Course Coordinator:Christine Palmer (cpalmer1@usc.edu.au) School:School of Health - Nursing
UniSC Sunshine CoastUniSC Moreton BayUniSC CabooltureUniSC Fraser CoastUniSC GympieSCHI |
Blended learning | Most of your course is on campus but you may be able to do some components of this course online. |
Please go to unisc.edu.au for up to date information on the
teaching sessions and campuses where this course is usually offered.
In this course, you will explore the foundations of mental health care across a range of health contexts. You will learn about mental health conditions, recovery-oriented care, therapeutic communication, stigma, trauma, and intimate partner violence. You will develop skills in assessment, Cultural Safety, early intervention, and collaborative practice. You will also examine legal and ethical responsibilities and reflect on your role in person-centered, trauma-informed mental health care.
| Activity | Hours | Beginning Week | Frequency |
| Blended learning | |||
| Learning materials – Online asynchronous learning and teaching materials. | 1hr | Week 1 | 9 times |
| Tutorial/Workshop 1 – On campus tutorial | 3hrs | Week 1 | 9 times |
Foundations of mental health care: person-centred, recovery-oriented, and trauma-informed practice, mental health promotion, stigma and discrimination
Common mental health presentations across health disciplines (e.g., depression, anxiety, psychosis, bipolar disorder)
Mental health assessments: Mental State Examination (MSE), risk assessments, and screening in multidisciplinary settings
The impact of trauma and intimate partner violence (IPV) on mental health and wellbeing
Therapeutic communication: building trust, responding to distress, maintaining professional boundaries, Cultural Safety and working effectively with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples and communities
Early intervention, mental health promotion, and suicide prevention strategies
Working collaboratively in interprofessional teams: roles and scopes of practice
Supporting families, carers, and significant others in mental health contexts
200 Level (Developing)
12 units
| Course Learning Outcomes On successful completion of this course, you should be able to... | Graduate Qualities Mapping Completing these tasks successfully will contribute to you becoming... | Professional Standard Mapping * Nursing and Midwifery Board of Australia | |
| 1 | Appraise the principles of recovery-oriented and trauma-informed health care | Sustainability-focussed |
1.1, 1.1, 1.3, 1.5, 1.6, 1.7, 2.1, 2.2, 2.2, 2.3, 2.4, 2.6, 2.7, 2.8, 3.3, 3.3, 3.4, 6.2 |
| 2 | Integrate and plan safe care for individuals experiencing mental health conditions | Empowered |
1.1, 1.4, 4.1, 4.2, 4.3, 5.1, 6.1 |
| 3 | Explain the impact of stigma, trauma, and social determinants on mental health and wellbeing | Knowledgeable |
1.1, 1.2, 1.3, 1.3, 1.4, 1.5, 1.7, 2.2, 2.3, 2.3, 2.4, 2.5, 2.6, 3.3, 3.4, 4.3, 6.2 |
| 4 | Demonstrate culturally safe and collaborative mental health practice across diverse contexts | Ethical |
1.1, 1.3, 1.3, 1.4, 1.7, 2.1, 2.2, 2.2, 2.3, 2.4, 2.5, 2.5, 2.6, 2.8, 3.1, 3.5, 3.6, 3.7, 4.2, 4.3, 5.1, 6.1, 7.2 |
| 5 | Integrate academic conventions, effective communication techniques, and proficient digital literacy skills to produce coherent, ethical, scholarly, and professionally relevant work, engaging collaboratively where required. | Ethical |
1.2, 1.4, 1.4, 1.5, 1.6, 1.6, 2.2, 2.6, 2.8, 3.1, 3.3, 3.3, 3.4, 7.2, 7.3, 7.3 |
| CODE | COMPETENCY |
| Nursing and Midwifery Board of Australia | |
| 1.1 | The midwife identifies what is important to women as the foundation for using evidence to promote informed decision-making, participation in care, and self-determination |
| 1.2 | The RN develops practice through reflection on experiences, knowledge, actions, feelings and beliefs to identify how these shape practice |
| 1.3 | The midwife uses health assessment and health education to support birth and reproductive health, and minimise the potential for complications |
| 1.4 | The RN complies with legislation, common law, policies, guidelines and other standards or requirements relevant to the context of practice when making decisions |
| 1.5 | The RN uses ethical frameworks when making decisions |
| 1.6 | The midwife supports the development, implementation and evaluation of evidenced-based health initiatives and programs |
| 1.7 | The midwife identifies and promotes the role of midwifery practice and the midwifery profession in influencing better health outcomes for women |
| 2.1 | The midwife supports the choices of the woman, with respect for families and communities in relation to maternity care |
| 2.2 | The midwife partners with women to strengthen women’s capabilities and confidence to care for themselves and their families |
| 2.3 | The RN recognises that people are the experts in the experience of their life |
| 2.4 | The midwife practises without the discrimination that may be associated with race, age, disability, sexuality, gender identity, relationship status, power relations and/or social disadvantage |
| 2.5 | The midwife practises cultural safety that is holistic, free of bias and exposes racism |
| 2.6 | The midwife practises in a way that respects that family and community underpin the health of Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander Peoples |
