MALK4000-401 Complexity, Science and Society Course description

Complexity is a term frequently used to describe relations in a society where formal and institutional boundaries decrease in importance. The complexity of the challenges we face today demands collaborative initiatives across levels of governments and administration, and across different sectors. The need for cooperation between traditional scientific disciplines is now acknowledged as a basic requirement for development of new knowledge.

It is inherent in complexity thinking that different but complementary perspectives are adopted to illuminate and analyze problems requiring solution. Graduates of the master program can work and lead independently of discipline, professional turf, sector or level of administration. The students’ varied background education and work experience shall create and sustain a culture based on respect for different perspectives, the ability to change perspective if and when required, and of looking for optimal solutions by de-focusing differences and re-focusing on compatibility.

Admission to the study program

On successful completion of the course, the student has the following learning outcomes classified as knowledge and skills:

Knowledge

The student can

• describe and discuss societal influences that support a complexity perspective
• describe and discuss complexity as a scientific approach
• describe and discuss dualism as a philosophical view, and the problems with dualism in applied settings
• describe concepts from complexity science such as reductionism; emergence; critical mass; consilience, and the unity of science
• give examples of analyses of the same phenomenon at different levels of reduction
• describe and discuss differences in antagonistic and complementary professional approaches to the same phenomenon
• describe and discuss the principle of selection at different levels of complexity
• discuss the role of science in society
• describe relevant key characteristics of a natural science approach to human behavior

Skills

The student can

• analyze networks as the structure of complex adaptive systems
• identify nodes and hubs, assessing the robustness and vulnerability of Networks
• identify category mistakes and discuss mentalism and evolutionary approaches
• cite sources and arrange a reference list according to the current standard from APA
• use a digital reference manager for citations and references in written assignments

In the BSCA specialisation, campus-based lectures and seminars are the main teaching methods. Students read selected texts in advance for each day of class, and everyone is expected to participate in class through questions and through joining in discussion. In the BSII specialisation, the main teaching method is digital course sequences, and feedback on details of course content, and supervised discussion groups will be available during pre-determined time periods. Feedback on written assignments is used in both specialisations.

The Bachelor’s Programme in Nursing is a three-year programme of professional study (180 credits). Students who complete the programme are awarded a bachelor’s degree in Nursing (Bachelor of Nursing). The bachelor’s degree forms the basis for authorisation as a general nurse in accordance with the Act relating to Health Personnel.

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The aim of nursing is to promote health, prevent, treat and help patients to cope with disease, and to ease suffering. Nursing is based on humanistic values and is both a field of knowledge and a profession. Nursing includes knowledge of physical, psychological, social and existential aspects of the human being. OsloMet has Norway's biggest research environment in nursing.;Research on the patients’ experiences and reactions to disease and suffering is a main focus, along with measures to support the patients to lead a healthy life and cope with disease. Patient safety is a key area of the programme. Microbiology and infection control are prioritised areas to meet the challenges in connection with antibiotic resistance and increased incidence of contagious diseases.

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The nursing programme's knowledge base comprises nursing science, natural science, social sciences and the humanities. The programme is based on a holistic view of human beings with humanistic values. The requirement of the individual practitioner after graduating is to act professionally and ethically responsibly.

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Throughout the course of study, the students will gain experience with patients in the specialist health service, in municipalities and city districts. OsloMet cooperates with the country's most competent treatment environments and our main cooperation partners are Oslo University Hospital, Akershus University Hospital, the City of Oslo and the municipalities of Romerrike.

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Nurses encounter people of all ages, with different conditions, injuries and functional ability. In big cities and in the surrounding areas, the population consists of people from multiple ethnic origins and cultural backgrounds. During the study programme, the students will encounter this diversity and learn to provide healthcare in accordance with the patient’s cultural and linguistic background. Nurses have a duty to safeguard all individuals’ right to equal services.

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Patient-centred nursing is practised via knowledge-based processes involving reasoning, which include mapping, assessment, decision-making and evaluation. The nursing profession consists of nursing and medical procedures, care and empathy, health counselling and information work, as well as facilitation in a health promoting environment. Nurses work with individuals and groups and

at the intersectoral system level. The professional group contributes to interprofessional cooperation and has part of the responsibility for ensuring that habilitation and rehabilitation processes maintain the user’s need for coordinated and cohesive services.

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The programme description for the study is based on the national regulations relating to a common curriculum for health and social care education adopted by the Ministry of Education and Research, and the regulations relating to the national guidelines for nursing education adopted by the Ministry of Education and Research on the basis of the Act relating to Universities and University Colleges and the Regulations relating to Studies and Examinations at OsloMet – Oslo Metropolitan University.

