Nursing

These inherent requirements apply to the following courses: Bachelor of Nursing and
Master of Nursing Practice Pre-registration.

Prospective and current students who are concerned about their capacities in relation to inherent requirements are strongly encouraged to contact the CDU Access and Inclusion team to discuss possible adjustments or alternative courses.

E: inclusion@cdu.edu.au

These inherent requirements should be read in conjunction with other course information and related material such as the Nursing and Midwifery Board of Australia’s Registered Nurse Standards for Practice. 

There are 10 domains of inherent requirements for nursing courses.

Each domain has five levels: 

1. Introduction
2. Description
3. Justification
4. Adjustments
5. Exemplars 

Acting in ways consistent with the recognised values of society and avoiding activities that do harm.

In the context of inherent requirements, students undertaking a course of study may be governed by practice standards and codes of ethics.

1. Introduction 
   Nursing is a profession governed by  standards for practice,  professional conduct and professional boundaries and code of ethics where nurses are both accountable and responsible for ensuring professional behaviour in all contexts.
2. Description of inherent requirement
   Student demonstrates knowledge of and engages in ethical behaviour in practice.
3. Justification of inherent requirement
   Compliance with the standards, codes, guidelines, and policies facilitates safe, competent interactions and relationships for students and/or the people with whom they engage. This supports the physical, psychological, emotional, and spiritual wellbeing of all.
4. Adjustments
   Adjustments must ensure the standards, codes, guidelines, and policies are not compromised or result in unethical behaviour.
5. Exemplars:
   • Demonstrating appropriate behaviour with confidential information in classroom and clinical settings
   • Demonstrate ability to reflect on ethical dilemmas and issues and take responsibility for ensuring awareness of ethical behaviour.

The maintenance of conduct that is acceptable and appropriate, according to the recognised norms of society over a given period.

1. Introduction
   Behavioural stability is required to function and adapt effectively and sensitively in this role.
2. Description of inherent requirement
   Student demonstrates behavioural stability to work constructively in a diverse and changing academic and clinical environment.
3. Justification of inherent requirement
   Behavioural stability is required to work individually and in teams in changing and unpredictable environments. Nursing students will be exposed to emergency situations and human suffering and will be required to have behavioural stability to manage these events.
4. Adjustments
   Adjustments must support stable, effective, and professional behaviour in both academic and clinical settings.
5. Exemplars:
   • Being receptive and responding appropriately to constructive feedback
   • Coping with own emotions and behaviour effectively when dealing with individuals in the clinical setting.

Related to the law. In the context of inherent requirements, this refers to the legal requirements of professional bodies relevant to specific courses of study.

1. Introduction
   Nursing practice is mandated by legislation to enable the safe delivery of care.
2. Description of inherent requirement
   Student demonstrates knowledge and compliance with Australian Law, professional regulations, and scope of practice.
3. Justification of inherent requirement
   Knowledge, understanding, and compliance with legislative and regulatory requirements are necessary pre-requisites to clinical placements to reduce the risk of harm to self and others.
   Compliance with these professional regulations and the Australian Law ensures that students are both responsible and accountable for their practice.
4. Adjustments
   Adjustments must be consistent with legislative and regulatory requirements.
5. Exemplars:
   • Complying with the requirement for student registration with the Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency (AHPRA)
   • Complying with relevant child protection and safety legislation.

Verbal communication: Conveying messages, ideas, or feelings through speech.

1. Introduction
   Effective verbal communication, in English, is an essential requirement to provide safe delivery of care as per the course entry requirements.
2. Description of inherent requirement
   Student demonstrates:
   • Sensitivity to individual and/or cultural differences
   • The ability to understand and respond to verbal communication accurately, appropriately and in a timely manner
   • The ability to provide clear instructions in the context of the situation
   • The ability to provide timely clear feedback and reporting.
3. Justification of  inherent requirement:
   Communicating in a way that displays respect and empathy to others and develops trusting relationships. At times, verbal communication may be the only means of communication available between nurse and person/others. Speed and interactivity of communication may be critical for individual safety or treatment. Timely, accurate and effective delivery of instructions is critical to individual safety, treatment, and management.
4. Adjustments
   Adjustments must address effectiveness, timeliness, clarity, and accuracy issues to ensure safety and appropriate care.
5. Exemplars:
   • Participating in tutorial, simulation, and clinical discussions
   • Responding appropriately to a care request in the clinical environment.

