Nursing

Degrees and Certificates

Classes

HPED/NURS821: Leadership

Credits 3

This course prepares students to function effectively in leadership roles in their respective fields. Application of leadership principles to a variety of situations will be analyzed. Students will explore means for leaders to collaborate and build consensus in addressing complex issues in healthcare.

HPED/NURS823: Health Systems Policy

Credits 3

Addresses means for healthcare professionals to become policy advocates for the betterment of patient care, their respective disciplines, and the healthcare system. Students will examine nuances of the American healthcare system in relation to public policy and finance. Students will explore local and regional internal and external policy and politics.

HPED/NURS830: The Professoriate

Credits 3

This course examines the faculty role in higher education and variations based on institution type. Faculty rights and responsibilities associated with teaching, scholarship, and service will be explored. Challenges unique to the faculty role in healthcare will be evaluated.

HPED/NURS935: Contemporary Issues and Diversity in Education

Credits 3

This course engages students in emerging and current issues in nursing education. Emphasis is placed on diversity and academic integrity within the context of higher education. Students will explore rights, responsibilities, and action plans related to current issues. Students will devise action oriented solutions to contemporary issues.

NURS405RN: Community-Based Nursing

Credits 5

This course synthesizes health promotion concepts in nursing care of diverse clients, families, and populations within the community. Students will engage in population-based assessment and care planning. Clinical experiences promote collaboration with vulnerable clients across the lifespan, including analysis of community systems, resources, and deficits. (Credits: 3 hr. theory, 2 hr. clinical)

NURS480: RN-MSN Transition

Credits 3
This course will create a bridge of understanding and knowledge development between the current nursing degree and the MSN. A hybrid format is utilized to facilitate advancement of knowledge in concepts such as information literacy, evidence-based practice and research, management, QSEN, and quality improvement. Professional skills for graduate program and career success, including academic writing and professional/collegial communication, will be included.

NURS715: Evidence Based Practice and Informatics

Credits 3

The use of evidence, integration of computer systems, and nursing science in making nursing decisions is the framework of the course. Information systems to access data and process information related to practice decisions are explored. Experiences with selecting and evaluating evidence from multiple databases using properly formatted search strategies will be provided.

NURS722: Applied Theoretical Foundations

Credits 3
This interactive course will focus on application of theories and philosophies to practice situations and scholarly inquiry. Students will investigate the theoretical basis of nursing with emphasis on nursing, learning, and leadership theories. Students will examine interdisciplinary philosophies that influence the environment in which health care and nursing are practiced.

NURS723: Technology in Teaching and Leadership

Credits 2

The focus of this course is technology applicable in advanced nursing roles. Students will examine use of technology to engage constituents and enhance effectiveness in their roles. The course is designed to provide working knowledge of a range of technological applications such as spreadsheets, presentation software, diagram tools, data sharing, and communications.

NURS727: Teaching and Learning Strategies

Credits 3

Evidence based strategies build a strong foundation for effective teaching and learning. This course delves into designing, planning, implementing, and evaluating engaging teaching strategies to facilitate learning in face-to-face and online classrooms. Students will study the role of current educational technology in enhancing learning. While the course emphasized evidence based strategies, it also presents a platform to evaluate need for further inquiry for evidence to guide educational practice.

NURS730: Teaching Practicum I

Credits 1

The first of two required practica, this course involves fieldwork with a nurse educator. In collaboration with a preceptor, students will participate in designing, planning, implementing, and evaluating educational strategies. Opportunities to participate in multiple aspects of the nurse educator role are provided.

NURS733: Applied Statistics

Credits 3
This course expands on previous knowledge of descriptive and inferential statistics. Emphasis is placed on interpretation of statistics and deepening understanding of the mechanics of each test. Students will explore selection of appropriate statistics for common research designs.

NURS734: Organizational Systems, Leadership, and Structure

Credits 3
The focus of this course is the structure and function of nursing administration within healthcare systems. Integrative models for the management and accountability required for high performing teams in patient-centered care are studied.

NURS738: Research Methods

Credits 3
This course provides a broad framework for research methods in healthcare fields. Students will examine basic research designs, measurement tools, and research ethics. Students will develop proficiency at applying the principles to published healthcare research. The course emphasizes quantitative designs and methods and provides an introduction to qualitative methods.

