Posted: December 10th, 2014

Online module;

Online module;

QUESTION 1
Hi, question about the assessment re-cap quesiton in Module 1.  It says:
“The ward is full: there are 22 patients, 10 of whom went to surgery in the morning, and 8 are going on your shift. Half of these a patients have Intravenous access and antibiotics at some time during your shift.”
?Where it says half of these have IV access and antibiotics, does it mean half of the 8 patients left to go to surgery require cannulation and antibiotics or is it saying that half of the 22 have IV access and they require antibiotics
Thanks

Answer 1
Hi Meghan,
Apologies for the delayed reply.Half of the 22 total patients, so lets say 11 with IV’s and A/B’s, assume they are all cannulated.
10 patients post-op, 8 pre-op going this afternoon. Lets assume the other 4 are lazy sods who should be either discharged at some stage or transferred to an inpatient ward – take your pick on which option [just include them in your considerations].
As for staff you have: RN (in charge with pt load), RN (you), EN, AIN, AIN, & AIN.
Don’t get too ridiculously worried about all of the specific details, I’m more interested in looking at your thought processes and justification for decisions that you make.
Hope this helps.
Cheers,
Adam

QUESTION2
I have a been working through the modules and the questionf for our ePortfolio, and I have no idea if I have been doing these assessments right or wrong. Are the answers to most of the module questions black and white, or is are they somewhat grey?

Answer 2
Hi Jess,
Great question.
There isn’t necessarily a ‘right and wrong’ answer for the modules – although you could definitely get it quite wrong! For example with the Module 1 activity – you would be stating “I think this is the best approach”, and then providing some justification. So perhaps highlight why that approach would work, maybe mention some limitations (i.e. even though using this approach is good, it may be limited because of this or if this happens…), and maybe mention why a couple of the other potential approaches are not the best approach – again this approach would be limited in this circumstance because…
Really want to know what you think, critically appraising options and justifying choices.
Again with Module 2, not necessarily one correct answer. If I did a poll around here (i.e. with lecturers) would probably get some variation! Some of this would be related to the relatively limited information, but also different opinions at times .
Really want to know what you think, critically appraising options and justifying choices. Of course if you came up with something really incorrect or off base I would let you know.
Hope this helps,
Cheers,
Adam

QUESTION 3
Hi Adam,
I don’t understand what kind of additional professional development activities undertaken on placement are required to pass the unit
what if the facilities they don’t have any activities, how can we gain this experience to submit the paper on Leo?
Thanks
An.

ANSWER3
Hi An,
All you need to submit for the professional portfolio to pass is the activities from the four on-line learning modules.
If you attend any education, in-service sessions, workshops etc while on prac then you can include some evidence of this as well. Many places also have a range of self-directed learning packages or competency assessment activities related to their specialty area, again another valuable learning opportunity for you and additional evidence you could include.
Hope this helps to clarify.
Cheers,
Adam

QUESTION4
Hi Adam,
Can you please clarify if we are to reference any parts of the e-portfolio, or is it meant to be our own understanding / take on each question, and so would not require references. I just want to be sure I’m doing it right!
Many thanks
Ceri

ANSWER 4
Hi Ceri,
Good question. The primary thing I am looking for is for you to demonstrate the ability to critically appraise the situation, consider alternatives/options/interventions/approaches, and then logically justify the choice/s that you make. Want to know where your brain is at.
Some of the activities rely solely on your thoughts/interpretations, however a few of the questions may logically have some degree of literature support to strengthen your case [eg Mod 1 Brown explains team nursing as comprising…; Mod 4 perhaps what is a MDT? How do we determine members of a MDT?].
In part it may also depend on your current level of knowledge as well, if it is a topic you are not very familiar with then you would need to look at the literature to improve your skills – one of the key skills that you will need to use as a beginning RN! Which is really what we want you to demonstrate throughout all of 355 – a beginning RN level of clinical practice.
Hope this helps.
Cheers, Adam

QUESTION5
Hi Adam,
Are answers for modules written in paragraphs or just dot points?
Making points is easier and more convenient, I think
I’m happy to write a whole paragraph but it’s not easy for the reader
Thanks
An.

