Course Descriptions

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. (Course fee required.) ​ 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. (Course fee required.) ​ 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. (Course fee required.) NURS 3279. Applied Pathophysiology (3-0-3) Prerequisites: NURS 3175, NURS 3176, NURS 3275, and NURS 3276; Co-requisite: NURS 3277. This course provides an overview of the pathophysiology of selected conditions focusing on the etiology, pathogenesis, physiological changes, and clinical manifestations of common health problems.  Emphasis is upon both the physiological changes that contribute to disease production, physiological changes that occur as a result of disease, and the body's compensation for these changes, as well as the application of this knowledge to the assessment of patients with commonly occurring disease and injury processes. NURS 4175. Nursing Research (3-0-3) Prerequisites: STAT 1127 with a grade of C or better and admission to upper division nursing. Focuses on evidence based practice and the research process to enable students to become informed consumers of research and capable of applying research findings in their practice. The course includes research design, critique of selected nursing studies, identification of research questions, finding and critically analyzing best evidence, and development of 'best practice' guidelines. 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 professional nurse role within selected health care systems. Focuses on contemporary trends that influence health care delivery and nursing practice. 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. (Course fee required.) NURS 4280. Community & Family Nursing (7-12-11) Prerequisite: NURS 3277 and NURS 3279 with a grade of C or better in each. Utilization of the nursing process with families in childbearing and child rearing phase of family development, families at risk, aggregates and communities to promote wellness, prevent illness, and maintain health. Health problems of the reproductive and lactation systems are also included. Selected mental health concepts are integrated throughout. Course content includes the concepts of epidemiology, levels of prevention, ecology and theoretical frameworks applicable to working in community settings. Clinical experiences are provided in a variety of settings. (Course fee required.) NURS 4377. Senior Preceptorship (0-9-3) A capstone learning experience in which senior nursing students synthesize and apply theories, concepts, knowledge, skills and abilities from the sciences, humanities, and nursing to nursing practice.  The course includes precepting, activities to review for NCLEX-RN licensing exam (at student's expense), and the Nursing Exit Exam. (Course fee required.)