Forensic Mental Health Nursing Practice
Overview
This unit provides students with the knowledge and skills to apply the nursing principles of practice to the nursing process in forensic mental health settings. The unit covers each aspect of the nursing process and provides students with the ability to connect the principles of forensic mental health nursing to assess, diagnose, plan, implement and evaluate effective nursing interventions to improve the outcomes of forensic patients, both in secure settings and in the community
Requisites
Rule
Enrolment in FBS80016 as a single unit must be approved by the Course Director
OR
Admission to the GD-FMHN Graduate Diploma of Forensic Mental Health Nursing
02-November-2025
01-November-2026
Learning outcomes
Students who successfully complete this unit will be able to:
- Conduct a nursing assessment of a forensic mental health consumer, with consideration of the need to be responsive to diversity among marginalised groups, inclusive of First Nations societies.
- Formulate a nursing diagnosis in forensic mental health contexts
- Plan a process of action to address forensic mental health consumer needs
- Implement a plan of action by appropriate selection of nursing interventions
- Evaluate the effectiveness of a nursing intervention in a forensic setting
Teaching methods
Hawthorn Online
| Activity Type | Activity | Total Hours | Number of Weeks | Hours Per Week |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Online | Modules | 8 | 1 week | 8 |
| Specified Activities | Various | 48 | 12 weeks | 4 |
| Unspecified Activities | Independent Learning | 96 | 12 weeks | 8 |
| Total Hours: | 152 | Total Hours (per week): | 20 | |
Assessment
| Type | Task | Weighting | ULO's |
|---|---|---|---|
| Assignment | Individual | 35% | 1,2,3,4 |
| Essay | Individual | 40% | 3,4,5 |
| Presentation | Individual | 25% | 1,2 |
Content
- Forensic mental health nursing assessment
- Forensic mental health nursing diagnosis
- Planning a forensic mental health intervention
- Implementing a forensic mental health intervention
- Evaluating a forensic mental health intervention
Study resources
Reading materials
A list of reading materials and/or required textbooks will be available in the Unit Outline on Canvas.