Nursing, Bachelor programme according to National Curriculum 2004

This curriculum has been drawn up in accordance with the National Curriculum and rules for a nursing education laid down by the Ministry of Education and Research on 1 July 2004, pursuant to Act no. 15 of 1 April 2005 relating to Universities and Colleges. The curriculum was adopted by the Board of Sogn og Fjordane University College on 2 May 2002. A revised edition was adopted by the Dean of the Faculty of Health Sciences on 15 June 2006.

The purpose of the education is that the students shall acquire competence in a vocation as a nurse. This means competence in using and developing nursing knowledge, attitudes and skills in a beneficial way in encounters with patients, their relatives and fellow workers. Having nursing competence means that the person in question is professionally qualified and performs the job in accordance with laws, rules and professional ethical guidelines that are currently in effect.

Nursing knowledge shall enable the professional nurse to encounter the user of the services in a holistic way based on an understanding of how the individual experiences the health problem and the threat of failing health. The nurse shall have a knowledge of and further develop clinical methods for nursing and care in different diseased conditions and in preventive and health-promoting work. The nurse has an independent responsibility with regard to implementation and follow-up of ordinary medical treatment, administration of medication and information, including observation, assessment and reporting.

A completed programme of study entitles the student to the diploma “Bachelor of Nursing” and provides the basis for certification as a nurse. The programme of study may form the basis for entrance to a masters programme at a college or university. A completed programme of study and at least 1 year of vocational experience provide the basis for entrance to a higher education in nursing.

Persons who have met general entrance requirements for higher education and applicants with prior learning and experience.

The goals for the programme of study are to educate nurses who provide services on the basis of a holistic view of the human being, which shows respect for the person's integrity and rights and that protects the users' autonomy and right to codetermination. The field of nursing is based on fundamental values of the caring professions. Professional ethical guidelines for nurses are based on moral principles concerning respect for the premise that life is inviolable, respect for each person's inherent worth and solidarity with the disadvantaged. A nurse must also have insight into the development of the field of nursing from a historical and philosophical perspective.

The nurse shall practice knowledge-based nursing, based on research, clinical experience, professional judgment, resource assessment and the patient's preferences. The goal is to practice nursing that takes into consideration the patient's individual care needs in different phases of life and simultaneously have the competence to take part in quality improvement, professional development and research.

The instruction is developed from 9 subjects that shall prepare the students in various ways for the expected total competence achieved by the end of the course:

• In the subject Basic nursing, the goal is to give the students an understanding of and experience in nursing as a profession based on the patient's basic needs, resources and state of health.
• In the subject The nurse's responsibility in quality improvement and research, the comprehensive goal is to give the students knowledge and skills so that they are prepared to take responsibility for providing knowledge-based nursing, and so that they have the competence to take part in quality improvement and/or professional development and research in the subject.
• In the subject Anatomy, physiology, biochemistry, microbiology and basic first aid, the students shall acquire knowledge about the human body's structure and functioning, biochemical processes that are of key importance to living organisms and micro-organisms that can cause infections. The subject shall also provide knowledge about basic first aid with emphasis on basic cardiopulmonary changes and first aid for injuries.
• In the subject Pathology, pharmacology and administration of medication, the students shall acquire knowledge about diseases in the various organ systems in the human body and how various diseases are to be treated. The subject shall also provide knowledge about the administration of medication including medicament calculation.
• In the subject Ethics, law and psychology, the goal is to give the students knowledge that makes it possible for them to reflect upon ethical, legal and human dilemmas they will encounter in practicing the nursing profession and to comply with current laws and ethical guidelines in practicing their profession. .
• In the subject Nursing of somatic illness and injury, the goal is to give the students knowledge about nursing patients with somatic illness and injuries. This includes nursing documentation that is based on the nursing process as a methodology and professional, ethical and legal requirements for documentation. The students shall show that they have mastered this knowledge as skills during the clinical practice period.
• In the subject Health-promoting and preventive work, the goal is to provide knowledge about the conditions for health and disease trends in the society from the perspective of the interaction between the individual and conditions in the society.
• In the subject Municipal health service and mental health work, the point of departure is the local community where the patient and/or recipient of services lives and the main focus is on people with nursing needs because of aging, mental illness, chronic illness and permanent physical disability. This subject is clearly meant to have a user's perspective where the patient and/or recipient of services have a need at times for more specialised health services including mental health care.
• In the subject Preparation for a career, the goal is to give the student insight into the complexity and the constant changes that the National Health Service is facing. The goal is to give the students incomplete operational competence so that they are able to link subject-specific knowledge to improvement knowledge in order to develop services. Leadership of the nursing team, insight into the interaction with other players in the clinical microsystem around the patient and insight into the organisation at various levels are important in this subject.

