92481 Introduction to Speciality Practice: Drug and Alcohol Nursing
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Subject handbook information prior to 2025 is available in the Archives.
Credit points: 6 cp
Subject level:
Undergraduate
Result type: Grade and marksRequisite(s): (92438 Medical Surgical Nursing OR 92450 Medical Surgical Nursing (Graduate Entry) OR 92024 Medical Surgical Nursing (Graduate Entry) OR 92322 Medical Surgical Nursing OR 92454 Medical Surgical Nursing)) OR ((93211 Clinical Practice 2B OR 93225 Clinical Practice 2B) AND (93207 Foundations of Nursing Practice 2A OR 93200 Foundations of Nursing Practice 2A) AND (93224 Foundations of Nursing Practice 2B OR 93210 Foundations of Nursing Practice 2B) AND (93214c Foundations of Nursing Practice 3A OR 93228c Foundations of Nursing Practice 3A)
The lower case 'c' after the subject code indicates that the subject is a corequisite. See definitions for details.
Note
92481 Introduction to Speciality Practice: Drug and Alcohol Nursing is not offered in 2024
Description
This subject is co-designed and co-delivered with people with a lived experience of alcohol and other drug (AOD) dependence. Students develop a comprehensive understanding of the multiple explanatory frameworks for understanding and responding to AOD dependence, including from lived experienced, nursing, medical and public health epistemologies. Students are introduced to the causes and effects of AOD dependence through biological theories, trauma informed frameworks, social, cultural and environmental determinants of health, and health politics (e.g. ‘war on drugs’), including critical examination of Australia's policies related to drug treatment and harm reduction and community stigma and discrimination. Students also explore the stories, knowledge and wisdom of people with lived experience of AOD dependence. Students come to understand how drug and alcohol nursing is underpinned by concepts of consumer participation and self-determination, and that nursing care is delivered within a harm reduction framework. The role of differing treatments and harm minimisation are examined, including pharmacotherapies and treatments such as counselling, case management, relapse prevention and 12 step treatment programs. Students also learn key skills in collaborative, consumer focused nursing assessment of intoxication, overdose and withdrawal.
Subject learning objectives (SLOs)
| A. | Examine the prevalence and incidence and associated harms of AOD dependence in Australia (RN Standards of Practice 1,3,5) |
|---|---|
| B. | Examine the various social, biological, and genetic theories of substance dependence Including complex trauma (RN Standards of Practice (1,2,3,5) |
| C. | Learn of how the War on Drugs shapes societal attitudes about drug use and influences drug and alcohol treatment (RN Standards of Practice 1,2,3,5) |
| D. | Consider the importance of language and its potentially detrimental impact on service users (RN Standards of Practice 1,2,3,5) |
| E. | Examine perspectives from experts by experience, drug and alcohol nurses and educators (RN Standards of Practice 1,2,3,5) |
| F. | Reflect on their attitudes about substance use (RN Standards of Practice 1,2,3,5) |
| G. | Explore AOD treatments and consider both harm reduction and abstinence-based options (RN Standards of Practice 1,2,3,4,5,6,7) |
| H. | Consider the physical health needs of service users (RN Standards of Practice 1,2,3,4,5,6,7) |
| I. | Develop interpersonal and counselling skills that will enable the creation of therapeutic relationships with service users (RN Standards of Practice 1,2,3,4,5,6,7) |
| J. | Become proficient in conducting collaborative drug and alcohol assessments and clinical skills (RN Standards of Practice 1,2,3,4,5,6,7) |
| K. | Examine the psychoactive substances that people develop dependence to (RN Standards of Practice 1,3,5) |
Course intended learning outcomes (CILOs)
This subject also contributes specifically to the following graduate attributes:
- Demonstrates an ability to provide holistic and compassionate care that takes into account people's lived experience, views and feelings. (1.1)
- Works in partnership with patients including them in decisions related to their care. (1.2)
- Advocates for people, if required, to ensure that their cultural values and needs are respected. (1.3)
- Demonstrates a commitment to social justice, valuing diversity and seeking to address disadvantage and inequity in healthcare. (2.2)
- Demonstrates the ability to develop therapeutic relationships while maintaining professional boundaries. (3.1)
- Uses information and communication technologies to access valid sources of evidence. (4.1)
- Accesses, appraises and critiques multiple sources of evidence and transfers knowledge to practice. (4.2)
- Plans and provides care based on the best available evidence including clinical expertise and patients' individual needs, values and preferences. (4.3)
- Uses creative and rigorous thinking skills to identify and address novel and emergent healthcare problems. (6.1)
- Uses clinical reasoning skills to accurately assess, interpret and respond to patient data in a systematic and timely manner. (6.2)
- Demonstrates technical and non-technical skills in the provision of safe effective, legal and ethical nursing care. (7.1)
Teaching and learning strategies
Each 6-unit subject requires at least 140 hours of work (including face-to-face and self-directed learning activities) to successfully complete academic requirements.
