92482 Introduction to Specialty Practice: Women's Health
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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
92482 ISP Women’s Health is not offered in 2024.
Description
Women's health has traditionally been examined from a gynocentric or medical perspective as women have been acknowledged primarily for, and only in terms of, their reproductive function. However, issues surrounding women's health are broader than this and should be studied in the context of women's place in a patriarchal society at local, national and global levels. In this subject students have the opportunity to examine, within a feminist framework, why women still need specialised services for women only and why the women's health movement continues to challenge the system providing mainstream health services. The subject is situated in a social model of health and students have the opportunity to test the theoretical claims of the subject in various women's health service environments. The services which are used for placements are services catering in the main to very vulnerable groups of women and the services expect a high level of maturity from students for clinical placements. Students are interviewed prior to enrolling in the subject to better match students with an appropriate service from the limited number of placements available for this subject.
Subject learning objectives (SLOs)
| A. | See women as complex individuals whose diverse life experiences determine their orientation to their health and its promotion and preservation (RN Standards for Practice 2). |
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| B. | Identify those health problems and issues that are specific to women by virtue of their gender and position in a patriarchal society (RN Standards for Practice 1, 2 & 3). |
| C. | Discuss the impact of socio-cultural factors on the health of women, the scope of health services and the nature of nursing interventions (RN Standards for Practice 1, 4 & 5). |
| D. | Use effective therapeutic communication skills and strategies to promote relationship centred care with women to achieve optimal health outcomes in a culturally safe and appropriate way (RN Standards for Practice 2). |
| E. | Practice interprofessional collaboration and teamwork within the women’s health sector by clearly expressing clinical reasoning in written and verbal forms, particularly in complex situations (RN Standards for Practice 1, 6 & 7). |
| F. | Produce strategies through which women may become empowered to make decisions concerning control of their own health and delivery of care (RN Standards for Practice 1, 4 & 6). |
Course intended learning outcomes (CILOs)
This subject also contributes specifically to the following graduate attributes:
- The ability to plan and provide care that is respectful of each individuals’ needs, values and life experiences (1.0)
- The embodiment of a professional disposition committed to ethical, equitable and legal nursing practice (2.0)
- The ability to communicate and collaborate safely, compassionately and respectfully. (3.0)
- The ability to provide patient care premised on the best available evidence (4.0)
- Professional cultural competence that contributes to the health and well-being of Indigenous Australians, inclusive of their physical, social, emotional and spiritual wellbeing (5.0)
Teaching and learning strategies
In this subject students will participate in a range of teaching and learning strategies that are designed to encourage students to engage with women's health nursing within a primary health care/social model of health context. Students will benefit from both real time delivery of content and access to online resources. There is an expectation that students will engage in pre learning activities. This will include podcasts, videos, professional and grey literature prior to attending face-to -face sessions where they will be supported in discussion and application of the knowledge gained. The classes are scheduled as workshop format so they will involve active collaboration of all students and facilitators. We will draw on the personal and professional experience of students as well as facilitators to enrich the learning experience.
Personal, Professional and Expert Narratives. Guests are engaged to provide students with personal and professionalstories in relation to the subject content. Hearing stories from both a professional and personal perspective supports students to relate learning to real world experiences and students will be encouraged to contribute to the discussions by sharing their ideas and experiences. Feedback will be given by their peers and facilitators as students are supported in these narratives.
On-campus workshops will be facilitated in allocated class time to enable students to engage with sensitive or confronting topics. Facilitators will include subject coordinator and health care practitioners drawn from women's health practice settings and they will share their experiences and expertise with students.Reflection and feedback will be a vital component of all workshops and will be encouraged and supported. Subject content often requires values clarification and reflections on our values and beliefs. Working in healthcare, particularly when we work with vulnerable people, often challenges us to re think how we can best support our patients and clients and this is only possible in a safe and supportive environment.
Students will undertake field visits to women's health services. This will include a site visit to the service where clinical practice will take place. Students will negotiate with the service for a topic for presentation whilst on clinical practice. A synopsis for this presentation will form assessment 1. Feedback will be given by the managers of the service in relation to their chosen presentation topic. Subject coordinator will provide further feedback prior to students submitting their synopsis for assessment.
Clinical placement. Students complete 120 hours of clinical placement experience relevant to women's health in a context of a social model of health. Placements are provided in a range of contexts including primary health care services, health services and the not for profit sector in metropolitan and rural settings. Clinical placements will provide opportunities to work in services addressing the health needs of vulnerable women such as migrant and refugee women, indigenous women, women as victims of family violence, women with substance use disorders, women in prisons, women and unplanned pregnancies. Students will provide nursing care within multidisciplinary teams to develop and consolidate their knowledge, skills and attributes relevant to the health of women. Prior to enrolling in the subject students will be required to engage in an interview with the subject coordinator in order to ensure students suitability for the available placements.
Content (topics)
Content will include:
- Principles of women’s health with reference to the National Women’s Health Policy and the 4 identified health priorities;
- Consultation Discussion Paper (2009): Women’s orientation to their health and its prom-otion and preservation;
- Women’s Health in Australia with reference to the Australian Longitudinal Study on Women’s Health;
- Women, sexuality and sexual health;
- Health concerns of women in rural and remote communities;
- Health concerns and needs of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women;
- Health concerns of migrant and refuge women;
- Health concerns of young women and the impact of the media on health issues;
- Health concerns of women as mothers, carers, single parents, employed and unemployed women;
- Health concerns of older women;
- Women and mental health, including the implications of imprisonment, violence and substance misuse;
- Application of principles of women’s health to evaluate the provision of health care to meet the needs of vulnerable women.
Assessment
Assessment task 1: Synopsis of consumer/ professional development education - presentation and plan
| Intent: | Part of the professional expectation in your role as a Registered Nurse, is to provide education to consumers of health care and as well, your colleagues or peers as professional education. This is part of your on- going role as a professional and contributes to your life-long learning. |
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| Objective(s): | This assessment task addresses subject learning objective(s): A, B, D and F This assessment task contributes to the development of graduate attribute(s): 1.0, 2.0, 3.0 and 5.0 |
| Weight: | 40% |
| Length: | 500-700 words synopsis |
Assessment task 2: Completion of an online activity and short answers related to the activity
| Intent: | Students will increase their awareness of the serious and prevalent problem of family violence, the health issues for women and children who are victims of violence and the role of the nurses in identifying, supporting and advocating for women and children who are victims of family violence and consequently seek access to refuge services. |
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| Objective(s): | This assessment task addresses subject learning objective(s): A, B, C and E This assessment task contributes to the development of graduate attribute(s): 2.0, 3.0 and 4.0 |
| Weight: | 60% |
| Length: | 250 -300 words for each question - (1500 -1800 words in total). |
Assessment task 3: Clinical placement
| Objective(s): | This assessment task addresses subject learning objective(s): B, D, E and F This assessment task contributes to the development of graduate attribute(s): 1.0, 3.0 and 5.0 |
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| Length: | 80 hours |
References
Australian Bureau of Statistics (2007) The health and well-being of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women: a snapshot,2004-05. Issue 4722.0.55.001.ABS, Canberra.
Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (2010) Australia’s Health 2010. AIHW, Canberra.
Best,O & Frederiks, B (eds). 2014, Yatdjuligin Aboriginal and Torres Start Islander Nursing and Midwifery Care, Cambridge University press, Melbourne.
National Women’s Health Policy 2010, Commonwealth of Australia, 2010.
Roberts, H(ed).2013, Women’s Health Matters, Routledge, London.
Other resources
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