fIntensive Care Specialities Module Descriptor

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Field name / Comments/notes
Title / Intensive Care Specialities
Code / NH3144
Level / 6
Credit rating / 20
Pre-requisites /
  • BSc (Hons) Acute Clinical Practice course admission criteria apply
  • Complete a minimum of 150 hours clinical time during the time period of the module in an intensive care unit

Type of module / Extensive
Aims / The aim of the module is to enable students to:
  • To develop specialist intensive care knowledge, skills and awareness of the assessment and therapeutic management of patients with acute gastrointestinal, renal and neurological dysfunction
  • To develop specialist intensive care knowledge skills and awareness of management and educational issues in intensive care
  • To explore ethical dilemmas and end of life care in intensive care

Learning outcomes/objectives / By the end of the module the students will be able to:
  • Explain the pathophysiology of common illness/injuries causing failure of the gastrointestinal, renal and neurological systems in the intensive care setting and critically analyse their management
  • Accurately assess the gastrointestinal, renal and neurological function of intensive care patients (physical assessment, renal/gastrointestinal/neurological laboratory results and response to renal/gastrointestinal/neurological therapies), critically analyse abnormal findings and rationalize appropriate actions
  • Critically analyse and demonstrate specialist intensive care skills for managing nutrition (enteral and parenteral), head injuries, patients in or at risk of acute renal failure, transfer of critically ill patients, and teaching in intensive care
  • Critically evaluate the principles and management of renal replacement therapies, burns, and intra-cranial pressure monitoring as well as demonstrate specialist intensive care skills for one of these 3 topics
  • Explore specialist intensive care management of diabetic ketoacidosis, liver failure, pancreatitis, wound care, trauma, poisoning, and response to major incidents
  • Critically analyse organ donation, end of life issues, ethical dilemmas and the patient’s experience in intensive care
  • Explore intensive care follow-up and ‘Critical Care Without Walls’
  • Reflect on the care of patients with acute renal, gastrointestinal, and neurological failure and demonstrate an ability to critique and apply current specialist intensive care research findings to clinical practice

Content / Renal, gastrointestinal and neurological pathophysiology related to the intensive care setting
Physical assessment: abdominal and neurological
Management of acute and chronic renal failure, burns, acute and chronic liver failure, pancreatitis, diabetic ketoacidosis, trauma, and poisoning
Principles and management of renal replacement therapies
Administration and management of parenteral and enteral nutrition
Management of patients with neurological dysfunction, head injuries, and intra-cranial pressure monitoring
Current issues in wound care
Education in intensive care
Management and shift-leading in intensive care
Response to major incidents
Transfer of the critically ill patient
Critical Care Without Walls – management of the critically ill patient outside of the intensive care unit
Intensive care follow-up
Organ donation
End of life issues and ethical dilemmas in intensive care
The patient’s experience in intensive care
Teaching and learning strategies / Hours: 200 total
  • 60 tutor directed
  • 70 private study
  • 70 clinical linked learning activities
Teaching and learning will be facilitated via lectures, discussion and seminar work in the classroom and by demonstration and discussion in the clinical area. In addition to faculty lecturers, other clinical experts will be used to provide specialist in put (e.g. physiotherapists, clinical nurse specialists, nurse consultants, medical consultants and pharmacists). Student Central will be used for electronic learning materials and to promote further communication and learning outside of the classroom.
Learning support / Each student will have a tutor counsellor (normally the module leader) and a clinical mentor. Mentors will be responsible for supervision of assessment of clinical competence and overseeing the progress of the student’s clinical progress within the module. The tutor will assist the student with their theoretical work and liaise with the clinical mentor and other assessors.
Reading List
Adam, S.K. and S. Osborne. 2005. Critical care nursing: Science and practice. 2nd ed. Oxford: OxfordUniversity Press.
Griffiths, R.D. and C. Jones. 2002. Intensive care aftercare. Oxford: Butterworth-Heinemann.
Marino, P.L. and K.M. Sutin. 2006. The ICU book. 3rd ed. Philadelphia: Lippincott Williams & Wilkins.
McConachie, I. 2006. Handbook of ICU therapy. 2nd ed. Cambridge: CambridgeUniversity Press.
Melia, K.M. 2004. Health care ethics: Lessons from intensive care. London: Sage.
Morton, P.G. et al. 2005. Critical care nursing: A holistic approach. 8th ed. Philadelphia: Lippincott Williams & Wilkins.
Scholes, J. 2006. Developing expertise in critical care nursing. Oxford: Blackwell Publishing.
Woodrow, P. 2006. Intensive care nursing: A framework for practice. 2nd ed. Abingdon: Routledge.
Suggested Journals
Nursing in Critical Care
Intensive and Critical Care Nursing
Care of the Critically Ill
Critical Care
Current Opinion in Critical Care
Websites



Assessment tasks / Students will undertake two assessment tasks: theory 75% and practice 25%. Both assessment tasks must be passed in order to pass the module overall.
Theory
  • Poster Presentation 75%
  • Construction of a poster to provide education on a subject relating to the module
  • Viva based on subject of poster presentation
Practice
  • Skills Inventory 25%
  • 6 skills assessed in practice by a mentor/assessor

Brief description of module content and/or aims (maximum 80 words) / This module will normally be the third for students undertaking the Intensive Care Pathway. The module prepares students to develop the specialist knowledge and skills for monitoring and providing interventions for patients with gastro-intestinal, neurological, and renal dysfunction. Management and teaching issues within intensive care will also be explored. Students must demonstrate 200 hours of contact time with intensive care patients during the course of the module (to be confirmed by the clinical mentor).
Area examination board to which module relates / BSc (Hons) Acute Clinical Practice
Module team/authors/ coordinator / Module Leader - Heather Baid
Intensive Care Pathway Board
Semester offered, where appropriate / 1 or 2
Site where delivered / Falmer
Date of first approval / November 1998
Date of last revision / June 2008
Date of approval of this version / April 2010
Version number / 4
Replacement for previous module / N/A
Field for which module is acceptable and status in that field / Undergraduate continuing professional education, School of Nursing and Midwifery
Course(s) for which module is acceptable and status in course / Mandatory module for Level 3 Intensive Care Pathway
Optional/mandatory module for BSc (Hons) in Acute Clinical Practice
Optional/mandatory module for BSc (Hons) in Professional Practice
Optional/mandatory module for BSc (Hons) in Professional Clinical Practice
School home / School of Nursing and Midwifery
External examiner / Tina Moore (2008-2012)
NHS Knowledge & Skills Framework / Core Dimensions1-5
Health and Wellbeing 1-8
Information and Knowledge 1-3
General 1