Nursing (day time learning) Kemi autumn 2017: K72D17S

Descriptions

DEGREEBachelor of Health Care, 210 credits
The degree programme in nursing leads to a Bachelor of Health Care degree. The programme meets the requirements on the recognition of professional qualifications as laid down in the Health Care Professionals Act and Health Care Professionals Decree and the Directive 2013/55/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council. Pursuant to the Directive, the training of nurses responsible for general health care must comprise at least three years of study which consists of at least 4,600 hours (180 credits) of training. Finnish nurse training also includes another 30 credits worth of specific nursing studies, the purpose of which is to deepen and expand the students’ competence in a work-oriented manner according to the regional need and the profile of the university of applied sciences in question.
Nurses perform nursing care tasks in primary health care, outpatient services, specialised health care, health care companies or patient and non-governmental organisations, various project and health care duties abroad. The training also provides capabilities for business and entrepreneurship. In addition to nurse, titles in the field can include general practice nurse, diabetes nurse and home care nurse, for example.
Nurses are responsible for care-related planning and decision-making in round-the-clock health care work. The work is primarily performed in three shifts, which emphasises the capacity for independent and responsible activities. The ethical foundations for nursing care are patient safety, respecting human dignity and sovereignty, and fairness. The base is formed by evidence-based nursing care, which emphasises concrete patient care, assistance, fulfilment of needs, patient guidance, rehabilitation and the promotion of health, work capacity and functional capacity.
STRUCTURE OF THE DEGREE The curriculum is built around courses and themes specified for each semester. The learning goals and theme content of the courses are a reflection of the core professional competence required in the field. The annual and semester themes draw together studies from the perspective of promoting professional growth.
Structure of the nurse training:
1) Basic and professional studies 115 credits including research, development and innovation methods 5 credits
2) Free-choice studies 5 credits
3) Practical training 90 credits including a thesis 15 credits
The purpose of the basic and professional studies is to teach you an extensive range of practically-oriented basic knowledge and skills, along with the theoretical foundation for working in health care specialist positions or as an entrepreneur. You will also gain the capabilities for professional development and lifelong learning. During the last month of the nurse training, you can deepen your competence in a specific area of nursing care (30 credits).
A further goal of the studies is to ensure that you have the language proficiency required by the Government Decree on Universities of Applied Sciences (1129/2014, Section 7), as listed in the degree certificate. The stipulations of Sections 15–19 of Government Decree (481/2003) must be taken into account when listing language proficiency. Within the scope of the curriculum, English-language studies are integrated into two courses, which evaluate language learning. Swedish-language studies are integrated into a single course. Finnish-language communication skills will be developed for the entire duration of the studies, and they will be evaluated annually under various courses (competence matrix).
The objective of practical training is to provide you with a guided orientation into the practical work tasks that are central for professional studies, in particular, and the application of knowledge and skills in working life. Within the scope of the degree programme, the extent of the practical training is 90 credits, 15 credits of which consist of a thesis commissioned by a working life party. The objective of the thesis is to develop and demonstrate your readiness to apply your knowledge and skills in a practical expert task connected to professional studies. For the purposes of the thesis, you have the opportunity to engage in cooperation between disciplines and study programmes. The aim of free-choice studies is to deepen and supplement your professional competence. Free-choice studies can take the form of projects and innovation activities.They can also include study attainments from other study programmes and institutes of higher education.
PATH OF PROFESSIONAL GROWTH - COMPETENCE GAINED The curriculum lays down the students’ learning process and describes their professional growth from learners to developers with the help of annual themes and derived semester themes.
1. Annual theme: Becoming familiar with nursing
During the first year, you will study professionalism, ethics and safety in nursing care.
Semester theme 1: Professionalism and ethics in nursing
You will study nursing as a profession, along with its competence basis and ethical framework. You will gain capabilities for communal and problem-oriented learning as an active operator. You will gain capabilities for professional interaction in both domestic languages. You will become familiar with operating environments in social services and health care and be able to structure nursing work in accordance with the process employed.
Semester theme 2: Safe nursing
You will study safe nursing care and gain perspectives into various areas of safety. You will gain capabilities for adhering to the decision-making process employed in nursing. You will familiarise yourself with the guidance and teaching methods in health-promoting nursing. You gain the general skills and capabilities required in working life for the development of your professional identity from the perspective of areas of competence and responsibility, including in English. You gain learning experiences in research, development and innovation activities.

