050 Nursing, bachelor
Introduction
The curriculum for the Bachelor’s degree programme in Nursing at Telemark University College aims at realising the national curriculum and regulations for 3-year nursing education approved by the Ministry of Education and Research, on 1st July 2004 in relation to § 46 no. 2, in no. 22 of the Norwegian Universities’ Act of 12th May 1995.
The curriculum is based on the following documents:
- White Paper No. 27 (2000-2001) on reform of the quality of higher education: Do your Duty – Demand your Rights.
- The national curriculum and regulations for 3-year nursing education approved by the Ministry of Education and Research, 1st July 2004 in relation to § 46 no. 2, in no. 22 of the Norwegian Universities’ Act of 12th May 1995; and the regulations of the National Curriculum of September 2005, approved by the Ministry of Education and Research.
- Norwegian Universities’ Act no. 15, 1st April 2005
- Telemark University College’s Examination Regulations adopted by the board 15th December 2005, and internal regulations for nursing education - Faculty of Health and Social Studies.
- Telemark University College’s Strategic Plan (2005-2009) approved by the board 18th February 2005.
- The curriculum for Nursing Education at Telemark University College, 20th May 2005.
- Regulations for Suitability Assessment for health and social studies, which came into force 1st August 2006.
This revised edition is applicable to the new full time study programme which starts autumn 2007.
Target Group and Admission Requirements
For admission to the nursing programme, the student must meet general admission requirements. Applicants who do not meet these requirements but who will be 25 years of age during the year they apply may seek admission on the basis of prior experiential learning.
Students whose first language is not Norwegian and students with special needs or functional disabilities may apply for special accommodations at the beginning of their studies, during the course of their studies or in connection with examinations before the relevant deadlines.
The programme is intended for persons who are motivated to work with sick people, who have the ability and desire to provide care and treatment and who will be able to meet the challenges and possibilities offered by the health services. Independence, a sense of responsibility, flexibility and a conscious, reflective approach to nursing practices are characteristics which are stressed in the programme.
Aim of the Programme
The study programme is designed to train informed and reflective nurses for national and international duties. Nursing requires engagement and curiosity, the courage to be creative and the ability to think critically and systematically. We wish to train nurses with a high level of ethical awareness who will take responsibility for their actions and respect the opinions of others.
Study unit 1:
Basic nursing
Focus: Basic Nursing
The aim of study unit 1 is that the student:
Will develop an inquisitive and exploratory approach towards knowledge and learning
Will acquire an understanding of the historical, ethical and scientific foundations of the nursing profession
Will be able to describe the subject of nursing and its professional functions
Understands the health-promoting and preventative functions and aspects of nursing
Will train up the capacity for observing and evaluating a patient’s basic needs, and accommodate them
Will master the fundamental skills of nursing
Will develop the ability to empathise, care for and cooperate with sick patients
Will be able to explain the structure, functions and development of the human body
Will acquire an understanding of nutritional physiology, preventative nutrition and the nutrition of children and adolescents
Will have knowledge of the spread of disease and contributing factors to the health of the population
Will be able to explain human psychological development and maturation processes
Will gain an understanding of the relationships between human health, disease, living conditions, quality of life, culture and society
Study unit 2:
Nursing of patients in the special health services
Focus: Nursing in the special health services
The aim of study unit 2 is that the student:
Further develops and integrates his/her knowledge of basic nursing through practicing nursing in the special health services
Has an understanding of the development of formal organised nursing
Is familiar with the scientific basis of nursing in the special health services
Has an understanding of the preventative, educational and administrative functions and tasks involved in nursing, as well as of treatment and the reduction of suffering
Observes and evaluates the condition of the patient, symptoms, how the patient experiences illness, personal resources and his/her ability to cope with circumstances.