Non-verbal communication: Communication other than speech that conveys meaning including gestures and facial expressions, body posture, stance, touch, eye movements, eye contact and distance from the person/s with whom you are communicating. Non-verbal cues can provide significant additional information to the person with whom you are communicating.

1. Introduction
   Effective non-verbal communication is fundamental to nursing and needs to be respectful, clear, attentive, empathetic, and non-judgmental.
2. Description of inherent requirement
   Student demonstrates:
   • The capacity to recognise, interpret and respond appropriately to behavioural cues
   • Consistent and appropriate awareness of own behaviours 
   • Sensitivity to individual and/or cultural differences.
3. Justification of inherent requirement
   The ability to observe and understand non-verbal cues assists with building rapport with people and gaining their trust and respect in academic and professional relationships. Displaying consistent and appropriate facial expressions, eye contact, being mindful of space, time boundaries and body movements, and gestures promotes trust in academic and professional relationships. Being sensitive to individual and/or cultural differences displays respect and empathy to others and develops trusting relationships. The ability to observe and understand non-verbal cues is essential for the safe and effective observation of patient symptoms and reactions to facilitate the assessment and treatment of patients.
4. Adjustments
   Adjustments must enable the recognition, initiation of or appropriate response to effective non-verbal communication in a timely and appropriate manner.
5. Exemplars:
   • Recognising and responding appropriately in classroom situations
   • Recognising and responding appropriately to cues in the clinical environment.

Written communication: Communication by written symbols including electronic means, print or handwriting.

1. Introduction
   Effective written communication, in English, is a fundamental nursing responsibility with professional and legal ramifications.
2. Description of inherent requirement
   Student demonstrates:
   • The capacity to construct coherent written communication appropriate to the circumstances
   • The capacity to use a range of Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) to complete academic assessment requirements. 
3. Justification of inherent requirement
   Construction of written text-based assessment tasks to reflect the required academic standards are necessary to convey knowledge and understanding of relevant subject matter for professional practice. Accurate written communication, including record-keeping and patient notes, is vital to provide consistent and safe patient care.
4. Adjustments
   Adjustments must address the necessary standards of clarity, accuracy, and accessibility to ensure effective recording and transmission of information in both academic and clinical settings.
5. Exemplars:
   • Constructing an essay to academic standards
   • Constructing a nursing report in a timely manner that meets professional standards.

The mental action or process of acquiring knowledge and understanding through one's thoughts, experience, and senses.

Knowledge and cognitive skills: Acquired skills that reflect an individual's ability to think. Cognitive skills include verbal and spatial abilities, concentration, memory, perception, reasoning, planning and organisation, flexible thinking, and problem solving.

1. Introduction
   Consistent knowledge and effective cognitive skills must be demonstrated to provide safe and competent nursing care.
2. Description of inherent requirement 
   Student demonstrates:
   • The capacity to locate appropriate and relevant information
   • The ability to process information relevant to practice
   • The ability to integrate and implement knowledge in practice.
3. Justification of inherent requirement
   Safe and effective delivery of nursing care is based on comprehensive knowledge that must be sourced, understood, and applied appropriately.
4. Adjustments
   Adjustments must ensure that a clear demonstration of knowledge and cognitive skills is not compromised or impeded.
5. Exemplars:
   • Ability to conceptualise and use appropriate knowledge in response to academic assessment items.
   • Applying knowledge of policy and procedures in the clinical setting.

Literacy (language): This relates to the ability to acquire, understand, and apply information in a scholarly manner.

1. Introduction
   Competent literacy skills (in English) are essential to provide safe and effective delivery of care.
2. Description of inherent requirement
   Student demonstrates:
   • The ability to acquire information and accurately convey appropriate, effective messages
   • The ability to read and comprehend a range of literature and information
   • The capacity to understand and implement academic conventions to construct written text in a scholarly manner.
3. Justification of inherent requirement
   The ability to acquire information and to accurately convey messages is fundamental to ensure safe and effective assessment, treatment, and delivery of care. The ability to read, decode, interpret, and comprehend multiple sources of information is fundamental for the safe and effective delivery of nursing care.
4. Adjustments
   Adjustments must demonstrate a capacity to effectively acquire, comprehend, apply, and communicate accurate information.
5. Exemplars:
   • Demonstrates the ability to listen to information.
   • Demonstrates the ability to convey a spoken message accurately
   • Demonstrates ability to paraphrase, summarise and reference in accordance with appropriate academic conventions
   • Demonstrates accurate, concise, and clear nursing documentation.

