Study Guide

Objective

1) Professionalism and ethics
The student
- can work in acute nursing in accordance with the values and ethical principles of nursing and can assess and develop their implementation in their own work and in the work community.
- is familiar with the main legislation in force and the main recommendations and strategies related to acute care.
- grows in their professional identity as nurses and in the responsibilities that come with their specialist role.
- takes into account patient and workplace safety, collegiality, well-being and coping in their work.
- values and supports the expertise, involvement and agency of the client/patient and their next of kin in acute care.
- can work with clients and colleagues from different cultures.

2) Communication and information technology
The student
- can communicate professionally in oral and written form.
- is able to communicate and interact independently in his/her mother tongue, a second mother tongue and at least one foreign language.
- understands his/her own and other social and health professionals' responsibilities and the importance of a controlled and flexible division of labour in the delivery of total client/patient care.
- can work in multidisciplinary teams and settings and networks with good interpersonal skills.
- is able to interact in a professional and caring manner with clients/patients of different ages and backgrounds and their next of kin.
- complies with data protection and safety requirements in the social and health care sector and with the relevant legislation in all his/her work.
- masters appropriate record-keeping in accordance with the nursing process and is able to assess and develop the timeliness, consistency and quality of information recorded in the patient information system.
- uses health information technology, electronic databases and reporting tools in their work.

3) Health promotion and guidance skills
The student
- can apply evidence-based, up-to-date research in acute care and in the development of acute care work.
- can design, implement and evaluate health and functional capacity interventions for individuals and groups with clients/patients and in a multidisciplinary, pedagogically and ethically sound way.
- can assess client/patient needs, resources and personal responsibility in the planning and self-care of counselling.
- can support the client/patient and family members in their commitment to treatment.
- knows the care pathway of a acute client/patient and knows the basics of service counselling.

4) Leadership, employee skills and entrepreneurship
The student
- can work independently, manage his/her own work, organize and prioritize tasks flexibly according to the situation.
- can work in a cost-conscious and sustainable manner.
- considers the members of the working community in an equal and collegial manner.
- is able to mentor students and colleagues and is willing to share his/her own knowledge and expertise.
- is able to develop and adapt his/her work in line with changes in the social and health care sector.
- understands the concept of internal entrepreneurship and is committed to applying it in their work.
- is able to apply the principles of cost awareness in his/her field of activity and works in an economical way.
- is able to identify, in reflection with the work community, areas for improvement and needs for change in his/her own work.
- is able to participate as a member of a team in development, innovation and research processes.

5) Clinical nursing
The student
- can plan, implement and evaluate individual, holistic care of acute client in cooperation with his/her next of kin and a multidisciplinary cooperation network.
- manages the knowledge and skills of the key procedures needed in nursing work as part of the overall care of the acute client/patient.
- master the principles of asepsis and infection control in different settings.
- applies information on anatomy, physiology, pathophysiology, pharmacology and the implementation of drug therapy when planning, implementing and evaluating drug therapy in the treatment of various diseases.
- manages the legislation and information guidance related to medical treatment.
- can apply nutritional and treatment recommendations aimed at different age and target groups in the prevention and treatment of diseases.
- masters the principles of family nursing and knows how to apply its methods.
- knows how to use different methods to support the psycho-social and belief needs of the acute client/patient and their next of kin.

6) Evidence-based action, research and decision-making
The student
- understands that the nurse's work is based on evidence and commits to implementing it.
- can safely and reliably plan, implement and evaluate evidence-based care.
- participates in the development of evidence-based practices in her / his own work.
- knows how to search for information from the most common health sciences databases and can read and critically evaluate scientific publications.
- is able to make clinical decisions based on evidence.
- can use scientific information in clinical decision-making.

7) Social and health care service system
The student
- understands the organisation of social and health care, the ways in which services are provided and organised, as well as the governance and supervision in Finland.
- understands the roles of the different activities and service units as part of the acute care and service chain.
- understands his/her role in building the reputation, brand and image of the organisation and in creating the customer service experience.
- knows how to use electronic services as part of the overall care of the patient.

