This course provides the RN to BSN student the opportunity to explore the contemporary nursing issues related to the major concepts that form a basis for the program outcomes and the additional nursing courses. Nursing knowledge is gained through a combination of experiential, evidence based, and classroom experiences. This course introduces the structure of evaluation and includes emphasis on evidence based practice, professional trends, and an opportunity to explore potential capstone project ideas.

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1. Demonstrate writing skills that consider context, audience, and purpose with a clear focus on the assigned task and the utilization of American Psychological Association style and format.
2. Analyze the current issues in society and healthcare affecting nursing education and practice including accreditation.
3. Critically evaluate trends in nursing education.
4. Describe the development of contemporary nursing knowledge.
5. Evaluate strengths and weaknesses of the major nursing and healthcare organizations.
6. Implement practices that meet the legal and ethical requirement related to patient care during Experiential Learning in nursing education.
7. Demonstrate knowledge of capstone project requirements and explore possibilities within your current role as an R.N.

The contemporary nurse is continually faced with a wide variety of problems encountered in the care of patients. Thus the nurse must have a repertoire of problem-solving skills that is based on sound evidence. Identification, evaluation, application, and/or compilation of evidence from a variety of resources to apply to health-related problems of individuals, families, communities, and the health care delivery system are essential tools of the contemporary nurse. Students will identify problems encountered in practice and find pertinent resources to assist in resolving them. The student will apply specific criteria to assess the quality of evidence, and as part of a team, will discuss whether it could feasibly and ethically be applied to care of patients. In addition, students will identify a problem or aspect of a problem to be researched, find relevant resources and/or literature, and determine what additional information is needed to resolve the problem. In collaboration with team members, a method of gathering pertinent data will be developed.

This course expands the student’s focus from the care of individual patients to the care of aggregates. Aggregates may range from small to large, and include families, groups, communities, and the global population. Students will investigate the concept of community assessment and use a systems-based epidemiological model to organize data about health problems and populations at risk. Health challenges of specific diverse populations will be investigated along with resources for change and health promotion within the community. Students will perform a problem-focused literature review about a selected problem and create a community-based plan of care. Students will also become familiar with public health resources and functions. This course involves a clinical experience which comprises thirty hours spent in virtual simulation.

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1. Evaluate the differences of role and practice components in an institutional setting with those in the community.
2. Understand theoretical principles and issues in the care of aggregates.
3. Apply knowledge regarding epidemiological frameworks and concepts to promote and manage health and health alterations.
4. Understand the impact of cultural, socioeconomic, political, and environmental forces on the health of diverse aggregates.
5. Analyze the different resources available for retrieving and/or gathering data pertinent to the health of a community and its components.
6. Analyze assessment outcomes among communities and over a period of time, identifying trends and populations at risk.
7. Apply concepts related to bringing about change to a community health problem.
8. Apply knowledge gained about a selected global health problem.

The nurse of today and tomorrow must inevitably be a leader, whether at the bedside in assisting an individual patient toward enhanced health or leading health care organizations, public policy initiatives, and professional associations to maximize their contributions to the health of the nation. The nurse, as the most plentiful, versatile, and wide-spread of health care providers, must be prepared to develop and implement new visions and models of care delivery, applications of technology, stewardship of costly resources, evaluation and improvement of health care quality, and delivery of safe, effective health care in a variety of settings. The student will explore leadership theories and styles, evaluate appropriate application of several leadership approaches, practice the leadership role in a project to create a health-care related change, and offer collegial peer evaluation of classmates' work.

The human genome project has forever changed the understanding of human nature, health, illness, and approaches to patient care. During this course, topics will include current applications of genomic information and genetic interventions in health care. Students will learn to assess patients for possible genetic risk factors, genetic mutations occurring as a consequence of person-environment interaction, and specific health problems with known genetic bases. The nurse's role in assessment, case-finding, referral, and intervention will be emphasized. Students will also determine present regional applications of genetic medicine and familiarize themselves with existing community resources for assisting individuals with genetic issues.

Nursing care of vulnerable populations requires the nurse to integrate concepts of vulnerability, disparities, and social determinants of health with prior knowledge in caring for individuals and populations. This course includes information from different cultures and at-risk groups of individuals considered to be vulnerable. Key concepts to be covered include, understanding of the unique challenges in caring for the vulnerable, relevant health care research, and skills required to work with and advocate for vulnerable populations.

