RN to BSN Online Degree Program

Duration: 7 weeks Credit Hours: 3

Introduces students to the concepts and principles of community-based nursing, wherein the nurse promotes the optimum wellness of individuals, families, and communities to live and work in healthy environments. Provides an evidence and practice-based perspective to examine current and emerging issues in population health. The preferences, values, needs and culture of the community-as-client are considered to ensure safe, competent, and effective care. Offered Spring. Pre-requisites: NUR 302, NUR 330.

By the end of this course, students will be able to:

• Discuss the philosophy, health-related goals, needed resources, and roles of population health nursing within the health care system.
• Examine population health nursing as a specialty, as well as within the current public health system in their state and compare with national and international trends.
• Identify how the population health nurse ensures the delivery of public health care that is competent, resourceful, collaborative, ethical, and culturally relevant for all populations across the lifespan.
• Describe how the health of individuals, families and communities are influenced by multiple determinants, for example, sociopolitical and environmental factors.
• Give examples to distinguish between community health promotion, health protection, primary, secondary, and tertiary levels of disease prevention as well as health education.
• Utilize skills of communication, critical thinking, collaboration, and negotiation with peers, the public, and community leaders to establish and achieve mutual goals to improve community health outcomes.
• Use the nursing process as well as principles, theories, and research from nursing, the liberal arts, and the sciences to enhance community health knowledge and practice, for example, application of epidemiological concepts.

Duration: 7 weeks Credit Hours: 4

Prepares students with the knowledge, attitude, and skill needed to complete a detailed health history interview and comprehensive health assessment. With a focus on wellness, individual adult health status will be assessed, including physical, emotional, cultural, spiritual factors, from which appropriate nursing diagnoses may be derived. Only offered Summer. Co-requisite: NUR 309L.

Duration: 7 weeks Credit Hours: 3

Promotes the development of professional knowledge, attitudes, and skills as foundational to professional nursing. Students will be introduced to selected concepts, themes, and theories that deepen an understanding of the historical, legal, ethical, and contemporary context of nursing practice. Offered Fall and Summer term.

By the end of this course, students will be able to:

• Apply critical thinking skills in using theory and the tools of evidence-based practice to meet evolving health care needs of diverse populations within distinct settings.
• Apply skills in written and verbal communication and interpersonal relations to enhance effectiveness as member of collaborative health care team.
• Develop skill performing literature searches and use of resources to enhance knowledge and competence to utilize evidence-based practice to promote health, reduce health risks, and prevent disease.
• Examine personal teaching techniques and enhance teaching and interviewing skills using evidence-based practice.
• Discuss the attitudes, knowledge and skills required of the professional nurse to become instrumental as a health care provider in the global environment, including professional values, core competencies, and core knowledge and role development.
• Examine aspects important to patient safety such as the role of human error, effective communication skills, and system issues.
• Examine health literacy and numeracy. Develop awareness of issues and ideas for improvement.

Duration: 7 weeks

The purpose of this course is to introduce students to health promotion and health promotion strategies that can be utilized to improve or enhance health for individuals and families in a variety of settings. The use of evidence-based practice and prominent nursing theories will be explored to aid in the development of practical and relevant interventions for persons from different socioeconomic, cultural, and social backgrounds. Broad course content will include how biological, psychological, sociocultural, spiritual, and environmental domains influence physical activity, nutrition, and stress management across the lifespan.

Duration: 7 weeks Credit Hours: 3

Addresses the impact that social, political, cultural, spiritual, gender, age, and lifestyle factors have upon the health of individuals and communities. Provides students with evidence-based learning related to the complementary therapies and approaches used by the public and available to nurses that can be used in culturally-appropriate ways to treat illness, prevent disease, and promote well-being. Identifies personally held beliefs and values and responds to the diversity and uniqueness of individuals and populations to provide culturally sensitive, safe, and effective care.

By the end of this course, students will be able to:

• Articulate one’s own beliefs and values about professional nursing practice in relation to health, illness, healing, the diversity of people, and the diversity of healing and treatment modalities.
• Reflect upon one’s own knowledge, attitudes, and skills to gain self-knowledge and use this information to guide thinking and actions.
• Apply knowledge of human diversity and cultural norms to peer relationships within the workplace to promote collegiality, reduce conflict, and improve patient care outcomes.
• Advocate for patients by identifying nursing strategies that offset the health disparities experienced by marginalized groups and underserved populations.
• Examine the philosophic underpinnings of nursing as a holistic practice integrating the healing arts and allopathic evidence-based science.
• Develop knowledge, values, and skills needed to provide holistic nursing care with sensitivity and respect for the diversity and complexity of patients, including factors related to socioeconomic well-being, growth and development, race, religion, as well as cultural, ethnic, and spiritual values and practices.

Duration: 7 weeks Credit Hours: 3

This course provides students with an overview of contemporary health policy in the United States. Health disparities and the evolving healthcare system have a profound impact on the nursing profession. Nursing students develop a greater understanding of the social, political, cultural, and financial variables affecting health care outcomes, including nursing practice. Students learn to analyze healthcare policy using a framework. The effect of current health care policy on vulnerable populations is examined. Students participate in healthcare policy discussions as patient advocates and consumers of healthcare. Current issues and trends affecting the nursing profession are examined. Offered Fall, Spring, and Summer. Pre-requisites: NUR 200, NUR 230.

