Graduate Diploma in Mental Health Nursing Practice

This subject is designed to provide the theoretical foundation for entry into specialist mental health nursing practice. Students will explore the legal, policy and ethical frameworks, within which mental health care is provided. Students will extend their understanding of bio-psycho-social factors, related to mental health and illness and to the nosology within diagnostic structures of psychiatry.

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This subject is designed to develop assessment skills for beginning specialist mental health nursing practice. Skills from Mental Health Nursing 1 will be incorporated with specialist communication skills. Consumer and family perspectives of needs, health and illness will be integrated in the processes of assessment and the investigation of models of care in multi-disciplinary settings. This specialist knowledge will be applied to nursing assessment and care planning, relevant to the range of high- and low-prevalence diagnostic groupings.

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This subject will provide students with the opportunity to expand their knowledge of medications used in psychiatry and to examine the role of the psychiatric nurse in psychopharmacological treatments. The subject allows students to develop clinical skills in relevant assessments and interventions for clients receiving psychiatric medication.

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This subject aims to extend participants foundational knowledge to support the development of clinical skills and expertise related to consumer participation in treatment and consumer involvement in mental health service delivery and review. The subject focuses on current State and Commonwealth directives supporting consumer participation in treatment and in service reform activities; consumer rights, and explores models of care that can enhance the consumer's involvement in treatment. The subject would be relevant for healthcare practitioners from nursing and allied health disciplines interested in consumer perspectives and participation in health and health services.

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This subject is designed to provide the theoretical and practical foundation for entry level therapeutic practice in specialist mental health nursing practice. Students will extend their understanding of the triggering and sustaining factors in psychological and social distress and crisis, associated with mental health and illness. Students will attain knowledge of evidencebased therapies and associated interpersonal nursing strategies and skills. The specialist knowledge will be applied to therapeutic nursing interventions, relevant to the range of high- and low-prevalence diagnostic groupings.

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This subject is designed to meet the needs of nurses and other clinically-based healthcare professionals seeking further education in identifying and critically appraising research as evidence to inform their clinical practice. The subject aims to facilitate the development of knowledge and skills that will allow students to incorporate reliable and trustworthy evidence into their clinical decision making.

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In this subject students will apply theoretical principles outlined in each module to support comprehensive consumer screening, assessment, monitoring and care planning in mental health nursing practice. Students will apply current legal, ethical and policy frameworks to their clinical practice. Students will learn to incorporate knowledge and evidence of biopsychosocial factors influencing consumer and family/carer outcomes to inform their clinical decision making in practice and demonstrate sound clinical leadership skills.

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In this subject students will apply theoretical principles outlined in each module to support comprehensive consumer and family/ carer experiences, treatment and interventions in their mental health nursing practice. Students will continue to apply current legal, ethical and policy frameworks to their clinical practice. Students will continue to learn to incorporate knowledge and evidence of biopsychosocial factors influencing consumer and family/carer outcomes to inform their clinical decision making in practice and demonstrate sound clinical leadership skills.

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The focus of this subject is to utilise an ecological approach to understand the importance of family relationships when assessing, planning, and implementing the health care needs of children. The effects of social disadvantage on the child and family will be explored with special emphasis on families of children with special needs.

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The aim of this subject is to develop advanced health assessment skills in nursing that are relevant to the student’s area of clinical practice.

The subject provides the foundation for the development of health assessment knowledge and skills that are required to practice in an advanced practice nursing role.

The subject will explore diagnostic decision-making processes taking into consideration factors that impact on health and health assessment outcomes, such as: age, gender, culture, socioeconomic status and life-style.

Students will use a client focused approach to health assessment and apply a structured framework to guide health assessment. History taking, general examination skills, diagnostic testing, and communication of assessment findings to the health care team and patient (written and verbal) will form the core content of the subject.

Students will have the option of selecting areas that are relevant to their own area of practice. These topics will include: cardiovascular, respiratory, neurological, cognitive and developmental, abdominal, alimentary and nutritional, genitourinary, musculoskeletal, integument and psychosocial assessment.