2. Annual theme: Gaining experience in nursing
During the second year, you will gain experience in decision-making and guidance in the various operating environments of social and health care.
Semester theme 3: Evidence-based clinical nursing
You gain experience in evidence-based decision-making in nursing. You accumulate experience in the prevention and treatment of the most common illnesses as well as related guidance in various areas of nursing. You understand the various care and service chains as well as the patient’s and nurse’s role in them.
Semester theme 4: Guidance and teaching in clinical nursing
You gain capabilities for implementing guidance and teaching in clinical nursing care. You are able to utilise professional cooperation, interaction and dialogue. You can reflect upon your own learning experiences and competence in multi-professional nursing in various operating environments of social and health care.

3. Annual theme: Applying competence in nursing care
After the third year, you can independently apply critical thinking and problem solving to nursing care. Your work-related decision-making is based on evidence, work quality and patient safety.
Semester theme 5: Health-promoting general practice work
You are able to apply the decision-making process of nursing care in general practice work involving patients of varying ages. You can be present in patient care and provide guidance and instructions in a manner that promotes the patients’ health and functional capacity. You are capable of the independent application of critical thinking and problem solving in nursing.

Semester theme 6: Supporting health and promoting functional capacity
You gain capabilities for supporting the health and functional capacity of people in different age groups. You can engage in critical reflection on your professional development. You possess the leadership and employment skills required in working life as well as competence and capabilities in internationalisation, entrepreneurship and change management.

4. Annual theme: Developing nursing care (EQF 6)
You gain the general competence areas required in working life and nurse training. You can reflect upon and develop your professional competence from the perspective of the tasks and career development of a nurse.
Semester theme 7: Special issues in evidence-based nursing care
You expand and develop your competence in the operating environment of social and health care. Your work-related decision-making is based on evidence, work quality and safety.

Competencies
The basis for the nurse training curriculum is formed by extensive competence areas, i.e. competencies, and related competence goals and evaluation criteria, which are derived from working life competence requirements. The competencies are divided into general working life competencies shared by all study programmes (1–5) as well as nationally harmonised programme-specific competencies (6–14). The shared competencies are general work-related competence areas applicable to various study programmes, but their special characteristics and priorities vary between professions and work tasks. The shared competencies lay the foundation for activity, co-operation and expertise development in working life. The shared competencies are evaluated in conjunction with the evaluation of programme-specific competencies. The field-specific competencies of nurse training are based on the results of the Sairaanhoitajakoulutuksen tulevaisuus (Future of Nurse Training, 2014) project.
Competence areas/competencies
1. Learning skills
2. Work community competence
3. Innovation competence
4. Internationalisation competence
5. Customer orientation
6. Ethicality and professionalism in nursing (joined shared competency “ethical competence and responsibility”).
7. Leadership and entrepreneurship
8. Clinical nursing
9. Evidence-based operations and decision-making
10. Guidance-related and pedagogic competence
11. Promoting health and functional capacity
12. Social and health care operating environment
13. Quality and safety of social and health care services
As overarching competence goals, the curriculum includes the Lapland UAS’s strategic focus areas distance management, safety competence, arctic cooperation and cross-border expertise, promoting the intelligent use of natural resources, service business and entrepreneurship. Other overarching areas are internationality, information literacy and digitalisation.
Internationality is implemented as a continuum that runs through the entire curriculum, utilisation of foreign-language source materials and language studies. 30 credits worth of the studies are provided in English. Education in English is also provided by teachers sent by the Lapland UAS’s partners through the international expert exchange programme. In addition to this, students participate in international exchange and various events that support domestic internationalisation, including the tutoring of international students. For the purpose of achieving the internationalisation goals, domestic internationalisation has been incorporated into the studies and the students have the opportunity for an exchange period of at least three months abroad.