Understands the reactions of patients and relatives to health problems, illness and death
Understands how the basic needs of people are influenced by illness
Has insight into the significance of age, gender and cultural identity in relation to failing health and illness
Acquires knowledge of nursing in connection with somatic disease and illness
Exercises nursing skills and is able to use common medical technical equipment relevant to the special health services
Reflects on ethical dilemmas in the special health services and defends one’s conclusions
Demonstrates empathy with and respect for patients and relatives
Knows about the most common somatic diseases and their medical treatments
Carries out and follows up on prescribed treatments and examinations
Handles medicines in a responsible manner
Informs, councils and instructs patients, relatives and co-workers in the special health services
Has an understanding of health and illness in a multicultural context
Has insight into the organisational and legal guidelines for nursing in the special health services
Study unit 3:
Nursing in the municipal health services, mental health work and international health programmes
Focus: Nursing in the municipal health services, mental health work and international health programmes
The aim of study unit 3 is that the student:
Further develops and integrates his/her knowledge of nursing of acute, critical and chronically ill patients through nursing in the municipal health services
Develops critical and analytical skills with respect to the knowledge base of the nursing profession and his/her personal practices
Applies the information found in the nursing profession’s various knowledge bases, and good personal skills and attitudes to nursing in general and in relation to individual patients in particular
Critically evaluates research-based literature in general and in relation to one’s own practices specifically
Analyses patients’ basic needs in light of various theoretical approaches
Recognises the nurse’s responsibility for, and the complexity of, cooperation with individual patients and groups of patients
Demonstrates attitudes which protect the integrity of individual patients
Recognises the significance of interdisciplinary and inter-departmental cooperation in one’s professional activities
Analyses contexts and evaluates their influence on patients’ state of health
Integrates knowledge and approaches from the social sciences in the practice of nursing in general, and in relation to the individual patient in particular
Gains an understanding of professional challenges in international health work
Has insight into and skills in relation to culturally sensitive nursing situations
Identifies and further develops his/her own attitudes and values with respect to people with different cultural backgrounds
Recognises the nurse’s responsibility for professional advances and research
System of values
Values are decisive in all human activities. Respect for the life and values of the individual is a fundamental value in nursing. Other crucial values are care, compassion, solidarity with the weak, respect for personal integrity and the right to be consulted
Views on nursing
Nursing as a subject and profession is concerned with the individuals and groups in society who are in need of care, nursing or treatment related to failing health or illness. Nursing involves health promotion, disease prevention, rehabilitation and contributing to a peaceful death.
Views on society
Social changes also influence health problems. The challenges in the health and nursing services are increasing, both with respect to the extent of and the demands for competence. Illness and health-related problems can be related to both local and global social developments. Life-style diseases and advanced age will pose professional challenges to the nursing services.
The programme will stimulate students to follow social developments with a critical and reflective attitude in order to become more aware of circumstances in society which influence the lives, health and welfare of individuals and groups.
Views on knowledge, education and learning
In nursing, understanding is cultivated through a mutual dialogue between science and clinical experience.
Nursing builds upon a scientific understanding of the individual, health failure and illness from both medical/scientific and humanistic/social-science approaches, and upon scientific knowledge of the profession and function of nursing.
In this programme, nursing competence is developed through the interplay of theoretical and clinical studies.
Students acquire scientific knowledge of the healthy and the sick individual, reactions to illness, the consequences of illness and the clinical methods of the nurse.
In addition, students will learn a variety of job-specific skills and methods.
Throughout the study period, students will continue to develop the attitudes and personal traits which are required when cooperating with patients, relatives and interdisciplinary teams.
Competence
The nursing education will provide professional and personal competence which will form a basis for seeking certification as a nurse. The national curriculum for professional nursing of 1st July 2004 promotes competence on two levels: decision-making competence and planning competence. By decision-making competence, we mean adequacy with respect to qualifications, competence and independent action. By planning competence, we mean preparing in advance for exercising professional duties based on knowledge, skills and attitudes. This requires further development and specialised training for independent practice.
The newly trained nurse will have competence in the following fields:
- health-education and preventative tasks
- nursing, care and treatment
- informing and counselling patients and relatives
- professional ethical attitudes and actions
- professional development, quality assurance and research
- organisation and leadership, policies and laws
Further Education opportunities
The Bachelor study programme in Nursing provides the necessary requirements for admission to post-Bachelor studies such as: public health nurse; midwife; intensive, anaesthesia and surgery nursing; and mental health work. The programme also provides the basis for Master’s and PhD studies in Nursing Science.
Curriculum and structure
Curriculum and Structure
The study programme in Nursing comprises 180 ECTS credits and consists of the following four major course units: The Professional and Scientific Foundation of Nursing; The Discipline of Nursing and the Foundation of the Nursing; Medical and Natural Science Subjects; and Social Science Subjects; cf. the national curriculum for nursing education, June 1st, 2004.
At Telemark University College the four major course units are organised into 15 courses. The course are distributed over three study units depending on the nursing focus, target groups and nursing’s functions. Each study unit begins with an introductory course and is concluded with a synthesis course.
