Assessment task: Online Modules

Students are required to complete three (3) online modules found on the LEO site.

Purpose: Online module tasks are designed to enable students to demonstrate understanding of the specialty practice environment in terms of roles and responsibilities, rights, communication processes and the meaning of illness for patients. The modules include a reflection on learning to consolidate learning about the specialty practice environment.

Online Module 1 -

Distinguish the roles and responsibilities of a nurse in the selected specialty practice area.

In this module we will explore the role of the specialist nurse, including identifying the special skill set of the specialist nurse in your elective area. We will identify some of the physical and emotional safety issues related to the specialty and determine some strategies you can use to keep yourself safe. We will conclude the module with examining the legal aspects associated with the specialty, both in terms of your responsibilities and the responsibilities of the employer.

In Australia specialty nursing practice is a post graduate qualification. As registered Nurses you can work in any area of nursing, so what defines specialty practice? What is the difference between a nurse practitioner and an advanced practice nurse as opposed to someone who has worked in same clinical area for 10yrs or someone who has a postgraduate certificate or Diploma in specialty area?

Module one looked at the specific rights and responsibilities of the registered nurse in a specialty clinical area, including from the perspective of keeping the nurse and her/his patients/clients physically and emotionally safe. It also raised the issue of legal responsibilities and identified issues specific to the specialty area.

For your assessment: write 400 words on an issue of safety or of legal responsibility that you explored in some depth, ensuring it is specifically related to the specialty area.

Online Module 2 -

Module two looks specifically at the rights of clients and in more depth the rights of their carers in the process of treatment and recovery. It raises some questions about how the nursing profession views and deals with the rights of the carers and their need for information, particularly in the context of patients/clients who may lack insight in their care needs.

For your assessment: Write 400 words on your understanding of the dilemma of providing information to carers while considering the confidentiality concerns relating to the patient/client.  Don't forget to consider the ethical implications in your consideration of the issues.

Most health care organisations have a patient charter or similar document that is given to patients or clients in the care of the organisation, to explain their rights.

• Find this document for your specialty area and read it.
• Consider, who is it aimed at and does it include the rights of the carers as well?
• Is the organisational charter proscriptive in nature allowing no room for flexibility based on ethical considerations

It would also be worth finding out if the health care organisation has specific policies to cover the rights of patients/clients and their carers.

• Go to the organisation's policies and procedures manual or web page, and find out what the relevant policies are.
• Are there policy for each party or just a general policy that is inclusive, again is there flexibility in the policy

Jot down some answers to these points as they will assist you incompleting the assessment task 3 component for this module.

References - Buchanan, H., Cooper, L., Fielding, A., Godwin, I., Hird, A., Migliorino, S., . . . Isted, Lyn. (2012). Ethical practice for health professionals (2nd Ed.). Australia: Cengage Learning Australia.

Online Module 3 -

Reflect on the personal perceptions and meaning of health, illness, dying and death as appropriate in the specialty practice area.

The perspectives on and understanding of health, illness, dying and the experience of someone's death is a very personal matter and the meaning a persona ascribes to it varies from person to person. As nurses it is important for us to understand that different people view these concepts and experiences in a variety of ways, and some of those ways may surprise or even dismay us.

For this module you are asked to explore some of the writings in the public domain on how people have made meaning of their health related issues.

Exploring how people perceive a variety of issues in health, illness and dying may help us make meaning of it, both in terms of our own views on these concepts, and in terms of how the people in our care or people related to those in our care, may respond to alterations in health and experience illness.

Reflection is not a new concept, the ancient Greek philosopher Plato insisted that reflection and ultimately change was important component of our humanity.  Reflection is not an artificial technique it is inherently human and reflection and action are the impetus for change and personal improvement (Daly, Speedy & Jackson, 2014).  This being said in order to reflect fully we must know ourselves well, our drive, ambition and prejudices if we are going to understand others fully.

READING - The following article relates to informal carer, while the article is based in Europe there is relevance to Australian Health care system with increasing number of community and home services

Plank, A., Mazzoni, V., &Cavada, L. (2012). Becoming a caregiver: new family carers' experience during the transition from hospital to home. Journal Of Clinical Nursing, 21(13/14), 2072-2082.doi:10.1111/j.1365-2702.2011.04025.x

ACTIVITY - Find three articles from magazines, journals, blogs, online postings (most numerous), where the person writes about the meaning an illness has had for them.  Preferably this will be from your area of specialty practice however this may prove difficult for some specialties in this case pick a specialty area that interests you where there is information available. Choose one article each from the following perspectives or points of view.

• From the perspective of the person being cared for
• From the perspective of the person closest to them (partner, parent, child, etc)
• From the perspective of a health professional caring for such a person

Choose one of your readings and write a reflection on how that has changed your perspective or given you some insight into the meaning illness has for a particular person.

When writing your reflection make sure you consider your own perceptions, morals and ethics.

Attachment:- Assignment File.rar