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1. Analyze health determinants and health disparities within the region, the nation, and the world.
2. Analyze the components of successful programs that serve vulnerable populations.
3. Apply principles of evaluation to a health care delivery program that serves vulnerable populations.
4. Incorporate concepts of social determinants of health and health care disparities in the provision of nursing and interprofessional care.
5. Integrate principles of evidence-based practice in the design and implementation of nursing care for vulnerable populations.
6. Identify health policy priorities and the effect on vulnerable populations.

This course offers the opportunity to develop and implement a personalized precepted experience. The experience will include a project designed to solve an evidence-based problem or improve the quality of an aspect of nursing practice in the work place. The student will incorporate throughout the practicum the knowledge, skills, and enhanced professionalism acquired in the B.S.N. program. The role of the faculty will be that of consultant. The project will be presented and/or implemented in the work place as well as in the peer group, and the student will elicit evaluation of his/her work from colleagues and peers. Using evaluation feedback, the student will hypothesize and present ways of improving the project's quality. Active R.N. License and CRIT 602 Conducting Critical Inquiry, IDIS 601 Interdisciplinary Seminar, and all major requirements must be completed prior to enrollment in this course. Academic Advisor approval is required for registration to be processed. NOTE: Students who were admitted to the college before Fall 2019 and have remained active in their original catalog year are not required to take IDIS 601.

This course provides the foundations for master’s level nursing practice to advance nursing practice. The student is required to integrate theory, evidence, clinical judgment and research to improve population health outcomes. Evidence-based practice is applied to the role of the master’s level nurse and will examine the ethical implications of research and translational scholarship. The student must be able to articulate how evidence is the basis for practice decisions and include the credibility and relevance of the sources. Practice guidelines will be discussed and their impact on health outcomes.

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1. Integrate theory, evidence, clinical judgment, research, and interprofessional perspectives to improve practice and associated health outcomes for patient aggregates.
2. Examine the ethical implications of research and translational scholarship as well as the role of the RN to advocate and protect the patient as a research participant.
3. Articulate to diverse audiences the how evidence is the basis for practice decisions, including the credibility of sources of information, the relevance to the practice problem confronted as well as the financial and social implications.
4. Develop a collaborative approach to improve care outcomes and support policy changes through the generation and dissemination of knowledge and the planning and evaluation of outcomes.
5. Apply practice guidelines to improve health outcomes.

This course discusses the value of interprofessional teams to develop and evaluate preventative interventions to improve population health. The role of the nurse within these teams are viewed in terms of advocacy, value and leadership. The course requires the student to utilize effective communication techniques to engage and lead these teams. The student will utilize data sources and evidence-based practice to develop culturally relevant and linguistically appropriate health education strategies.

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1. Evaluate the unique roles and contributions of the interprofessional health care team.
2. Use effective communication techniques to develop, engage and lead interprofessional teams
3. Advocate for the role of the professional nurse and the value added to interprofessional teams.
4. Synthesize broad determinants of health to design and deliver evidence based, culturally relevant clinical prevention intervention and strategies.
5. Evaluate effectiveness of preventative interventions and their impact on outcomes that utilize health information and data sources.
6. Advance prevention services and promote effective population-based health policy through the application of nursing science.
7. Integrate clinical prevention strategies and population health concepts to develop culturally relevant and linguistically appropriate communication strategies and health education.

This course builds upon the nurses’ prior knowledge of health assessment to focus on the advanced application of this knowledge in clinical and didactic settings. The course will include comprehensive and focused data collection culminating in a differential diagnosis. An overview of appropriate protocols for performing health screening and interpreting diagnostic data is acritical focus. The advanced practice nurse educator must demonstrate these advanced skills.

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1. Integrate multicultural and diverse needs of the client with the advanced health assessment;
2. Utilize appropriate assessment strategies in the planning, implementation, and teaching of physical assessment for nurses;
3. Utilize the skills of advanced nursing assessment and an understanding of the nurse educator role to model evidence-based care of the client;
4. Integrate findings from an advanced health assessment to formulate clinical recommendations;
5. Demonstrate ability to prioritize and implement advanced health assessment skills.

This course builds upon the nurse's prior knowledge of pathophysiology and pharmacology to focus on advanced application of this knowledge in clinical settings. The course will address physiological and biological manifestations to include adaptive and maladaptive changes that occur in diseases. Advanced concepts in pharmacology are presented to provide the nurse a foundation for managing population health and within the role of a nurse educator.

