Description

SEMESTER 1: 18 CREDITS (14 DIDACTIC AND 4 CLINICAL CREDITS)
First 8 Week Block:
NRS PL 313 Nursing Practice Fundamentals 3 credits: 1 didactic online, 2 clinical face to face |Course Description:
The Nursing Practice Fundamentals course provides an overview of concepts basic to the nursing profession such as
clinical reasoning to include the nursing process, health assessment, vital signs, medical; terminology, basic nursing
skills, and beginning medication and dosage calculations. Lab and clinical experiences support the course objectives
and student learning outcomes.
NRS PL 410 Evidence Based Nursing Practice 3 credits: online | Course Description:
This course is an introduction to the role of nursing theory, research, and evidence-based practice in the provision of
holistic nursing care. An overview of selected nursing theorists will demonstrate the relationship between scientific
inquiry and development of nursing knowledge. Students will become familiar with the language of research, gain
competency in database query and learn to assess the credibility of scientific studies. Ethical considerations and the
importance of scientific integrity are integrated throughout the course as students learn sound methods to answer
questions related to nursing practice. The focus is on critical evaluation and application of scientific evidence to
provide the highest quality of patient centered care to individuals, families and communities.
NRS PL 370 Introduction to Professional Nursing 2 credits online | Course Description:
This course is designed to emphasize the professional roles and responsibilities of the Registered Nurse. The history of
nursing and contemporary practice issues is included in this course. The student will explore the influences of nursing
theory, leadership, professional accountability and communication in the delivery of safe client care for a diverse
population. Healthcare regulations including licensure, nursing care standards, workplace safety, and health system
design will be reviewed.
Second 8 Week:
NRS-PL 372 Nursing Concepts 1 didactic credit online, 2 clinical credits | Course Description:
This course introduces the student to basic adult health management. A framework to support clinical reasoning and
clinical judgment in client care will provide the student with the foundation to safely practice professional nursing.
The student will learn basic skills needed to begin caring for clients in a variety of clinical settings. Selected nursing
practice competencies will be developed and demonstrated in simulated laboratory settings and in direct client care
under the supervision of UP faculty. Concepts related to this course include Clinical Reasoning (documentationEMR/Nurses Notes, laboratory interpretation, medication administration of intravenous fluids), inflammation, fluid
balance, acid/base, thermoregulation, oxygenation and perfusion, sensory function, metabolism).
NSR PL 412 Nursing Ethics and Spirituality 3 didactic credits | Course Description:
This course introduces students to leading ethical theories that underlie moral judgment and decision-making in
patient care and advocacy. Attention is also paid to the role spirituality can play in helping nurses confront issues of
death and human suffering. Students are exposed to the American Nurses Association (2015) Code of Ethics and ethics
related to transcultural nursing. Major course themes include an introduction to Utilitarian, Kantian, and Virtue
theories with special attention to how these principles apply to nursing practice. An introduction to the elements of
Christian spirituality, with an ecumenical emphasis on processing and discerning appropriate responses to challenging
and traumatic experiences related to pain, suffering, and end of life care are included.
NRS-PL 376 Pathophysiology and Pharmacology Concepts 3 didactic credits |Course Description:
This course provides an introduction into two related topics: concepts of physiological alteration in body structures /
functions, and the principles of safe drug treatment. Building on knowledge of normal human physiology, students
develop an understanding of deviations from the norm which threaten homeostasis, including generalized responses
and those specific to individual body systems and disease states. Introductory content on the role of genetics /
genomics in pathogenesis and treatment of disease is provided. Students will learn pharmacological principles such as
pharmacokinetics, pharmacodynamics, drug metabolism, and dose-response relationships to develop a sound basis for pharmacologic interventions across the lifespan. The role of the nurse in safe and effective medication administration
is emphasized.
