Unit rationale, description and aim
Patients present to increasingly complex and dynamic healthcare environments with various conditions and illnesses that require surgical intervention. The specialist surgical nurse plays an integral role in the patient’s trajectory of care from admission and preparation for surgery, to postoperative management, rehabilitation and discharge. To be able to efficiently and effectively care for patients across the surgical continuum, surgical nurses must have extensive pathophysiological knowledge and proficiency with a range of technical, cognitive and behavioural skills, to understand, apply and develop appropriate plans of care for patients with acute, chronic and complex care needs who require surgery.
Surgical procedures present risks for patients that can result in pathophysiological changes, physiological processes and clinical deterioration. It is critical that surgical nurses have advanced knowledge, competency, critical thinking and clinical decision-making skills to recognise altered patient parameters and haemodynamic instability in the surgical patient. It is imperative that surgical nurses can also escalate abnormalities and clinical deterioration in a timely manner and implement the appropriate management and care requirements. Surgical patients are at an increased risk for adverse events during hospitalisation compared to non-surgical patients, due to procedures which can cause abnormal reactions and complications. It is critical that surgical nurses are equipped with the proficient specialist knowledge and skills to effectively advocate, guide and care for surgical patients using evidence-based, ethical practice. Selection of content for this unit is based on a range of surgical procedures, the complexity of pre-operative, intra-operative and postoperative care required by patients undergoing surgical procedures, and recent advances in surgical nursing. Key concepts relating to postoperative complications, haemodynamic stability, haemostasis, fluid and electrolyte imbalance, thermoregulation, cultural and emotional support and rehabilitation will be explored to assist students with skills in analysis, evaluation, and application of informed decision-making.
The aim of this unit is to support students to evaluate the complexity of surgical nursing care while developing knowledge and skills to critically appraise and evaluate evidence to ensure surgical patients are delivered high quality and safe care, that is respectful and promotes health and wellbeing.
Learning outcomes
To successfully complete this unit you will be able to demonstrate you have achieved the learning outcomes (LO) detailed in the below table.
Each outcome is informed by a number of graduate capabilities (GC) to ensure your work in this, and every unit, is part of a larger goal of graduating from ACU with the attributes of insight, empathy, imagination and impact.
Explore the graduate capabilities.
Critically apply advanced knowledge of bioscience ...
Learning Outcome 01
Critically reflect on the role and scope of the sp...
Learning Outcome 02
Analyse the physical, psychosocial, and cultural i...
Learning Outcome 03
Analyse evidence-based approaches to preventative,...
Learning Outcome 04
Apply advanced clinical reasoning to design, justi...
Learning Outcome 05
Content
Topics will include:
- Professional Identity in Advanced Surgical Nursing Practice
- Definition and clinical relevance of professional identity
- Clinical decision making
- Professional standards
- Family centred care and culturally responsive care
- Pre-operative care and risk assessment
- Pre-operative care assessment skills
- Consent, surgical risk stratification and safety checklist
- Fasting
- Early warning detection systems
- Comorbidities in surgical patients
- Continuous quality improvement for harm mitigation = risk assessment
- Interdisciplinary team approach
- Communication & clinical handover
- Pre-operative patient and family education
- Discharge planning
- Bioscientific concepts of surgery
- Preventative, curative, palliative and rehabilitative approaches to care in surgical nursing
- Principles of anaesthesia
- Pharmacology of types of sedation, induction, muscle relaxants, analgesics and adjunct medications
- Drug metabolism and elimination in surgical patients
- Airway management and oxygenation
- Physiological changes in the intraoperative period
- Positioning
- Homeostasis
- Thermoregulation
- Neurovascular changes
- Integumentary considerations
- Fluid and electrolyte considerations
- Patient cohort considerations (including pediatric/older/cultural considerations)
- Overview of Common Surgical Procedures
- Cardiovascular and Respiratory Surgeries
- Cardiothoracic & cardiac surgery
- Coronary artery bypass grafting/value surgery/cardiopulmonary bypass/coronary angioplasty/ablation
- Lung resection/biopsy/VATS
- Neurosurgical Surgery
- Craniotomy/craniectomy
- Spinal surgery – laminectomies/microdiscectomies
- Gastrointestinal Surgery
- Appendectomy/cholecystectomy/hernia repair/bowel resection
- Endoscopy procedures/laparoscopic procedures/radiology interventions
- Genitourinary Surgery
- Prostatectomy/ nephrectomy
- Urological endoscopic procedures including TURPS
- Hysterectomy/ caesarean section
- Orthopaedic Surgery
- Knee, hip & pelvis fractures
- Fixation/joint replacement
- Breast, Plastic, Reconstructive and Vascular Surgery
- Skin grafts/flap procedures/mastectomy