Core values
Nursing interventions have the goals of promoting health and easing suffering. It is crucial to a good provision of health services that those who provide the services take into consideration each person's physical, psychological, social, cultural and spiritual aspects. Health problems and social problems must also be considered in the context of factors pertaining to the society at large. Nursing involves understanding the consequences that the illness may have for the patient and various experiential aspects involved in being ill. This requires an ability to empathise and a sympathetic attitude. Nursing may be associated with individuals, groups of people or circumstances where nursing information shall enable people to prevent or cope with an illness.

Nursing competence
In order to make apparent the expectations that the employer has of newly educated nurses, the National Curriculum distinguishes between operational competence and incomplete operational competence (National Curriculum for Nursing Education 2004:5).

Operational competence is related to areas where it is expected that nurses who have completed their training shall be able to act independently. Newly graduated nurses shall have operational competence to attend to and perform tasks that are important in connection with their work. This competence is primarily focused on patients and their relatives and attends to basic functions of nursing.

Incomplete operational competence pertains to knowledge that can be further developed through training, instruction and practical experience into independent functions in administration, instruction, guidance and professional development.

Requirements for professionally adequate and considerate help
The Act of 1 January 2001 relating to health personnel etc. outlines the following requirements for professionally adequate and considerate help. The provisions of the Act also apply to students in clinical practice.

• Requirements to know and organise the practice of the profession in accordance with professional limitations
• Duty to keep oneself professionally up to date
• Duty to obtain the necessary information about the patient
• Duty to obtain consent for the treatment
• Duty to involve the patient in the treatment
• Duty of professional secrecy
• Duty of abstinence from intoxicating substances
• Duty to take part in examinations in connection with criminal offences and in case of a danger of the spread of contagion
• Duty to document one's activities
• Information and duty to report
• Duty to provide immediate assistance, which applies regardless of workplace and during leisure time

Entrance is determined on the basis of general entrance requirements or prior learning and experience.

This education is divided into nine subjects that are based on the platform of knowledge for the field of nursing as specified in the National Curriculum. The subjects are stretched over six semesters in the full-time programme of study and eight semesters in the part-time programme of study. Each subject will be discussed in the curriculum, where goals, content, methods of teaching and instruction, compulsory assignments and forms of assessment are specified. Each subject will be given a final assessment, and requirements will be made for the progression with regard to the continuation of the education.

Sogn og Fjordane University College uses Classfronter as its electronic learning system. In Classfronter the student will find detailed descriptions of methods of teaching and instruction in connection with each individual subject, description of compulsory assignments, clinical practice programmes of study, tips about recommended literature and/or relevant links, information about examinations, course schedules, etc. Classfronter will also be used as an educational tool in the programme of study. All guidelines that deal with the programme of study are found on the university college's web site, www.hisf.no.

Quality assurance of the programme of study
The curriculum has been drawn up in accordance with the Guidelines for work on the curriculum at Sogn og Fjordane University College and has been adapted to the template for the electronic curriculum. For this reason, it is best to read the curriculum in the electronic version so that you can click further to relevant topics and links. Preparation and implementation of the curriculum will be critically assessed regularly by faculty members with competence for an associate professorship, who keep themselves updated in their own professional field and who are in touch with the circles that are doing research and development work that is relevant to the subject. All subjects have their own professional groups consisting of faculty with special connections to the professional fields covered in the subject. An evaluation of all subjects will be prepared underway during the programme of study by means of the electronic evaluation form in Classfronter. Professional and pedagogical aspects of the programme of study will be discussed in specialist committees and study programme committees in the faculty and in the study programme committee for the whole university college.