8) Patient and client safety
The student
- takes patient and client safety into account in all phases of his/her work and is able to promote patient safety and prevent incidents through his/her own actions.
- is able to act immediately and appropriately in the event of an incident.
- identify potential incidents, be able to make an incident report and understand the incident reporting process.
- critically assess the quality of care for older people with a view to improving the care provided to the client and their own work.
- participates in quality assurance as a member of the work community.
- is aware of the impact of his/her own actions on the quality of the organisation.
- understands the use of patient safety reports as part of the organisation's quality control.

Content

Deepening the nurse's expertise in acute care nursing
- the special features of the nursing work of an acutely or critically ill patient, assessment of the need for treatment, examination and observation of the patient, key nursing measures and evaluation of the effectiveness of the treatment
- nursing decision-making in different situations of acute care work
- supporting and guiding the patient and his / her next-to-kin in a crisis caused by a sudden illness and in different situations of acute care work
- safe drug and fluid therapy in acute care for patients of different ages
- consideration of client and patient safety in different environments of acute care work
- the ethical requirements of nurses in their own activities

Qualifications

Basics of Clinical Nursing
Evidence Based Clinical Competence Modules 1-3
Safe Medication and Fluid therapy Skills
At least 150 ECTS in basic studies

Assessment criteria, satisfactory (1)

1-2
The student
-has a narrow, surface understanding of the role of nursing scientific knowledge in clinical decision-making.
-uses nursing scientific concepts in a limited way, without an understanding of their meaning or connection to the practice of nursing.
Information seeking skills are limited and he/she does not know how to seek information in the most important health science databases. The learning assignments are lacking in relation to the instructions, with limited use of sources and considerable errors in the referencing system. Work is unplanned and of poor quality.
The student is passive in seminars, with little or no contribution.

Assessment criteria, good (3)

3-4
The student
-understands the role of nursing scientific knowledge and uses contemporary nursing scientific sources in decision-making.
-uses nursing scientific concepts and understands their meaning to the practice of nursing.
-knows how to seek information in the most important health science databases.
-follows instructions given on learning assignments and, when writing references, observes the Seinäjoki UAS guidelines on written assignments.
-works in a deliberate, mostly self-directed manner and in a responsible, planned way.
-prepares for and uses visual aids in presentations of learning assignments.
- prepares for and provides peer feedback in a constructive way.
- actively takes part in seminar discussions.

Assessment criteria, excellent (5)

5
The student
-demonstrates interest in and understands the role of nursing scientific knowledge and applies contemporary nursing scientific sources in decision-making.
- uses nursing scientific concepts extensively, analytically and critically.
-knows how to seek information in the most important health science databases.
-applies the information extensively and critically.
-follows instructions given on learning assignments and, when writing references, observes the Seinäjoki UAS guidelines on written assignments.
-works in a deliberate, self-directed, responsible and planned manner.
-carefully prepares for presentations of learning assignments, uses visual aids and distictive and creative solutions.
-actively takes part in seminar discussions and widens the perspective on the concept under discussion.

Assessment criteria, approved/failed

Failed = 0
The student demonstrates no understanding of the role of nursing scientific knowledge in decision-making. He/she does not know nursing scientific concepts, their meaning or connection to the practice of nursing. He/she does not know how to seek information in the most important health science databases. The learning assignments are lacking in relation to the instructions, with major errors in the referencing system. Student's work is unplanned and of poor quality. The presentations on learning assignments are inadequate or the student fails to deliver the presentations.When giving feedback to peers, it becomes apparent that he/she has a limited understanding of the concept of peer feedback, or he/she completely fails to give feedback. The student is passive in seminars, with little or no contribution.
Patient safety is compromised.

Further information

Study methods
Flipped learning and case-based collaborative learning, simulations, independent study, drug calculations
Course evaluation
Written exams
Numerical evaluation of a clinical training period
Written assignment in internship (to be assessed)