MSN Curriculum and Course Descriptions

Fall (A) First 8 Weeks

NUR 500 Professional Develop 2 Credits (1^st eight weeks)

Course Description

The purpose of this graduate level course is to provide students with a foundation to develop the knowledge, values, and skills for becoming a professional nurse educator. The course explores the role of the nurse educator in academic, clinical, and community settings. Current trends in nursing education are examined, including the evolving role of technology, the influence of demographics, and educational policies that impact the learner, the teacher, and the learning environment. Students will analyze and address the expected competencies of nurse educators throughout this course.

Course Outcomes

1. Enhance knowledge of the role of the nurse educator in academic, clinical, and community settings
2. Analyze the scope of practice for nurse educators in academic, clinical, and community settings
3. Utilize technology to enhance the role of the nurse educator in academic, clinical, and community settings
4. Identify educational policies that impact the learner, the teacher, and the learning environment.
5. Analyze and address the expected competencies of nurse educators

 

NUR 501 Advanced Pathology 2 Credits

Course Description

This graduate level course builds on the undergraduate knowledge of pathophysiological conditions of patients throughout the lifespan. Using a variety of theories and frameworks, students use clinical reasoning to evaluate ambiguous and complex clinical presentations. Teaching methodologies facilitate the integration of patient, family, and community preferences to promote delivery of patient-centered care delivery at the advanced practice level.

Course Outcomes

Upon successful completion of the course, the student will be able to:

1. Identify regulatory and compensatory mechanisms as they relate to commonly occurring diseases.
2. Integrate pathophysiologic concepts of disease in assessment of clients across the life span.
3. Apply pathophysiologic concepts of disease to the management of commonly occurring conditions across the life span.

 

Fall (B) Second 8 Weeks

NUR 502 Advanced Health Assessment 3 Credits

Course Description

This course focuses on advanced health/physical assessment of the client where the client is defined as the individual and includes the individual’s context within the family and/or community. Focus of this course is on the comprehensive history, physical/psychological assessment, pathophysiology, and health promotion strategies incorporating the individual’s cultural and developmental variations across the lifespan.

Course Outcomes

1. Perform a comprehensive history and physical assessment incorporating functional assessment, psychosocial variations of common emotional illnesses, and appropriate diagnostic and laboratory testing.
2. Demonstrate the ability to perform effective critical thinking and clinical-decision making.
3. Conduct a risk assessment based on identified risk factors and lifestyle assessment.
4. Develop written and oral vocabulary that clearly articulates data to colleagues in the health profession.
5. Protect the confidentiality and legal rights of clients.
6. Collaborate with other health care professionals to meet the health care needs of client.
7. Provide holistic care from a faith-based approach.
8. Establish a plan of care that accounts for situational life circumstances, development, and cultural variations.

 

Spring (A) First 8 Weeks

NUR 505 Informatics 2 Credits

Course Description

This graduate level course is designed to provide the student with the knowledge and skills regarding the uses of information technology to support nursing practice, education, and leadership through a Christian worldview. The course will provide an overview of informatics topics including computer systems and system development; standardized clinical terminology; informatics standards; electronic health records; retrieval and critical analysis of digital data, information, and knowledge; simulation strategies; and technology-aided instruction.

Course Outcomes

Upon successful completion of the course, the student will be able to:

1. Analyze current and emerging technologies to support safe practice environments, and to optimize patient safety, cost-effectiveness, and health outcomes.
2. Evaluate outcome data using current communication technologies, information systems, and statistical principles to develop strategies to reduce risks and improve health outcomes.
3. Recognize ethical principles and standards for the use of health and information technologies.
4. Evaluate the integration of technologies to document patient care and improve patient outcomes.
5. Develop and evaluate information and communication technologies, resources, and principles of learning to teach patients and others.
6. Promote the use of simulation technology in the professional environment to support learning.
7. Compare how a Christian worldview influences ethical principles and standards for the use of health and information technologies that may be different from secular or other religious worldviews.

 

NUR 506 Research and Theory 3 Credits

Course Description

This graduate level course emphasizes analysis and interpretation of clinical research and evidence-based practice, preparing the student to use translational science in clinical decision making to improve patient outcomes. Specific aspects of the research process, quantitative and research, and systematic reviews will be studied.