SEMESTER 2: 18 CREDITS (15 DIDACTIC AND 3 CLINICAL CREDITS)
First 8 Week Block:
NRS-PL 430 Advanced Nursing Skills 2 clinical credits| Course Description:
This course is designed to promote continued exposure to nursing skills required to provide safe, effective patient care
across the life-span. Students will practice focused assessments that include physical, behavioral, psychological,
spiritual, socioeconomic, and environmental dimensions. Common diagnostic testing procedures are included with
emphasis on expected and unexpected outcomes. Alterations in health related to surgical interventions is included in
this course. Skills included in this course are gastrointestinal intubation, delivery of parenteral and enteral nutrition,
central venous access management, administration of blood and blood products, burn management, basic ECG
interpretation, basic airway management, and infection prevention. Laboratory values and diagnostic testing is
included. Therapeutic communication techniques specific to unique populations are addressed in this course.
NRS-PL 422 Quality and Safety in Nursing Leadership 3 didactic credits | Course Description:
This course prepares the nurse to lead and manage care of patients in the context of constant and complex change.
Understanding of management and leadership theory supports exploration of personal attributes and essential
expertise for nurse manager and leader success. Major themes throughout the course include change and change
theory, group-based communication, conflict management, patient safety, and nurse sensitive outcomes of care for
patients. This course prepares nurses for effective utilization of healthcare informatics systems for patient care.
NRS-PL 378 Pathophysiology and Pharmacology Concepts II 3 didactic credits | Course Description:
This course continues and builds upon Pathophysiology and Pharmacology Part 1, to further advance students’
understanding of disease states and human response to alterations in wellness. Students will continue exploration of
drug use for disease prevention, symptom modification and treatment of disease states. Understanding of the nurses’
role within the healthcare team will foster skills in safe and effective care, including administration of medications.
Best practices for educating individuals and groups about diseases and medications will be explored and ethical,
patient-centered care will be emphasized. Students will develop appreciation for the needed lifelong learning in
dynamic fields of pathophysiology and pharmacology.

SEMESTER 2: 18 CREDITS (15 DIDACTIC AND 3 CLINICAL CREDITS)
First 8 Week Block:
NRS-PL 430 Advanced Nursing Skills 2 clinical credits| Course Description:
This course is designed to promote continued exposure to nursing skills required to provide safe, effective patient care
across the life-span. Students will practice focused assessments that include physical, behavioral, psychological,
spiritual, socioeconomic, and environmental dimensions. Common diagnostic testing procedures are included with
emphasis on expected and unexpected outcomes. Alterations in health related to surgical interventions is included in
this course. Skills included in this course are gastrointestinal intubation, delivery of parenteral and enteral nutrition,
central venous access management, administration of blood and blood products, burn management, basic ECG
interpretation, basic airway management, and infection prevention. Laboratory values and diagnostic testing is
included. Therapeutic communication techniques specific to unique populations are addressed in this course.
NRS-PL 422 Quality and Safety in Nursing Leadership 3 didactic credits | Course Description:
This course prepares the nurse to lead and manage care of patients in the context of constant and complex change.
Understanding of management and leadership theory supports exploration of personal attributes and essential
expertise for nurse manager and leader success. Major themes throughout the course include change and change
theory, group-based communication, conflict management, patient safety, and nurse sensitive outcomes of care for
patients. This course prepares nurses for effective utilization of healthcare informatics systems for patient care.
NRS-PL 378 Pathophysiology and Pharmacology Concepts II 3 didactic credits | Course Description:
This course continues and builds upon Pathophysiology and Pharmacology Part 1, to further advance students’
understanding of disease states and human response to alterations in wellness. Students will continue exploration of
drug use for disease prevention, symptom modification and treatment of disease states. Understanding of the nurses’
role within the healthcare team will foster skills in safe and effective care, including administration of medications.
Best practices for educating individuals and groups about diseases and medications will be explored and ethical,
patient-centered care will be emphasized. Students will develop appreciation for the needed lifelong learning in
dynamic fields of pathophysiology and pharmacology.
Second 8 Week Block:
NRS-PL 374 Nursing Concepts II 3 didactic credits | Course Description:
This course builds upon fundamental nursing concepts learned in the first semester. This course prepares the nurse for
delivering wellness care to childbearing families, children across the healthcare continuum, and addressing patients
with mental health needs. It incorporates essential concepts including family dynamics, human development,
reproduction, mood and affect, addiction, cognition, fatigue, self-concept, sexuality, stress and coping, and grief and
loss.
