Module Acute and Critical Care: Foundations for Practice (level 7)

This module covers topics such as:

• Concepts of critical care and national policy drivers.
• Patient assessment and monitoring.
• Haemodynamics and fluid balance.
• Introduction to 12 Lead ECG and arrhythmia recognition.
• Pain assessment and management.
• Effect of acute / critical illness on body systems; including: respiratory, cardiac, renal and nervous systems.
• Pathophysiology and treatment of shock.
• Principles of pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics.
• Care of the dying patient.
• Ethical, moral and legal issues

On successful completion, you will be able to:

• Interrogate and evaluate the effectiveness of therapeutic interventions utilised in the management of the acutely ill adult
• Systematically review the key concepts, theories, evidence, guidelines and policy upon which your practice is based
• Critically analyse the process of assessment and problem identification in the planning and evaluation of patient care
• Utilise a client and user focus to enhance acute and critical care practice

Indicative core bibliography

• Adam S, Welch J & Odell M (2009). Rapid assessment of the acutely ill patient. John Wiley & Sons.
• Cooper N, Forrest K and Cramp P (2006) Essential guide to acute care. 2nd Ed. Blackwell
• Esmond G (2008) Non-invasive respiratory support techniques: oxygen therapy, non-invasive ventilation and CPAP. Blackwell
• Moore T & Woodrow P (2009)) High-dependency nursing care 2nd Ed. Routledge
• Peate I & Dutton H (2012) Acute nursing care. Pearson
• Prosser S & McArthur-Rouse F (2007) Assessing and managing the acutely ill surgical patient. Blackwell
• Wood I & Garner M (2012) Initial management of acute medical patients. A guide for nurses and healthcare practitioners. 2nd Ed. Wiley-Blackwell.