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Master of Science in Nursing Course Offerings

NUR 506 Critical Thinking for Patient Safety and Quality 3 credits

This course explores the relationship of critical thinking, clinical reasoning and decision making to patient safety and quality with emphasis on the role of the nurse in patient-centered care. This course will review theoretical nursing models and examine the role that nursing theory has in guiding clinical practice. A variety of quality standards and benchmarks will be explored including Institute of Medicine (IOM), Robert Wood Johnston Foundation, Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ), Joint Commission on the Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations (JCAHO) Goals for Patient Safety and National Healthcare Quality, and others. An overview of quality improvement models and the tools necessary for participation in healthcare quality initiatives will be provided. Strategies for creating a culture of quality and safety will be examined, including but not limited to the Just Culture Community approach. The nature and analysis of sentinel events incorporating risk management and the process of continuous quality improvement within healthcare and educational institutions are explored utilizing an evidence based approach.

NUR 518 Organizational and Systems Leadership 3 credits

This MSN Core course provides the student with a practice-oriented foundation in healthcare organization and systems leadership essential for today’s nurse leader. Emphasis is placed on promotion of high quality and safe patient care as the construct for application of principles and strategies effective in promoting and sustaining excellence in patient care. Areas of content include healthcare care policy; organizational operations and financing; leadership; system and change theories; complexity science; organizational and interpersonal communication; conflict resolution; building and sustaining teams; decision making and problem solving; and information technology as a leadership tool. Learning strategies incorporate application to real world nursing leadership scenarios.

NUR 519 Innovative Teaching Strategies in Nursing 3 credits

This course will explore the design, delivery, effectiveness and management of learner-centered educational activities in the classroom and healthcare settings. Simulation, didactic, self-directed learning activities, virtual reality, game-based education, distance learning, debate, case methods, coaching/preceptor model, and multimedia in the classroom will be examined, applied and analyzed.

NUR 527 Advanced Health Promotion 3 credits

More than half the population in the United States lives with a chronic illness. The vast majority of this country’s medical care costs are associated with the treatment of individuals with chronic illness. The purpose of this course, for nurse educators and nurse administrators, is to enhance the knowledge and skills regarding best practices in the provision of healthcare services to patients and families experiencing a chronic illness, and to incorporate the use of technology to achieve the learning objectives. Three overall perspectives will be presented during this course: (1) evidence-based treatment for physical and psychological disorders across the lifespan that present most frequently as chronic illnesses; (2) the psychosocial impact of those chronic illnesses on patients and families; and (3) healthcare system strategies that impact the quality and outcomes of care.

NUR 528 Curriculum and Instruction 3 credits

This course is designed to provide MSN students with an operational foundation for teaching in nursing education, staff development or patient education. Focused coursework includes content and learning activities specific to curriculum design, forces and issues impacting decisions on curriculum content and instructional strategies, evidence-driven instructional methods appropriate for achieving learning outcomes, and curricular and evaluation processes. The student will acquire the skills and competencies needed for development, implementation, and evaluation of nursing education curricula and instruction. Active learning processes and methods supportive of adult learning principles are threaded through course content and learning activities.

NUR 529 Evaluation Methods 3 credits

This course is designed to provide an in-depth exposure to the many facets of evaluation. There will be particular emphasis on concepts related to collecting, analyzing, interpreting, and communicating information regarding evaluation outcomes. This course will focus on norm referenced and criterion referenced evaluation methods for classroom and clinical nursing education. Students will explore measurement tools for evaluation of cognitive, affective, and psychomotor domains. Ethical and legal implications of evaluation will also be examined.

NUR 555 Budgeting and Finance in Healthcare 3 credits

This course is an introduction to budgeting and finance as it relates to unit or division management in the healthcare setting. The course examines providing value-based services in a complex healthcare environment, workforce management, economic and budgeting principles and strategies. Concepts of cost and revenue and their application to reimbursement models are explored.