Numeracy: This relates to the ability to understand and work with numbers.

1. Introduction
   Competent and accurate numeracy skills are essential for safe and effective care.
2. Description of inherent requirement
   Student demonstrates the ability to interpret and correctly apply data, measurements, and numerical criteria.
3. Justification of inherent requirement
   Competent application of numeracy skills is essential in nursing to facilitate the safe and effective delivery of nursing care.
4. Adjustments
   Adjustments must demonstrate a capacity to interpret and apply concepts and processes appropriately in a timely, accurate and effective manner.
5. Exemplars:
   • Performing accurate drug calculations
   • Demonstrating accurate recording on a fluid balance chart.

Actively listening to someone express their thoughts, feelings or experiences and showing understanding by consciously responding through skills such as paraphrasing, summarising or mirroring.

1. Introduction
   Nursing practice requires self-awareness and a capacity for reflection and reflexivity to consider the effect of one's own issues, actions, values, and behaviours on practice.
2. Description of inherent requirement
   Student demonstrates:
   • Ability to accurately reflect on their performance
   • Ability to engage in critical reflection 
   • Ability to reflect on their beliefs, actions, and values
   • Ability to be reflexive in the reflective process
   • Ability to accept feedback and respond constructively, professionally, and respectfully
   • Ability to be conscientious of how one’s own behaviour and actions impact others.
3. Justification of inherent requirement
   Working with clients while on placement and understanding and responding to them requires well developed understanding of oneself and the ability to effectively manage one's reactions to situations that may arise. Nursing programs leading to professional registration are practice ready qualifications which mean that there is an emphasis on reflection embedded throughout the curriculum. It is important that students have the capacity and are open to, engaging in reflection to support the transference of theory to practice.
4. Adjustments
   Adjustments must not compromise the student’s ability to demonstrate an acceptable minimum level of capacity in this area.
5. Exemplars:
   The above is consistent with the Registered Nurse Standards for Practice and may include any or all of the following (not exhaustive):
   • Students must be able to identify their scope of practice and understand the need to practice within their scope. They should be able to identify when an issue is outside their scope and how to refer the patient to another member of the multidisciplinary team 
   • Students are required to actively engage in clinical reasoning and critical reflection related to practice and other experiences
   • Students should be able to appropriately give and receive constructive feedback especially in the clinical setting and utilise the feedback to improve their practice 
   • Students must be aware of their own beliefs, actions and values and behave in a manner that reflects professional practice consistent within a Registered Nurse
   • Students must be able to identify goals and set objectives, particularly for the clinical practice setting, that are specific, measurable, achievable, realistic, and timely to reflexively improve their practice.

Personal skills required to interact appropriately with others with the aim of building and maintaining healthy, productive relationships. Skills include empathy, trustworthiness, patience, active listening, approachability, and reliability.

1. Introduction
   Nursing practice requires the ability to use highly developed interpersonal skills and establish and maintain strong relationships with people.
2. Description of inherent requirement
   Student demonstrates:
   • The ability to establish and maintain rapport with health consumers, academic staff, supervisors, and peers 
   • The ability to engage with others effectively and empathetically
   • The ability to engage and relate appropriately in individual and group settings, including clinical supervision and experiential learning groups in the educational environment
   • The ability to establish and maintain positive professional relationships with other students, school staff and others
   • The ability to be conscientious regarding how one’s own behaviour and actions impacts upon others.
3. Justification of inherent requirement
   Highly developed relational skills are a cornerstone of effective therapeutic relationships that permit effective assessment and intervention.
4. Adjustments
   The ability to demonstrate effective relational skills must be maintained through any adjustments.
5. Exemplars:
   • Building rapport with a health consumer to engage them effectively
   • Using relational and interpersonal skills to manage the therapeutic relationship with health consumers
   • Relating effectively, openly, and sensitively to academic staff, supervisors, peers, patients, and their families.

The way a person recognises external stimuli - through sight, smell, hearing, taste, and touch.

