Nursing (NU)

This course emphasizes normal assessment findings and common variations in health status across the lifespan continuum. This course focuses on the development of foundational assessment and communication skills necessary to acquire subjective and objective health information from patients. This course includes a laboratory component.

This course incorporates previously learned arithmetic and mathematical skills to facilitate the mastery of medication calculation skills in preparation for clinical practice. Students will learn how to accurately calculate medication dosages for the administration of medications for the oral and parenteral routes. In addition, students will learn about safety and ethical principles and interprofessional collaboration skills underlying the administration of medications via various routes of administration. Successful completion of this course is a requirement for medication administration in the clinical setting.

This course builds a foundation for successful entry into the clinical environment. Concepts of communication, quality and safety, intra- and interprofessional collaboration, health care technology, medication administration, and clinical reasoning are introduced to provide the foundation for professional nursing practice. Concepts basic to the physical, psychosocial, and spiritual health of patients across the care continuum are explored with a focus on evidence-based practice. The course develops the knowledge, skills, and attitudes necessary for patient interactions to provide high quality health care to a diverse patient population throughout the lifespan. This course includes a laboratory component.

This course prepares the student for the promotion of health in individuals, families and communities across the lifespan through primary, secondary and tertiary prevention strategies using an evidence base. This course introduces students to foundational concepts, related to individuals, families and populations throughout the care continuum. This course integrates pathophysiology, pharmacology and principles of growth and development related to specific exemplars of selected concepts. It also introduces the student to the role of genetics and genomics in health and illness. The clinical component of this course focuses on the unique needs of patients, families, and communities experiencing acute and chronic physical conditions with an emphasis on foundational skills and assessments. Students’ clinical experiences are in both acute care and transition settings, supplemented with simulation.

This course provides an overview of pathophysiologic concepts across the lifespan. The course will address basic principles, processes, and concepts associated with common health problems as well as the pathophysiological alterations related to body systems.

This course continues preparation of the student for the promotion of health in individuals, families and communities across the lifespan through primary, secondary, and tertiary prevention strategies. This course further explores physical, behavioral and social problems faced by persons, families and communities across the care continuum through the integration of pathophysiology, pharmacology ad nursing care related to specific exemplars of selected concepts. This course includes a clinical component in both acute and mental health, supplemented with simulation experiences. By continuing to build on the foundation of nursing knowledge, clinical reasoning and communication skills, as well as knowledge from the biopsychosocial disciplines, the clinical experience will focus on the unique needs of patients and their families experiencing acute and chronic conditions along the care continuum. The clinical experience will provide the students with an opportunity to build on previous knowledge in order to deliver safe and effective patient-centered care as a member of the interprofessional healthcare team.

This course builds a foundation of pharmacology emphasizing the nurse’s role and responsibility in safe, effective drug administration. Pharmacotherapeutic agents used in the treatment of illness as well as those used in health maintenance and promotion across the lifespan will be examined with focus on specific drug classifications. Indications for use, modes of action, effects, contraindications, interactions, along with the principles of pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics will be explored. Legal, ethical, and cultural considerations related to pharmacotherapeutics and medication administration are presented.

This course introduces students to the foundational principles of professional nursing practice. Emphasis is placed on the evolving role of the nurse as a leader, communicator, collaborator, and advocate within diverse healthcare settings. Students will explore the core concepts of practice excellence, patient safety, and person-centered care through the lens of interprofessional collaboration, healthcare innovation, and population health. Ethical and legal responsibilities, integration of evidence-based practice, and various models of care are examined. The course fosters the development of a strong professional identity, cultural humility, and a commitment to lifelong learning within the context of today’s complex healthcare environment.

This course focuses on the process of discovering evidence that will improve the quality and safety of nursing care. The concepts of evidence-based practice, ethics, quality and safety, and health care technology will be addressed and examined in the context of the research process. The importance of interprofessional collaboration to improved practice through scientific discovery is emphasized.

This course introduces key dimensions essential to developing the professional nursing role. Students will explore the dynamic healthcare environment and examine innovative approaches to address complex health challenges. Emphasis is placed on professional leadership, interprofessional collaboration, technology integration, and the core values and responsibilities that support excellence in nursing practice.

This course allows the nursing student to explore test-taking strategies and devise a personal plan of study for the NCLEX-RN preparation designed to ensure successful completion of licensure requirements. Course content emphasizes NCLEX-RN style test question practice, electronic testing practice, refinement of test-taking strategies, assessment, and readiness.