| 2.7 | The RN actively fosters a culture of safety and learning that includes engaging with health professionals and others, to share knowledge and practice that supports person-centred care |
| 2.8 | The midwife participates in and/or leads collaborative practice |
| 3.1 | The midwife understands their scope of practice |
| 3.3 | The midwife participates in own continuing professional development to maintain the required knowledge and skill base for safe and effective practice |
| 3.4 | The midwife contributes to a culture that supports learning, teaching, knowledge transfer and critical reflection |
| 3.5 | The midwife engages in timely consultation, referral and documentation |
| 3.6 | The midwife uses relevant processes to identify, document and manage complexity and risk |
| 3.7 | The midwife recognises and responds appropriately where safe and quality practice may be compromised |
| 4.1 | The RN conducts assessments that are holistic as well as culturally appropriate |
| 4.2 | The RN uses a range of assessment techniques to systematically collect relevant and accurate information and data to inform practice |
| 4.3 | The RN works in partnership to determine factors that affect, or potentially affect, the health and well being of people and populations to determine priorities for action and/or for referral |
| 5.1 | The RN uses assessment data and best available evidence to develop a plan |
| 6.1 | The RN provides comprehensive safe, quality practice to achieve agreed goals and outcomes that are responsive to the nursing needs of people |
| 6.2 | The midwife practises to achieve the agreed goals and anticipated outcomes that meet the needs of the woman |
| 7.2 | The midwife revises plan and actions based on evidence and what is learned from evaluation |
| 7.3 | The RN determines, documents and communicates further priorities, goals and outcomes with the relevant persons |
Refer to the UniSC Glossary of terms for definitions of “pre-requisites, co-requisites and anti-requisites”.
NUR141 or NUR117 or HLT207 or NUR110 or NUR112 and enrolled in UB013, SC391, SC392 or SC393
Not applicable
HLT301
Not applicable
Not applicable
Standard Grading (GRD)
| High Distinction (HD), Distinction (DN), Credit (CR), Pass (PS), Fail (FL). |
The Week 3 quiz provides you with early feedback on your learning progress and helps you identify areas to focus on as the course develops.
| Delivery mode | Task No. | Assessment Product | Individual or Group | Weighting % | What is the duration / length? | When should I submit? | Where should I submit it? |
| All | 1 | Quiz/zes | Individual | 10% | 30 minutes |
Week 3 | Online Test (Quiz) |
| All | 2 | Written Piece | Individual | 40% | 1500 words |
Week 5 | Online Assignment Submission with plagiarism check |
| All | 3 | Written Piece | Individual | 50% | 2000 words |
Week 8 | Online Assignment Submission with plagiarism check |
| All - Assessment Task 1:Online Quiz | ||||||||||
| Goal: | The goal of this task is to help you check your understanding of the key concepts introduced early in the course, in order to prepare you for future assessments. |
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| Product: | Quiz/zes | |||||||||
| Authorship Statement: | ||||||||||
| Format: | In this quiz, you will be required to answer questions related to the content learned in earlier weeks. Completing this quiz requires engagement with course readings and pre-tutorial material. This quiz is summative and counts towards your final grade. |
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| Criteria: |
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| Generic Skills: | Problem solving |
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| All - Assessment Task 2:Mental State Examination | ||||||||||||||||
| Goal: | The goal of this assessment is to develop your skills in conducting a structured Mental State Examination (MSE). By working through a provided case stimulus, you will practise observing, recording, and interpreting a person’s mental state. |
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| Product: | Written Piece | |||||||||||||||
| Authorship Statement: | ||||||||||||||||
| Format: | You will be provided with a stimulus from which you will apply your developing observational and mental state assessment skills. Based on your observations, you will then complete a series of short-answer questions that assess your knowledge and ability to interpret the findings of an MSE. |
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| Criteria: |
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| Generic Skills: | Problem solving, Organisation |
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| All - Assessment Task 3:Reflective essay: Stigma and mental health care | |||||||||||||||||||
| Goal: | The goal of this assessment is to encourage you to reflect on the impact of stigma in health care and society, and to consider how it shapes experiences of mental health and wellbeing. By drawing on your developing knowledge and personal insights, you will critically examine the role of stigma and reflect on how your own communication and practice can contribute to culturally safe, inclusive, and recovery-oriented care. |
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| Product: | Written Piece | ||||||||||||||||||
| Authorship Statement: | |||||||||||||||||||
