The following list includes a description of and objectives for all courses in the nursing curriculum as posted in the 2021-2022 Academic Catalog.
NUR 2010: Medical Terminology for Professional Nursing - The course focuses on building basic medical vocabulary, including spelling and pronunciation, and the appropriate use of terms related to anatomy, physiology, pathological conditions and their treatment. Students are introduced to medico-legal rationales for the use of a standardized communication method within the healthcare environment and the nurse’s role in using proper terminology to ensure safe, quality, and effective nursing care. PREREQ: Pre-nursing majors, enrolled undergraduate nursing students, or approval of course instructor.
NUR 2020: Critical Thinking in the Nursing Discipline - This course provides students with an overview of the concept of critical inquiry. The importance of validation of observations and assumptions about the world and the process of critical thinking is examined to help students develop the habits of effective reasoning through a variety of teaching approaches. Application of the critical inquiry process is accomplished through the use of case studies reflecting the worldview of the nursing discipline. PREREQ: minimum of sophomore classification; declared nursing majors only.
NUR 3010: Introduction to Professional Nursing - This course introduces the beginning nursing student to the multiple dimensions of professional nursing. Emphasis is placed on initiating the formation of a professional identity and exploring ways of knowing as a nurse by addressing the values, societal mandate for nursing, legal parameters of practice, scope and standards of professional nursing practice and the roles and responsibilities of the professional nurse. Philosophical and theoretical concepts and principles underlying professional nursing practice are examined, with a focus on the concepts used in the Department of Nursing. PREREQ: Admission to Professional Program. Pre-licensure BSN students only.
NUR 3030: Foundations of Professional Nursing Practice - This course uses theoretical and evidence-based frameworks to introduce students to the knowledge, skills, and attitudes fundamental to professional nursing practice across all practice settings. Emphasis is placed on the application of the nursing process to guide clinical reasoning and decision-making for the provision of safe and appropriate nursing care in accordance with standards of professional nursing practice. The clinical component provides the opportunity for students to integrate theory and practice and develop beginning proficiency in the delivery of basic nursing care with individual clients. Clinical learning includes simulation experiences and placement in clinical settings PREREQ: Admission to Professional Program, Pre-licensure BSN students only COREQ: NUR 3010
NUR 3040: Normal and Therapeutic Nutrition - This course introduces the principles of nutrition and ways in which these principles are applied to promote an optimal level of functioning for individuals throughout the life cycle. Emphasis is placed on nutrition assessment and interventions in relation to nutritional standards and national health goals which form the basis for understanding the therapeutic application of dietary principles and the nurse’s role and responsibility in this aspect of client care. PREREQ: Prelicensure BSN Students Only PREREQ/COREQ: NUR 3010
NUR 3050: Pharmacology for Clinical Practice - This course examines the major categories of pharmacotherapeutic agents used in the promotion, maintenance, and restoration of health and treatment of illness in individuals across the lifespan. Emphasis is placed on understanding the pharmacologic actions of the drugs, expected client responses, adverse/side effects, and implications for nursing care. PREREQ: Prelicensure BSN Students Only PREREQ/COREQ: NUR 3010
NUR 3100: Transcultural Nursing – This course is designed to assist students in expanding their view of humans as cultural beings and the influence of culture on health behaviors and health care decisions. Emphasis is placed on the concepts of cultural belief systems, the health continuum and caring, and how these concepts affect professional nursing practice. PREREQ: Admission to Professional Program, RN-BSN or Prelicensure BSN Students Only PREREQ/COREQ: NUR 3000 or NUR 3010
NUR 3150: Adult Health Nursing I - This course uses theoretical and evidence-based frameworks to assist students in gaining the knowledge, skills, and attitudes to meet the healthcare needs of adults from diverse cultures experiencing acute and chronic alterations in health. Emphasis is placed on the use of the nursing process to guide clinical reasoning and decision-making for the provision of safe and appropriate nursing care in accordance with standards and competencies of professional nursing practice. The clinical component provides the opportunity for students to enhance clinical reasoning and decision-making skills and further develop proficiency in professional nursing roles. Clinical learning includes simulation experiences and placement in a variety of acute care settings. PREREQ: Admission into professional program. NUR 3100, 3450, 3500, 4000
NUR 3200: Health Assessment Across the Lifespan – This course prepares students to perform a comprehensive health assessment of clients across the lifespan. Emphasis is placed on the acquisition, processing, interpretation, documentation of data to develop a clinical decision. In the laboratory component students practice interviewing skills by obtaining health histories, performing physical and psychosocial assessments to establish a client data base and formulate appropriate nursing diagnosis. PREREQ: Admission to Professional Program, RN-BSN or Prelicensure BSN Students Only PREREQ/COREQ: NUR 3000 or NUR 3010
NUR 3250: Pathophysiology Across the Lifespan – This course focuses on health deviations and their impact on human health and functioning. Emphasis is on the integration and application of basic pathophysiological concepts as they relate to clinical decision-making for health promotion, risk reduction, and disease management across the lifespan. The nursing process is used as a framework for examining clients with varied pathologies. PREREQ: BIO 2110, BIO 2120
