Nursing

This course introduces the concepts of pharmacology in using medications to promote, maintain, and restore health. Drug classifications are emphasized within the context of the nursing process. The student learns common medication actions, interactions, adverse effects and nursing interventions. Emphasis is placed on professional nursing responsibilities for meeting client needs and maintaining a safe and effective environment that includes legal, ethical, and educational implications. Factors influencing the administration, use, and effectiveness of medications, such as nutritional status, culture, growth and development and psychosocial health are explored.

This course introduces the concepts and techniques of interviewing, history taking, review of systems, and physical assessment. The course provides the student with fundamental knowledge of pathophysiological stressors commonly encountered by adults. Laboratory experiences enable the beginning student to apply assessment skills, communication skills, cultural awareness, nursing process, critical thinking skills, teaching skills, and psychomotor skills consistent with the care provider role in acute care and community-based settings.

This course provides the student with foundational knowledge and skills essential to the practice of nursing. Concepts related to nursing as a profession, standards of care, professional ethics, nursing roles, communication, cultural awareness, holistic care, nursing process, critical thinking, teaching-learning process, collaboration, and community are presented. Developmental concepts are discussed with a focus on the elderly and the normal process of aging. Students perform basic psychomotor skills and apply physics concepts in a laboratory setting.

This course focuses on the role of the nurse in promoting, maintaining, and restoring health for adults with commonly occurring health problems. Students use the nursing process to formulate care plan/maps for individuals experiencing surgery, and immunological, elimination and integumentary problems. Clinical learning experiences in acute and community-based settings enable the student to develop assessment skills, communication skills, cultural awareness, nursing process, critical thinking skills, teaching skills, psychomotor skills, and collaborative skills.

This course explores the concepts and skills necessary for the nursing care of childbearing families and neonates. The childbirth process from conception to postpartum is discussed. The course focuses on the role of the nurse in promoting, maintaining, and restoring health for the childbearing family and neonates including both normal and high- risk pregnancy. The course also includes topics related to women’s health such as fertility and infertility, complications of menopause, sexually transmitted diseases, and female reproductive cancers. Clinical experiences provide the opportunity to develop assessment skills, communication skills, cultural awareness, nursing process, critical thinking skills, teaching skills, psychomotor skills, and collaborative skills.

This course focuses on the physiological, developmental, psychosocial, cultural, and spiritual health care of the child within the family unit. Students use the nursing process, family theories, legal-ethical principles, and community resources to promote, maintain, and restore optimum functioning of the family unit. Emphasis is placed on age-related health risks and common childhood health problems. Clinical experiences provide the student with opportunities to develop assessment skills, communication skills, cultural awareness, nursing process, critical thinking skills, teaching skills, psychomotor skills, and collaborative skills in acute and community-based settings.

This course offers an experiential approach to identifying the role of the professional nurse in the health care system. The course also examines in critical manner accountability in nursing practice, professional values, legal-ethical issues, health care delivery systems, health care policy, change process, conflict resolution, interdisciplinary collaboration, risk management, quality improvement, and informational technology.

This course introduces Community Health Nursing, focusing on historical development, philosophy, health care systems, epidemiology, and specific target groups. Primary, secondary and tertiary prevention activities are emphasized as they relate to individuals, families, groups and aggregates. Focuses on transcultural and anthropological nursing concepts as well as rural and home health care delivery. Diverse roles of the community health nurse are explored.

This course focuses on concepts basic to psychiatric-mental health nursing including neurobiology, therapeutic communication, cultural diversity, spirituality, family dynamics, loss and grieving, stress and coping, crisis intervention, violence, abuse, psychiatric disorders, and community resources. Mental health issues across the life span are explored. The course introduces specialized assessment and communication skills necessary for the care of the individual experiencing situational and maturational stressors as well as mental illness. Clinical experiences provide the student with the opportunity to develop assessment skills, communication skills, cultural awareness, nursing process, critical thinking skills, teaching skills, and collaborative skills in acute in-patient, chemical dependency, outpatient, and adolescent units.

This course focuses on the role of the nurse in promoting, maintaining, and restoring health for adults experiencing endocrine, gastrointestinal, neurological, musculoskeletal, genitourinary, and life-threatening problems. Emphasis is placed on the decision-making process required for complex clinical situations. The course fosters the integration of concepts and skills presented in previous courses. Clinical learning experiences allow the student to apply leadership and management principles to the care of individuals, families, and groups.

This course focuses on role transition from student nurse to practicing nurse. Emphasis is placed on the analysis of historical and contemporary issues in nursing and their effect on nursing practice. The course explores how economic, sociocultural, and political forces influence nursing practice and the role of the nurse as patient advocate. Professional development and the use of research to guide nursing practice are discussed as key components of the role of the associate degree nurse.