Units / NUR5215
NUR5215 · Mental health nursing concepts and practice
2026 Handbook12 credit pointsLevel 5School of Nursing and Midwifery
Last checked: 23 Aug 2026 UTCOverview
This unit will equip you with the core knowledge and skills required of a mental health nurse to work collaboratively with service users to support and promote their journeys towards recovery. You will examine mental health conditions that are experienced across the lifespan, develop skills in assessment, and explore pharmacological and psychosocial approaches to support symptom management and recovery. Additionally, you will explore mental health nursing practice with consideration of law and ethics to support care delivery, safe practice and optimal health outcomes for service users, their families, carers and supporters.
Offerings
| Campus | Teaching period | Mode |
|---|---|---|
| Peninsula | First semester | Teaching is all online (ONLINE) |
Assessment
The Handbook does not list a final examination among the assessment items. That is not a guarantee there is none.
| # | Assessment | Type | Weight | Hurdle |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Proposal (1,200 words) | Written | 20% | — |
| 2 | Case study report (2,000 words) | Written | 40% | — |
| 3 | Care plan (2,000 words) | Written | 40% | — |
| 4 | Clinical portfolio (Pass/Fail) | Work integrated | — | Competency |
Assessment in this unit includes hurdle assessment task/s. Failure of any hurdle assessment tasks may result in failure of the unit.
Assessment details may change. Please refer to the assessment information in Moodle closer to the start of the teaching period.
Requisites
The Handbook lists no prerequisite, corequisite or prohibition for this unit.
Learning outcomes
- Apply knowledge of holistic assessments when supporting service users
- Analyse mental health nursing approaches with consideration of evidence-based practice that supports service users’ mental health and their recovery
- Integrate knowledge of psychotropic medications used in mental health practice to support service users’ mental health and their recovery
- Examine the role of the mental health nurse in the use of non-pharmacological and pharmacological approaches to treat mental health conditions and/or symptoms
- Plan, implement and evaluate person-centred nursing interventions to support recovery
- Apply relevant legislation to decision-making in mental health nursing practice with consideration of ethics
- Examine the role of the mental health nurse in the delivery of person-centred, recovery-oriented and/or trauma-informed care.
Workload
24 hours per week of teacher facilitated and self-directed learning including online activities. Please refer to Moodle for tutorial types and requirements.
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