Course Outcomes

Upon completion of this course, students will be able to:

1. Compare models, concepts, constructs, and theories of nursing to those from other disciplines.
2. Analyze the interrelationships among models, concepts, constructs, and theories applied to scientific inquiry in nursing.
3. Participate in the development of nursing knowledge through scientific inquiry.
4. Analyze the research process as it applies to the development of nursing knowledge.
5. Utilize information systems and research findings in the development of nursing knowledge for evidence-based practice, education, and leadership.

Spring (B) Second 8 Weeks

NUR 503 Advanced Pharmacology 3 Credits

Course Description

This graduate level course provides the opportunity to acquire advanced knowledge and skills in the therapeutic use of pharmacologic agents. The pharmacologic treatment of major health problems will be explored. Principles of pharmacokinetics, pharmacodynamics and pharmacogenomics will be examined. The effects of culture, ethnicity, age, pregnancy, gender, and funding on pharmacologic therapy will be emphasized.

Course Outcomes

Upon successful completion of the course, the student will be able to:

1. Demonstrate knowledge of advanced pharmacologic principles commensurate for independent practice.
2. Discuss therapeutics of the drug classes covered in this course with consideration of their mechanisms of action, cautions, contraindications, and rationale for use across the lifespan.
3. Articulate concepts of pharmacogenomics and apply these to understand the variation in drug responses in specific patient groups, for example, those differing by age, sex, race, geographic origin.Identify appropriate pharmacotherapy approaches to common conditions encountered in the primary care setting with an emphasis on safety and appropriate patient and family education.
4. Demonstrate advanced knowledge of specific adverse drug effects and prioritization of approaches to ADE management.
5. Apply knowledge of pharmacodynamics and pharmacokinetics relevant to polypharmacy and drug- drug interactions.
6. Demonstrate use of professional technological resources on drug therapy consistent with an ongoing commitment to lifelong learning to support advanced practice.

 

Summer (A) First 6 Weeks

NUR 507 Prevention and Population Health 2 Credits

Course Description

This graduate level course examines concepts that promote understanding of aggregate, community, environmental/occupational, and cultural/socioeconomic dimensions of health. Learners analyze epidemiological, biostatistical, occupational, and environmental data in the development, implementation, and evaluation of prevention and population health. Evidence-based recommendations for health promotion and risk reduction for individuals and families and concepts of public health are emphasized.

Course Outcomes

Upon successful completion of this course, students will be able to:

1.  Identify the roles and responsibilities of masters prepared nurses in inter-professional health care.
2.  Apply epidemiological principles to the care of populations/aggregates.
3.  Evaluate prevention of diseases and health promotion programs locally, nationally, and internationally.
4.  Integrate health promotion, behavioral health, and culture care models and theories into the provision of health care of populations, aggregates, and communities.
5.  Discuss the importance of community partnerships in relationship to establishing health promotion goals and demonstrate how to implement strategies to meet those goals.
6.  Identify effective communication styles with target populations.
7.  Analyze community, public, national, and global health systems and infrastructures.
8.  Demonstrate understanding of the application of social justice as it pertains to population health.

 

NUR 508 Leadership and Health Systems 2 Credits

Course Description

This graduate level course prepares the professional registered nurse to practice in a variety of leadership positions in the ever-changing world of nursing education whether in health care or academic environments. Grounded in nursing education practice and guided by healthcare and education theory and research, the graduate will demonstrate the knowledge and skills necessary to provide leadership in a nursing education setting.

Course Outcomes

1. Evaluate quality improvement models differentiating structure, process, and outcome indicators.
2. Identify patient safety initiatives that affect individual, group, and systems care delivery.
3. Apply business, healthcare economic and finance models to budgeting at the system, state and federal level.
4. Articulate how the master’s prepared nurse influences policy and economic issues through policy development and advocacy.
5. Engage the organizational context within which healthcare is provided.
6. Demonstrate the competencies required to create an effective work environment.
7. Demonstrate the characteristics of an effective Christian role model for healthcare leadership.

