SYKKPRA30KB Nursing Patients with Acute, Critical and Chronic Diseases 2 Course description

The course SYKK/SYKPPRA21 and SYKK/SYKPPRA30 complement each other. In this course, the students will practice independence in planning, carrying out and assessing nursing in acute and chronically ill patients. The prevention of complications and early detection of deterioration in the patients’ condition are key elements. Quality development, patient safety and ethics and health gudiance are also part of the course.

To start this course you must have passed:

• Passed the first year of study.
• SYKK/SYKPPRA21 Nursing Patients with Acute, Critical and Chronic Diseases 1, 15 credits.

or equivalent.

After completing the course, the student is expected to have achieved the following learning outcomes defined in terms of knowledge, skills, and general competence:

Knowledge

The student

• can explain care pathways an in acute, critical and chronic diseases and treatments
• can, under supervision, contribute to nursing services that are of equal value for patients, regardless of gender, ethnicity, religion, and view of life, functional disability, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression and age
• can explain the significance of nutrition in disease and challenges that can arise from malnutrition, undernutrition, and obesity
• can assess how adverse events can occur, and discuss this in relation to quality improvement, patient safety, and professional adequacy in performance of nursing
• can explain the significance of next-of-kin for the patients’ health and quality of life both when it comes to majority and minority cultures
• can explain key concepts in the nurse’s pedagogical responsibilities: guidance, counselling, health guidance and shared decision-making
• can explain information security in nursing practice
• can explain integrated care pathways in the health service and collaborate with other professionals

Skills

The student

• can carry out and explain person-centered nursing to patients with the most common symptoms, signs of change/deterioration at an early stage, and implementing necessary measures
• can implement national knowledge-based professional procedures and national guidelines
• can apply various pedagogical methods in health education adapted to the individual's needs
• can appropriately adjust communication with patients and next-of-kin from a cultural perspective and across language barriers with the help of an interpreter

General competence

The student

• can show responsibility, commitment, independence and follow professional ethical guidelines in meetings with patients, next-of-kin and colleagues
• can reflect on his/her own professional practice and progression
• has insight into quality indicators in nursing practice
• can safeguard the patient’s dignity and integrity and promoting the patient and next-of-kin’s right of co-determination and autonomy

Practical training consists of both practical training, activities along the way and supervised practical training that takes place during the practical training period. The practical training period (8 weeks) in the specialist health service (medicine/surgery) includes SF-unit, lections and seminars.

For practical training, there is a requirement for 80% attendance in theory, activities and practical training that is marked compulsory in the timetable, as well as 90% attendance during the practical training period itself. The student fills in the self-assessment for the start of the practical training, the rotating schedule during the first week of practical training and the self-assessment form no later than two working days before the agreed mid- and final assessment.

The target group is students with a bachelor’s degree in health or social care who want to work on professional development and/or participate in research in their field, and potentially conduct clinical work in their chosen specialisation. The programme is a relevant additional education to a number of health and social care programmes.

Admission takes place directly to the chosen specialisation. The requirement for admission to the Master’s Degree Programme in Health Sciences is a bachelor's degree or an equivalent degree within a specified field, with an average grade of at least C. However, an average grade of C does not guarantee admission. If the number of qualified applicants exceeds the number of places on the programme, the applicants will be ranked according to the applicable ranking rules.

Reference is made to the Regulations relating to Admission to Studies at OsloMet. The specialisations will only be run if a sufficient number of qualified candidates apply.

Admission requirements for the Specialisation in Mental Care and Addiction

A bachelor's degree or an equivalent degree which gives the occupational title of Social Worker, Social Educatorist, Child Wealfare Worker, Nurse, Physiotherapist or Occupational Therapist.

Applicants who accept an offer for a place on the programme must submit a transcript of police records.

Transfer Admission 2025

Candidates who have completed interdisciplinary an Interdisciplinary Advanced Programme in Mental Health and Addiction, 60 credits, according to the regulations on national guidelines for tverrfaglig videreutdanning i psykisk helse-, rus- og avhengighetsarbeid (the Ministry of Education and Research, 2022), can apply directly for admission to the second academic year (full-time) or third academic year (part-time).

In addition, applicants for transfer admission must have a bachelor's degree or equivalent that gives the occupational title of Social Worker, Social Educatorist, Child Wealfare Worker, Nurse, Physiotherapist or Occupational Therapist.

Learning outcomes at the programme level for the Master's Degree Programme in Health Sciences

The student’s overall learning outcomes for the Master’s Degree Programme in Health Sciences fully cover the description of master’s degree level (level 7) of the Norwegian Qualifications Framework.