As can be seen from the outline below, each subject is related to the various main subject areas in the National Curriculum for Nursing Education. It is emphasised that the students learn to understand relationships among the different professional fields in the education and develop the ability to understand and act on the basis of this understanding in encounters with patients.

Based on the National Curriculum, the programme of study is organised into theoretical studies (T), direct patient-oriented training in clinical practice (P) and practically-oriented training (PU).

In addition to the guidelines in the National Curriculum, the subject's distinctive nature and degree of difficulty and/or degree of independent work are the basis for the time (number of weeks) that is set aside for the study. The table below shows how the ECTS credits in the National Curriculum are divided in the curriculum. The point of departure is the National Curriculum's classification of main subjects:
1. The professional and scientific basis of nursing: 33 ECTS credits
2. Professional nursing: 72 ECTS credits
3. Biomedical and life sciences: 45 ECTS credits
4. Social sciences: 30 ECTS credits

The Faculty of Health Sciences puts emphasis on offering instruction based on cutting edge research, professional development work and empirical knowledge. A progression has been set up in the education with regard to the students' development of competence in research and professional development.

The education will be structured to facilitate various teaching methods with a high degree of student activity, both individually and in groups. Learning is an active process and both the social context within which the learning occurs and the student's personal experiences will affect the learning process. Practical and theoretical experience are the basis for all learning. One of the comprehensive goals is that the students develop personal knowledge and be actively involved in their own experiences and new knowledge. This requires regular discussion of both the professional and pedagogical aspects of the programme of study. The quality of the programme of study will be discussed in the specialist committee and the study programme committee of the faculty. The students will be given training in asking critical questions, searching for technical knowledge and/or in research literature, being able to critically assess, make use of and communicate this information to others both orally and in writing. The students will also be tested in this.

The methods of teaching and instruction will vary in the different subjects, and this will be specified in the presentation of each individual subject. The most frequently used methods of teaching and instruction will be:

• Research-based lectures and introductory lectures
• Study groups with and without guidance (groups of 6-12 students)
• Instruction and active training at the nursing skills centre (e.g. training in practical clinical procedures with guidance by a teacher)
• Project work in groups
• Work on assignments and compulsory assignments for individuals and groups
• In clinical practice programmes of study, arrangements will be made to facilitate guidance from the place providing clinical practice training and from the clinical practice teacher. Guidance will be both individual and in a group (more information under the section on clinical practice programmes of study).

The expected study effort for a full-time student is 40 hours a week, of which teacher-guided instruction and/or guidance amounts to an average of 15 to 20 hours during each week of theoretical instruction. In the clinical practice periods, each student shall work in shifts for an average of 30 hours each week.

Information and communication technology (ICT) is important for the completion of the programme of study and in practicing nursing. This requires knowledge about and skills in methods for gathering, critically selecting, handling, structuring and conveying oral and written information. Early in the programme of study, the student will be given training in the use of ICT and library services.

Instruction and active training at the nursing skills centre are necessary in order to raise awareness about fundamental nursing skills and prepare the students for encounters with the patients in the field of clinical practice.

In the part-time programme of study the same methods of teaching and instruction will be employed as in the full-time programme of study. The part-time programme of study will be organised in one-week modules at the Faculty of Health Sciences in Førde, Norway. The part-time programme of study is organised with fewer weeks of theoretical instruction than the full-time programme of study, and hence arrangements have been made for a greater amount of self-study. The clinical practice programme of study will be carried out in the same way as for full-time students. The aim is to arrange the clinical practice programme of study in the municipal health service in proximity to the student's residential address in Sogn og Fjordane County. In the specialist health services, the institutions in Sogn og Fjordane County will be used. Otherwise, part-time students follow the same rules concerning clinical practice as full-time students.

