Understanding Experiences of Illness
NURS1006
This unit focuses on the different ways in which individuals subjectively experience health, illness and care. The unit explores meanings of health and distinguishes between illness and disease. Theories that inform our understandings of what it is to be human are examined including, subjectivity, embodiment and the development of emotions across the lifespan. Attention is drawn to factors arising in illness and disability, such as issues of self-identity and embodiment in illness and social attitudes to illness, and how these impact on the individual experience. With this knowledge in mind, the nurse-patient relationship is critically examined within a person-centred framework of care. Trust and vulnerability are critically examined as a component of this relationship. Central to this framework is communication, engagement and therapeutic listening, and students will explore these aspects of their nurse-patient relationships and consider how these may vary in different healthcare settings and with people of different cultural backgrounds and different ethical positions.
Unit of study details
Unit of study level: Junior
Credit points: 6
Commencing semesters: 2
Further unit of study information
Unit of study handbook: NURS1006
Costs and scholarships information: Costs and Scholarships
Final dates to withdraw from units of study: Census Dates
Available for study abroad and exchange: No