Department or Program: Department of Nursing

 The proposed course is designed to satisfy the requirements in (select one area only):

Writing flag courses in the University Studies program are devoted to reinforce basic writing and to provide contexts, opportunities, and feedback for discipline-specific writing. These skills include the ability to utilize and articulate, through writing, the nursing process when providing care to clients in a variety of settings. One of the objectives of clinical courses, such as N423, is to develop students’ abilities to effectively administer and evaluate care to clients. One of the skills essential to nursing practice is the ability to effectively communicate. Effective communication in nursing requires discipline-specific written and verbal forms of communication.

1. Practice the processes for creating and completing successful writing in the field. As students learn to care for client’s health needs they continue learning the professional roles of teacher, manager, change agent in addition to provider of care, advocate, and scholar. Not only are nursing students required to learn the hands-on and critical thinking skills of providing accountable, safe nursing care; they must also learn to effectively communicate through writing, individualized care plans and documentation specific to the policies and procedures of the health care agencies they are affiliated. This includes documentation of nursing care as reflected in the nursing process exercises (e.g. plans of care) assigned in the course as well as specific charting as required by the agencies within which students do their practicum experiences. Written assignments (e.g. written plans of care, agency documentation, as well as a formal academic paper) are designed so that students learn to perfect their writing and thinking skills throughout the semester.
2. Understand the main features and uses of writing in their fields. Throughout the semester students continue to apply the nursing process as they function in the roles of teacher, manager, change agent, as well as provider of care, advocate and scholar. Application of nursing process not only requires safe and efficient provision of nursing care, but also that students are able to articulate effectively and precisely all aspects of nursing process in the care of individual clients. Accurate documentation of assessments, interventions, and client responses is an essential aspect of professional nursing. Throughout the semester students have opportunities to write and develop individualized care plans for clients in community and hospital settings. Students participate in writing of care plans and documenting in formats specific to the agencies they are assigned, and through assignments that are handed in and graded throughout the semester.
3. Adapt writing to the general expectations of readers in their field. Students must learn to articulate, through writing, the language specific to health care and the discipline of nursing. Students have the opportunity to develop writing skills specific to nursing and health care throughout all assignments within this course. This includes documentation in client charts (patient records), writing individualized care plans in the client charts (either by using specific chart forms or computerized versions), as well as formal academic paper.
4. Make use of the technologies commonly used for research and writing in their fields. Nursing students have site-based experiences in a variety of health care settings. These experiences include Community agencies, hospitals, and client homes. Students are expected to learn the documentation procedures that are specific to the agencies that they are assigned. Computers have become an essential part of health care agencies today. Students are expected to learn and adapt to the use of computerized systems as they pertain to client care and documentation.
5. Learn the conventions, evidence, format, usage, and documentation in their fields. As students learn the skills of nursing process through documentation, they also learn to articulate the skills of application of theory and scientific principles that support the meaning of client assessment findings, formulation of client goals, and rationale for individualized therapeutic nursing interventions and collaborative interventions for clients in a variety of health care settings. Written assignments are intended to prepare the student for the critical thinking and documentation skills necessary for practice. Where appropriate, students learn to use the American Psychological Association as an essential guide to documenting references used in the preparation of assignments.

Placement: Fall Semester, Senior Year

Credits: 4-semester hour credits

Prerequisite: senior status or consent of instructor.

1. Catalog description: This Clinical course focuses on the development of professional nursing roles in restoring, maintaining, and promoting the health of individuals and their families. Students will care for Selected populations (mother’s, children, adults, those with mental illness) in various settings. This is a companion course to N433 Role Development III Seminar. Prerequisite: N331. Corequisites courses: N433, N411. This is a Flagged University Studies course and is designed to meet the requirements in

writing.

Flagged Courses in writing (WFC) must contain requirements and learning activities that promote students’ ability to:

1. Practice the processes for creating and completing writing in the field (nursing).
2. Understand the main features and uses of writing in their fields.
3. Adapt writing to the general expectations of readers in their field.
4. Make use of the technologies commonly used for research and writing in their fields.
5. Learn the conventions, evidence, format, usage, and documentation in the fields.