The clinical practice programmes of study consist of 90 ECTS credits (60 weeks). 75 of these ECTS credits amount to direct patient-oriented clinical practice programmes of study, and 15 ECTS credits go to training in practical skills, preparation for and reflection upon clinical practice. In the clinical practice programme of study the student will have direct contact with patients and gain experience in the ways in which a nurse can evaluate patients and initiate measures. The student will encounter people in different situations, which may give them insight and experience. The student will also gain insight into how the organisation and implementation of the work will be done in the various fields of clinical practice. In addition, we want to encourage the students to increase their awareness of their perceived role and attitudes. One of the goals for the clinical practice programme of study is that the student is aware of and gives thought to whether his/her own clinical practice is in accordance with professional requirements.

Overview of scope and area for direct patient-oriented clinical practice

The Faculty of Health Sciences makes use of trainee places throughout all of Sogn og Fjordane County. It is possible to apply to complete a clinical practice period outside of Sogn og Fjordane County in accordance with the current regulations. It is not possible to take clinical practice programmes of study in wards where the student has a job, and the student is obligated to report this when choosing a trainee place. The students must be prepared to meet the costs associated with clinical practice. Special rules have been drawn up for clinical practice programmes of study in accordance with the distribution of trainee places, clinical practice outside Sogn og Fjordane, coverage of living and travel expenses, work clothes and obligatory attendance in clinical practice programmes of study.

Requirements for attendance in clinical practice
All clinical practice programmes of study are obligatory. The students shall mainly follow the contact nurse when he/she is on duty in order to ensure continuous follow-up and guidance. This means that they must follow the duty rota of the contact nurse with both day, evening, and night duty, plus weekends.

In clinical practice programmes of study, it is expected that the student:

• Shows a commitment to professional and personal development
• Is an active participant in the work environment. Among other things, this entails that the student shows a willingness to undertake continuous problem solving
• Actively seeks out learning situations and seeks guidance and assessment
• Gets in touch with the teacher and reports any problems that may arise
• Write his/her own formulations of goals for the clinical practice period. Through the formulations of goals, the student shall clarify in which specialised area he/she needs to work.
• Is well prepared and participates in an active way in the discussion of expectations, the halfway assessment, the final assessment and career guidance days
• Takes responsibility for setting up a duty rota in keeping with current guidelines
• Complies with requirements for attendance in a programme of study and reports his/her absences
• Carries out compulsory assignments in clinical practice based on the guidelines for the individual compulsory assignments
• Works on preparations for instruction and written assignments, which shall be submitted to the teacher, in addition to the obligatory 30 hrs. per week.

Expectations of the place providing clinical practice training and/or contact nurse:

• Is a resource person for the student and an instructor in professional matters
• Cooperates with the student on progress in clinical practice in order to achieve the objectives
• Gives the student greater challenges and responsibility in accordance with the individual student's development and growth. Makes professional requirements associated with learning situations in clinical practice
• Evaluates the student continuously
• Is well prepared and participates in an active way in the discussion of expectations, the halfway assessment and the final assessment.
• Gets in touch with the clinical practice teacher if any problems arise

Expectations of the university college and/or clinical practice teacher:

• Sees that the field of clinical practice is oriented and informed about the curriculum at all times
• Instructs the students with regard to theory and clinical practice
• Instructs the students with regard to written assignments
• Is a mentor for the student and contact nurse
• Is obligated to keep oriented about the student's professional development
• Is well prepared and participates in an active way in the discussion of expectations, the halfway assessment and the final assessment.
• Approves the duty rota

