Health Assessment and Primary Health Care

Welcome to NURS N305 Health Assessment and Primary Health Care!

NURS N305 Health Assessment and Primary Health Care is one of the core courses of the Bachelor of Nursing programme. The course is a two-semester, higher level, 10 credit course. There is no prerequisite for this course.

NURS N305 is split into two major parts. The first partdescribes the principles and practices of health assessment and the second part discusses the concepts and issues of primary health care.

This course will be delivered in distance-learning mode. You will be provided with printed and soft copies of the study materials. Your learning will be supported by face-to-face tutorials, telephone-tutoring plus interactions on HKMU's Online Learning Environment (OLE).

This Course Guide gives you an overview of NURS N305 Health Assessment and Primary Health Care and helps you to work through the materials. In this guide, you will find out about the resources of information and support provided by HKMU to facilitate your learning, as well as the assessment procedures used to evaluate your performance. Suggestions on the total amount of time for you to spend on each unit are also given to facilitate a good time management. Please read through and refer to this Course Guide when needed.

NURS N305 Health Assessment and Primary Health Care aims to:

• Strengthen your knowledge and skills in all aspects of health assessment; and
• Enhance your understanding of the philosophy, theories, concepts, models, development, implementation of primary health care and their nursing practice of primary health care.

Upon completing NURS N305, you should be able to:

• Explain the significance of health assessment in nursing practice;
• Apply the principles and techniques in performing a health assessment, covering different aspects and phases of life;
• Explain the concepts and philosophies of primary health care in local and international perspectives;
• Apply the principles of primary health care in nursing practice;
• Analyse the role of nurses in implementing primary health care; and
• Critically analyse current issues in primary health care.

This course is made up of course materials, readings and textbooks. Please read these materials carefully to help you gain a comprehensive understanding of the whole subject area.

You will notice that the study units contain a number of self-tests and activities. It is highly recommended that you complete these exercises as these will help you to gain hands on experience and check your understanding of what you have read at the same time.

The Assignment File details the assignments you need to complete as part of your course. Each assignment is designed to help you achieve the learning outcomes of the course.

Materials

Aside from this Course Guide, there are a number of other important course components (see below). Please ensure that you have all these materials before you start.

Study units

There are ten study units in Health Assessment and Primary Health Care. Each study unit consists of three to four weeks' work and includes directions for study, readings with commentaries and summaries of key issues and ideas. The information provided in these units is directly related to the assignment you will have to complete.

The study units are:

Set textbook

D'Amico, D., & Barbarito, C. (2015). Health and physical assessment in nursing (3rd ed.). Pearson Education.

Supplementary readings

The course will provide necessary reading materials, mainly research publications and review articles, which can be found in the study unit folders or online. Each study unit gives further guidance on reading, and establishes the learning approach for students' self-instruction.

E-Library E-Reserve readings

You may be instructed to read articles in the E-Library E-Reserve. To read these items, go to the University's E-Library and click E-Reserve. Log in, click Accept/Agree on the Copyright Restrictions page, fill in the Course Code box, and click Search.

Audiovisual materials / software

Audiovisual materials on health assessment are available at the HKMU library. Students are encouraged to make full use of those materials to help them with their study.

Assessment

The course includes two types of assessment, formative and summative. Each type is worth 50% of your overall score. Formative assessment is based on the assignments in your Assignment File, while summative assessment refers to the final examination. In order to achieve a passing grade on the course, you need to obtain a pass in both formative and summative assessments.

Assignments

There will be two assignments for this course. The first assignment will deal with health assessment and another will focus on primary health care aspect. Both will be counted. Each assignment is assigned a real value of 25%. The assignments of this course are worth 50% of the total course mark.

Examination

The final examination will be that accounts for 50% of the total course grade. It covers all the units. Emphasis will be put on the assessment of the students' ability to apply the knowledge learned in this course, as well as their understanding of the concepts and principle behind them.

Course marking scheme

This table shows how the marking is broken down.

The following table provides an outline of the course.