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Relevance to working life

The bachelor’s degree in nursing qualifies students for work in all parts of the health services: hospitals, health centres, nursing homes, home nursing services, preventive health work, the occupational health service, offshore, the ambulance service and international aid organisations. The programme is also relevant for positions in the business sector.

Relevance to further studies

The bachelor’s programme qualifies students to take master’s degree programmes.

The admission requirements are, in accordance with the Regulations concerning Admission to Higher Education, the Higher Education Entrance Qualification or prior learning and work experience. The nursing programme also has special admission requirements.

• An average grade of 3 or better is required in the subject Norwegian Vg3 (393 hours) from Norwegian upper secondary school (average of all the grades awarded in Norwegian first-choice form, second-choice form and oral).
• An average of 3 or better in the common subject mathematics (224 hours). The grade requirement in mathematics does not apply to applicants who can document the completion of programme subjects in mathematics with a scope of at least 140 hours or equivalent.

Students must submit a transcript of police records at the start of the programme.

The use of clothing that covers the face is incompatible with taking the programme's theoretical and practical training courses. During the programme's periods of clinical training, the students must comply with the clothing regulations in force at all times at the institution where their practical training is taking place.

After completing the bachelor's programme in nursing, the student is expected to have achieved the following overall learning outcomes defined in terms of knowledge, skills and competence:

KnowledgeThe candidate

• has knowledge of the history of nursing, its academic basis, scientific traditions, singularity and role in society nationally and internationally
• has broad knowledge of key concepts, theories and models in nursing, disease processes and legislation relevant to the nursing discipline
• has broad knowledge of aspects of nursing relating to health promotion, prevention, treatment, rehabilitation and alleviation
• has broad knowledge of communication and building relations and is able to communicate professionally with different individuals and based on the circumstances in each situation
• has knowledge of the health service as a system, of the organisation of services at different levels and of planning, management and coordination in relation to individual patients and groups
• has knowledge of global health challenges, cultural diversity and social inequality, which is of relevance to professional practice nationally and internationally

SkillsThe candidate is capable of

• identifying and analysing professional and ethical questions at the social, group and individual levels in a reflected and critical manner
• critically evaluating and integrating information from different knowledge sources, and making clinical decisions based on evidence-based assessments and priorities
• practising responsible nursing adapted to the individual’s needs and ensuring the patient’s co-determination in choices that concern health and treatment
• acquiring new knowledge, giving and receiving supervisions, adjusting own professional practice, taking a critical approach to academic texts from different sources and using sources correctly
• working independently and contributing to interprofessional and intersectoral cooperation to ensure a holistic course of treatment

CompetenceThe candidate

• has insight into the principles of prioritisation in the health services and can meet society’s requirements for responsible and caring nursing in a lifetime perspective, contributing to patient safety, quality and trust in the health services
• is capable of planning and providing patient-centred supervision, counselling and teaching to patients, next-of-kin and health personnel
• has insight into service development, innovation and creativity, and how technology can influence how services are provided
• is capable of reflecting on own professional development and discussing professional aspects of nursing with colleagues
• is capable of planning and carrying out projects in cooperation with others, contributing in a constructive manner in groups and disseminating subject matter via different forms of expression.

OsloMet focuses on having a good and developing learning environment that students can thrive in. The work and teaching methods have been developed on the basis of a socio-cultural view of learning, where the overriding principle is to make use of your own thoughts, knowledge and experience. The student's own efforts, individually, or together with others, are decisive for good learning outcomes. Students are expected to prepare ahead of organised teaching activities. Varied work methods are used both in theoretical subjects and in practical training and these can be carried out physically on campuses or on digital platforms. In some contexts, teaching activities only take place on one campus, and students must expect to travel to the relevant location.

The programme also prepares students for the labour market’s requirement of lifelong learning. Students are therefore expected to take ownership of their own learning process throughout the study programme, and will learn to both ‘become a nurse’ and ‘learn how to learn’. Students are also expected to contribute to creating a good learning environment for their fellow students through active participation in the different teaching activities.

Self-study and student cooperation

The attainment of the learning outcomes requires a high degree of self-study. Self-study entails both individual work and cooperation with fellow students, and it entails awareness of how you best learn. Students are recommended to take the initiative to form study groups.

Group work

Group work means working with other students. In the groups, students will discuss each other’s contributions and share knowledge and perspectives. They will gain experience of cooperation and of assessing, developing and disseminating relevant literature. The students will give and receive feedback from others.