A candidate who has completed his or her qualification should have the following learning outcomes defined in terms of knowledge, skills and general competence:

Knowledge

The candidate

• has advanced knowledge of health-related services and health-promoting work within their field of specialisation
• can analyse academic problems on the basis of the history, traditions, distinctive character and place in society of the health sciences
• has knowledge of different perceptions of body, health, illness, function and functional impairment
• has in-depth knowledge of the individual’s right to autonomy and user participation, and of important considerations in the development of equitable health services and health-promoting work
• has insight into the role of interprofessional cooperation in achieving results in health-related services and health-promoting work
• has insight into the UN Sustainable Development Goals, particularly Goal 3, Good Health and Well-being, and an understanding of the connection between health and sustainable development in society
• has thorough knowledge of the theory of science, research methods and ethics of particular relevance to health sciences and the area of specialisation

Skills

The candidate

• can understand, motivate and cooperate with individuals and next of kin undergoing health-related learning, coping and change processes
• can analyse existing theories, methods and interpretations in the field of health sciences and work independently on practical and theoretical problem-solving
• can adapt health services and health-promoting work to different groups in society
• can contribute to the expedient and correct use of technology to improve the quality of the health services
• can use knowledge of quality improvement and implementation to improve the services
• can analyse and deal critically with various sources of information and use them to structure and formulate scholarly arguments
• can use relevant methods for research and scholarly and/or professional development work in an independent manner
• can carry out an independent, limited research or development project within their specialisation under supervision and in accordance with applicable norms for research ethics

General competence

The candidate

• can analyse the relationship between the individual, service and societal levels when designing health-related services and in health-promoting work
• can contribute to innovation and quality improvement that builds on relevant knowledge of nursing gained from research and experience, and knowledge of users
• can work in interprofessional teams in order to more efficiently address complex health challenges
• has an international perspective in their field of specialisation
• can assess their own research design and research method based on a specific research question
• can disseminate relevant problems, analyses and research results to specialists and the general public in a way that meets research ethics requirements
• can contribute to new thinking and innovation processes in the health services and in health-promoting work

Specialisation in Mental Health and Addiction

The following additional learning outcomes apply to candidates taking the Specialisation in Mental Health and Addiction:

• has in-depth knowledge of communication, relationships, and interaction in prevention, treatment, rehabilitation, and habilitation in mental health and addiction
• has advanced competence in mental health in different societal groups, as well as in factors that promote inclusion and participation
• has advanced knowledge of the interaction between biological, psychological, social, and cultural factors with relevance to mental health and addiction
• can possess advanced skills that include ethical reflection, awareness of one's own preconceptions, as well as users' and relatives' competence

The master’s programme is designed to be comprehensive, and the academic content and educational tools are interlinked, showing a clear context between learning outcome descriptions, learning activities and forms of assessment.

The Master’s Degree Programme in Health Sciences has three or four compulsory common courses, depending on the chosen specialisation. In addition to these, there are at least two compulsory specialisation courses for each specific specialisation, and a master’s thesis worth either 30 or 50 ECTS credits, depending on the specialisation. The students can also choose one or more elective courses depending on their chosen specialisation.This does not apply to the two specialisations cancer nursing, public health nursing and mental health addiction as they only have compulsory courses in their programme structures.

The courses in the programme description build to some extent on each other to ensure progress, with increasing requirements for knowledge and understanding within each specialisation. The courses are mainly taken over the course of the semester, with start-up at the start of the semester and examinations towards the end. The exceptions are certain compulsory specialisation courses that include external supervised practical training.

The academic year is 40 weeks long, and the expected workload for a full-time student is 40 hours per week. This includes scheduled activities, students’ own study activity and examinations. The course descriptions provide more details about learning outcomes, work methods, coursework requirements and examinations.

Content of compulsory common courses

The programme includes a compulsory common course MAVIT4100 Quality Improvement and Implementation of Evidence-based Practice, 10 ECTS credits. The purpose of this course is to enable students to actively contribute to promoting safe and high-quality health and care services. By health and care services is meant both public and approved private services, as well as health promoting work in the public and private sectors. The course introduces students to the organisation and management of health and care services. It also gives students experience of interprofessional quality improvement cooperation. Through the course, the students will learn about different quality improvement models and the interaction between user knowledge, experience-based knowledge and research-based knowledge in clinical decision-making processes.