493A Introduction to Genetics and Genomics in Nursing This course introduces the basic principles of genetics and genomics and their clinical implications in nursing care. This course provides learners with foundational knowledge of the concept of genetics, including a review of genetic structure and function, the transmission and expression of biological information, inheritance patterns, genetic diversity, and DNA replication. This course will also investigate the study of genomics, which includes the structure, function, evolution, and mapping of the human genome. Learners will explore pertinent topics such as personalized medicine, direct to consumer testing, and the ethical, legal, and social implications of utilizing genetics and genomics in health care. 493B Perspective Seminar: Global Health This course provides an overview of global health and the intersection of nursing practice related to global health initiatives. Basic principles of global health will be explored. This course emphasizes the importance of understanding cultural health beliefs, cultural humility, ethics, and their impact on initiatives to improve global health. The role of the nurse as a leader in global health initiatives will be explored through the review of nurse-led health improvement initiatives. 493C Perspective Seminar: 493C Healthcare Ethics This course provides an in-depth analysis of nursing ethics, by introducing students to basic descriptive, normative and applied ethics theory. The course closely evaluates the intersection of bioethics and nursing ethics in application for the professional nurse within the acute care, public health, and global bioethics settings. The course will focus on the unique role of nursing in healthcare, special professional and ethical responsibilities. Course emphasis will assist nurses in the development

This course provides the student with an understanding of determinants of health and health disparities on a population level. Health promotion of populations through primary, secondary, and tertiary prevention will be identified in connection with nursing and public health principles. This course also explores the practice and theory of care transitions management using interdisciplinary teams. Strategies used to improve patient outcomes through person-centered, cost effective care are highlighted using relevant clinical exemplars.

Building upon Health Promotion Applications across the Lifespan I, this course further expands the students’ preparation in the promotion and delivery of healthcare across the lifespan through primary, secondary, and tertiary prevention strategies, using an evidence base, with a concentrated focus on childbearing and childrearing families. The course integrates pathophysiology, pharmacology and nursing care related to specific exemplars of selected concepts and relate them to childbearing and childrearing families when in the clinical setting and along the health care continuum. Students participate in collaborative partnerships with other healthcare professionals to improve patient outcomes. The clinical experiences are in both acute care and simulation settings.

This course prepares students to critically analyze complex clinical situations and to recognize patterns of how specific conditions present in different patient populations. The course builds upon previous coursework and clinical practicums to synthesize the scientific process, evidence, clinical judgement, and creative problem-solving to support clinical decision-making across the care continuum. Students use concepts from health promotion, disease prevention, health restoration, and health maintenance for person-centered care. This course includes simulation and two clinical components: an advanced medical/surgical clinical rotation, and a selected placement rotation from available clinical settings.

This course provides the nursing student with advanced professional nursing skills that seek integration of essential transition to practice concepts: such as nursing excellence, interprofessional collaboration, and innovative health care improvement strategies that comprehensively evaluate current workforce issues and trends. Additionally, this course incorporates professional nurse leadership, technology and health care reform that focuses on patient and family centered care that optimize care outcomes. This course also provides the nursing student with the opportunity to explore test-taking strategies and to devise a personal plan of study for the NCLEX-RN preparation that is designed to ensure successful completion of licensure requirements. Course content emphasizes NCLEX-RN style test question practice, electronic testing practice, refinement of test-taking strategies, assessment, and readiness.

Students will have the opportunity to participate in one of four sections surrounding curricular themes: patient-centered care, interprofessional partnerships, population health, and innovation. All themes have core commonalities of promoting health and quality of life across the care continuum. Within each section, students will explore aspects such as interprofessional team models, healthcare entrepreneurialism and environmental health, with a focus on leadership and communication skills, patient advocacy, innovation, and culturally sensitive strategies to promote healthy people, communities, and populations. The patient-centered care section of the course is presented as a seminar and will explore the concepts of caring, clinical reasoning, evidence-based practice, leadership, and quality and safety. Throughout the semester students will examine patient-centered care from various perspectives (patient, nurse, healthcare system, and globally) through discussion, guest speakers, small group work, and individual assignments. The goal of the course is to have students embrace patient-centered care as an integral part of their identity as a professional nurse.