NUR 3450: Family Nursing I – This course uses theoretical and evidence-based frameworks and standards of professional nursing practice to focus on the health of the childbearing family. The nursing process provides direction to promote, restore and maintain the health of childbearing women, newborns and families from diverse cultures. The clinical component provides the opportunity for students to enhance clinical reasoning and decision-making skills and further develop proficiency in professional nursing roles. Clinical learning experiences occur in a variety of clinical settings. PREREQ: Admission into professional program. PREREQ: NUR 3010, 3030, 3040, 3050, 3200
NUR 3500: Family Nursing II - This course uses theoretical and evidence-based frameworks and standards of professional nursing practice to focus on the health of the childrearing family. Emphasis includes cultural diversity, family dynamics, growth and development and the use of the nursing process to provide direction for the promotion, restoration, and maintenance of health of the childrearing family. The clinical component provides the opportunity for students to enhance clinical reasoning and decision-making skills and further develop proficiency in professional nursing roles. Clinical learning experiences occur in a variety of clinical settings. PREREQ: Admission into professional program. PREREQ: NUR 3010, 3030, 3040, 3050, 3200
NUR 4000: Nursing Research and Theory – This course provides students with an overview of the role of theory and research in the development of nursing as a profession. Students are introduced to the research process, principles and concepts in both quantitative and qualitative research approaches. With a focus on the role of the professional nurse as a consumer of research, students develop skills in critically reading and evaluating research findings based on nursing theory and practice needs PREREQ/COREQ: Statistics-PSY 2080, SOC 3600, MAT 2100, CRJ 3600, SWK 3600, NUR 3000, NUR 3010, or HON 2520
NUR 4120: Leadership in Nursing – The course focuses on leadership and management competencies needed by professional nurses to be full partners in interprofessional teams. Emphasis is on the use of theoretical and evidence-based frameworks in the analysis of current best practices related to leadership roles, organizational communications, team dynamics, quality improvement, safe client-centered care, and the role of nursing related to information systems. The clinical component provides opportunities for students to expand basic leadership skills needed in professional nursing practice and to assume role as change agent in the development and implementation of a change project. Clinical learning experiences occur in a variety of clinical settings PREREQ: Admission to Professional Program, RN-BSN or Prelicensure BSN Students Only PREREQ/COREQ: NUR 3000 or NUR 3010
NUR 4150: Psychiatric/Mental Health Nursing - This course focuses on the use of selected theoretical and evidence-based frameworks and the nursing process to guide the planning and delivery of nursing care for individuals, families, and groups at risk for and/or experiencing alterations in social and psychological functioning. Emphasis is placed on the concepts of therapeutic communication, integration of standards of professional nursing practice, and legal and ethical considerations. The clinical component provides the opportunity for students to enhance clinical reasoning and decision-making skills and further develop proficiency in professional nursing roles. PREREQ: Admission to professional program. PREREQ: NUR 3100, 3450, 3500, 4000
NUR 4350: Community Health Nursing – This course addresses diverse population focused health promotion and disease and injury prevention based on social determinants of local, state, national, and global health. Emphasis is on the use of theoretical and evidence-based frameworks, standards for public health nursing, and the nursing process to guide the planning and delivery of nursing care for families, populations, and aggregates within the community. The clinical component provides the opportunity for students to enhance clinical reasoning and decision-making skills and further develop proficiency in professional nursing roles. Clinical learning experiences occur in a variety of community settings. PREREQ: Admission to Professional Program, RN-BSN or Prelicensure BSN Students Only PREREQ/COREQ: NUR 3000 or NUR 3010.
NUR 4450: Adult Health Nursing II - This course focuses on nursing care needs of adults with acute and complex health problems related to major body systems. Emphasis is on the use of theoretical and evidence-based frameworks, standards of professional nursing practice, and the nursing process as a guide to for the planning and delivery of nursing care for adults experiencing complex health problems. The clinical component provides the opportunity for students to enhance clinical reasoning and decision-making skills and further develop proficiency in professional nursing roles to meet the rapidly changing needs of clients with complex health problems. Clinical learning experiences occur in a variety of clinical settings. PREREQ: Admission into professional program. PREREQ: NUR 3150, 4150, 4350
NUR 4510: Transition into Professional Nursing: A Capstone Experience - This course facilitates the transition of students into professional practice through preceptorships with professional nurses in a variety of clinical settings. Through this culminating experience, students synthesize knowledge of nursing cognates and general education and refine their professional nursing roles. The experience allows faculty to assess each student for minimal achievement of competencies within the program outcomes. To enroll in this course students must have adhered to all Department of Nursing policies and procedures during this and prior semesters. PREREQ: Pre-licensure BSN students only. PREREQ/COREQ: Admission into professional program and must have adhered to all Department of Nursing policies and procedures within the program outcomes COREQ: NUR 4150, NUR 4450.