An optional English language module is also available.
Overview of the study units’ main focus, courses, target groups and nursing’s functions
|
Focus and courses |
Target group |
Nursing’s functions 1) |
|
|
Study unit 1 |
Basic Nursing
Course 4
Course 5 |
Healthy and vulnerable groups |
Health-promoting and preventative Instruction, Administration and Professional development |
|
Study unit 2 |
Nursing in the Special Health Services
Course 10 |
Acute, critical and chronically somatically ill |
Health-promoting and preventative
Habilitation and rehabilitation
Administration |
|
Study unit3 |
Nursing in the Municipal Health Services
Course 14
Course 15
Course 16 |
Chronically ill and people with long-term loss of functions |
Health-promoting and preventative Treatment and relief of suffering
Habilitation and rehabilitation Administration Professional development |
1) Every academic year some of nursing’s functions are emphasised. This does not exclude the other functions.
2) In all of the three study units there is an introductory course and a synthesis course.
Studies progression
The student should have completed and passed clinical studies, programme assignments/home assignments, skills’ tests, exercises and examinations for study unit 1 before starting on clinical studies and completing programme assignments/home assignments, skills’ tests, exercises and examinations for study unit 2. The medication calculation test must be passed before the student can start on clinical studies in the special health services in study unit 2.
Students who during the course of the 3rd semester have not passed the theoretical requirements for study unit 1 must suspend their studies before the clinical studies begin in the 3rd semester. The student may attempt to take the examination again when the next regular examination is held.
The student should have completed and passed clinical studies, programme assignments/home assignments, skills’ tests, exercises and examinations for study unit 2 before completing programme assignments and examinations for study unit 3.
Students who have not passed the theoretical requirements for study unit 2 must suspend their studies before October 1st in the fifth semester and sit a new examination when the next regular examination is held. Programme assignments in connection with the clinical studies must be completed within the actual period of practical experience. Programme assignments/home assignments, skills’ tests, exercises and examinations which are taken/submitted during the course of the study programme are described under each course.
Teaching and Learning Methods
In the resource lectures and classroom teaching theoretical subject material will be presented and discussed. Relevant topics will be examined, analysed and problematised in the light of related research or students’ own R & D work.
Students will engage actively with the programme material through self-study and work on programme assignments and project work, both individually and in groups.
In the university college’s practical experience department students develop their clinical skills and train in simulated situations by, amongst other things, using ICT-supported learning methods.
An important part of the studies takes place in the clinical field where students further develop their knowledge, practical skills and attitudes in conjunction with the nurse’s professional activity in real situations with patients and clients.
As a step in the integration of theoretical and clinical studies, students will be given supervision individually and in groups in which the focus will be to reflect on, actively engage in and analyse clinical experiences, and integrate theoretical knowledge, further develop understanding and their own attitudes.
Through written work in theoretical and clinical studies Students will develop the ability to describe and justify their actions, which is vital for the development of professional competence in nursing. Use of ICT will be an important tool in the studies. The web-based platform Classfronter will be used to distribute information about the programme as well as teaching material. Students will have access to a PC in the college’s computer lab.
Learning environment
The learning environment influences the students’ learning processes and effectiveness in learning. The learning environment in the theoretical parts of the programme are promoted via the regular teaching programme, access to professional and personal supervision, the college’s user-supported IT systems, accessibility to library services as well as the possibility of participation in the democratic fora of the study programme.
The learning environment in the clinical parts of the programme is influenced by the organisational conditions and effective working structures. Other important factors are: clear agreements between the college and the practical experience institutions; an open and inclusive working environment; an environment which perceives the students as separate individuals, and includes them in decision-making with regard to their own learning plans. It is also important that students are allocated a supervisor who is personally engaged with the will and ability to treat the student as an individual.
The daily activities of the health services are arranged for duties in relation to nursing and treatment. The nursing students focus in clinical studies concerns both specific duties and learning. The college works systematically with various quality-assurance measures in order to improve the nursing students clinical learning environment and consequently the effectiveness of their learning.
Internationalisation
The nursing profession is an international profession in its form and character. The Department of Health Studies emphasises students’ opportunities for completing parts of their studies abroad and they endeavour to develop professionally relevant and qualitatively effective learning arenas. The nursing programme has a comprehensive programme for international activities.