- Cosmetic vs reconstructive considerations
- Vascular/revascularisation
- Ophthalmic, ENT and Endocrine surgery
- Cataract surgery/otologic surgery
- Tonsillectomy/adenoidectomy/maxillofacial surgery
- Thyroid surgery
- Postoperative assessment, complications and evidence-based management
- Postoperative assessment (documentation and primary and systematic assessment)
- Multidisciplinary approach/team members
- Recognising, managing and preventing clinical deterioration
- Airway management
- Pain management
- Hemorrhage
- Infection and sepsis
- Education
- Cardiovascular assessment, complications and management
- Arrythmias/cardiac arrest/infarction/DVT/PE/haemorrhage/sepsis/shock
- Respiratory system assessment, complications and management
- Atelectasis/aspiration/pneumonia/pneumothorax/respiratory failure
- Neurological system assessment, complications and management
- Nerve injury/raised intracranial pressure/herniation/cognitive alternation/
- Delerium/lack of insight/falls risk
- Gastrointestinal system assessment complications and management
- Fluid and electrolyte imbalance/nausea and vomiting/perforation/peritonitis/postoperative ileus/constipation
- Drain tube management
- Nutrition requirement
- Renal system assessment, complications and management
- Urinary retention/renal injury and failure/
- Musculoskeletal and Integumentary assessment, complications and management
- Acute compartment syndrome/rhabdomyolysis/fat embolism syndrome/pressure injury/wound dehiscence/
- Traction management and infection risk
- Skin flap management
- Psychological implications
- Ophthalmic, ENT and Endocrine assessment, complications and management
- Ophthalmic complications
- ENT complications
- Hormone imbalance
- Psychological care/trauma assessment, complications and management
- Psychosocial, family and cultural considerations
- Delirium/Falls risk
- Sexual health
- Rehabilitation/discharge planning
Assessment strategy and rationale
To pass the unit, students must demonstrate achievement of every unit learning outcome and obtain a minimum mark of 50% in graded units.
The assessment strategy is designed to scaffold learning and progressively build students’ advanced knowledge and application of clinical and evidence-based practice with a focus on the care of complex surgical patients and their families.
Through the undertaking of two assessment tasks, students will critically reflect their role as a specialist surgical nurse in improving patient outcomes, apply advanced bioscientific knowledge of complex health conditions and demonstrate clinical reasoning while applying holistic care principle. The second assessment task requires students to independently produce original work that integrates advanced bioscience knowledge, evidence-based practice, and patient-centred clinical decision-making. Both assessment tasks promote analytical thinking, reflection, and evaluation of people-centred care.
Overview of assessments
Assessment Task 1: Digital Presentation The stud...
Assessment Task 1: Digital Presentation
The student will critically reflect on their role as a specialist surgical nurse in improving patient outcomes across surgical healthcare settings, demonstrating the ability to critically apply advanced bioscience knowledge and evaluate evidence-based practice to inform clinical decision-making.
30%
Assessment Task 2: Written Assignment Enables st...
Assessment Task 2: Written Assignment
Enables students to critically apply advanced knowledge and clinical reasoning through analysis and evaluation of the evidence-based, people-centred care provided to a complex surgical case study patient with a variation in health status and demonstrate critical reflection on their role as a specialist surgical nurse.
70%
Learning and teaching strategy and rationale
The aim of this unit is to equip specialist surgical nurses with advanced bioscience knowledge, clinical reasoning, and evidence-based skills needed to deliver person-centred care in complex surgical settings. By exploring the evolving role of the specialist nurse and the physical, psychosocial, and cultural impacts of illness, the unit prepares learners to make informed clinical decisions, optimise patient outcomes, and contribute effectively to interdisciplinary care.
This unit is offered in online mode and uses an active and collaborative learning approach to support students to analyse and critically evaluate approaches to providing evidence-based, people-centred nursing care to complex surgical patients. Students will engage in readings, reflections and online discussions and will have opportunities to collaborate with peers in an online environment. E-Learning and links to electronic readings will be provided to guide students’ reading and extend other aspects of online learning. Online learning in this unit will be supported by the provision of opportunities for students to attend online webinar sessions that allow synchronous exchange of information and facilitate responses to queries generated by students in relation to unit content.
The learning and teaching strategy used in this unit allows flexibility for students balancing study with professional commitments while ensuring they have expert academic guidance support to ensure meaningful engagement and progression. This approach fosters integration of theory and practice, preparing students to deliver safe, evidence-informed care in specialist surgical nursing environments.