The subject will provide students with strategies to assist them to develop advanced health assessment skills. Workshops, online activities, reading and resource material will be provided to assist students to develop the necessary knowledge and skills for advanced health examination and patient assessment. Students will also require clinical supervisors in their practice environment to support their learning, in particular the development of advanced specialty assessment skills and to assess their clinical performance.

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This subject focuses on knowledge and clinical skill development for an expanded scope of practice in an area of specialty practice.

The core content of this subject will include defining scope of practice and advanced practice nursing roles.

An exploration of advanced practice, expansion of speciality practice, and the role of the nurse practitioner including the regulatory, professional, ethical and practical influences on scope of practice will be explored. In this context, students will consider the implications of mentorship, clinical supervision and clinical governance models before embarking on a project that expands their own scope of practice.

The core content will prepare students to undertake a project that will allow them to apply relevant theory related to advanced practice nursing to their own specialty context. The project will expand their current nursing knowledge and skills to an advanced practice level.

The focus of the project will be on developing the capacity to apply evidence to nursing assessment and management strategies, developing sophisticated assessment, problem-solving, planning and technical skills for client groups that are specific to their designated specialty. For those students undertaking the NP pathway, the contract will include the development of advanced diagnostic reasoning skills, including the use of relevant diagnostic tools. Project development, implementation and evaluation strategies for the treatment plans that address specific extensions to practice will be incorporated in the project. The assessment, investigation and treatment plans should be client focused (eg. culturally sensitive, socioeconomically relevant, sustainable and negotiated with the client and other members of the health care team.

With collegial support from a multidisciplinary team and the subject coordinator, students will develop a learning contract to articulate their project. The ANMC Competency Standards for Nurse Practitioners and where relevant competency standards for advanced practitioners issued by specialty professional groups will be used to guide the project aim, contract development and completion. Students will demonstrate achievement of knowledge and skills described in the contract through compilation of a practice portfolio.

This subject will assists students to develop the capacity to identify their own clinical learning and development needs and access a range of resources to enable them to meet their objectives.

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This subject provides a foundation for understanding the pathologic basis of disease across the lifespan.

It equips learners with the knowledge and skills required to explain assessment data and prioritise patient care in a specialty area of practice based on scientific principles.

Core pathophysiological concepts covered will include: cellular responses to stress; adaptation, injury and death; acute and chronic inflammation; tissue renewal and repair; infection; neoplasia; haemodynamic, genetic and immune system disorders and genetic predisposition to disease.

Using a case study based approach, learners will be provided with opportunities to apply their knowledge
in one or more of the following specialty areas of nursing practice.

• Paediatrics
• Paediatric Intensive Care
• Neonatal Intensive Care
• Critical Care
• Emergency Care
• Rural Critical Care
• Oncology and Palliative Care
• Cardiorespiratory
• Renal

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This subject critically examines contemporary trauma theories, including psychodynamic, narrative, and anti-oppressive approaches. It explores their application to working with individuals, families and communities in a variety of practice settings.

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This subject explores the theoretical frameworks and available evidence in the field of suicide prevention, regarding the identification and assessment of suicide-related thoughts and behaviours. The subject will dually focus on theoretical knowledge and skills-based acquisition, with a focus on assessment and interventional strategies that are brief and evidence-informed. The language of suicide and definitional issues that exist within the field of suicidology will be explored, as will the ethical aspects of working clinically and undertaking research with suicidal clients. The impact and contribution of psychosocial issues to suicidal crises will be considered, as will the importance of professionals understanding the meaning of self-harming and suicidal behaviours, from the perspective of those engaging in the behaviours. This subject will primarily focus on the integration of theory and practice in assessing and responding to suicidality in the context of the Australian service system.

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This provides foundational knowledge in understanding domestic and family violence (DFV) and the intervention for workers in the human services sector. An analysis which draws from an ecological and a public health framing of the cultural, structural, relational and individual understandings of DFV informs the content of the course. An approach which recognises the gendered patterns of DFV and which also recognises the impact on children of living with violence and abuse provides the parameters of the subject. Issues of diversity will be woven throughout the subject.

Specific topics that will be covered include: prevalence and incidence of DFV and what this tells us about children, gender and intersectionality; risk assessment and risk management; accountability for men who use violence; strengthening the mother-child relationship in the aftermath of violence; supporting collaborative inter-agency practice; specific issues for child protection workers; the prevention agenda and strategies for earlier intervention.