NRS-PL 414 Population 3 didactic credits | Course Description:
This course prepares the nurse for designing, delivering, and evaluating care for groups, communities, and
populations. The course incorporates essential concepts of epidemiology, surveillance, and disaster management
from public health. Key aspects of public health care finance are introduced. Central to the course are the themes of
social justice, human rights, resource management, and cultural aspects of health and illness.
NRS-PL 421 Nursing Leadership 3 didactic credits, 1 clinical credit | Course Description:
This course builds on the previous course of Organizational Leadership in Quality and Safety by examining strategic
and administrative aspects of health care delivery in complex organizations. Students are given the opportunity to
explore the concepts of leading change, the behavior and culture of organizations and the impact of nursing
leadership on the creation of policy which leads to a caring environment in the health care delivery system. The nurse
is prepared to enact the leader role in interdisciplinary systems, with emphasis on ethical behavior. Major course
themes include the influence or contemporary trends and issues on nursing leadership, the nurse leader’s role in
improving quality and outcomes, and the leader’s approach to economic factors such as budgeting. The nurse applies course content at an administrative level in a complex healthcare delivery setting.

SEMESTER 3: 18 CREDITS (7 DIDACTIC AND 11 CLINICAL CREDITS)
First 8 Week Block of Semester 3:
NRS-PL 474 Advanced Nursing Concepts (2 didactic credits) Course Description:
This course builds on Semester 1 and 2 course work. This course focuses on evidence based nursing care of complex
patients with chronic health conditions and multiple health needs in urgent, emergent, critical care & palliative care
across the adult lifespan. Students will explore and evaluate interdisciplinary interventions, supported by evidence
based practice, which are implemented to assist the client toward homeostasis, including hemodynamic monitoring,
care of the ventilated client, patient advocacy, and delegation.
NRS-PL 350 Clinical Nursing Practice (4 clinical credits) Course Description:
This clinical course expands on the concepts of care for patients across the lifespan experiencing acute and chronic
alterations in health. Clinical experiences will include care of the pediatric patient, childbearing woman, and patient
with acute and chronic mental health diagnoses. Mental health issues (including acute psychiatric disorders) across
the lifespan are addressed. Development of professional role, ethical decision making, health maintenance and patient
education is demonstrated through clinical experiences.
NRS-PL 408 Health Promotion and Disease in the Community (3 didactic credits) Course Description:
This course prepares the nurse to evaluate the impact of health promotion and chronic illness on the patient, family,
and community. It emphasizes essential aspects of care of illnesses within the family and community focusing on
primary, secondary, and tertiary care. This course emphasizes the health and development issues found across the
lifespan. This course foc

Second 8 Week Block of Semester 3:
NRS-PL 450 Advanced Clinical Nursing Practice (6 clinical credits) Course Description:
Advanced Clinical Nursing Practice is a clinical course, using advanced simulation, and direct care experiences to
prepare the student for leadership and practice is complex healthcare settings. The focus of simulation and direct care
experiences is care of clients with complex acute healthcare needs in urgent, critical, palliative, and home-care
settings across the adult lifespan. Students will engage in simulation weekly, for a total of 44 hours; and will engage in
clinical experiences for a total of 226 hours. Directly precepted experiences make up 192 of the 270 clinical hours.
NRS-PL 417 Global Perspectives in Healthcare (2 didactic credits) Course Description:
The development of a global perspective on healthcare is the focus of this course. Students will explore the social
determinants of health including local, national, and international trends. Frameworks that emphasize ethical,
economic, and social justice concerns are introduced. Students explore global healthcare topics to identify barriers to
healthcare access, and integrate the historical, social, political, and economic forces that impact healthcare.
NRS-PL 495 Senior Seminar (1 clinical credit) Course Description:
The purpose of this course is to prepare the graduating student to transition to the profession of nursing with a focus
on career development in a competitive, complex, healthcare environment. The student will have the opportunity to
engage in quality improvement initiatives to support optimum patient care outcomes demonstrating the use of
evidence-based practice. Students will engage in preparing a professional resume and reflect on prior learning to
demonstrate a personal and professional commitment to lifelong learning. Students will apply prior course work in
preparation for the national licensure examination