Theory related to nursing care of adults with common health problems who need to maintain or regain optimal levels of functioning. Emphasizes problem solving through use of a variety of resources; examines trends and issues relevant to health care in rural communities. Intended for students admitted to the undergraduate nursing program. Corequisite: NURS 311. Three hours per week.
Application of beginning health assessment skills, nursing knowledge and concepts from the biological and behavioral sciences. Students provide nursing care to adults with common health alterations in acute and long-term care settings and examine trends in gerontological nursing. Intended for students admitted to undergraduate nursing program. Co-requisites: NURS 310. Nine hours per week.
Introduces students to professional nursing practice including history, legal, ethical, economic, and cultural issues, and nursing process. Discussion of roles and responsibilities in communication, documentation, and use of clinical technologies with application through web, campus-based and selected field experiences. Prerequisites: Admission to the nursing major or 2nd Bachelor's Degree program, BIOL 334 with a C or better. Three hours lecture per week.
Functional health assessment of individuals from adolescence through older adulthood. Students practice health assessment skills in clinical settings with people of varied ages, social, cultural and economic backgrounds. Intended for students admitted to undergraduate nursing program. Five hours per week.
Study of theory related to nursing care of children and adolescents with acute and chronic disorders. Integrates concepts from previous courses in the natural, behavioral and nursing sciences and introduces theories of structure, development and function of families. Prerequisites: NURS 310, 311, 319, 329 (prereq/coreq). Co-requisite: NURS 361. Three hours per week.
Prepares beginning practitioners to provide nursing care to children, adolescents and their families in a variety of rural health settings. Clinical practice will be guided by the objectives of Healthy People 2010. Prerequisites: NURS 310, 311, 312, 319 with a C or better. Pre/Corequisites: NURS 329. Corequisite: 360. Nine hours per week.
Study of theory related to nursing care of childbearing families in rural communities. Explores social and health care issues related to changing needs of women across the life span. Prerequisites: NURS 310, 311, 319, 329 (prereq/coreq). Co-requisite: NURS 371. Three hours per week.
Provides nursing care to the child-bearing family in primary and acute care settings. Applies selected theories related to structure, development and function of families. Clinical practice will be guided by the objectives of Healthy People 2000. Prerequisites: NURS 310, 311, 319. Co-requisites: NURS 329, 370. Nine hours per week.
Study of theory related to the prevention and nursing care of individuals and families with psychosocial problems. Focuses on communication with clients in community and hospital settings with emphasis on mental illness in rural areas. Considers mental health needs of all age groups with special regard for cultural differences. Prerequisites: NURS 310, 311, 312, 319, 329 with a C or better. Co-requisite: NURS 381. Three hours per week.
Clinical application of nursing theory and process focused on the prevention and nursing care of psychosocial problems in individuals and families. Focus on therapeutic communication with clients in a psychiatric hospital and clients with psychosocial needs in the community. Prerequisites: NURS 310, 311, 312, 319, 329 with a C or better. Co-requisite: NURS 380. Nine hours per week.
Study of a selected area of nursing. Topics may vary semester to semester. Provides an opportunity for curriculum innovation or meeting the special needs or interests of undergraduate and graduate students. May be repeated for credit under different subtitles. May be offered for undergraduate or graduate credit. One to three hours lecture, zero to two hours laboratory per week.
Focus on the theory of health of families, aggregated and communities with complex needs. Explores political, ethical, legal and sociocultural climates and theory related to the health care needs of an aging population. Prerequisites: NURS 329, 351, 361, 371, 381, 431 (coreq). Three hours per week.
Prepares beginning practitioners to work with families, aggregates and communities in rural settings. Clinical practice guided by the objectives of Healthy People 2000 and the use of critical thinking skills. Prerequisites: NURS 351, 361, 371, 329, 381. Co-requisite: NURS 430. Three hours per week.
Explores roles in nursing within the health care system with particular emphasis on leadership and management functions. Provides students with a conceptual understanding of the social, political, legislative and economic forces shaping the U.S. health care system and its impact on the rural environment. Prerequisites: NURS 310, 311, 312, 319, 329, 350, 351, 422, 423 with a C or better. Pre/Co-requisites: NURS 380, 381, 430, 431, 443. Two hours per week.
