NURSING 785 : Clinical Reasoning in Pharmacotherapeutics

Medical and Health Sciences

2020 Semester One (1203) (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, pharmacokinetic properties is fundamental.   
 

Course Requirements

Prerequisite: NURSING 742, 773 Restriction: NURSING 706, 722

Capabilities Developed in this Course

Capability 1: Disciplinary Knowledge and Practice
Capability 2: Critical Thinking
Capability 3: Solution Seeking
Capability 5: Independence and Integrity
Graduate Profile: Master of Nursing

Learning Outcomes

By the end of this course, students will be able to:
  1. Understand and critically evaluate Evaluate theoretical approaches in order to demonstrate a critical understanding of the conceptual challenges associated with prescribing (Capability 1.1, 1.2 and 1.3)
  2. Analyse Critique prescribing practices and articulate the implications relevant to health care outcomes (Capability 2.1, 2.2 and 2.3)
  3. Demonstrate Identify clinically-relevant medication goals with a view to proposing viable solutions, with reference to the best evidence (Capability 1.1, 1.2, 1.3, 3.1 and 3.2)
  4. Analyse Develop a coherent written argument in order to prescribe or propose changes to medication therapy (Capability 2.1, 2.2 and 2.3)
  5. Analyse 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 2.1, 2.2, 2.3, 5.1, 5.2 and 5.3)
  6. Evaluate Critically evaluate the knowledge required for safe prescribing in specialty practice areas including physiology, pathophysiology and comprehensive patient assessment (Capability 2.1, 2.2, 2.3, 5.1, 5.2 and 5.3)
  7. Analyse Analyse processes to monitor and evaluate the effectiveness of prescribing decisions for clients (Capability 1.1, 1.2, 1.3, 2.1 and 2.2)

Assessments

Assessment Type Percentage Classification
Test 35% Individual Test
Case Studies 15% Group Coursework
Case Studies 35% Individual Coursework
Presentation 15% Individual Coursework
Assessment Type Learning Outcome Addressed
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
Test
Case Studies
Case Studies
Presentation

Learning Resources

Highly recommended texts :
Gutierrez, E. (2008) Pharmacotherapeutics Clinical Reasoning in Primary Care (2nd Edition) Saunders. Canada 
 Bryant, B., Knights, K., Salerno, E. (2014) Pharmacology for Health Professionals.(3rd edition). 
 Marrickville NSW, .MosbyMcKenna, L., Lim, AG. (2014) Mckenna’s Pharmacology for Nursing and Health Professionals. Broadway, N.S.W.: Lippincott Williams & Wilkins 

Course Contacts

COURSE CO‐ORDINATOR 
Dr. Gigi Lim    Email:  g.lim@auckland.ac.nz   Phone: 09 9233782 
Professor John Shaw  Email: j.shaw@auckland.ac.nz 
COURSE ADMINISTRATOR    
Matthew Baker Email:  matthew.baker@auckland.ac.nz   Phone:09 923 1088 

Workload Expectations

This course is a standard [30] point course and students are expected to spend 20 hours per week involved in each 30 point course that they are enrolled in.

For this course, you can expect [49] hours of lectures, a [5] hour tutorial, [80] hours of reading and thinking about the content and [70] hours of work on assignments and/or test preparation.

Other Information

Understanding the principles of pharmacokinetics, pharmacodynamics, pharmacogenomics, and drug-drug interactions are discussed and evaluated in this course.   This course addresses the practical and analytical considerations for prescribing as the clinician makes decisions based on risk/benefit considerations that require skills that are not limited to understanding pharmacology and therapeutics, but support the process of clinical decision-making.

Digital 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.

Academic Integrity

The University of Auckland will not tolerate cheating, or assisting others to cheat, and views cheating in coursework 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. This requirement also applies to sources on the internet. A student's assessed work may be reviewed against online source material using computerised detection mechanisms.

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 at 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.

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.

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.

Published on 13/01/2020 09:17 a.m.