Unit Outline
CNA409
The Last Year of Life: Renegotiating and Reinforcing Appropriate Care
Semester 2, 2025
Sara Karacsony
School of Nursing
College of Health and Medicine
CRICOS Provider Code: 00586B
Unit Coordinator
Sara Karacsony
Email: Sara.Karacsony@utas.edu.au
 
What is the Unit About?
Unit Description
This unit will enhance your ability to care for people who are in the last year of their lives. You will develop skills in recognising, responding to, negotiating and facilitating appropriate care by assessing the ‘domains of distress’ experienced by the person. You will integrate your specialty knowledge of holistic assessment to achieve optimum quality of life for those requiring end-of-life care. You will also extend your knowledge and skills in communication, collaboration and complex decision making that is centred around the person, their family and caregivers. The unit will strengthen your ability to provide consultative and compassionate care and implement shared decision making that is inclusive of the person’s family, culture and community. 
Intended Learning Outcomes
As per the Assessment and Results Policy 1.3, your results will reflect your achievement against specified learning outcomes.
On completion of this unit, you will be able to:
1
Analyse the contemporary and sociocultural experience of dying and death and recognise when a person may be approaching end of life.
2
Synthesise your knowledge of palliative care principles to assess the current and potential unmet needs of a person living with a life-limiting illness and respond to the associated challenges.
3
Evaluate multidisciplinary care strategies for a person living with a life-limiting illness to optimise quality of life.
4
Facilitate complex decision-making processes that enable the person to achieve their goals of care within the last year of life.
5
Critically reflect on personal and professional ethical dilemmas that arise when facilitating care for a person approaching end of life.
Alterations as a result of student feedback
Unit content has been updated, assessment resources amended and additional interactive webinars offered for Semester 2 iteration. 
 
 
Teaching arrangements
ATTENDANCE MODE
TEACHING TYPE
LEARNING ACTIVITY
CONTACT HOURS
FREQUENCY
Online
Individual Study
Individual self-directed learning - 10 hours per week.
10
StudyPeriod 13 times
Online Class
Online webinar - 10 x 40 minutes
0.65
StudyPeriod 10 times
Attendance / engagement expectations
If your unit is offered On campus, it is expected that you will attend all on-campus and onsite learning activities. This is to support your own learning and the development of a learning community within the unit. If you are unable to attend regularly, please discuss the situation with your course coordinator and/or our UConnect support team.

If your unit is offered Online or includes online activities, it is expected you will engage in all those activities as indicated in the Unit Outline or MyLO, including any self-directed learning.

If you miss a learning activity for a legitimate reason (e.g., illness, carer responsibilities) teaching staff will attempt to provide alternative activities (e.g., make up readings) where it is possible.
 
 
 
 
How will I be Assessed?
 
For more detailed assessment information please see MyLO.
Assessment schedule
ASSESSMENT TASK #
ASSESSMENT TASK NAME
DATE DUE
WEIGHT
LINKS TO INTENDED LEARNING OUTCOMES
Assessment Task 1:
Online discussions and summary paper
Week 4
30 %
LO1, LO2, LO3
Assessment Task 2:
Critical review
Week 8
30 %
LO1, LO2, LO3, LO4, LO5
Assessment Task 3:
Care of a person approaching end of life
Week 13
40 %
LO2, LO3, LO4, LO5
 
Assessment details
Assessment Task 1: Online discussions and summary paper
Task Description:
You are required to submit a summary paper on a selected topic or question following the discussion and engagement with your peers.
Task Length:
1200 words
Due Date:
Week 4
Weight:
30 %
 
CRITERION #
CRITERION
MEASURES INTENDED
LEARNING OUTCOME(S)
1
Analyse key issues related to the topic.
LO1
2
Synthesise new learning that can inform your practice.
LO2
3
Evaluate your approach to end-of-life care in the light of different perspectives gained from peer discussions.
LO3
 
Assessment Task 2: Critical review
Task Description:
Critically review a case and respond to an ethical dilemma or challenges.
Task Length:
1200 words
Due Date:
Week 8
Weight:
30 %
 