 

Summer (B) Second 6 Weeks

NUR 504 Teaching Styles and Distance Learning 3 Credits

Course Description

This graduate level course emphasizes the importance of educational foundations for online learning in academic and non-academic settings. This course offers lessons that cover effective teaching strategies, classroom adaptations, assessments, and instructional tools for several learning styles that can help you adapt your instruction based on different learning styles.

Course Outcomes

Upon successful completion of this course, students will be able to:

1. Analyze the role of the nurse educator in online educational settings.
2. Design online learning environments that address the needs of diverse learners.
3. Use multiple forms of technology to deliver online nursing education.
4. Develop evidence-based strategies to evaluate learners in online environments.
5. Design learning environments that address the needs of different learning styles.
6. Identify effective instructional tools and assessments to support learners with different learning styles.

 

Fall (A) First 8 Weeks

NUR 509 Curriculum Design

Course Description

The purpose of this graduate level course is to provide students with an understanding of curriculum design and development using evidence-based theories and concepts. The course will also focus on relevant standards and criteria for evaluation. Students will learn strategies to facilitate learning in cognitive, psychomotor, and affective domains. They will develop learning activities for the traditional, non-traditional, and online learning environments in academic and clinical settings. Student will analyze and address the components of learner centered environments.

Course Outcomes

1. Examine mission statements and philosophy of educational institutions as related to curriculum development.
2. Determine the roles, responsibilities and competencies on the nurse educator.
3. Examine and create learner-centered environments for various learning styles.
4. Synthesize current teaching-learning theories related to teaching.
5. Discuss and integrate evaluation of student learning in the process of course and curriculum design.

 

NUR 510 Learning Assessment and Evaluation 2 Credits

Course Description

The purpose of this graduate level course is to provide students with formal and informal assessment techniques of learning in classroom and clinical settings. Various methods for designing, conducting, and analyzing assessments and evaluations of learning outcomes will be appraised. Students will develop outcome assessments and program evaluation and understand of their relationship between classroom and clinical settings.

Course Outcomes

1. Disseminate between formal and informal assessment techniques of learning in classroom and clinical settings.
2. Appraise and apply various methods for designing, conducting, and analyzing assessments.
3. Synthesize learner assessments in relation to learning outcomes.
4. Develop outcome assessments and program evaluation understanding of their relationship between classroom and clinical settings.
5. Integrate learning assessments and evaluations to alighn with course outcomes.

 

Fall (B) second 8 Weeks

NUR 511 Clinical Teaching, Simulation, and Evaluation 3 Credits

Course Description

The purpose of this graduate level course is to provide an understanding of the essential principles of teaching in the clinical environment and in nursing simulation. Students will discuss best practices for immersion and debriefing in the clinical and simulation education. Students will analyze the challenges and solutions related the teaching in the clinical environment. The focus of this course is problem solving, common teaching/ learning situations, and the relationship between theory and practice.

Course Outcomes

1. Analyze the challenges and solutions related the teaching in the clinical environment.
2. Identify and analyze the essential principles of teaching in the clinical environment and in nursing simulation.
3. Develop problem solving skills to address problems related to teaching/ learning situations.
4. Synthesize the relationship between theory and practice and apply knowledge to teaching in the clinical environment.
5. Analyze and apply methods of learning evaluation in the clinical environment and in nursing simulation.

 

Spring Full Semester

NUR 512 Practicum (16 Weeks) 6 Credits

Course Description

The purpose of this graduate level course is to provide an understanding of the essential principles of teaching in the clinical environment and in nursing simulation. Students will discuss best practices for immersion and debriefing in the clinical and simulation education. Students will analyze the challenges and solutions related the teaching in the clinical environment. The focus of this course is problem solving, common teaching/ learning situations, and the relationship between theory and practice.

Course Outcomes

1. Analyze competencies and role expectations of nurse educators in academic, nurse professional development, or patient education settings
2. Analyze evidence-based strategies to manage the multiple demands on and challenges facing nurse educators in academic, nurse professional development, or patient education settings.
3. Analyze evidence-based perspectives related to personal styles, preferences, values, and assumptions on approaches to teaching.
4. Analyze theoretical and scientific findings related to teaching practices across diverse educator roles.
5. Synthesize teaching and learning principles, curriculum development, and integration of technology strategies to support the role of the nurse educator