NUR 556 Applied Clinical Management 3 credits

Building on the foundation of undergraduate coursework, this graduate level course provides the MSN student with essential integrated content in pathophysiology, pharmacology, and health/ physical assessment in preparation for providing direct patient care services at an advanced level. Using evolving case scenarios, students will explore the inter-relationships of pathophysiological changes to health and physical assessment findings and diagnostic study results in human illness across the lifespan. Implementation of pharmacologic agents as a therapeutic intervention is discussed including indications, pharmacodynamics, dosing, side effects, patient safety issues, and expected outcomes. Clinical reasoning is emphasized within the construct of health assessment, planning priority-based patient care, and evaluating health outcomes.

NUR 557 Leadership and Management in Nursing Administration 3 credits

Nurse Administrators provide leadership and management for complex health care systems. It is imperative for nurse administrators to be fluent in theory and research related to: strategic planning, organizational structure and function, ethics, leading change and innovation, communication and consensus building, health policy and regulation, health care
legality and risk management, management principles, quality management, budgeting, managing human resources, health care information systems, patient satisfaction indicators, and performance appraisal. Nursing Administrators must possess strong leadership and management competencies in order for best practice outcomes to take place. The purpose of this course is to provide the nurse administrator an opportunity to explore today’s nursing leadership and management issues in order to implement evidence-based solutions and create best practice environments for nursing in the future.

NUR 565 Nursing Education Practicum 3 credits

This course is designed to provide an opportunity for nursing education students to experience the role of nurse educator in selected healthcare delivery and/or educational environments. This experience focuses specifically on synthesis, application, and evaluation of concepts of education, adult learning principles, and technology as the related to education, leadership, and management skill sets required of nurse educators; and ethics and liability issues related to education in a variety of environments. The student is paired with a preceptor having knowledge and expertise in nursing education concepts. Twelve (12) class hours and fifty (50) practicum hours are required for completion of the course. Students should have completed nursing education theory courses prior to enrolling in the practicum experience.

NUR 566 Nursing Administration Practicum 3 credits

This course is designed to provide an opportunity for students choosing the nursing administration concentration to apply leadership/management concepts in a selected healthcare delivery environment. Students will work with a preceptor who will assist the student to experience the role of a nurse administrator in a selected healthcare delivery environment. Specifically, the course emphasizes opportunities to analyze, assess, implement, and evaluate concepts of organizational culture; leadership/management skill sets and competencies needed to effect change in organizations; assessment, implementation, and evaluation of organizational outcomes; strategic planning and goal setting in organizations; allocation of human and financial resources; computer technology in healthcare systems; and communication, ethics, and legal issues in nursing administration. There are twelve (12) classroom hours and fifty (50) practicum hours required in this course. Students should have completed the theory courses in the nursing administration concentration prior to enrolling in the practicum experience.

NUR 568 Advanced Critical Care Concepts 3 credits

This course provides the graduate student in nursing education or nursing administration with advanced knowledge, advanced nursing care skills, critical thinking skills, and mentoring skills necessary for the roles of nurse educator and staff /student resource in the critical care unit. A body system approach is used to review the disease processes commonly seen in patients admitted to the critical care units of today’s hospitals. The anatomy and normal physiology of each body system will be reviewed, and specific diseases that affect each body system will be examined in relation to the latest evidence for best practice approaches to nursing care of the critically ill patient. In addition, concepts related to the role of nurse educator will be examined. The goal of this course is to prepare nurse leaders who are competent to mentor the development of students and staff in critical care units, based on comprehensive application of adult learning principles and effective teaching techniques.

NUR 585 Statistical Methods in Healthcare 3 credits

This course will provide students with opportunities to apply statistical methods in the analysis of healthcare data. An examination of probability, inference testing, sequential decision making, simple and multiple regression, correlation analyses, and meta-analysis will be conducted. Problem solving takes place using case studies and computer-assisted instruction. This course meets the program’s statistics requirement and may be taken if the student has not previously taken a statistics course.