NURS742: Financial Management

Credits 3

Students in this course will explore financial issues relevant to the management of healthcare units and organizations. The course will emphasize the interconnectedness between finance and the healthcare system and the importance of interdisciplinary collaboration to achieve organizational goals. Key concepts include financial viability, value-based service, budget principles, productivity management, and financial analysis. Students will also evaluate the legal, ethical, safety, quality, and strategic considerations necessary for making financial decisions.

NURS745: Leadership Practicum I

Credits 1

The first of two required practica, this course involves fieldwork with a nurse leader. In collaboration with a preceptor, students will participate in designing, planning, implementing, and evaluating nursing practice/leadership strategies. Opportunities to participate in multiple aspects of the nurse leader's roles are provided.

NURS747: Power, Politics, and Interprofessionalism

Credits 3

This course focuses on the analysis of organizational culture, with the aim on the administrator's synergistic role in creating, enhancing, and sustaining interprofessional relationships. The course also explores leader communication and balancing roles in internal and external politics.

NURS755: Clinical Teaching and Learning

Credits 3

The focus of this course is designing, planning, implementing, and evaluating engaging teaching strategies to facilitate learning in clinical environments. The traditional, acute care, clinical model of learning will be explored, as well as more contemporary sites and settings for clinical learning. The expanding role of simulation in nursing education will be examined.

NURS757: Teaching Practicum II

Credits 1

The second of two required practicum, this course involves fieldwork with a nurse educator. In collaboration with a preceptor, students will participate in designing, planning, implementing, and evaluating educational strategies. Opportunities to participate in multiple aspects of the nurse educator role are provided.

NURS762: Human Resource Management in Healthcare

Credits 3

This course focuses on one of the most complex and consequential aspects of healthcare: managing people. Students can expect to investigate the course topics of: strategic human resource management and workforce planning, human resource development at all employment stages from entry to exit, conflict management, and equal opportunity employment law within the healthcare setting. By the end of the course, students will recognize the impact of these topics on high quality care delivery.

NURS774: Capstone I

Credits 2

The first of two capstone courses in which students will conceptualize a quality improvement or evidence-based project with extensive literature review. Students will collaborate with key stakeholders to develop the capstone project proposal.

CO1: Design a capstone project that effectively addresses a relevant nursing practice issue.
CO2:  Utilize evidenced-based quality improvement and professional standards in the design of the project.
CO3: Analyze pertinent nursing and interdisciplinary research literature to inform project development.
CO4:  Integrate legal, ethical, and diversity considerations into the project proposal.

NURS775: Curriculum Development and Program Planning

Credits 3

This course addresses the structural components and intricacies of healthcare curricula from statements of vision through instructional implementation. Students will explore both design of curricular elements and engagement of constituents into the curriculum development and revision process. Students will gain experience in program planning and implementation for continuing education or staff development.

NURS780: Assessment and Evaluation in Education

Credits 3

This course explores assessment of student learning at course, curriculum and program levels. The course examines how data from assessment and evaluation influence decisions. The course includes introduction to systematic evaluation and accreditation.

NURS782: Strategic Planning

Credits 3

This course addresses strategic planning as a cyclical, nonlinear process that builds upon past history and experiences, current conditions, and future opportunities. The course prepares the student to analyze situations and identify strategic direction; conduct gap analysis; and formulate objectives, goals, and specific strategies related to mission and vision. Students will explore challenges associated with multiple aspects of planning and implementation.

NURS784: Capstone II

Credits 3

The second of two capstone courses in which students will develop, implement, analyze, and disseminate a quality-improvement or evidence-based project. Students will integrate and synthesize knowledge gained throughout the program into the project. 

CO1: Implement the capstone project utilizing evidence-based quality improvement standards.
CO2:  Demonstrate proficiency at analyzing and using evidence in nursing practice.
CO3:  Analyze ethical, legal, financial, and socio-political practices within organizational settings and inter-professional teams.
CO4:  Integrate the multiple roles of advanced nursing practice into the capstone project.
CO5: Disseminate results from project in a scholarly forum.

NURS788: Leadership Practicum II

Credits 1

The second of two required practica, this course involves fieldwork with a nurse leader. In collaboration with a preceptor, students will participate in designing, planning, implementing, and evaluating leadership strategies. Opportunities to participate in multiple aspects of the nurse leader's roles are provided.