Apart from teacher exchanges, research work and cooperation with regard to the development of modules and curricula, the Department has established exchange agreements for students who wish to take parts of their regular Bachelor degree abroad. The exchange agreements are linked to specific education networks in the Nordic Council of Ministers educational programme, Nordplus and to the EU system’s educational programme, as well as Socrates-Erasmus via networks and bilateral agreements. The students in the Bachelor programme in Nursing may sign agreements with foreign universities for periods of between 4 – 12 weeks.
In addition, students may participate in a 14-day “Intensive Programme”, which is financed by Socrates and Nordplus. Furthermore, the Department also has agreements of intention with nursing programmes in the USA regarding an alternative nursing module, as well as contacts with voluntary organisations in Africa and Asia regarding the opportunity of participating in 4-week visiting-student programmes. As a rule these are completed during the 3rd study unit.
Students who wish to complete parts of their studies abroad must exhibit qualitatively good progression in their studies, as well as participate in obligatory courses in connection with cross-cultural nursing and cross-cultural communication. The parts of the programme that are open for optional study periods abroad are described in the curriculum. During the 3rd study unit students also have the option of taking an English language course in nursing (4 ECTS); this is offered to the Department’s own students and to exchange students visiting the college.
Theory and Practical Training
This is described in the teaching plan as well as “Worth Knowing” (“Verdt å vite”) – written information prepared by the Faculty of Health and Social Studies.
Assessment Methods
Telemark University College examination regulations adopted by the board December 15th, 2005 provides the following definitions:
The term “Assessment” refers to the allocation of grades, such as pass/fail for a course, or for a specific examination or assignment.
“Final Examination” (Norwegian : “eksamen”) refers to the complete assessment which forms the basis for the grade. Various forms of assessment are used in the programme, such as, examination, skills’ test, programme assignments, assessment of clinical studies, home assignments and project work etc.
Telemark University College examination regulations are valid for all examinations and include all the programme assessments which form the basis for a course or study programme grade (cf. regulation § 1). In addition to the regular examinations, tests, programme assignments/home assignments and skills’ tests (cf. regulation § 7) during the course of the academic year, students may also be permitted to re-sit examinations when the next regular examinations are held. External candidates may only be assessed for the course 050E03-1 AF examination in anatomy and physiology.
Detailed descriptions of the assessment arrangements and criteria are given in the plan for courses. The programme emphasises a gradual development of competence from the first to the third study unit in scientific theoretical and methodological approaches specially within the field of nursing. With regards to forms of assessment it is required that research literature is used in the guidelines for assessment of student presentations.
The following grading system is used:
|
A |
Excellent |
An excellent performance, clearly outstanding. The candidate demonstrates excellent judgement and a high degree of independent thinking. |
|
B |
Very good |
A very good performance, which is above average. Shows independent thinking. |
|
C |
Good |
An average performance, which is satisfactory in the most important areas. |
|
D |
Satisfactory |
Below-average performance, with significant shortcomings. |
|
E |
Sufficient |
A performance that meets the minimum criteria, but no more. |
|
F |
Fail |
A performance that does not meet the minimum academic criteria. |
Pass / fail In order to achieve a passing grade the candidate should exhibit sufficient knowledge and also to some extent be able to apply that knowledge in a professional manner in specific patient contexts. The candidate should be able to give an account of the main professional ethical challenges and exhibit the relevant understanding for the subject and its corresponding area of responsibility.
Assessment of clinical studies
Assessment is a continuous and obligatory part of clinical studies. The assessments are made in relation to the study unit’s general aims and the specific aims of the student. In supervised clinical studies the student will receive both midway and final assessment. As a general rule, the student assessments are made in meetings between the student, supervisor and teacher. In observation studies and student-visit arrangements the student will be given a brief assessment by the supervisor on the basis of the course’s aims and in relation to the current attendance regulations. The assessment given is pass / fail and the university college is responsible for the final allocation of the grade. For more information regarding assessment and evaluation arrangements in clinical studies please refer to § 4 in the national curriculum for nursing education adopted July 1st, 2004, as well as “Telemark University College’s supplementary regulations for nursing education” in “Worth Knowing” (“Verdt å vite”).
Minor adjustments may occur during the academic year, subject to the decision of the Dean
Publisert av / forfatter Live Kaasa <Live.KaasaSPAMFILTER@hit.no>, last modified Liang Xiaoli - 11/09/2007