 
CRITERION #
CRITERION
MEASURES INTENDED
LEARNING OUTCOME(S)
1
Assess the case to identify end-of-life care challenges.
LO1, LO2
2
Appraise ethical implications for all those involved in decision making.
LO4, LO5
3
Articulate a response from the clinician’s perspective on how best to manage challenges for optimal care of the individual (and family).
LO3, LO4
 
Assessment Task 3: Care of a person approaching end of life
Task Description:
The purpose of this assessment is for you to critically reflect, using a recognised reflective model, on your role in the care of a person approaching end of life, integrating the unit's key concepts.
Task Length:
1500 words
Due Date:
Week 13
Weight:
40 %
 
CRITERION #
CRITERION
MEASURES INTENDED
LEARNING OUTCOME(S)
1
Reflect on your professional and personal development in caring for a person approaching end of life.
LO5
2
Use evidence-informed communication strategies to facilitate care of a person approaching end of life.
LO4
3
Address unmet needs to optimise quality of life.
LO2
4
Evaluate a multidisciplinary care strategy supporting the person’s physical, mental and spiritual wellbeing.
LO3
 
 
 
How your final result is determined
To pass this unit, you need to demonstrate your attainment of each of the Intended Learning Outcomes and achieve a final unit grade of 50% or greater. 
Academic progress review
The results for this unit may be included in a review of your academic progress. For information about progress reviews and what they mean for all students, see Academic Progress Review in the Student Portal.
Submission of assignments
Where practicable, assignments should be submitted to an assignment submission folder in MYLO. You must submit assignments by the due date or receive a penalty (unless an extension of time has been approved by the Unit Coordinator). Students submitting any assignment in hard copy, or because of a practicum finalisation, must attach a student cover sheet and signed declaration for the submission to be accepted for marking.
Academic integrity
Academic integrity is about acting responsibly, honestly, ethically, and collegially when using, producing, and communicating information with other students and staff members.

In written work, you must correctly reference the work of others to maintain academic integrity. To find out the referencing style for this unit, see the assessment information in the MyLO site, or contact your teaching staff. For more detail about Academic Integrity, see Important Guidelines & Support.
Requests for extensions
If you are unable to submit an assessment task by the due date, you should apply for an extension.
 
A request for an extension should first be discussed with your Unit Coordinator or teaching support team where possible. A request for an extension must be submitted by the assessment due date, except where you can provide evidence it was not possible to do so. Typically, an application for an extension will be supported by documentary evidence: however, where it is not possible for you to provide evidence please contact your Unit Coordinator.
 
The Unit Coordinator must notify you of the outcome of an extension request within 3 working days of receiving the request.
Late penalties
Assignments submitted after the deadline will receive a late penalty of 5% of the original available mark for each calendar day (or part day) that the assignment is late. Late submissions will not be accepted more than 10 calendar days after the due date, or after assignments have been returned to other students on a scheduled date, whichever occurs first. Further information on Late Penalties can be found on the Assessments and Results Procedure.
 
Review of results and appeals
You are entitled to ask for a review of the marking and grading of your assessment task if there is an irregularity in the marking standards or an error in the process for determining the outcome of an assessment. Details on how to request a review of a mark for an assignment are outlined in the Review and Appeal of Academic Decisions Procedure.
 
 
 
Required Resources
Required reading materials
Hillman, K. (2017).  A good life to the end: Taking control of our inevitable journey through ageing and death.  Allen & Unwin. 
 
 
Recommended reading materials
Kalanithi, P. (2017).  When Breath Becomes Air. Random House. 
Mannix, K. (2019).  With the End in Mind: How to die well.  HarperCollins.
Boyer, A. (2019). The Undying. A meditation on modern illness. Penguin.
Gawande, A. (2015).  Being Mortal:  Illness, Medicine and What Matters in the End. Penguin. 
Recommended Readings will be provided by your Unit Coordinator via the Reading List link in MyLO, or the unit Reading List on the University Library website.
 
Other required resources