IMPLEMENTATION AND EVALUATION OF THE STUDIESThe learning vision of Lapland University of Applied sciences is competence-based and problem-based learning. The goal of the learning is to develop professional competence through student-specific and activating learning and guidance methods. Professional expertise is also deepened through learning and development projects that strengthen work-related problem-solving and decision-making skills. Learning is cooperative, communal and active interaction between students, teachers and working life and participation in the creation and building of shared knowledge. Students are active and responsible subjects of their own learning. Teachers serve as experts, guides and enablers in relation to learning.
The official goals of the programme provide you with guidance and motivation. The curriculum serves as a starting point for the personal study plan (HOPS), for the creation of which you can receive guidance from a study counsellor and your group’s teacher tutor. When preparing a study plan, you must ensure that the studies progress in the order specified in the curriculum.
Learning, research and development take place in versatile learning and development environment, which include laboratories, virtual environments, environments provided by international partners, working life, and research, development and innovation projects. The simulation and virtual learning environments of the School of Social Services, Health and Sports (e.g. ENVI, SKY and Semppi) provide international-level learning environments. The most essential learning environments of health care students are basic and special health care units as well as authentic work environments provided by the private and third sector. The practical training to promote professional competence is conducted in various Lapland municipalities. The theses related to the studies are prepared as part of the working life development activities. You have the opportunity to pick studies from various curricula, which enables authentic multidisciplinary cooperation. The tools used to support learning include the Moodle platform, Adobe Connect (AC)  software, social media, e-mail, video conferencing and video recording.
The pedagogisation of work is an alternative way to study, in which the competence required for a degree is acquired through working, and it serves the professional development and degree preparation of students who have jobs.
Constructive assessment entails the assessment of the learning process and of the acquired competences. Essential tools in the assessment of the learning process are self-assessment and feedback. The assessment is based on the learning goals of the course in question, which are derived from the competencies of the study programme. Students’ learning and competence are evaluated based on the competence goals and evaluation criteria specified in the curricula, which enable the identification of the learning results. Study attainments are evaluated on the scale of excellent (5), good (3–4), satisfactory (1–2), fail (0) or in exceptional situations using a simple pass–fail scale (H–0).
Feedback collected from students is used to develop the quality of the education. As a student, it is your responsibility to provide feedback on the implementation of courses in the form of annual feedback on the first, second and third year, and in conjunction with applying for the degree upon graduation.
In determining the stress level of the studies, the principles of the pan-European ECTS credit transfer and accumulation system are applied. One year of study equals 1,600 hours of full-time work by the student. This is equivalent to a 60 credit study attainment during a year of study. The workload of a single credit is approx. 27 hours. The workload corresponding to a credit is assessed in relation to the competence goals. The studies are planned to progress evenly during the 40 weeks of each year of study.
Incorporating prior learning into a degree (RPL) In completing your degree, you can, according to the decision of the university of applied sciences, be granted credits for your degree for studies that you have completed at another educational institute in Finland or abroad and replace studies that are a part of your degree with other similar studies. You can, according to the decision of the university of applied sciences, also have competence that is demonstrated and in other ways recognised and accredited as part of the degree (932/2014, Section 37(9)). The procedure is called accreditation or credit transfer.
Eligibility for further studies The bachelor’s degree makes you eligible for completing a master’s degree through further studies after spending three years in employment. Studies can also be continued by applying admission to a master's degree programme at a university. After completing a bachelor's degree at a university of applied sciences, it is also possible to continue studying in master's level degree programmes at foreign universities.
Quality management The operational quality of the study programmes is ensured in accordance with the principles and procedures determined by the Lapland UAS’s quality system. The harmonised quality system produces information related to the quality of the education and degrees, which is useful to students, personnel, employers and other interest groups.