There are also three common courses in the theory of science and research methods: MAVIT4050 Theory of Science and Research Methods, 10 ECTS credits, MAVIT4060 Qualitative and Quantitative Research Methods, 10 ECTS credits and MAVIT4070/MAPSY4070 Research Design and Project Description, 10 ECTS credits. These courses aim to help the student to read, understand and critically assess research literature, to critically assess various sources of knowledge that form part of clinical decision-making processes, to acquire in-depth knowledge of qualitative and quantitative research methods, and lead up to the development of a project description for their master’s thesis.

In the first course, MAVIT4050, the students are introduced to theory of science and research methods and research ethics.

The second course, MAVIT4060, provides students with a deeper understanding of qualitative and quantitative research methods.

The third course, MAVIT4070/MAPSY4070, the students will work more thoroughly with their chosen method and develop a project description for their master’s thesis. This is to ensure that the students get to grips with work on their master’s thesis at an early stage.

Master’s thesis – 30 and 50 ECTS credits

The master’s thesis in the programme is worth 50 ECTS credits (MAVIT5900) or 30 ECTS credits (MAVIT5910/MAPSY5910/20), respectively. Whether the students are able to choose the scope of their master’s thesis depends on the specialisation they have been admitted to. Students will develop a project description as part of the course MAVIT4070/MAPSY4070 Research Design and Project Description, 10 ECTS credits. The project description is developed with the support of the lecturer, who quality assures the project with respect to scope and degree of difficulty.

The same requirements apply to scientific and research-related work regardless of the length of the thesis. Students can choose to write the master’s thesis individually or in pairs. Students can also apply to write the master’s thesis with students from other specialisations, provided that the scope of the master’s thesis is the same. On application, interdisciplinary innovation projects can be written in groups of up to four students. Students are encouraged to contact potential supervisors about possible project ideas.

Study progress

The following progress requirements apply to the programme:

MAVIT4070/MAxxx4070 must be passed before the master's thesis can be started. All courses in the programme must be passed before the student can submit their master's thesis for assessment.

Some courses may have separate progress requirements; see the individual course descriptions.

See the course descriptions for MAPSY4200, MAPSY4300, MAPSY4400, MASPY4500 and MAPSYPRA20 for a more detailed description of the content of the specialisation courses.

Varied and student-active teaching methods are used in the programme. Good learning outcomes are first and foremost dependent on the students’ own efforts. The number of hours of adapted teaching at the university will be relatively low. Own effort means both benefiting from teaching and academic supervision and following this up with independent work in the form of theoretical studies and, if relevant, practical skills training. Normal study progress requires students to make great personal efforts. The most important work and teaching forms used in each course in the programme are described below. The individual course descriptions state which work methods each course employs. Practical training is described in a separate chapter; see below.

Web-based work and teaching methods

Several forms of digital learning resources are used in the programme, such as digital textbooks, digital lectures, video clips, podcasts, tests, learning pathways and assignments. These resources can be used to prepare for teaching sessions, during seminars using the flipped classroom method, and as part of self-study. This form of teaching requires the students to meet prepared for the scheduled teaching sessions. Interaction can also take place digitally, in the form of Skype meetings, webinars etc.

Self-study and student cooperation/group work

Learning requires a high degree of own activity and self-study, including both individual work and cooperation with fellow students. Through activities such as exchanging ideas, presentations, discussions, writing assignments and problem-based assignments, students will be stimulated to learn by communicating knowledge and experience, expressing their own opinions and, together, reflecting on their own attitudes, actions and understanding of the field. Students are encouraged to take initiative to schedule and actively participate in study groups to promote learning.

Lectures

Lectures are primarily used to introduce new subject matter, provide an overview and highlight main elements and links within different topics, and also to communicate relevant issues.

Seminars

Seminars emphasise dialogue and discussion between the subject teacher(s) and students in order to stimulate the student's academic development. Verbal presentations by students and discussions are emphasised. 

In connection with the master's thesis, seminars are held where the master's theses are presented and discussed. The students receive feedback from their fellow students and teachers, which enables them to learn from each other. Research-related issues, methods and academic supervision are among the topics discussed in the seminars. Seminars can also take place on digital collaboration platforms. 

Written assignments and academic supervision

Through written assignments and the master's thesis, students will formulate research questions for assignments and work on them over time, either individually or in cooperation with other students. They will learn theory and develop skills in using and referencing sources, analysis, discussion and written and oral communication. The primary purpose of this is to develop their ability to reflect critically, see elements in context and develop a deeper understanding of a subject.

Developing academic writing skills is a key aspect of all parts of the programme. Supervision is an important component of the work on the master's thesis. The supervision is intended to ensure that the project complies with research ethics principles and help students to formulate the research question and ensure quality in the collection and analysis of data.