ANSWER5
Hi An,
This is what I think:
Module 1 activity – more logical to be written paragraph format
Module 2 – bullet points would work fine [don’t forget to include rationales though]
Module 3 – Activity 2 bullet points would work except for the detailed admission notes which should be written as per a progress notes entry in the medical record.
Module 3 – Activity 3 either format should work [think about which method provides all of the necessary information and conveys it most clearly to the reader]. Shift planner in grid format
Module 4 – paragraph format would be better
Hope this helps to clarify.
Cheers,
Adam

QUESTION6
Hi Adam
Just wanting to clarify, with activity 3 for module 3, will a shift planner with priorities listed next to the tasks suffice? or do we need to answer question 1 with a rationale of our assessment of patient needs and then do a shift planner with the priorities?
Thanks
Katy

ANSWER6
Hi Katy,
No need for a rationale (unless you come up with something wacky and I come back to you to find out what you were thinking!).
As long as you identify all of the cares needed, put them appropriately into a shift planner, and clearly identify a logical prioritisation for these cares.
Cheers,?Adam

QUESTION7
In regards to module 2 I was wondering if we are answering this question as a student nurse or as if we are already a Registered Nurse???Grace

ANSWER7
Hi Grace,
from an RN perspective – that is where you will be in not too many few weeks time. I need to know you can think like one!
Cheers,
Adam

QUESTION8
Hi Adam,
For module 3, is the diagnosis for bed 2 supposed to be cholecystitis instead of cholecystectomy as this doesnt make sense to me?
Also, for module 4, I don’t understand how the questions relate to MND as they are simply asking about members of a multidisciplinary team in general not related to MND. These are the questions:
1. What factors determine the professional groups on a health care team?
2. Who should lead the health care team?
3. Who is the most important member of the health care team?

ANSWER8
Hi Madison,
Good pick up – yes it would have to be cholecystitis (unless of course you suspected the pt had tried to perform a self-cholecystectomy at home?! – but then the bleeding and death would be a giveaway).
The MND article is a reference point to get you thinking, the Q’s don’t have bebe answered specifically related to MND. So generically – What factors determine the professional groups of a health care team? – One component may be the actual diagnosis of the pt (which in the article happens to be MND)?
You may want to make mention of how the team can an does change with changing patient circumstances or diagnoses perhaps?
Cheers,
Adam

QUEStiON9
Hi Adam
I’m slightly confused.
The module 2 question asks about delegating tasks. Are Mr Esposito’s pre-op medications oral or IV, which ties to my next question of is the EN endorsed to administer meds at all? Even the nurses I’m on prac with seem confused as now apparently they are calling EEN’s “EN’s” now and they are all endorsed? Also some endorsed are not endorsed for IV but some are…
Thanks
Natasha

ANSWER 9
Hi Natasha,
This is a very good question and I’m a little surprised it has taken until Wk 9 for someone to ask it!  Up until now students have been assuming EEN, but this is a little dangerous. They are all Enrolled Nurses, but some have an additional endorsement to give medications which makes them an EEN.
Although we do not train straight EN’s in Australia (to my knowledge) without a medication endorsement anymore, you may still come across some EN’s that trained a while ago and have not completed (nor want to) the upgrade for medication endorsement. The least likely environment to find a straight EN though is probably in the metropolitan acute sector – so many of you may rarely or never come across someone like this – and these days the acute environments would be very hesitant to employ an EN without endorsement. Many of the staff you work with on prac will never have worked with a straight EN, only endorsed.
And then as you mention, the other complicating factor is that some EEN’s can not do IV meds, and some can! This has occured because when the EEN training was first introduced it incorporated oral, s/c, I.M meds but not IV. This has changed over time and now IV is something that can be done by an EEN – but some will not have had the requisite training and therefore it isn’t within their specific scope of practice.
So as the RN the take home message is you just need to be aware of the possibility and always clarify with the staff you are working with what they can and can not do – before you delegate any tasks!
For the purpose of these modules lets clarify and say that the EN does have a medication endorsement (is an EEN) not IV competent.
MrEspisito’s pre-medication is all oral.
Does this long-winded explanation clarify?
Cheers,
Adam

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