Course Descriptions

• RN to BSN Curriculum Course Descriptions
• Generic Curriculum Course Descriptions

RN TO BSN CURRICULUM COURSE DESCRIPTIONS

Code: (Credit Hours-Lecture Hours per week- Lab Hours per week)

NURS 300 (3-3-0) Transition to Professional Nursing: This course focuses on the role of the professional nurse, and presents an overview of the delivery of professional nursing practice and role transition. Advanced theoretical concepts will be examined using the nursing process as a framework. Prerequisite: Admission to the program.

NURS 310 (3-3-0) Transcultural Nursing: This course is designed to assist the nurse to expand his/her view of man. Man is defined as functioning, whole unit with integrity and uniqueness who uses symbols to communicate with the environment. Emphasis will be placed on the concepts of culture, belief systems, health and caring, and how these concepts affect the nursing care delivery system. Prerequisite: Admission to the program

NURS 320 (3-3-0) Health Assessment Across the Life Span: This course prepares the student to conduct comprehensive health assessments. Emphasis is placed on the acquisition, processing and interpretation of data collected from clients of all ages. A physical, psychological, socio-cultural, and spiritual approach is used to assess the client and to incorporate consideration of the client’s needs, state of wellness, developmental level, and response to life experiences. The campus laboratory experience consists of practice with clients. Prerequisite: Admission to the program

NURS 325 (3-3-0) Pathophysiology: This course prepares the student to approach complex situations systematically. Emphasis will be placed on the integration and application of pathophysiological concepts to the holistic human in time of physical stress. This course utilizes the nursing process as the basis for examining persons with pathologies requiring multiple dimensions of nursing care. Prerequisite: Admission to the program.

NURS 330 (3-3-0) Gerontological Nursing: This course examines the process of aging. Physical, psychological, sociocultural, and spiritual aspects of aging are examined within the context of the family and society. Advanced theoretical concepts of aging will be examined using the nursing process. Prerequisite: Admission to the program

NURS 370 (3-3-0) Spirituality in Health Care: Spirituality is presented as a concept related to culture and belief systems. Inclusive will be an exploration of the effects of spirituality, religion, hope, and ethics on health care and health-care outcomes. This course will be co-instructed by divinity and nursing faculty. Prerequisite: Admission to the program

NURS 380 (3-3-0) Loss and Grief : This course will explore loss and its effect on the individual, family, and society. Through the exploration of theoretical concepts, the student will examine how people adapt and the productivity effects on the individual, family, and society. Prerequisite: Admission to the program

NURS 400 (3-3-0) Nursing Research and Theory: This course focuses on the cognitive and professional skills of nursing research and theory. The cognitive skills emphasized include critical thinking, problem solving, research critique, and theory utilization in professional nursing practice. The professional skills include valuing research as a basis for professional nursing practice. Prerequisites: Senior Standing

NURS 407 (3-3-0) Critical Care Nursing: This course explores the physiological alterations that result in admission to critical-care units and the expanded role of nurses in these settings. It will include clinical experiences in critical units. Prerequisite: Senior Standing

NURS 411 (3-3-0) Nursing Leadership Perspectives and Trends in Contemporary Nursing Practice: This course is designed to analyze the role of the professional nurse as a leader in the profession and health care delivery. The course will focus on nursing leaders as vanguards of the profession and the role of the nurse leader in health care delivery. Advanced theoretical concepts will be examined using the nursing process as a framework. Prerequisite: Senior Standing

NURS 421 (3-3-0) Nursing and Women's Health: This course is designed to focus on the current health care challenges and issues of women's health and implications for professional nursing practice. Women's roles in a complex society will be examined to facilitate increased self awareness as consumers and providers in the health care delivery system. Prerequisites: Admission to the program