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This subject will provide a comprehensive, foundational overview of early psychosis in young people. Course content includes:

• The key features and phases of early psychosis in young people
• Genetic, environmental and neurobiological vulnerabilities to psychosis
• Engagement, assessment and management of young people at-risk of early psychosis
• Best-practice biological and psychosocial interventions for first episode psychosis
• The recovery process for young people who have experienced acute psychosis
• Early psychosis service models

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This subject examines some of the key foundations of youth mental health clinical practice, including assessment, engagement and case formulation. It explores a variety of frameworks and provides an overview of the concept of youth friendliness, which is pervasive throughout all youth mental health clinical practice and service level delivery.

The content includes:

• Fundamental principles and strategies underlying youth friendly practice
• Key assessment frameworks for young people
• Introduction to conducting risk assessments
• Introduction to case formulation and shared explanatory models
• Assessing the needs of families and primary carers
• Ethical and legal considerations in youth mental health practice

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Psychotherapy Essentials is designed to strengthen students’ mental health practice and complement existing clinical skills. This online subject incorporates consumer scholarship, psychodynamic concepts and introduces students to the common factors across psychotherapies from humanistic traditions. Psychotherapy Essentials equips students with a comprehensive, coherent and contemporary set of psychotherapy skills to support consumers personal recovery journeys. These skills are explored through topics integral to contemporary mental health, such as: trauma-informed care, recovery-alliance, attachment and neuroplasticity.

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This elective subject will introduce the speciality area of substance use and addiction, exploring the interaction between substance use, health and socio-cultural and political systems, and the role of the clinician in working with and supporting consumers, carers and communities. This subject will introduce the types of substances associated with addiction, and evidenced-based approaches to the screening, assessment, formulation, treatment interventions, and associated risks. There will be a focus on recovery principles and cultural competence to support and empower consumers and their families/carers.

The subject aims to facilitate the development of knowledge and skills that will help students to become competent and confident to work with individuals with substance use and behaviours of addiction, in a variety of health care settings.

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In this subject the implications of mental health and ageing are explored from a range of perspectives. Lectures will place mental health and ageing within a lifespan framework with an emphasis on both cognitive changes in later life and consideration of other challenges to mental health as people age, including inequality and marginalisation. The subject will also focus on issues such as the high rates of suicide among older men, the impact of loneliness and social isolation on mental health, and human rights, particularly supported decision making. Integrated and multidisciplinary approaches, and community and population based strategies, to prevent and respond to age related cognitive decline and other common mental health problems in older people will be introduced. This subject also will consider strategies to support an ageing worldwide population, including mental health promotion.

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This subject is designed to build on students’ knowledge and critical appraisal skills gained in the pre-requisite subject, Evidence in Practice (NURS90120), to implement the best available evidence into clinicians’ practice. The aim of this subject is to engage students in the application of evidence-based research and equip students to translate this research into clinical decision making and best practice. The subject will consider frameworks and organisational processes to support evidence translation, identified enablers and barriers to practice reform, and formulate strategies to assist with the implementation of evidence into practice.

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This subject introduces students to health services research, that seeks to identify the most effective ways to organise, manage, finance, and deliver high quality care and improve patient safety. This kind of research is more concerned with delivery and access to care in contrast to medical research, which focuses on the development and evaluation of clinical treatments. The aim of health service research is to increase understanding of the process, mechanisms, and effects of health services for individuals, families, communities, and populations in order to improve overall health outcomes.
This subject paves the way for students to undertake health services research or to further appreciate the functioning of health services in clinical, management or policy roles.

Topics to be studied include the following:

• Introduction to health services research
• Multi-level health service financing and organisation
• Data sources for assessing health care services in high income countries
• Scope and design of health services research and identifying areas of need
• Qualitative methods for health services research
• Quantitative methods for health services research
• Evaluating health services using case studies
• Knowledge translation and stakeholder involvement

The subject plans to include guest lectures drawing from the broad and extensive range of researchers with experience in Health Services Research in the Centre for Health Policy and MSGPH.

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