By the end of this course, students will be able to:

• Identify the defining characteristics of the United States healthcare system.
• Discuss the ethical values and ideals influencing health care policy.
• Discuss the variables and dynamics that influence efforts to improve the healthcare system.
• Explore ways to improve patient care outcomes through political advocacy, particularly among vulnerable populations.
• Examine the impact of policy and politics on members of a vulnerable population.
• Explain how patient insurance coverage may influence treatment decisions and relate this to nursing ethics.
• Evaluate the strategies and resources available to address cost, access, and quality issues in healthcare.
• Engage in a comparative analysis of health systems among industrialized nations and discuss global health issues.
• Discuss the impact policy and politics have on health care professionals in their workplace, such as regulatory guidelines and employment standards and practice.
• Discuss various health service systems in the United States and their implications for health care delivery and practice.

Duration: 7 weeks Credit Hours: 3

Introduces students to the conduct of research; research sources, utilization, and dissemination; as well as concepts and principles of evidence-based practice (EBP) as a way to improve nursing practice and healthcare outcomes. Focus of the course is on developing clinical EBP questions; conducting a literature review; and to appraise and apply current, reliable research findings and clinical practice. Standards for the conduct of ethical research in qualitative and quantitative research designs are also reviewed. Offered Fall, Spring, and Summer.

Duration: 7 weeks Credit Hours: 3

Prepares students to assume leadership, decision-making roles, and political awareness within an increasingly complex and changing health care system. Principles of leadership and management are examined in context of their application within current and prospective global health care environments. Role development and values clarification are emphasized. Offered Fall, Spring and Summer.

Duration: 7 weeks Credit Hours: 3

The focus of the course includes examining ethical and legal issues in the context of nursing and healthcare practice. Students explore the principles of ethical reasoning and decision-making to resolve of ethical dilemmas present in healthcare. Students analyze the ethical obligations, policies, and laws that guide healthcare delivery. Students examine current ethical issues. Offered Summer and Fall.

Duration: 7 weeks Credit Hours: 3

This practicum provides students with the opportunity to demonstrate leadership and management abilities by assessing, planning, conducting, and evaluating a community-based nursing intervention. This course assists the RN to BSN student to transition to baccalaureate level proficiency in to include competency development in systems-based organizations, evidence-based practice, interprofessional collaboration and communication, and clinical prevention and population health. The community as client is emphasized. Students will integrate prior learning and experiences. The student will conduct original work. This course also includes a portfolio requirement. The portfolio should be a reflection of the nursing student’s accumulated works supporting the achievement of the ten program outcomes for baccalaureate-prepared nurses graduating from UMFK. Please see the Portfolio Guidelines link at the end of this syllabus. Offered Fall and Spring. Pre-requisite: NUR 301R.

By the end of this course, students will be able to:

• Demonstrate effective, collegial communication and shared decision making while functioning competently within own scope of practice as a member of the healthcare team to enhance knowledge, experience, and healthcare outcomes.
• Examine the impact of culture, gender, values, beliefs, and age on client preferences and health behaviors in the development of health-related goals of a select aggregate, community, or population.
• Analyze the legal, political, regulatory, and socioeconomic factors that influence nursing practice and the delivery of patient care.
• Use and evaluate information from established health information technology systems and population data sources to support decision-making and patient education for improved healthcare.
• Apply the nursing process framework, current research evidence, and clinical practice experience in the development of an integrative nursing practice project that addresses a nursing or healthcare issue of interest for quality improvement.
• Engage in clinical experiences that integrate new baccalaureate practice-related knowledge and skills that are responsive to ethical, professional, and legal healthcare obligations and demonstrate attainment of program outcomes.

Duration: 7 weeks Credit Hours: 3

Provides students with knowledge about general principles of drug actions along with nursing responsibilities and accountability in the administration of medication over the lifespan. Using the nursing process, numerous pharmacologic classifications will be discussed, including mechanisms of drug actions, key adverse effects, and drug interactions. Genetic and genomic considerations will be examined. Students will develop skills needed for safe practice, including calculating dosages and administering various medications.

Duration: 7 weeks Credit Hours: 3

Examines normal and abnormal human physiologic and pathological processes encountered in clinical practice. Emphasis is placed on the integration of knowledge of pathology, genetic, pharmacologic, and biochemical concepts and disease symptomatology into the delivery of nursing care. Prerequisites: BIO 401 or Valid RN license or (for international students) approval to practice nursing in your jurisdiction or instructor permission.

Duration: 7 weeks Credit Hours: 4

Provides an opportunity for students to develop personally and professionally as global citizens by applying their knowledge and skills to examine and address social, economic, political, and environmental factors that influence global health and healthcare challenges through a framework of humanitarianism and service. Introduces students to health disparities that exist in the world and developing countries around the world and fosters student critical thinking and discussion about healthcare and humanitarianism efforts within a global environment. This practicum course satisfies the university’s general education requirements for global awareness and learning for citizenship and for nursing students in lieu of NUR 380: Transcultural Nursing. This course is closely tied to the International Medical Relief or related international service programs. Offered Summer.