Guidance, discussions and assessments
The student, contact nurse and/or representative from the place providing clinical practice training and the clinical practice teacher shall attend a discussion of expectations and halfway and final assessments in all of the clinical practice programmes of study. All clinical practice programmes of study will have clinical sessions prepared by the teacher and/or student where various topics are explained, discussed and reflected upon. In clinical practice programmes of study in subjects 1 and 6, the clinical practice teacher also instructs the students in directly patient-oriented situations. In subject 8, most of the instruction will be provided through clinical sessions. In subject 9, the student shall play an independent role, and the clinical practice teacher's task will be to take part in the discussion of expectations and the halfway and final assessments. New models for guidance in clinical practice programmes of study are under development and the students must therefore be prepared to take part in various clinical practice projects. The college's faculty members have overall responsibility with regard to instructing the students and arranging good learning situations in clinical practice. In the clinical practice programme of study, the students shall be given continuous guidance by nurses who should have teaching competence and at least one year of experience as a nurse. The nurses in the trainee place are responsible for instructing the students on the basis of the specialties and distinctive characteristics of that particular trainee place.

All clinical practice programmes of study are graded passed/failed, and in the section "final assessment" the grading of clinical practice is described in greater detail. After each completed clinical practice period, the students themselves are responsible for submitting the original version of the assessment form to the clinical practice consultant at the Faculty of Health Sciences. The assessment form may be regarded as an examination paper. The student must obtain a copy of the assessment form. The student must incorporate the assessments they have received into the formulations of goals for the next clinical practice period.

Discussion of expectations
Shall be held during the first 1-2 weeks. The object is to clarify the student's qualifications for learning by letting the student give an orientation on his/her background and/or previous clinical practice, personal goals and learning needs, and to clarify the various parties' expectations of each other. The student shall use previous assessments in his/her formulation of goals for new clinical practice.

Halfway assessment
Shall be conducted no later than 3 weeks before the end of clinical practice. The purpose is to clarify how far the student has come with regard to formal goals and personal development. The area that the student ought to continue to focus on shall be clarified, and a plan shall be drawn up for further guidance and study effort. It shall be discussed whether there is a risk that the student may not pass clinical practice. In that case, this shall be clearly written on the student's assessment form and also formulated in writing on a separate form for warning of the risk of not passing clinical practice.

Final assessment
Shall be conducted the last time the student is in clinical practice. The purpose is to formally approve or not approve clinical practice. The student's development shall be assessed with regard to the points that came up in the halfway assessment, and consideration shall be given to what the student ought to continue to work on during the next phase of clinical practice.

Criteria for failed clinical practice
The student's clinical practice can be assessed as failed on the basis of special criteria. A written warning that there is a risk of failing clinical practice shall be issued no later than three weeks before the end of clinical practice, cf. the regulations concerning admission, programme of study and examinations at Sogn og Fjordane University College. The clinical practice teacher is responsible for informing the programme director if there is a warning of a risk of failing clinical practice. The student can contact the programme director if there is a need for further guidance. If the student is to be given the assessment of failed clinical practice, the student will be called in for a conversation with the programme director with regard to the ongoing study progression.

Failed clinical practice is an assessment that will be given on the basis of one or more of the following criteria
The student:

• Violated the duty of professional secrecy or ethical guidelines for nurses
• Failed to show respect to patients or relatives
• Showed insufficient ability to cooperate with patients and staff
• Took actions that exceeded the limits of his/her personal competence and did not request advice and guidance when he/she was uncertain
• Did not have necessary and sufficient professional knowledge relative to the level he/she has come in their education
• Showed little development of practical skills relative to the objectives
• Did not do the compulsory assignments that were assigned in the individual clinical practice period
• Showed insufficient orderliness or poor hygiene in his/her work
• Was not able to administer and organise his/her own work appropriately and efficiently relative to the student's current level.
• Showed insufficient initiative and interest in clinical practice
• Broke agreements or failed to report on time on several occasions
• Did not report his/her absence
• Was under the influence of an intoxicating substance during working hours
• Did not administer medication professionally correctly

The goal of each clinical practice period is stated under the individual subject in the curriculum. In Classfronter, there is a clinical practice programme for each individual clinical practice period.