NUR 588 Quality of Life at End of Life 3 credits

This course introduces students to a model of nursing care that specifically addresses the unique needs of patients facing end of life. Particular focus is given to a palliative care approach which will demonstrate ways to make a positive impact in the lives of these patients and families. Students will have an opportunity to expand their knowledge of palliative care principles to apply to patients in a variety of healthcare settings.

NUR 589 Evidence-Based Nursing Practice 3 credits

This course focuses on the value of scientific evidence and nursing research in providing high quality health care and improving nursing practice. Units of content focus on the need for evidence-based practice, conducting and writing literature reviews, the research process, the application of appropriate statistical methods, ethical issues, communication of research findings, critical analysis of nursing and related healthcare research, and use of organizational leadership techniques to promote evidence-based practice. The goal of this course is to prepare nurse educators and nurse administrators who are proficient at research utilization, including evaluation of published research, identification of problems within the educational or clinical setting that require further study, and dissemination and application of research to change practice and improve outcomes. Prerequisite: Completion of undergraduate or graduate course in statistics.

NUR 599 Capstone Practicum 3 credits

This Capstone Project is a 75-hour precepted experience in a health system, agency or organization in which the MSN student completes a scholarly project within the student’s MSN concentration of Administration, Education, or Informatics. In this fi nal MSN course and synthesis experience, the student integrates and applies knowledge from prior MSN coursework in the research, development, implementation and evaluation of the capstone project. The capstone preceptor functions as a facilitator for the MSN student in completion of the project while the Coordinator of MSN Program functions as the course facilitator and administratively oversees the capstone project requirements. The MSN Essentials provides the framework for student completion and evaluation of this capstone project as reflected in a required e-portfolio of the project materials and development of a scholarly synthesis paper.

NURNIP 505 System Development Life Cycle 3 credits

This course examines the processes, skills, and tools associated with information system planning, analysis, design, functional training, staff education and system implementation. System evaluation, maintenance and user support is also addressed. The human-technology interface is discussed including issues associated with ergonomics and the software/user interface.

NURNIP 507 Clinical Information Systems and Decision Support 3 credits

This course provides content on information management systems and associated technologies and their application to generating knowledge and supporting decision-making in the healthcare environment. Types of information/data systems and associated regulatory requirements are identified and include discussion of issues related to data quality, integrity and validity. Data transformation and analysis processes are reviewed incorporating content on data warehousing and data mining. Application of knowledge generated from data analysis to benchmarking outcomes and providing support for decision making is emphasized. A 15-hour supervised practicum provides for application on content related information in a healthcare environment.

NURNIP 508 Informatics Nurse Specialist Role Implementation 3 credits

This course provides a practice framework for the Informatics Nurse Specialist which includes foundational content on the meta-structures and scientific underpinnings of Nursing Informatics. In addition, content related to professional practice, trends, issues, and ethics that guide the INS’s current and future practice are examined. The ANA Scope and Standards of Nursing Informatics Practice are emphasized throughout this course. A 15-hour supervised practicum provides for application of content related information in a healthcare environment.

NURNIP 565 Nursing Informatics Practicum 3 credits

This course is designed to provide an opportunity for students in the nursing informatics concentration to apply knowledge and skills acquired in nursing informatics courses in the strategic planning for and development of a proposed or actual healthcare information technology project (HIT) project. Students will select a HIT preceptor within a healthcare organization who will function as a facilitator to guide the student through the processes if HIT project management including identifying a HIT project, researching the project information and developing the project plan. The actual or proposed implementation structure and process of the project and evaluation of the project outcomes will be completed in the NUR 599 capstone course. The course consists of weekly online seminar discussions with 50 hours of practicum within a healthcare organization and completion of a formal written project plan.