| Course Unit Title | ONCOLOGY AND PALLIATIVE NURSING |
| Course Unit Code | NUR406.2 |
| Course Unit Details | |
| Number of ECTS credits allocated | 3 |
| | Learning Outcomes of the course unit | By the end of the course, the students should be able to:- Explain: the characteristics of cancer cells, how carcinogenesis takes place, the differences between cancer cells and normal cells, the predisposing factors, the preventive measures, the way metastasis takes place, the staging of cancer, what is cancer screening, the diagnostic exams.
- Describe the main treatment modalities, what is radiotherapy and chemotherapy, how they work, when and how they are applied and measured, the main side effects and the nursing care offered to the patients receiving external and internal radiotherapy and chemotherapy, the main chemotherapeutic drug categories and the way they work, the main surgical procedures for the main cancer types and the side effects, what are the alternative treatments used in cancer care.
- Explain what is palliative care, what are the main symptoms of patients in palliative care and the nursing interventions, what is pain and how is presented in cancer, how pain can be alleviated and what is the nursing care of patient with cancer pain, what are the feelings of the dying patient, the nursing care of the dying patient, supportive care for the relatives of a dying patient.
|
| Mode of Delivery | Face-to-face |
| Prerequisites | NONE | Co-requisites | NONE |
| Recommended optional program components | NONE |
| Course Contents | Cancer: carcinogenesis, characteristics of cancer cells, metastasis,predisposing factors, prevention, screening, staging.
Cancer treatment: surgery, chemotherapy, radiotherapy, hormonetherapy, gene therapy, Side effects of treatments, Nursing care, Cytotoxicdrugs.
Main Cancer types: Lung Cancer, Breast Cancer, Cancer of the Colon, Leukaemia Palliative Care: Patient with Pain, Dyspnoea, Nausea, Vomiting, Constipation, NursingCare. Care of the Dying Patient. |
| Recommended and/or required reading: |
| Textbooks | - Nursing Oncology. The Frame of Care. Ε. Patiraki. Pascahlides Publisher, 2005
- Palliative Nursing. S. Kinghorn, R. Gamlin, ΒΗΤΑ Publisher, 2004
|
| References | |
| Planned learning activities and teaching methods | The course is delivered to the students by means of lectures, conducted with the help of computer-based presentations. For the implementation various teaching methods are used e.g. role play. Lecture notes and presentations are available
through the web for students to use in combination with the textbooks
|
| Assessment methods and criteria | | Assignments | 10% | | Participation | 10% | | Tests | 30% | | Final Exam | 50% |
|
| Language of instruction | Greek |
| Work placement(s) | NO |