Digital learning resources

Digital learning resources are for instance publications on the website bokskapet@oslomet.no, or video clips, podcasts, games, academic texts, articles and interactive assignments used as part of the learning methods. Digital co-writing tools are used in some courses for the purpose of sharing knowledge and producing texts together. Digital self-corrected tests (quizzes) provide an opportunity for the students to practice and test their knowledge of the course content. Students receive an immediate response, which can serve as a basis for their continued learning.

Simulation and skills training

Simulation and skills training gives the students the opportunity to learn everything from simple practical skills to making assessments in complex patient situations. Simulation and skills training will be a recurring part of the study programme and often taken place in simulation and skills training units (SF-unit) on campus. Reflection before, during and after actions will be emphasised. Some simulations may be filmed. Videos will always be deleted directly after the teaching session unless consent has been given to keep the videos.

Lectures

Lectures are used either to gain an overview of the course’s content or to delve into a specific topic. Lectures are used particularly when introducing new subject matter.

The flipped classroom

The flipped classroom is when the roles of lecturer and students are reversed, and students work with digital learning resources before attending class. Students work on problem-solving activities during teaching sessions, often in the form of group work or seminars.

Seminar/workshop

Students practice formulating an argument, expressing own opinions and reflecting on own attitudes and actions, in addition to presenting and discussing subject matter and assessing other people’s academic presentations.

Project work

Students study a topic relevant to the programme in depth, and develop skills in the systematic use of methods, including theoretical basis, data collection, analysis, discussion, written formulation and verbal communication.

Interprofessional cooperative learning (TPS)

Interprofessional cooperative learning comprises all ways of working where students participate in

teaching sessions with students from other programmes, or carry out educational activities in a practical training establishment that entail cooperation with professionals from other fields. Interprofessional cooperative learning can be arranged at the university, in the practical training establishment and through digital cooperation (webinars) with students in other countries.

Student BEST – Better and systematic team training

Student BEST is an educational activity under a cooperation between the nursing-, radiography-, biomedical laboratory sciences and paramedic science programme, specialisation in anaesthesia (master programme) at OsloMet and the medicine programme at the University of Oslo. The learning programme builds on simulation in teams and is used as a training method in the admission and stabilising of trauma patients. The main focus is communication and cooperation in interprofessional groups. The teaching takes place at the SF-units at OsloMet.

The increasing globalisation of the labour market makes international experience and knowledge of languages and cultures more and more relevant for the profession. Internationalisation also provides insight into globalisation in general and contributes to improving the quality of the programme and strengthening the academic environment. Knowledge of international conditions is also important for developing knowledge in the nursing discipline.

Exchanges

Students at OsloMet are encouraged to take parts of the programme at an institution abroad. The programme has many partners abroad that might be relevant for students wanting to go on an exchange. Students can take three to six months of the programme in the fourth, fifth or sixth semester abroad. The students can travel on exchange a maximum of 2 times during the study programme. The 4th semester is specially arranged for exchange.

In the 4th semester, you can travel abroad for a whole semester or parts of the semester to follow practice or theory courses at one of our partner universities. You can also travel for a 3-month public health internship to one of our internship partners. You then follow the elective SYK2850 Public Health in a Global Perspective, where you are guided both by a supervisor from OsloMet and from the institution where you have your internship. In addition to being your elective in the 4th semester, the course replaces SYKK/SYKPRA40 og SYKK/SYKP1050.

In the 5th semester you will find opportunities for exchange in practice for a whole semester, while in the 6th semester it is mainly possible to exchange for a 3-month practice.

Criteria for student exchanges and information about stays abroad, can be found here: https://student.oslomet.no/utveksling-hv

Internationalisation at home

The study programme boasts a multicultural student environment and focuses on cultural diversity and global issues. This approach contributes to greater understanding and improves the ability to work in a professional capacity in a diverse society. The English literature in the syllabus provides students with experience in reading academic literature and international research. An understanding of English academic literature is important to be able to actively participate in the international nursing community.

Academic staff affiliated to the study programme are part of international networks and research cooperation. Cooperation with colleagues from other countries contributes to internationalisation, for instance by inviting guest researchers and lecturers to OsloMet. This mainly takes place in the fourth semester, which consists of English-speaking courses. These courses are taken alongside inbound exchange students at OsloMet.

An overview of the courses available in the fourth semester:

• SYKK/SYKPP1050 Public Health and Health Management, 5 credits
• SYKK/SYKPRA40 Promotion of Health and Prevention of Illness, 5 credits
• SYK28xxA and B, Elective courses, 5 credits
• SYKK/SYKP1060 Evidence-Based Practice, 5 credits
• SYKK/SYKP1070 Technology and Society, 5 credits