NURS 430 (5-2-3) Contemporary Supportive Nursing: Individual, Group, Family, and Community Systems: This course is designed to provide the opportunity for the student to assist culturally diverse populations and aggregates within the community to achieve an optimal level of wellness. Special emphasis will be placed on advanced theoretical concepts related to health promotion, risk reduction, disease prevention, and developmental processes. The process of professional role development will be fostered through both independent and interdependent clinical experiences.
Prerequisites: Senior Standing

NURS 450 (3-3-0) Professional Nursing Issues in Practice: This course is the capstone experience for RN-BSN students. It includes synthesis of nursing cognates and general education. The experience allows students to assess their knowledge of the program objectives. The course will incorporate essential knowledge, psychomotor, and affective domains of BSN education. Prerequisites: Senior Standing

NURS 480 (3-0-9) Senior Practicum: This course is designed to provide students with the opportunity to integrate clinical and theoretical learning from previous Nursing courses. Through guided clinical experiences, the student will choose one patient to critically analyze through the use of the Nursing process. Through a preceptorship/role-transition experience, the student will facilitate the transition from student nurse to the role of the professional Nurse. Prerequisites: Senior Standing

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GENERIC CURRICULUM COURSE DESCRIPTIONS

Code: (Credit Hours-Lecture Hours per week- Lab Hours per week)

NURS 210 (2-2-0) Professional Nursing: An introductory nursing course that covers the history of nursing, theoretical foundations of nursing, the roles of the professional nurse, professional behaviors, and an introduction to the nursing process and critical thinking. Prerequisite: Permission of the Instructor

NURS 220 (1-1-0) Therapeutic Communication for Diverse Cultures: This course explores the importance of verbal and non-verbal communication in establishing the nurse-client relationship. The student will explore communication theories, types of communication, factors affecting communications patterns, therapeutic communication techniques used for assessment and information sharing, and documentation systems. Prerequisite: Permission of the Instructor

NURS 230 (2-2-0) Economics of Health Care: A course designed to explore health and wellness and the health care delivery system. The student will be introduced to the types of health-care services, healthcare settings, and the economics of health care payment and cost containment to include private insurance, managed care, federal (government) insurance plans, and challenges within the health-care system. Prerequisite: Permission of the Instructor

NURS 320 (3-3-0) Health Assessment Across the Life Span: This course prepares the student to conduct comprehensive health assessments. Emphasis is placed on the acquisition, processing and interpretation of data collected from clients of all ages. A physical, psychological, socio-cultural, and spiritual approach is used to assess the client and to incorporate consideration of the client’s needs, state of wellness, developmental level, and response to life experiences. The campus laboratory experience consists of practice with clients. Prerequisite: Admission to the program

NURS 325 (3-3-0) Pathophysiology: This course prepares the student to approach complex situations systematically. Emphasis will be placed on the integration and application of pathophysiological concepts to the holistic human in time of physical stress. This course utilizes the nursing process as the basis for examining persons with pathologies requiring multiple dimensions of nursing care. Prerequisite: Admission to the program.

NURS 326 (4-2-2) Concepts Basic to Nursing: Introductory clinical course designed to introduce the student to conceptual threads and skills fundamental to the practice of nursing. Prerequisite: Admission to the program.

NURS 330 (3-3-0) Gerontological Nursing: This course examines the process of aging. Physical, psychological, sociocultural, and spiritual aspects of aging are examined within the context of the family and society. Advanced theoretical concepts of aging will be examined using the nursing process.  Prerequisite for Generic Track: NURS 326

NURS 350 (7-3-4) Caring for Populations in Acute and Long Term Care Settings: Introductory course focused on care of client populations in acute and long-term nursing-care settings. Prerequisite: NURS 320, 325, 326

NURS 360 (7-3-4) Caring for Populations in the Acute Care Setting: Advanced: Advanced conceptual-based care for clients populations in acute-care settings including those with critical-care needs. Prerequisite: NURS 320, 326, 350