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1. Master and apply advanced concepts in pathophysiology including genetics, the influence of neurobiology on daily functioning and mental health, inflammation and its role in disease, and functioning of major body systems;
2. Critically evaluate current topics related to safe medication administration, ethics, leadership, informatics, and evidence-based practice specific to pharmacologic treatments;
3. Integrate advanced concepts of pharmacotherapeutics, pharmacokinetics, and pharmacogenetics/genomics in wellness promotion and illness prevention and treatment;
4. Differentiate factors such as age, developmental level, psychosocial, cultural, environmental, and genetic considerations into the assessment of an individual's physiologic response;
5. Evaluate technology as a resource in facilitating improvement in assessment and management of patient.

This course explores the process of teaching and learning in nursing education. The role of the nurse educator is examined along with relevant theories of adult learning and the process of curricular development in nursing. The role of the advanced practice nurse educator is emphasized specific to the competencies associated with teaching, scholarship, and service.

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1. Interpret and apply adult-learning theories;
2. Develop strategies to incorporate teaching, scholarship, and service domains within diverse educational settings;
3. Integrate ethics and professionalism into the role of the nurse educator to foster a climate to foster cognitive, psychomotor, and affective learning for diverse students;
4. Develop strategies for curriculum development to align with institutional mission, current trends, and nursing practice within diverse healthcare environments;
5. Evaluate current trends in health care and their impact on nursing education with a focus on advocacy for improvement;
6. Describe the NLN Core Competencies for Nurse Educators in the context of your preferred role as a nurse educator.

Teaching strategies based on theory and evidence are the foundation of nursing education. Students are expected to consider the unique teaching environments in nursing specific to the diverse needs of the students in the development of curriculum and provision of quality education. Utilization of current technologies to enhance the teaching learning process is required.

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1. Employ interprofessional strategies in the design, build, and evaluation of curriculum in nursing education including internal and external communities of interest;
2. Evaluate curricular design and develop implementation strategy to achieve learning outcomes;
3. Demonstrates the integration of a variety of teaching strategies that are grounded in educational theory and evidence-based teaching practices;
4. Skillfully apply appropriate information technologies and teaching methods within the diverse settings of nursing education;
5. Creates opportunities for diverse learners to develop critical thinking skills within the classroom and clinical settings;
6. Critically evaluate technology utilized in nursing education;
7. Employ teaching strategies that integrate interprofessional communication and roles in health care;
8. Demonstrate the ability to provide individualized feedback within diverse settings and situations of nursing education.

The student will engage in the process of assessment and evaluation in nursing education, and explore the role of the nurse educator in program evaluation. Students will be asked to critically evaluate current trends in nursing education including competence assessment and evaluation methods.

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1. Discuss student-learning evaluation methods in various settings of nursing education including didactic and clinical;
2. Demonstrate formative and summative evaluation strategies and examine each for value and validity in nursing education;
3. Analyze effectiveness of assessment and evaluation strategies in the cognitive, psychomotor, and affective domains;
4. Demonstrates ability to formulate and utilize data to enhance program quality.

This integrative clinical capstone is the final course in the Master of Science in Nursing Health Care Leadership program. All other required coursework must have been completed prior to receiving approval to register for this course. Students in this course will have the opportunity to apply the principles learned in the entire program of study and will demonstrate competence by integrating and applying those skills to a real-world scenario. The course culminates in a project focused on enhancing nursing practice by improving population health outcomes. Student will be required to verbally present and defend their project and achieved outcomes.

This practicum experience requires the advanced level registered nurse to actively engage in a clinical or academic education setting. The student will integrate prior learning in the program to demonstrate competencies required of an advanced practice registered nurse. Specific opportunities for application of the NLN Core Competencies for Nurse Educators is the focus of this course. Current RN licensure and clinical clearance is required for this course.

View Course Outcomes:

1. Integrate the nurses’ role in advocacy and ethical leadership into your professional practice as a nurse educator;
2. Apply theories and evidence-based knowledge as a nurse leader in the advanced practice role of a nurse educator;
3. Apply teaching and learning principles to the design, implementation, and evaluation of health education programs for individuals or groups in a variety of settings;
4. Utilize curricular practices that integrate technology and appropriate teaching and learning methodologies;
5. Integrate the process of assessment and evaluation in your professional practice as a nurse educator;
6. Model leadership skills to students that uphold moral, legal, and humanistic principles related to providing health care to diverse populations.