Study Guide

Objectives (course unit)

The objective of the course is to provide basic surgical nursing skills and competences.

After completing the course, the student
• knows the steps of the surgical patient care pathway  
• takes into account the impact of surgical diseases on the patient's health, daily functioning, and the patient's close ones, as well as their guidance needs
• recognizes the need for surgical patient care and can plan, implement, and evaluate pre- and postoperative nursing care
• is able to choose key assisting methods in surgical patient nursing care based on theoretical knowledge
• understands the role of a nurse as part of the multidisciplinary nursing care for surgical patients
• can document and report orally, ensuring the continuity of care for the surgical patient, also in Finnish language according to their language proficiency
• knows the key concepts and vocabulary of the course in Finnish
• can participate in patient guidance situations related to the course in Finnish according to their language proficiency level

Content (course unit)

• different care paths for surgical patients and the continuity of care
• the impact of surgically treated diseases on the patient's health, daily functioning, and the patient's close ones
• multidisciplinary collaboration in the pre- and postoperative nursing care of surgical patients
• guidance for surgical patients and their close ones 
• special features of medication and fluid therapy in surgical nursing
• key terminology and vocabulary of the course in Finnish
• use of Finnish language in various surgical nursing situations according to student's language proficiency

Prerequisites (course unit)

30 ects credits of first year studies completed, including Pharmacotherapy and Medical Calculations. Participation in the course Intravenous Fluid Therapy and Clinical Laboratory Tests.

Assessment criteria, satisfactory (1-2) (course unit)

The student
• recognizes different care pathways for surgical patients
• recognizes the impact of surgical diseases on the patient's health, daily functioning, and the patient's close ones
• identifies the patient's and their close ones’ guidance needs in surgical nursing
• identifies the care needs of surgical patients and can plan, implement, and evaluate pre- and postoperative nursing care
• identifies key assisting methods in surgical patient nursing care
• recognizes the nurse's role as part of the multidisciplinary nursing care for surgical patients
• recognizes the importance of documentation and oral communication in ensuring the continuity of care for the surgical patient
• identifies the specific features of medication and fluid therapy related to surgical nursing and performs medication calculations flawlessly

Assessment criteria, good (3-4) (course unit)

The student
• knows different care pathways for surgical patients
• knows the impact of surgical diseases on the patient's health, daily functioning, and the patient's close ones
• identifies the guidance needs of the patient and their close ones in surgical nursing
• recognizes the care needs of surgical patients and can plan, implement, and evaluate pre- and postoperative nursing care
• knows the key assisting methods in surgical patient nursing care
• understands the nurse's role as part of the multidisciplinary nursing care for surgical patients
• understands the importance of documentation and oral communication in ensuring the continuity of care for the surgical patient
• knows the specific features of medication and fluid management related to surgical nursing and performs medication calculations flawlessly

Assessment criteria, excellent (5) (course unit)

The Student
• knows the steps of the surgical patient care pathway  
• understands the impact of surgical diseases on the patient's health, daily functioning, and the patient's close ones, and can apply this knowledge in guiding clients
• can assess the need for surgical patient care and plan, implement, and evaluate pre- and postoperative nursing care
• can apply key assisting methods in surgical patient nursing care
• can work as a future nurse as part of the multidisciplinary nursing care for surgical patients
• can document and report verbally, ensuring the continuity of care for the surgical patient
• can apply the specific features of medication and fluid therapy related to surgical nursing and performs medication calculations flawlessly

Exam schedules

Surgical nursing, required courses for the overall grade:
Part 1 Nursing theory: Exam in the exam room. Numerical assessment.
Part 2 Medical Calculation: Exam - room . Assessment passed/failed.
Part 3 Small group work CBCL. Assessment passed/failed.
Part 4 Seminar 1. Assessment passed/failed.

Part 5 Seminar 2. Assessment passed/failed.
Part 6 Nutrition in surgical nursing. Moodle exam. Assessment passed/failed.
Part 7 Workshop. Assessment passed/failed.

The actual course exam for nursing and medical calculation will be held in TuniExam during the period XX

The retake exams for nursing and medical calculation will be organized as separate exams in TuniExam.
A failed nursing and medical calculation exam can be retaken twice.
1st retake:
2nd retake:

After the 2nd retake, possible retakes of the medical calculation exam will take place in the intermediate medical calculation workshop.
Additional information and registration on Moodle Medical Calculation Workshop II.

The Nutrition Moodle exam must be completed by XXX.
There is no limit to the number of times you can take it.

Small group work CBCL (part 3), seminar (parts 4 and 5) and skills workshop (part 7)

Upgrading the course grade:
It is possible to try to upgrade the overall grade of the course once, when all partial assignments have been successfully completed.
The upgrade of exam is in TuniExam.
The date of the exam upgrade in this implementation is XXXX.
The upgrade is agreed in advance with the responsible teacher at least two weeks before exam upgrade

Assessment scale

0-5

Teaching methods

Theory teaching (contact or distance) small groups (CBCL and groupwork) online courses, independent study, skills lab.



subject to update before Orientation

Student workload

4ECTs = 108 hours