Emphasizes integration of nursing knowledge, values and skills in caring for groups of clients. Students experience various professional nursing roles and apply leadership and management strategies. Prerequisites: NURS 310, 311, 312, 319, 329, 350, 351, 422, 423 with a C or better. Pre/Co-requisites: NURS 380, 381, 430, 431, 442. Six hours per week.
Nursing interventions relating to application of pharmacotherapeutic principles in assisting client adaptation in primary, secondary and tertiary health care settings. Special emphasis on drug interactions, drug dependence, toxicology. Three hours lecture per week.
Intensive study in a specific area of nursing agreed upon by the student and faculty member. Open to senior and graduate students. May be taken twice under different course subtitles recorded with the registrar. Prerequisite: Written consent of instructor who will direct the study and chair of the department.
Focuses on advanced health/physical assessment including the comprehensive health history and physical examination of signs and symptoms, pathologic changes and psychosocial variations of the individual adult and child client within the context of the family. Advanced communication skills relating to clients and other professionals are refined and strengthened during the assessment process. Critical thinking is used to analyze the findings in order to establish differential diagnoses and priorities of care. Prerequisite: BIOL 552. Prerequisite or Co-requisite: Admission to the master’s program or permission of instructor. Two hours lecture, 10 hours clinical practice per week.
Focuses on epidemiology as the basic science of disease prevention and the role of epidemiology in public health clinical practice and the evaluation of public policy. Provides an introduction to epidemiology and the epidemiologic approach to problems of health and disease. The basic principles and methods of epidemiology are presented together with their applications to public health and clinical medicine. Prerequisite: Admission to graduate program or permission of the instructor. Three hours lecture per week.
Provides advanced-practice nurses with knowledge of pharmacotherapeutics for acute and chronic conditions. Focuses on knowledge and skills necessary to assess, diagnose and manage common health problems. Legal, socioeconomic and client-safety considerations are discussed. Client-education factors and salient aspects of research are incorporated. Critical thinking is employed in the analysis and determination of pharmacological regimens. Prerequisite or Corequisite: Admission to an advanced practice track of the Graduate Nursing Program or permission of the instructor, BIOL 552. Three hours lecture per week.
Explores the structure and functions of the health care system and the legal, ethical and economic forces that impact on it. Special attention is given to health insurance and managed care, the formulation and impact of health policy and the context in which policy decisions are made. Prerequisite: Admission to a graduate program or permission of the instructor. Three hours per week.
Focuses on the importance of the theoretical foundations of research, and on qualitative methods of scientific inquiry. Emphasis in placed on the accumulation of scientific evidence in health care, and on the critical analysis and communication of evidence related to a specific topic. Prerequisites: Admission to a graduate program or permission of the instructor. Three hours per week.
Focuses on primary care of adult clients including health promotion and disease prevention within the context of the family. Incorporates critical thinking and clinical reasoning to establish diagnoses for and provide therapeutic management of adult clients with common short-term and chronic stable health problems. Emphasizes quality and cost-effective care of diverse populations in a wide variety of settings. Prerequisite: NURS 512. Prerequisite/Co-requisite: NURS 522. Two hours lecture, 12 hours clinical per week for a total of 180 hours.
Focused study on a specific area of advanced practice nursing agreed upon by the student and the faculty. May include preliminary work directed toward a thesis/capstone area of interest, a specialized area of study, or clinical practice. May be taken more than once under different course subtitles recorded with the registrar for a maximum of six hours credit. Prerequisite: Written consent of the faculty who will direct the study. One to three hours per week.
Provides an opportunity for the master’s level student to conduct formal research related to nursing. Reflects a culminating research study as an independent project under the direction of a thesis chair and committee. Incorporates knowledge from research methodology and analysis learned throughout the program. Requires that the student demonstrate critical thinking, a proficiency in oral and written communication, and use of appropriate information technology. Traditional defense of thesis required. May be repeated; no limit to the number of repeats. Prerequisites: MATH 502, NURS 544, and permission of the instructor.
