Part A: Course Overview

Course Title: Assessment Analysis In Mental Health Nursing

Credit Points: 12.00

Terms

Course Code	Campus	Career	School	Learning Mode	Teaching Period(s)
NURS1087	Bundoora Campus	Postgraduate	150H Health Sciences	Distance / Correspondence or Face-to-Face	Sem 2 2010, Sem 2 2011, Sem 1 2012, Sem 2 2012, Sem 2 2013
NURS1087	Bundoora Campus	Postgraduate	150H Health Sciences	Face-to-Face	Sem 1 2006, Sem 2 2006, Sem 1 2007, Sem 2 2008, Sem 2 2009, Sem 2 2014, Sem 2 2015, Sem 2 2016
NURS1087	Bundoora Campus	Postgraduate	173H School of Health and Biomed	Face-to-Face	Sem 2 2017, Sem 2 2018, Sem 2 2019, Sem 2 2020, Sem 2 2021, Sem 2 2022, Sem 2 2023, Sem 2 2024

Course Coordinator: Themba Sibanda

Course Coordinator Phone: +61 3 9925

Course Coordinator Email: themba.sibanda@rmit.edu.au

Course Coordinator Location: Bundoora West

Pre-requisite Courses and Assumed Knowledge and Capabilities

Assumed Knowledge

To be eligible to undertake this course you must be registered with the Nursing and Midwifery Registration Board of Australia as a Registered Nurse with general registration Contact your course coordinator if you think you may be eligible for recognition of prior learning. For further information go to: www.rmit.edu.au/students/enrolment/credit/he

Course Description

This course provides you with opportunities to develop skills in holistic psychiatric nursing assessment. Multiple assessment models will be examined from a theoretical and practical perspectives. The notion of assessment as an integral aspect of care planning and delivery will be emphasised. Assessment processes and evaluation tools will be analysed with respect to their appropriateness and usefulness taking into consideration cultural and psychosocial factors that impact on client assessment practices. Assessment for anxiety disorders, depressive disorders, mood disorders, eating disorders, family violence and sexual assault will be explored.

Objectives/Learning Outcomes/Capability Development

This course contributes to the development of the Program Learning Outcomes in the following way:

• PLO 1: The Mental Health Nurse acknowledges diversity in culture, values and belief systems and ensures his/her practice is non-discriminatory, and promotes dignity and self-determination.
• PLO 3: The Mental Health Nurse develops a therapeutic relationship that is respectful of the individual’s choices, experiences and circumstances. This involves building on strengths, holding hope and enhancing resilience to promote recovery.
• PLO 6:  The Mental Health Nurse actively pursues opportunities to reduce stigma and promotes social inclusion and community participation for all people with mental health issues.

At the conclusion of this course you should be able to:

1. Critically review assessment processes used in the management of clients with an alteration to their mental health status.
2. Critically analyse assessment frameworks and specific assessment tools used in the diagnosis of clients presenting with specific symptoms related to an alteration to their mental health status.
3. Apply culturally specific principles to interviewing strategies used for the purpose of mental health/illness assessment.
4. Demonstrate an advanced level of knowledge related to professional competence in assessment, program planning and program evaluation for clients with mental health needs.

Overview of Learning Activities

You will be actively engaged in a range of learning activities such as lectorials, tutorials, practicals, laboratories, seminars, project work, class discussion, individual and group activities. Delivery may be face to face, online or a mix of both. 

You are encouraged to be proactive and self-directed in your learning, asking questions of your lecturer and/or peers and seeking out information as required, especially from the numerous sources available through the RMIT library, and through links and material specific to this course that is available through myRMIT Studies Course. 

Overview of Learning Resources

RMIT will provide you with resources and tools for learning in this course through myRMIT Studies Course. 

There are services available to support your learning through the University Library. The Library provides guides on academic referencing and subject specialist help as well as a range of study support services. For further information, please visit the Library page on the RMIT University website and the myRMIT student portal.

Overview of Assessment

Assessment Tasks

Assessment Task 1: Case study
Weighting 40%
This assessment task supports CLOs 1 & 4

Assessment Task 2: Written essay
Weighting 50%
This assessment task supports CLOs 1, 3 & 4

Assessment Task 3: Online Quiz
Weighting 10%
This assessment task supports CLOs 2, 3 & 4

If you have a long-term medical condition and/or disability it may be possible to negotiate to vary aspects of the learning or assessment methods. You can contact the program coordinator or Equitable Learning Services if you would like to find out more.