The following are some hints and suggestions:

1. Read the Course Guide thoroughly.
2. Use the study schedule in the pocket of your study materials binder to plan your study. Decide on your own target dates for each unit and write them in. Once you have created your study schedule, do everything within your control to stick to it. The main reason students fail is that they fall behind with their schedule.
3. Assemble your study materials. You should always have the study unit you are working on, your textbook and the readings together on your desk at one time.
4. Work through the unit systematically.
   Remember! The first five units of this course are heavily practice-oriented. It is very important that you participate in these practice exercises as this will not only give you hands on experience but allow you to check whether you have fully understood the subjects covered in the unit and readings.
5. Check your OLE from time to time. Keep yourself updated with any course news and information delivered from the Course Coordinator.
6. Plan your assignment by referring to the assignment guidelines given in the stop press.
7. Complete and submit the various assignments on time.
8. While you are waiting for your last assignment to be returned, start working on the next unit. Proceed unit by unit through the course and pace your study.
9. When the assignment is returned, pay close attention to your tutor's comments. Phone your tutor as soon as possible if there's something you don't understand.
10. Once you have completed the last unit, review the course and prepare yourself for the final examination. Check that you have successfully achieved the course learning outcomes.

You have been assigned a tutor who is there to help you to learn, to monitor your progress throughout the course and to mark and comment on your assignments. Your tutor is there to help! Please don't hesitate to contact him or her if you need assistance.

Tutorials

There will also be ten tutorials for you to attend during the course which usually take place around once a month. You are strongly recommended to attend these tutorials. Tutorial discussions are always thought-provoking and will certainly help to enhance your understanding on each subject area.

Online support

Online support is available for NURS N305 Health Assessment and Primary Health Care students. This course is supported by HKMU's Online Learning Environment (OLE) (non-mandatory). You can find the course materials and the latest course information on the OLE. Through the OLE, students can also communicate with the tutor(s) and the Course Coordinator.

Au Yeung Chi Man received his Bachelor of Nursing with Honours from The Chinese University of Hong Kong in 2000 and his Master of Medical Sciences specializing in Community Medicine from The University of Hong Kong in 2004. He also acquired an Advanced Diploma in Health Informatics from The Cyperport Institute Hong Kong, The University of Hong Kong in 2010.

Mr Au Yeung worked as a research nurse at The Chinese University of Hong Kong, starting from 2000, with a research interest in the treatment of oesophageal and gastric cancer. After attaining a Master of Medical Sciences, Mr Au Yeung worked at the Tobacco Control Office of Department of Health, HKSAR and his main job duty is to provide expertise advice on tobacco control and smoking cessation to the public and the government. Mr Au Yeung is now working at the Centre for Health Protection of Department of Health and is mainly responsible for creating and designing the Communicable Disease Information System (CDIS) for investigation and surveillance of infectious disease outbreak in Hong Kong.

Mr Au Yeung taught Health Informatics, Comparative Studies in Health and Fundamental Health Care at Hong Kong Metropolitan University.

Yu Kar Man Fiona received her Bachelor of Nursing with Honour from The Chinese University of Hong Kong in 2003, and her Master of Business Administration in Health Services Management from The University of Ballarat of Australia in 2009. She completed several advanced clinical training: Diploma in Cardiovascular Perfusion Technology from the School of Continuing and Professional Studies, The Chinese University of Hong Kong in 2007; and Certificate of Endoscopy Nursing from the School of Professional and Continuing Education, The University of Hong Kong in 2011.

Ms Yu worked as a registered nurse for Hospital Authority since 2003, mainly in the field of cardiovascular surgery and perfusion technology. Currently, Ms Yu contributes her expertise in a local private hospital, in which she facilitates clinical services including health assessment, health education and client counselling.

Ms Yu was appointed as Adjunct Tutor for The Nethersole School of Nursing, The Chinese University of Hong Kong. She was invited as a guest lecturer for the Department of Applied Science, Vocational and Training Council. She is currently a tutor for the course Health Assessment and Primary Health Care at Hong Kong Metropolitan University.

NURS N305 Health Assessment and Primary Health Care is designed to keep you up-to-date with contemporary nursing practice while providing you with comprehensive health assessment skills and intensifying your understanding of primary health care.

We hope you will enjoy this course and wish you the very best in your studies.