Seeking
Capability 6: Communication
Capability 7: Collaboration
Capability 8: Ethics and Professionalism
Graduate Profile: Master of Nursing

Learning Outcomes

By the end of this course, students will be able to:
  1. Articulate your scope of expanded practice within the emergency care setting, with a focus on musculoskeletal and skin trauma in adults and children as well as common paediatric emergency care presentations. (Capability 4.1, 5.1 and 8.1)
  2. Assess patients presenting to the emergency department within that scope, including a history of the presenting complaint, a health history, physical examination, and appropriate requesting of laboratory tests and radiological imaging. (Capability 5.2, 7.1 and 8.1)
  3. Use and apply assessment data to diagnose common health problems within the scope of practice. (Capability 3.2 and 4.1)
  4. Develop and implement appropriate clinical treatment plans, including interventions such as wound repair and management of musculo-skeletal injuries, selection of medications, discharge planning, and referral to specialist services. (Capability 1.3, 1.4, 3.2, 4.2 and 6.1)
  5. Evaluate the effect of the clinical treatment plan and modify the plan accordingly. (Capability 2.3, 4.1, 5.1, 5.2 and 7.1)
  6. Communicate, consult and collaborate with the multidisciplinary team as the needs of the patient/client require. (Capability 1.3, 5.1, 6.1, 6.2, 7.1, 8.1 and 8.3)

Assessments

Assessment Type Percentage Classification
multi-choice questions 20% Individual Coursework
Short Answer Questions 40% Individual Coursework
Clinical OSCE Exam 40% Individual Coursework
Assessment Type Learning Outcome Addressed
1 2 3 4 5 6
multi-choice questions
Short Answer Questions
Clinical OSCE Exam

Workload Expectations

This course is a standard 30 point course and students are expected to spend 15 hours per week involved in each 30 point course that they are enrolled in.

For this course, you can expect 60 hours of lectures, 140 hours of reading and thinking about the content and 100 hours of work on assignments and/or test preparation.

Delivery Mode

Campus Experience

Attendance is required at scheduled activities  to complete components of the course.
Lectures will be available as recordings.
Attendance on campus is required for the exam day.
The activities for the course are scheduled as a block delivery.

Learning Resources

Course materials are made available in a learning and collaboration tool called Canvas which also includes reading lists and lecture recordings (where available).

Please remember that the recording of any class on a personal device requires the permission of the instructor.

Your most important resource is a good anatomy text, specifically muscular-skeletal anatomy. 

Student Feedback

At the end of every semester students will be invited to give feedback on the course and teaching through a tool called SET or Qualtrics. The lecturers and course co-ordinators will consider all feedback and respond with summaries and actions.

Your feedback helps teachers to improve the course and its delivery for future students.

Class Representatives in each class can take feedback to the department and faculty staff-student consultative committees.

The course was evaluated very highly in 2023. No changes are being made at this stage

Other Information

Clinical hours will be completed in your own workplace; you can arrange to work alongside nurse specialists and nurse practitioners at one of the Auckland regional emergency departments. 

Academic Integrity

The University of Auckland will not tolerate cheating, or assisting others to cheat, and views cheating in coursework, tests and examinations as a serious academic offence. The work that a student submits for grading must be the student's own work, reflecting their learning. Where work from other sources is used, it must be properly acknowledged and referenced. A student's assessed work may be reviewed against electronic source material using computerised detection mechanisms. Upon reasonable request, students may be required to provide an electronic version of their work for computerised review.

Class Representatives

Class representatives are students tasked with representing student issues to departments, faculties, and the wider university. If you have a complaint about this course, please contact your class rep who will know how to raise it in the right channels. See your departmental noticeboard for contact details for your class reps.

Inclusive Learning

All students are asked to discuss any impairment related requirements privately, face to face and/or in written form with the course coordinator, lecturer or tutor.

Student Disability Services also provides support for students with a wide range of impairments, both visible and invisible, to succeed and excel at the University. For more information and contact details, please visit the Student Disability Services’ website http://disability.auckland.ac.nz

Special Circumstances

If your ability to complete assessed coursework is affected by illness or other personal circumstances outside of your control, contact a member of teaching staff as soon as possible before the assessment is due.

If your personal circumstances significantly affect your performance, or preparation, for an exam or eligible written test, refer to the University’s aegrotat or compassionate consideration page https://www.auckland.ac.nz/en/students/academic-information/exams-and-final-results/during-exams/aegrotat-and-compassionate-consideration.html.

This should be done as soon as possible and no later than seven days after the affected test or exam date.

Learning Continuity

In the event of an unexpected disruption we undertake to maintain the continuity and standard of teaching and learning in all your courses throughout the year. If there are unexpected disruptions the University has contingency plans to ensure that access to your course continues and your assessment is fair, and not compromised. Some adjustments may need to be made in emergencies. You will be kept fully informed by your course co-ordinator, and if disruption occurs you should refer to the University Website for information about how to proceed.

Student Charter and Responsibilities

The Student Charter assumes and acknowledges that students are active participants in the learning process and that they have responsibilities to the institution and the international community of scholars. The University expects that students will act at all times in a way that demonstrates respect for the rights of other students and staff so that the learning environment is both safe and productive. For further information visit Student Charter https://www.auckland.ac.nz/en/students/forms-policies-and-guidelines/student-policies-and-guidelines/student-charter.html.

Disclaimer

Elements of this outline may be subject to change. The latest information about the course will be available for enrolled students in Canvas.

In this course you may be asked to submit your coursework assessments digitally. The University reserves the right to conduct scheduled tests and examinations for this course online or through the use of computers or other electronic devices. Where tests or examinations are conducted online remote invigilation arrangements may be used. The final decision on the completion mode for a test or examination, and remote invigilation arrangements where applicable, will be advised to students at least 10 days prior to the scheduled date of the assessment, or in the case of an examination when the examination timetable is published.