Nursing

This course introduces the student to holistic nursing theory and concepts and explains how nursing practice interacts with society. Students are introduced to basic medical-surgical nursing concepts and skills with an emphasis on adults with common health conditions. Nursing process serves as the basis for assessing, diagnosing, planning, implementing, and evaluating care in both the laboratory and clinical settings. Students address care in various settings and the privilege of becoming a professional nurse. Students are introduced to the critical role of the American Nurses Association and specialty nursing organizations in setting high standards for professional nursing practice.

This course will socialize students to the nursing profession and introduce them to foundational knowledge and competencies necessary for nursing. The course focuses on integrating critical thinking, clinical reasoning, and professional standards such as values, ethics, and legal responsibilities. This course emphasizes the fundamental concepts of caring, communication, the nursing process, and technical nursing skills including integration of health assessment concepts and competencies.  This course is designed as a foundation for subsequent nursing courses and a bridge between the natural and social sciences and nursing. This course includes a clinically focused simulation lab where students will get to explore the fundamental concepts and engage in hands-on learning opportunities to facilitate understanding and application of the foundational skills necessary to develop clinical judgment and provide safe, quality nursing care. 

This course is designed to build upon the knowledge and concepts learned in Foundations of Nursing I.  In addition to continued development of health assessment skills, fundamental theory and skill acquisition, this course will focus on patient teaching, surgical asepsis, wound care, pain management, oxygenation, digestion and bowel elimination, urinary elimination, medication administration, and end-of-life care. This course includes a clinically focused simulation lab where students will further explore fundamental concepts and engage in hands-on learning opportunities to strengthen the understanding and application of foundational skills needed to develop clinical judgment and provide safe, quality nursing care.   This course will also provide students, functioning in the role of providers of care, the opportunity to apply the acquired knowledge and skills in an adult health care setting.

This course brings a pathophysiological approach to pharmacology. Students use a systems approach to learning drug classifications and key drug prototypes. The principals of safe medication administration are emphasized. Students integrate knowledge from biological and physiological sciences to make connections between pharmacology, pathophysiology, and the safe administration of medication therapies. Patient teaching is key to safe medication administration and students use current research to create patient teaching plans.

Pharmacology II is a continuation course that provides the knowledge necessary to understand the physiological and pharmacological aspects of illness and disease. It addresses the scientific principles and rationales necessary to recognize the relationships between pathophysiology, pharmacology, and nursing care for diverse patient populations.

This course addresses the skills, attributes, and role development of the successful professional nurse. Case studies examine the nurse's role in essential political, economic, and social forces affecting health care. Concepts of multidimensional care, plus skills of inquiry and analysis that inform clinical reasoning, professional judgment, and lifelong learning are integrated into personal practice. [Essentials I, V, VIII, IX]

This course focuses on holistic nursing theory and concepts related to managing care for young, middle, and older adults with acute and chronic health conditions. Gender aspects of biological, epidemiological, psychological, and sociological health are considered. Growth and development and health promotion/disease prevention are emphasized. Attitudes about age, historical perspectives, transcultural concepts, growing old, and end-of-life issues are also addressed. 

This course emphasizes holistic nursing theory and concepts related to care of patients with multi-system, unpredictable, and complex health conditions. Students practice across settings, from high-skill home care to long-term care to specialized critical care units. Students focus on the relationship between pathophysiology, disease management, and evidence-based holistic care to further develop clinical reasoning skills that lead to optimal decision making in high-acuity situations. This course includes a lab focused on simulation-based critical thinking scenarios which allow opportunities for safe practice and delivery of care to high-acuity populations.  Clinical rotations enhance student ability to monitor and care for patients with complex health issues and collaborate with interdisciplinary team members to maximize patient outcomes.

This course focuses on the theoretical and practical skills necessary to perform comprehensive physical, psychosocial, and cultural assessments of individuals, families, and groups. Gathering of specific data, across the lifespan and in vulnerable populations, is used to address common health problems. [Essential I; II; VI; VIII]

This course provides an in-depth study of human pathological processes and their effects on homeostasis. The focus is on interrelationships among organ systems in deviations from homeostasis. Etiology, physical signs and symptoms, prognosis, and complications of commonly occurring diseases, their management, and preventive measures inform management of nursing care. [Essentials I; IV VII; IX]

Current theories of management, ethical leadership, and change theories are examined. Students use self-assessment and reflection drawing from ethical principles and virtues, moral theorists, caring and empathy to share how complex ethical decisions are made. Case studies are used to address how leaders manage common ethical issues within healthcare. [Essentials II; IV; VI; VIII]

This course focuses on caring for vulnerable and other populations in community settings. Central themes include promoting and protecting the health of the public using health promotion, risk reduction, and disease management and control strategies related to vulnerable populations. Evidence based practice is guided by community assessments, epidemiologic data, environmental data, change, political action, and case management frameworks. [Essential VII; IX]

This course focuses on holistic nursing care related to childbearing women, neonates, infants, children and adolescents in acute, and community settings. Common acute and chronic health conditions are addressed. Contemporary issues in women’s, families’, infants, children’s, and adolescent’s health are emphasized. Emerging and evolving models of families are discussed. Students integrate concepts from genetics, growth and development, and health promotion/disease prevention into care. Students write a scholarly paper documenting a holistic family assessment with a family centered disease prevention/health promotion plan.

This course focuses on theories and concepts related to managing care for vulnerable and other populations in community settings. Central themes include promoting and protecting the health of the public using health promotion, risk reduction and disease management, and strategies related to vulnerable populations. Evidence-based practice is guided by community assessments, epidemiologic data, environmental data, change, political action, and case management frameworks. Concepts of social justice, disparities in health and health care, and vulnerable and culturally diverse populations are addressed within a global context.

This course provides an opportunity for students to continue to develop skills related to nursing research. Research skills include appraisal of literature, research design, measurement and statistical analysis, as well as scientific inquiry. Students discuss the philosophy underpinning qualitative versus quantitative, versus mixed methods research, and how to evaluate such studies. Students analyze evidence-based literature related to directly or indirectly improving patient-centered care, and classify the quality of evidence to design a 'best'' practice. [Essentials II; III; IX]

This course focuses on holistic nursing theory and concepts related to managing care for persons with acute and chronic psychiatric/mental health needs/conditions in acute and community settings. A developmental lifespan approach is used to situate mental health within the wellness-illness continuum. Emphasis is on establishing therapeutic relationships, therapeutic communications, interdisciplinary collaboration, and on applying psychopharmacologic and therapeutic treatment principles.

This course emphasizes theories and concepts related to leadership, management and the nurse’s role in the political process and health policy. Students focus on concepts of leadership, management, power politics, delegation, and conflict management. Students are expected to apply concepts of professional practice models, professionalism, and interpersonal communication skills to foster positive work environments. Students engage with interdisciplinary teams to effect change that directly or indirectly improves patient-centered care. The role of the political process and health policy is explored, and students interact with legislators to inform and influence change in health care and/or the nursing profession. Students spend at least 80 hours in clinical practice during NU 450. 

Students will synthesize knowledge for science and humanities into nursing in order to competently enter professional nursing practice. Students focus on self-performance and individual readiness for professional practice. Student conduct ongoing assessments and self-evaluations of their integrated knowledge and create a plan for successful transition into nursing practice.