Graduate Certificate in Nursing Practice (Paediatric Intensive Care)

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

This subject is designed to promote the practical aspects of paediatric intensive care nursing to support safe practice in caring for infants and children acutely or critically ill. Students will become familiar with the unique environments of individual critical care practice settings and learn essential knowledge and skills to prepare, manage and 'trouble-shoot' equipment and technology practice as well as the technical skills necessary to complete an admission assessment, understand admission findings, and identify patients at risk of life threatening complications. In the context of their practice as specialty nurses, students will become familiar with immediate interventions required to establish and maintain patient stability, including, but not limited to life support techniques. Students engage in field practice in specific critical care environments to address learning objectives focusing on the application of theoretical knowledge to skill development and the practice of caring for patients who are acutely and/or critically ill.

This subject is designed to promote an understanding of the theoretical aspects of specialty nursing to support safe practice in caring for infants and children who are acutely or critically ill. They will learn the scientific principles and research evidence underpinning practice as well as the technical skills necessary to complete an admission assessment, understand admission findings, and identify infants and children at risk of life threatening complications. The underpinning biological basis and evidence based principles behind treatment and symptom management (including pharmacology) of diseases/illnesses commonly treated in each critical care practice setting will be described.

This subject is designed to consolidate and extend on the understanding of theoretical aspects of specialty nursing in the paediatric intensive care setting. It builds on the knowledge and skills learnt in Paediatric Intensive Care 1 and expands the student’s knowledge with regard to the range of patients, the complexity of disease processes, treatments (including pharmacology), symptom management, and subsequent nursing assessments, interventions and supporting technical skills relevant to individual intensive care practice settings. There is a continued emphasis on scientific principles and research evidence underpinning specialty nursing practice and further developing of skills in problem-solving, critical thinking, rational inquiry and
self-directed learning to solve patient management problems encountered in specific intensive care environments.