NURS - Nursing
NURS 3175. Pharmacology in Nursing (4-0-4) Prerequisite: Admission to upper division nursing. This course provides an introduction to major drug classifications, principles of drug mechanism, distribution and absorption of drugs, actions, toxicity, and regulation of drugs. Knowledge gained in this course serves as a foundation to build upon in the clinical nursing courses where students calculate, administer, and assess the client's response to medications.
NURS 3176. Basic and Therapeutic Nutrition (2-0-2) Prerequisite: Admission to upper division nursing. Basic science of human nutrition and its role in health promotion and maintenance across the life cycle. Includes dietary management of common health problems.
NURS 3275. Foundations of Nursing Practice (6-8-8) Co-requisites: NURS 3276, NURS 3175, NURS 3176. This course provides experiences to foster the development of basic cognitive and psychomotor skills to serve as the foundation for nursing practice for patients of all ages. The focus is on basic nursing knowledge and skill related to hygiene care, asepsis and infection control, vital signs, mobility, elimination, enteral feeding nutrition, documentation, safety, wound care, peri-operative care, immunity alterations, rest and sleep, pain management, care of the elderly, vision and hearing impairment, loss and grief, and fluid, electrolyte imbalances. Principles of therapeutic communication, group dynamics, growth and development, teaching and learning, stress and adaptation, nursing theory, legal and ethical standards of care, critical thinking, and the nursing process are introduced. Clinical experiences include the ROPES course, patient care in long term care facilities, and patient care acute in-patient hospital units.
NURS 3276. Introduction to Health Assessment and Wellness (2-3-3) Prerequisite: Admission to upper division nursing courses. This course provides experiences to foster development of the basic knowledge and psychomotor skills necessary for assessing the health of clients throughout the life span, including eliciting a health history, conducting a basic physical examination, and integrating basic techniques of health assessment into patient care in varied settings. The focus of the course is on basic interviewing and physical assessment techniques, recognition of normal findings, and differentiating normal from the most common abnormal findings.
NURS 3277. Advanced Nursing Practice (8-12-12) Prerequisites: NURS 3175, NURS 3275, and NURS 3276; Co-requisite: NURS 3176. This course provides experiences to foster the development of cognitive and psychomotor skills necessary for the nursing care of patients of all ages with routine needs in medical, surgical, and mental health settings. The focus is on care of patients experiencing common endocrine, respiratory, cardiovascular, neurological, renal, gastrointestinal, musculoskeletal, blood, neoplastic, acid-base and psychological alterations. Principles of therapeutic communication, group dynamics, growth and development, teaching and learning, stress and adaptation, legal and ethical standards of care, critical thinking, and nursing process are integrated throughout the course. Clinical experiences include in-patient hospital units and a variety of out patient and community settings serving patients with physical and mental health problems.
NURS 3278. Conceptual Bases of Professional Nursing Practice (3-0-3) Prerequisite: Admission to upper division nursing; Co-requisite: NURS 3279 Designed for registered nurses seeking a B.S.N. degree. Synthesis of concepts, principles, theories and roles undergirding professional nursing practice including health promotion, prevention and wellness. Group dynamics/collaboration, written communications and principles of community health nursing practice are emphasized. Upon successful completion of the course, RN students are eligible to receive credit for NURS 3175, NURS 3176, NURS 3277, and NURS 4275.
NURS 3279. Applied Pathophysiology (3-0-3) Prerequisites: NURS 3175, NURS 3176, NURS 3275, and NURS 3276; Co-requisite: NURS 3277. Focus is on selected pathophysiological conditions relating to etiology, pathogenesis, and clinical manifestations of potentially life threatening disease processes. Attention given to the nursing process of adults and children with selected pathophysiological conditions.
NURS 3555. Topics in Professional Nursing (3-0-3) Prerequisite: Admission to RN-BSN tract. This course is designed to enhance students' sense of professionalism and pride in the profession. A variety of topics will be included, such as historical perspectives, empowerment in nursing, critical thinking in decision making, case management, expanded nursing roles, ethical and legal issues and others generated by student interest.
NURS 4000. BSN Exit Exam (0-0-0) Prerequisite: Department Approval. The exit exam is required for graduation from the BSN nursing program. It is to be taken during the Spring term of the senior year in the nursing program, in accordance with Department of Nursing policy.
NURS 4175. Nursing Research (2-0-2) Prerequisites: MATH 1127 and Admission to upper division nursing. Introduction to basic research methodology and process. Includes research design, critique of nursing studies, and identification of research problems. Content focuses on both quantitative and qualitative research studies and their application to nursing practices.
NURS 4177. Leadership in Nursing (4-0-4) Prerequisites: NURS 3275, NURS 3276, NURS 3175, NURS 3176, NURS 3277, and NURS 3279. Application of theories and concepts related to leadership and management in the roles of professional nurse. Focuses on contemporary trends that influence health care delivery and nursing practice.
NURS 4275. Parent-Infant Nursing (3-9-6) Prerequisites: NURS 3277 and NURS 3279. Application of the nursing process with families in the childbearing and child rearing phase of family development. Nursing intervention with well childbearing and child rearing families assists students to acquire skills to help families at high risk. Health problems of the reproductive and lactation systems are also included. Selected mental health concepts are integrated throughout. Clinical experiences are provided in a variety of settings.
NURS 4276. Family and Community Nursing (3-9-6) Prerequisite: NURS 4275. Utilization of the nursing process with families, aggregates and communities to promote wellness, prevent illness and maintain health. Course content includes the concepts of epidemiology, levels of prevention, ecology and theoretical frameworks applicable to working in community settings.
NURS 4278. Managed Care and Nursing Case Management (3-3-4) Prerequisites: NURS 4175 and NURS 4276. Focuses on managed care as an organized system for financing, delivering, and managing appropriate quality, cost effective health care services. How professional nurses demonstrate their value in the managed care system is described. The practicum experience will focus on the role of the nurse as a case manager, a project that is mutually negotiated with the health care organization, will provide the framework direction for the student's activities.
NURS 4279. Complex Care in Nursing Practice (4-9-7) Prerequisite: NURS 4176. This course provides experiences to foster development of advanced cognitive and psychomotor skills necessary for providing nursing care for adults and children experiencing complex and/or multi-system physiological and/or psychological health problems. The focus is on the management and nursing care related to acute threats to life, limb, and/or mental well-being. Clinical experiences include intensive care units, emergency departments, and acute psychiatric facilities.
NURS 4377. Senior Preceptorship (0-9-3) Prerequisite: Permission of Nursing Department. This is a senior level capstone clinical practicum taken during the last semester of the nursing program. Students work with individually assigned nurse-preceptors in clinical agencies to meet course objectives as well as individually developed learning goals. This course also includes an NCLEX-RN Review course which is required in order to pass the course and is paid for by the student.