1. Introduction
   Adequate visual acuity is required to provide safe and effective nursing care.
   Adequate auditory ability is required to provide safe and effective nursing care.
   Sufficient tactile ability is required to perform competent and safe nursing care.
2. Description of inherent requirement
   Student demonstrates:
   • sufficient visual acuity to perform the required range of skills
   • sufficient aural function to undertake the required range of skills
   • adequate tactile function sufficient to undertake the required range of skills and assessments.
3. Justification of inherent requirement
   Sufficient visual acuity is necessary to demonstrate the required range of skills, tasks, and assessments to maintain consistent, accurate and safe care of self and to others.
   Visual observations, examination and assessment are fundamental to safe and effective nursing practice.
   Sufficient auditory ability is necessary to monitor, assess and manage an individual's health needs consistently and accurately. Auditory assessments and observations are fundamental to safe and effective nursing practice.
   Sufficient tactile ability is necessary to monitor, assess and detect patients' physical characteristics and act on any abnormalities detected to provide thorough nursing care. Tactile assessments and observations are fundamental to safe and effective nursing practice.
4. Adjustments
   Adjustments must address the need to perform the full range of tasks involved in clinical practice. Any strategies to address the effects of the vision impairment or hearing loss must be effective, consistent, and not compromise treatment or safety. 
   Adjustments must enable the capacity to make effective assessments of physical characteristics and abnormalities within safe time frames.
5. Exemplars:
   • Accurately drawing up medication to administer
   • Observing and detecting subtle changes in wounds
   • Accurately undertaking a blood pressure measurement by auscultation
   • Detecting care request by activation of call bell or calls for help
   • Detecting any changes in circulation observations e.g., temperature and pulse palpation
   • Conducting a physical assessment and detecting any anatomical abnormalities.

Gross motor skills: The use of large muscle groups that coordinate body movements for activities such as walking, lifting, pushing, pulling, and maintaining balance.

1. Introduction
   Nursing involves physical demands and requires gross motor function.
2. Description of inherent requirement
   Student demonstrates the ability to perform gross motor skills to function within scope of practice.
3. Justification of inherent requirement
   Sufficient gross motor skills are necessary to perform, coordinate and prioritise care.
   Tasks that involve gross motor skills include lifting, carrying, pushing, pulling, standing, twisting, and bending. Students must be able to demonstrate and perform these tasks consistently and safely to reduce the risk of harm to self and others.
4. Adjustments
   Adjustments should facilitate functional effectiveness, safety of self and others and a capacity to provide appropriate care.
5. Exemplars:
   • Maintaining balance while safely mobilising and transferring individuals or resources
   • Able to safely retrieve and utilise stock and equipment.

Fine motor skills: The ability to undertake precise coordinated movements of the hands for activities such as writing and manipulating small objects.

1. Introduction
   Nursing is a profession that requires manual dexterity and fine motor skills.
2. Description of inherent requirement
   Student demonstrates the ability to use fine motor skills to provide safe effective care.
3. Justification of inherent requirement
   Sufficient fine motor skills are necessary to perform, coordinate and prioritise care. Tasks that involve fine motor skills include being able to grasp, press, push, turn, squeeze and manipulate various objects and individuals. Students must be able to demonstrate and perform these tasks consistently and safely to reduce the risk of harm to self and others.
4. Adjustments
   Adjustments should facilitate functional effectiveness, safety to self and others and a capacity to provide appropriate care.
5. Exemplars:
   • Performing an aseptic wound dressing
   • Able to prime, accurately insert and set prescribed rate on an infusion device.

The ability to undertake a task/s over a pre-determined length of time. This could include physical performance such as standing for a length of time, or cognitive (mental) performance such as concentrating for a particular length of time.

1. Introduction
   Nursing practice requires both physical and mental performance at a consistent and sustained level.
2. Description of inherent requirement
   Student demonstrates:
   • Consistent and sustained level of physical energy to complete a specific task in a timely manner and over time
   • The ability to perform repetitive activities with a level of concentration that ensures a capacity to focus on the activity until it is completed appropriately
   • The capacity to maintain consistency and quality of performance throughout the designated period of time.
3. Justification of inherent requirement
   Sufficient physical and mental endurance is an essential requirement needed to perform multiple tasks in an assigned period to provide safe and effective care.
4. Adjustments
   Adjustments must ensure that performance is consistent and sustained over a given period.
5. Exemplars:
   • Participating in academic learning activities
   • Provide consistent care over a negotiated time frame
   • Maintaining safe practice when physical and emotional requirements are demanding.