Nursing Care of Children and Adults in Primary Care and Home Health Care, 13.5 credits

Admission to semester 4:
All courses from semester 1 and 2
Semester 3: Passed assessment from placement 9 credits in (1SJ022)

Students who have failed the clinical placement due to deficiencies in knowledge, skills or attitudes serious enough to jeopardise patient security or patients' trust in healthcare can qualify for a new clinical placement only when an individual action plan has been completed.

The course's general aim is that students learn to apply knowledge and skills in nursing care of children and adults in primary care and home care service, based on a family-focused and person-centered perspective. Students should be able to identify, assess, remedy, evaluate, document, describe and analyse the most common health problems in the population.

Learning outcomes
Part 1: Nursing of children and adults in primary care and home care service, 5.5 credits.

Knowledge and understanding
On completion of the course, students should be able to:

• identify health problems of children and adult as well as plan nursing care based on the nursing process and evidence-based knowledge, legislation and statutes
• understand and reflect on communication and assessment of the individual's nursing needs in primary care
• understand and reflect on communication with children and parents in connection with nursing care
• use e-health methods to assess individuals' nursing needs
• understand the organisation of primary care in a national perspective
• understand and reflect on intimate partner violence and violence against children in the home

Values and perspectives
On completion of the course, students should be able to:

• analyse and reflect on the ethical and professional attitudes of nurses in the context of primary care
• reflect on children and adults' vulnerability and dignity in the nursing care relationship from an ethical perspective

Part 2: Clinically integrated learning: clinical skills 0.5 credits

Knowledge and understanding
On completion of the course, students should be able to:

• explain the importance of following evidence-based guidelines, laws and statutes in connection with the examination, testing and treatment of patients

Skills and abilities
On completion of the course, students should be able to:

• apply clinical proficiencies with proper consideration of patient safety, patient autonomy and patient participation

Values and perspectives
On completion of the course, students should be able to:

• reflect on patient participation and the need for respecting patient integrity in connection with examinations, testing and treatment

Part 3: Clinically integrated learning: Placement 7.5 HE credits

Skills and abilities
On completion of the course, students should be able to:

• administer appropriate nursing care for common health problems of children and adults
• apply current laws, statutes, safety precautions and the other regulations that govern nursing care
• apply knowledge of communication strategies and styles in interactions with patients of all ages and with families in primary care, home care services and child healthcare
• apply educational skills to support the patient's learning
• apply nursing knowledge and skills in wound care

Values and perspectives
On completion of the course, students should be able to:

• communicate and cooperate in interprofessional teams
• take and give constructive criticism as well as identify needs for one's own development
• reflect on the consequences of nursing care for patients and families and analyse ethical aspects of care

The course includes three parts:

The component covers:

• common public health problems and diseases of children and adults
• the vulnerability and dignity of children and adults from an ethical perspective
• self-care in out-patient care, home care services and child healthcare
• laws, statutes and regulations that govern nursing care
• theories of communication
• healthcare organisation
• e-health
• paediatric nursing
• intimate partner violence and violence towards children

The component covers:

• clinical skills: urinary catheterisation

Component covers among other subjects:

• communication with children and adults
• assessment, planning, implementation, evaluation and documentation in nursing care
• patients'self-care
• the role of the family and family participation in care
• patient learning
• nursing in the patient's home
• the patient's home as working environment
• interprofessional teamwork
• patient safety
• wound and wound care

The teaching is based on a problem-oriented and collaborative approach to learning in which the tasks provide opportunities for students to take active responsibility for their learning. Teaching methods include lectures, seminars, workshops, project work, group assignments, laboratory sessions, study of scientific literature, proficiency training and clinical placements.
The distance education is IT based. Different working methods such as individual study assignments, work in groups, virtual discussions and seminars and lectures occur. Teaching support is given via an IT-based learning platform and the number of physical meetings is limited to 2 days/7.5 credits during the course's theoretical components.

The placement entails 40 hours/week (full-time studies) of which about 32 hours/week is in nursing settings. The clinical placement may involve day, evening, night and weekend shifts, as well as shifts on bank holidays if necessary. Student are not allowed to shorten the length of the clinical placement. Students must follow the placement supervisor's schedule if not otherwise stated.

Participation in seminars, group assignments, laboratory sessions, proficiency training and the clinical placement is compulsory. The course coordinator decides if, and how, absence from compulsory parts can be compensated.

Study results cannot be reported until the student has participated in compulsory course elements or compensated for any absence in accordance with instructions from the course coordinator. Absence from a compulsory course element could mean that the student can not retake the element until the next time the course is offered.

Component 1 is assessed through an individual, written home examination as well as through group seminars.

Students who do not pass a regular examination are entitled to re-sit the examination on five more occasions. Students who have not passed the course after three examinations may retake the course or parts of it; subject to availability. Being able to retake all or parts of the course is subject to availability If the student has failed six examinations/tests, no additional examination is given. Every time that the student has participated in the same examination it is regarded as an examination session. Submission of a blank exam paper is regarded as an examination. In case a student is registered for an examination but does not attend, this is not regarded as an examination. An electronic examination that has been opened via the learning management system counts as an examination session even if the examination is not submitted. Late submissions of examinations are not accepted. Students who have not submitted their examination on time are required to then take another examination.

Component 2 is assessed by clinical examination.

Component 3 is assessed through an evaluation form for clinical placements.

Performance in the clinical placement is assessed through a half-time control and a final assessment, based on established assessment criteria. The professional supervisor and/or adjunct clinical lecturer and/or university lecturers supply information for the assessment according to established evaluation form by responsible university lecturers. If a student risks failing the clinical placement a written plan should be created by the responsible teacher by halfway through the placement at the latest, in collaboration with professional supervisors and the student

The examiner may, with immediate effect, interrupt a student's clinical placement (or equivalent) if the student demonstrates such serious deficiencies in knowledge, skills or attitude that patient safety or patient confidence in healthcare is at risk. If a clinical placement is interrupted in this way the student is deemed to have failed that element and to have used up one clinical placement opportunity. In such cases, an individual action plan should be established, describing all activities and examinations that are required before the student is given one more, final clinical placement opportunity Students who fail a clinical placement (or equivalent) as a result of demonstrating such a serious lack of knowledge, skills or attitude that patient safety or the patients' confidence in medical care is at risk, will only be qualified for a new clinical placement once the individual action plan has been carried out. The clinical training can be repeated once.

If there are special grounds, or a need for adaptation for a student with a disability, the examiner may decide to deviate from the syllabus's regulations on the examination form, the number of examination opportunities, the possibility of supplementation or exemptions from the compulsory section/s of the course etc. Content and learning outcomes as well as the level of expected skills, knowledge and abilities may not be changed, removed or reduced.

For a Pass grade in the course, it is required that the expected learning outcomes are satisfied and participation in compulsory parts. Grades are assigned by the examiner.

If the course has ceased, changed considerably in content, or substantially changed its reading list, the student may take three additional tests (excluding regular test) on the earlier contents or the previous literature for up to one year after the course changes have been made.

The course evaluation will be conducted according to the guidelines that are established by the Committee for Higher Education.

The course will not be credited in a degree together with another course the student has completed and passed which completely or partly corresponds to the contents of this course.