In this subject, a flipped classroom approach will be used. Learning in a flipped classroom involves online pre-learning, face-to-face small group interactions and problem-solving activities that also promote critical thinking and reflection via peer-to-peer learning. You will be excepted to have completed the pre-learning activities in the subject's study guide before coming to the workshops, as class activities will be based on these.
Content (topics)
- Prevalence of substance use and dependence both in Australia and internationally.
- Viewing substance dependence from a biological,psychological, socio-cultural, political and lived experience perspective, including antecedents of drug use.
- Understanding the effects and harms of drugs individually and at a community level
- Comprehending the effects of stigma and discrimination towards people who use drugs
- Knowledge of substance use dependence treatment and differing philosophies underpinning treatment including abstinence and harm reduction based treatment.
- A history of harm reduction and its ongoing place in prevention and treatment of substance use in Australia.
- A history of peer/lived experience involvement and its ongoing place in AOD service delivery and planning in Australia
Assessment
Assessment task 1: Online quizzes
| Intent: | Students to demonstrate recall of knowledge gained from preparatory work, group work and workshops. |
|---|---|
| Objective(s): | This assessment task addresses subject learning objective(s): A, B, C, D, E, G, H, I, J and K This assessment task contributes to the development of graduate attribute(s): 1.1, 1.2, 1.3, 2.2, 4.2, 4.3, 6.1 and 7.1 |
| Type: | Quiz/test |
| Groupwork: | Individual |
| Weight: | 30% |
| Length: | There will be 3 quizzes. Each quiz will consist on 20 questions and you will have 20 minutes to complete each quiz. The first quiz questions will be based on workshops one and two, the second on workshops three and four and the third will be based on workshops five and six. |
Assessment task 2: Psychoactive Substance Fact Sheet
| Intent: | Through group work, students will design and create a drug and alcohol fact sheet and gain a comprehensive knowledge of psychoactive substances that people seek treatment for. |
|---|---|
| Objective(s): | This assessment task addresses subject learning objective(s): B, G and K This assessment task contributes to the development of graduate attribute(s): 1.2, 4.1 and 4.2 |
| Type: | Presentation |
| Groupwork: | Group, group assessed |
| Weight: | 25% |
| Length: | There is no word length, but fact sheets should not be more than 3 A4 sheets of paper. |
Assessment task 3: Oral Viva
| Intent: | For students to consolidate knowledge learned throughout the semester and apply it to a case study based on an Alcohol and Other Drugs Assessment. |
|---|---|
| Objective(s): | This assessment task addresses subject learning objective(s): B, C, F, I and J This assessment task contributes to the development of graduate attribute(s): 2.2, 3.1, 4.2 and 6.2 |
| Type: | Examination |
| Groupwork: | Individual |
| Weight: | 45% |
| Length: | 30 minutes |
Recommended texts
There is no recommended text for this subject.
References
Please refer to Canvas for a list of references relevant to this subject.
Other resources
UTS Student Centre
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For other resources/ information refer to the Faculty of Health website (www.uts.edu.au/about/faculty-health) and Canvas at: https://canvas.uts.edu.au/.
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Improve your academic and English language skills
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HELPS (Higher Education Language & Presentation Support)
HELPS provides assistance with English language proficiency and academic language. Students who need to develop their written and/or spoken English should make use of the free services offered by HELPS, including academic language workshops, vacation intensive courses, drop-in consultations, individual appointments and Conversations@UTS (www.ssu.uts.edu.au/helps). HELPS staff are also available for drop-in consultations at the UTS Library. Phone (02) 9514 9733.
Please see www.uts.edu.au for additional information on other resources provided to students by UTS.
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