RN to BSN Program Options

• For a complete list of Bachelor degree requirements visit our university catalog

Nursing Major Course Description

NURS0301 Professional Nursing: Concepts & Issues in a Globalized Healthcare (3 Credits)
This course integrates the student into baccalaureate education and focuses on trends, issues, and evolution of the nursing profession. A major focus of this course is for the students to critically think about the nursing profession, its historical and theoretical frameworks, moral and legal issues, and standards of nursing practice. Additionally, the course provides the opportunity to explore the challenge of providing care to an increasingly diverse population and the influence of culture on the role of the professional nurse.

NURS0302 Advanced Health (4 Credits)
The course designed to assist RN-BSN students to refine health history taking, psychosocial assessment, physical assessment skills and clinical reasoning in the assessment of diverse patients across the life span. Content builds on basic and experimental knowledge of health assessment. Emphasis is placed on applying critical thinking and diagnostic reasoning skills in assessing and identifying the problem symptoms and abnormal findings, and the linking of findings to underlying pathophysiology. 2 hours lecture/ 2 hours lab.

NURS0303 Quality Improvement and Intra- and Inter Professional Collaboration (3 Credits)
This course focuses on quality and patient safety management in the U.S. health care system using continuous quality improvement. Topics to be examined include the history of quality, trends in health care quality and patient safety, measurement of quality, analysis of variation and quality practices in different health care environments, administrative responsibilities and structures with respect to production and service quality. Additionally, this course considers the role of intra- and inter- professional collaboration in quality.

NURS 0307 The Business of Nursing (3 Credits)
This course is a comprehensive approach to nursing care delivery systems. It provides the student with an understanding of processes in health systems and organizations and of the responsibilities involved in maintaining a well-managed health care organization. Students will examine historical evolutions of the health care industry, organizational theory, organizational performance, principles of healthcare economics, financing, third party reimbursement, and the influence of accreditation, regulatory agencies, information systems, and health care policy on the delivery of nursing care services.

NURS0305 Nursing Research (3 Credits)
Focuses on nursing research and its impact on evidence based nursing practice. Addresses research terminology, defining researchable nursing problems, identifying variables, hypothesis development and testing and sample selection as well as evaluation of findings. A major component of this course will be discussion of the nurse as the consumer of research. Additionally, the utilization of critical thinking skills will be emphasized to analyze research findings. Students also will be encouraged to explore nursing research that addresses clinical problems in their own nursing practice.

NURS0309 Community Health (5 Credits)
Identifies current nursing concepts and focuses on their application in public health and community settings with individuals, families and at-risk populations. The dynamics of health promotion and prevention as impacted by global, societal and cultural influences will be explored. A variety of community agencies will be utilized.

NURS0354 Nursing Leadership (3 Credits)
Focuses on the role of the professional nurse in a leadership/management position. The course examines how the professional nurse works collaboratively within the structure of a healthcare organization. Emphasis will be on leadership and organizational theories and their relationship to managing people, positive problem solving/decision making, conflict resolution, appropriate delegation and effective communication with all members of the health care team. The use of self-assessment to facilitate the development of leadership/management skills will be incorporated.

NURS0396 Nursing Capstone (6 Credits)
Provides an opportunity to assume a professional nursing role under the auspices of a qualified nurse preceptor. This capstone experience focuses on synthesizing advanced nursing concepts and utilizing complex decision making in an individualized clinical environment. Emphasis will be on preparing to transition to competent and confident beginning professional practice.