Requirements and learning activities that facilitate these outcomes are highlighted in bold underline script throughout this syllabus.

1. Course Concepts, Subconcepts, Roles and Theories: Students participate in site-based experiences as part of their learning to care for selected populations. Health issues and care of selected populations are studied in Companion Core courses listed above. These weekly experiences include all of the following (WFC a, b, c, d, e.):

1. Assignment to individuals/families of selected populations and preparation for the site-based experience.
2. Planning and delivering nursing care.
3. Written papers/presentation.
4. Agency documentation.

1. Course Outcomes Course Outcomes

The student will:

1. Utilize ethical decision-making, effective communication, therapeutic nursing interventions, and appropriate technology in safe nursing care of selected populations (e.g. Adults, mental health, care of mothers and children during home visits, in work, ambulatory, and institutional settings). (WFC a,b,c,d,e)
2. Collaborate with clients and others in the health care delivery system for health promotion with selected populations (Adults, mental health, mothers and children and their family and for care when illness occurs.
3. Continue refining professional nursing roles, especially provider of care, teacher, advocate, leader, researcher, scholar, and change agent.
4. Present analysis of own decision-making and performance of professional nursing roles with selected clients as with an individual, family and community.

1. Basic Instructional Plan and methods utilized:

Strategies Used to Meet Course Goals:

Site-based experiences (SBE) for students include but are not limited to, working with clients/families and health care providers in industry, colleges, schools, homes, ambulatory care settings, community health agencies, hospitals and long-term care facilities.

 

E. Course Requirements & Evaluation Methods:

1. Site-based experience P/NC

1. Concept Paper WFC a,b,c,e 100pts

3. Plans of care-for Acutely Ill Adult population and 50

two of the following populations: WFC a,b,c,e

Childbearing Families, Childrearing Families, 50

Families Experiencing Mental Health Problems or 50

Community Health

4. Clinical Self-evaluation WFC c. P/NC

5. Clinical Competence per SBE Evaluation Tool P/NC

Total Points = 250

Grading Scale: 92 – 100 = A

                       83 – 91 = B

                       74 – 82 = C

                       65 - 73 = D

< 65 = E

 

5. Required Textbooks:

Lewis, S. M., Heitkemper, M., & Dirksen, S. R. (2000). Medical-surgical nursing: assessment and management of clinical problems (5^TH edition). St. Louis: Mosby.

Gorrie, T. M. McKinney, E.S. & Murray, S.S. (1998). Foundations of Maternal-newborn nursing. (2^nd Ed.) Philadelphia: W. B. Saunders Company.

Wong, D. L. (1998). Nursing care of infants and children. (6^th ed.) St. Louis: Mosby.

Fortinash, K. M, & Holoday-Worret, P. A. (2000). Psychiatric Mental Health Nursing (2^nd ed.). St. Louis: Mosby.

Hitchcock, J. E., Schubert, P. E., & Thomas, S. A. (1999). Community Health Nursing: Caring in Action. Albany, NY: Delmar Publishers.

6. References:

Variety of nursing journal articles available through library holdings and web sources depending upon health issues and population focus. Journals would include:

American Journal of Nursing

Nursing Research

Nursing Outlook

Journal of Pediatric Nursing

Image: Scholarship in Nursing

Journal of Advanced Nursing

Research in Nursing and Health

Advances in Nursing Science

Journal of Psychiatric Nursing

International Journal of Nursing Studies

Websites:

http://www.mirrors.org.sg/innerbody/htm/body.html

Human Anatomy on-line is interactive and has educational views of the human body.

Http://info2.unmc.edu/young parents on motherhood an fatherhood from pregnancy onward, child care topics for newborns and up, adolescent health, and community resources is Nebraska

http://www.aap.org/ American Academy of Pediatrics Web site

http://www.acnm.org/ American College of Nurse Midwifes Web site

http:www.mayo.ivi.com/ Mayo Clinic’s Web site.

http://www.reproline.jhu.edu

http://cdc.org