NURS 365 (3-3-0) Pharmacological Dimensions of Health Care: Survey of pharmacology and pharmacotherapy in health care. The student will explore pharmacology and pharmacokinetics of different classes of drugs, legal responsibilities, and safe drug administration. Prerequisite: NURS 320, 326

NURS 370 (3-3-0) Spirituality in Health Care: Spirituality is presented as a concept related to culture and belief systems. Inclusive will be an exploration of the effects of spirituality, religion, hope, and ethics on health care and health-care outcomes. This course will be co-instructed by divinity and nursing faculty. Prerequisite: NURS 326

NURS 380 (3-3-0) Loss and Grief: This course will explore loss and its effect on the individual, family, and society. Through the exploration of theoretical concepts, the student will examine how people adapt and the productivity effects on the individual, family, and society. Prerequisite: NURS 326

NURS 390 (3-3-0) Seminar: Designed to allow students an opportunity to explore ethical issues, explore trends in the health-care setting and to review nursing content presented in the curriculum. Prerequisite: 300-level nursing courses

NURS 400 (3-3-0) Nursing Research and Theory: This course focuses on the cognitive and professional skills of nursing research and theory. The cognitive skills emphasized include critical thinking, problem solving, research critique, and theory utilization in professional nursing practice. The professional skills include valuing research as a basis for professional nursing practice. Prerequisites: Senior Standing

NURS 405 (7-3-4) Caring for Populations with Unique Needs: Obstetric and Psychiatric-Mental Health Needs: The unique needs of reproducing families and those with mental-heath needs will be explored. Building on the foundation of previous nursing courses and the nursing process, the student will design nursing care for the preconceptual, perinatal, postpartal, and neonatal periods as well as examine responses to stressors across the life span. Tasks of pregnancy, psychosocial adaptations, biological-behavioral concepts in psychiatric nursing care, and cultural impact will be addressed. Prerequisite: NURS 390

NURS 406 (5-2-3) Caring for Populations in the Community: This course focuses on the design and implementation of nursing assistance for families, groups and communities, specifically high-risk populations throughout the life cycle. Students will use selected conceptual models in assessing, planning, implementing and evaluating nursing care and analyzing the management of care delivery by others in a variety of community settings.   Prerequisite: NURS 400, 405

NURS 407 (3-3-0) Critical Care Nursing: This course explores the physiological alterations that result in admission to critical-care units and the expanded role of nurses in these settings. It will include clinical experiences in critical units. Prerequisite: NURS 325, 350, 360

NURS 411 (3-3-0) Nursing Leadership Perspectives and Trends in Contemporary Nursing Practice: This course is designed to analyze the role of the professional nurse as a leader in the profession and health care delivery. The course will focus on nursing leaders as vanguards of the profession and the role of the nurse leader in health care delivery. Advanced theoretical concepts will be examined using the nursing process as a framework. Prerequisite: Senior Standing

NURS 421 (3-3-0) Nursing and Women's Health: This course is designed to focus on the current health care challenges and issues of women's health and implications for professional nursing practice. Women's roles in a complex society will be examined to facilitate increased self awareness as consumers and providers in the health care delivery system. Prerequisites: NURS 405

NURS 440 (2-2-0) Concept Analysis and Synthesis for Nursing Practice: This course is designed as a culminating classroom experience with the purpose of systematically analyzing and synthesizing their course of study in the nursing program. Through this process, the students should be able to solve common nursing problems utilizing a conceptual approach. This is accomplished through the presentation of comprehensive client case studies. An integrated comprehensive examination will be administered. Prerequisites: Senior Standing

NURS 480 (3-0-9) Senior Practicum: This course is designed to provide students with the opportunity to integrate clinical and theoretical learning from previous Nursing courses. Through guided clinical experiences, the student will choose one patient to critically analyze through the use of the Nursing process. Through a preceptorship/role-transition experience, the student will facilitate the transition from student nurse to the role of the professional Nurse. Prerequisites: Senior Standing 

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