| Format: | Using a reflective model of your choice you are to reflect on an example of stigma you have personally observed in practice (clinical placement, simulation, or community setting). This may involve stigma expressed by healthcare staff, peers, families, or society more broadly. If you cannot identify a real-life example, you may use a case scenario provided to you on Canvas as the basis of your reflection. Your reflection must be explicitly aligned with the NMBA Registered Nurse Standards for Practice (2016), showing how the Standards guide professional behaviour, decision-making, advocacy, and culturally safe practice. |
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| Criteria: |
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| Generic Skills: | Communication, Problem solving, Organisation, Information literacy |
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| Programme Delivery Mode | Assessment Type | Title | Competency | Teaching Methods |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Registered nurse standards for practice - 1 June 2016 | ||||
| All delivery modes | Quiz/zes | Online Quiz | 1.1 | Assessed |
| 1.2 | Assessed | |||
| 1.3 | Assessed | |||
| 1.5 | Assessed | |||
| 2.2 | Assessed | |||
| 2.3 | Assessed | |||
| 2.7 | Assessed | |||
| 3.3 | Assessed | |||
| 4.3 | Assessed | |||
| Written Piece | Mental State Examination | 1.1 | Assessed | |
| 2.2 | Assessed | |||
| 2.7 | Assessed | |||
| 3.3 | Assessed | |||
| 3.5 | Assessed | |||
| 4.1 | Assessed | |||
| 4.2 | Assessed | |||
| 4.3 | Assessed | |||
| 5.1 | Assessed | |||
| 6.1 | Assessed | |||
| Reflective essay: Stigma and mental health care | 1.1 | Assessed | ||
| 1.2 | Assessed | |||
| 1.3 | Assessed | |||
| 1.5 | Assessed | |||
| 2.2 | Assessed | |||
| 2.3 | Assessed | |||
| 2.7 | Assessed | |||
| 3.3 | Assessed | |||
| 3.5 | Assessed | |||
| 4.1 | Assessed | |||
| 4.2 | Assessed | |||
| 4.3 | Assessed | |||
| 5.1 | Assessed | |||
| 6.1 | Assessed | |||
A 12-unit course will have total of 150 learning hours which will include directed study hours (including online if required), self-directed learning and completion of assessable tasks. Student workload is calculated at 12.5 learning hours per one unit.
Please note: Course information, including specific information of recommended readings, learning activities, resources, weekly readings, etc. are available on the course Canvas site– Please log in as soon as possible.
You need regular access to the resource(s) below. Many texts are available as ebooks through the Library at no additional cost.
| Required? | Author | Year | Title | Edition | Publisher |
| Required | Kim Foster,Peta Marks,Anthony O'Brien,Toby Raeburn | 2020 | Mental Health in Nursing | n/a | Elsevier |
Not applicable
Academic integrity is the ethical standard of university participation. It ensures that students graduate as a result of proving they are competent in their discipline. This is integral in maintaining the value of academic qualifications. Each industry has expectations and standards of the skills and knowledge within that discipline and these are reflected in assessment.
Academic integrity means that you do not engage in any activity that is considered to be academic fraud; including plagiarism, collusion or outsourcing any part of any assessment item to any other person. You are expected to be honest and ethical by completing all work yourself and indicating in your work which ideas and information were developed by you and which were taken from others. You cannot provide your assessment work to others. You are also expected to provide evidence of wide and critical reading, usually by using appropriate academic references.
In order to minimise incidents of academic fraud, this course may require that some of its assessment tasks, when submitted to Canvas, are electronically checked through Turnitin. This software allows for text comparisons to be made between your submitted assessment item and all other work to which Turnitin has access.
Eligibility for Supplementary Assessment
Your eligibility for supplementary assessment in a course is dependent of the following conditions applying:
(a) The final mark is in the percentage range 47% to 49.4%; and
(b) The course is graded using the Standard Grading scale
Your eligibility for supplementary assessment in a course is dependent of the following conditions applying: The final mark is in the percentage range 47% to 49.4% The course is graded using the Standard Grading scale You have not failed an assessment task in the course due to academic misconduct.
Late submissions may be penalised up to and including the following maximum percentage of the assessment task’s identified value, with weekdays and weekends included in the calculation of days late:
(a) One day: deduct 5%;
(b) Two days: deduct 10%;
(c) Three days: deduct 20%;
(d) Four days: deduct 40%;
(e) Five days: deduct 60%;
(f) Six days: deduct 80%;
(g) Seven days: A result of zero is awarded for the assessment task.
The following penalties will apply for a late submission for an online examination:
Less than 15 minutes: No penalty
From 15 minutes to 30 minutes: 20% penalty
More than 30 minutes: 100% penalty
For more information on Academic Learning & Teaching categories including:
For more information, visit https://www.usc.edu.au/explore/policies-and-procedures#academic-learning-and-teaching
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For course-specific questions, contact your teaching staff or Course Coordinator.
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