The Faculty of Health Sciences has special offers for students who want to take part of their education at a foreign institution. We want our students to be ensured a qualitatively good period of study abroad. We have entered into collaborative agreements with foreign universities and colleges, and we take part in exchange programmes. You will find information about periods of study abroad under the programmes and agreements offered by Sogn og Fjordane University College at www.hisf.no/ahf/international/.

In order to be able to take part of the programme of study abroad, the student must have achieved good grades in both theory and clinical practice. An interview with the student will be given priority. The subject descriptions specify the parts of the programme of study that can be completed abroad.

Many of the subjects have compulsory assignments. Compulsory assignments may include compulsory attendance, objectives and compulsory assignments in clinical practice, group assignments, written assignments, active training at the nursing skills centre, teaching plans, casuistry, etc. Each of the subject descriptions provides more information about compulsory assignments (in addition, cf. the overview of the study progression and final assessment). A further specification of the content and requirements of the individual compulsory assignments may be found in Classfronter.

The student must have passed each instructed clinical practice period in order to be allowed to attend the next clinical practice period. Compulsory assignments in the various years of study must be completed and/or approved in order to take the relevant examinations and clinical practice, cf. the Regulations concerning admission, programme of study and examinations at Sogn og Fjordane University College.

The Faculty of Health Sciences has drawn up forms of assessment in keeping with the National Curriculum for Nursing Education and the Regulations concerning admission, programme of study and examinations at Sogn og Fjordane University College. The forms of assessment that are used are a practical test with an oral examination, portfolio assessment, written school examination, written home examination and project examination. In some subjects, several forms of assessment and/or part examinations will be used, and the results of these shall be calculated into a single grade. In the last semester, the students shall carry out a major independent project, the Bachelors thesis project, which shall have a nursing and research-based focus.

Portfolio assessment is assessment based on written assignments completed underway in the subject and forms the basis for a final assessment with the determination of the final grade in the subject. In the subject descriptions the concepts of portfolio and presentation folder are employed. The portfolio is a collection of all written assignments that are relevant to a final assessment in a subject. The presentation folder is a selection of written assignments from the portfolio that shall be given a final assessment. The process of selecting the written assignments that shall be put in the portfolio for final assessment is presented in the discussion of each individual subject.

A portfolio assessment is an assessment form that promotes an active approach to learning among students and is a system for feedback and assessment during the programme of study. The assessment shall be included as a part of the learning process. The students are given feedback on the written assignments that are done underway during the programme of study and have an opportunity to continue working on them before submission for final assessment.

Assessment in the clinical practice programmes of study
Assessment is a continuous and obligatory part of the clinical practice instruction. For each instructed period, a final assessment shall be made in accordance with the goals for the clinical practice period. An instructed clinical practice period is counted as an examination; cf. Regulations concerning admission, programme of study and examinations at Sogn og Fjordane University College. The assessments follow a specific form where the main items are the same for all clinical practice programmes of study. The assessments are based on the level the student has achieved through goals for the clinical practice period, criteria for passed/failed clinical practice and the students' plan for clinical practice. The student, contact nurse and/or clinical practice representative and clinical practice teacher shall be included in the assessments.

Professional conditions for the study progression
The nursing education is structured in such a way that new subjects mostly presume and are based on learning and assessment in former subjects. Education in nursing entails contact with and shared responsibility for patients, which requires that the student be prepared for and have the requisite knowledge prior to the clinical practice programme of study. Therefore, requirements have been specified for a series of subjects that are presented in the summary below, and there are requirements for obligatory attendance of some parts of the programme of study. All clinical practice programmes of study will be assessed with the grade passed/failed, and in the subjects where instructed clinical practice is involved as part of the programme of study (subjects 1, 6, 8 and 9), the subject has not been completed and passed until clinical practice has been passed.

Overview of study progression and final assessment:

The syllabus is presented in the discussion of each individual subject. The reading list is divided into books and articles. Some subjects have tips with regard to recommended literature. A direct link has been established from the curriculum to all articles in journals (abstracts).