NURSING 785 : Clinical Reasoning in Pharmacotherapeutics

Medical and Health Sciences

2025 Semester Two (1255) (30 POINTS)

Course Prescription

Builds on prior knowledge to establish an advanced understanding of pharmacotherapeutics and the application of the principles of pharmacokinetics, pharmaco-dynamics to prescribing practice in advanced practice roles; and develops nursing skills in clinical reasoning for safe and effective prescribing.

Course Overview

Prescribing skills include the process of analysis, wherein a clinician makes decisions based on risk/benefit considerations and requires skills that are not limited to understanding pharmacology and therapeutics, but support the process of clinical decision-making. Nursing 785 offers students the opportunity to develop their knowledge and skills related to clinical decision making in therapeutic reasoning. Nursing 785 introduces the student to pharmaco-therapeutic principles useful in thinking through the process of therapeutic reasoning to prepare them for a prescriber role. Health care professionals wishing to use their judgment and decision-making skills face a key challenge when prescribing as in most situations, each decision they make requires them to think about an uncertain future. Therefore developing skills in clinical reasoning, together with a greater understanding of the pharmacological profile of the drug and its pharmaceutical, pharmacodynamics, and pharmacokinetic properties is fundamental.  

Course Requirements

Prerequisite: NURSING 742, and 770 or 773 or NURSPRAC 720 Restriction: NURSING 706, 722

Course Contacts

Course Director
Associate Professor Gigi Lim Email: g.lim@auckland.ac.nz

COURSE CO‐ORDINATORS
Professor John Shaw Email: j.shaw@auckland.ac.nz
Adam Wright St, Clair Email: adam.wright@auckland.ac.nz

COURSE ADMINISTRATOR
Matthew Baker Email: m.baker@auckland.ac.nz

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. Evaluate theoretical approaches in order to demonstrate a critical understanding of the conceptual challenges associated with prescribing (Capability 3.2 and 3.3)
  2. Critically analyse prescribing practices and articulate the implications relevant to health care outcomes (Capability 1.4, 4.2 and 7.1)
  3. Identify clinically-relevant medication goals with a view to proposing viable solutions, with reference to the best evidence (Capability 1.3, 3.3 and 6.1)
  4. Develop and demonstrate apply a coherent written argument in order to prescribe or propose changes to medication therapy (Capability 4.1, 4.2, 5.2 and 6.2)
  5. Analyse prescribing practice by way of appropriate frameworks and use them to critique and/or recommend changes intended to improve health care outcomes and professional practice (Capability 1.3, 2.4, 3.1, 3.3, 5.1 and 5.2)
  6. Critically evaluate the knowledge required for safe prescribing in specialty practice areas including physiology, pathophysiology and comprehensive patient assessment (Capability 2.3, 3.2, 4.1, 4.2, 5.2, 6.1 and 7.1)
  7. Analyse processes to monitor and evaluate the effectiveness of prescribing decisions for clients (Capability 1.4, 2.1, 3.2, 3.3, 4.2, 5.1, 6.2, 7.1 and 8.3)

Assessments

Assessment Type Percentage Classification
Test 40% Individual Coursework
Assignments 15% Group Coursework
Essay 30% Individual Coursework
Presentation 15% Individual Coursework
Assessment Type Learning Outcome Addressed
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
Test
Assignments
Essay
Presentation

Workload Expectations

This course is a standard [30] point course and students are expected to spend 10 hours per week involved in each 15 point course that they are enrolled in.

For this course, you can expect [56] hours of lectures, a [32] hour tutorial, [45] hours of reading and thinking about the content and [47] hours of work on assignments and/or test preparation.

Delivery Mode

Online

Attendance is [required] at scheduled online activities including [tutorials] to [complete/receive credit for] components of the course.
The course [will) include live online events including [group discussions/tutorials/lectures] and these will be recorded.
Attendance on campus is [not required] for the [test/exam].
Where possible, study material will [be available at course commencement/be released progressively throughout the course].
This course runs to the University semester/quarter timetable and all the associated completion dates and deadlines will apply.

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.

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.

Online modules have been amended to improve structure and clarity

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.