Curriculum
This is a 46-credit graduate program. It is designed for part-time attendance by working nurses.
Course Descriptions
NURS 500 — Confronting Issues in Contemporary Health Care Environments
Confronting Issues in Contemporary Health Care Environments examines Health care policy and politics in terms of contemporary issues related to advanced practice nursing, health care access, quality, and cost. The focus of this course is the critical analysis of health policy and legal issues.
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NURS 502 — Advanced Ethical Decision Making in Health Care
This is a course for master’s students who have already had some experience in ethical decision making, both academically in the classroom and in practice. This course will take an interdisciplinary focus, as ethical decision making at this level rarely ever is the decision of a single discipline. A variety of ethical topics will be analyzed from various perspective and depths in an effort to more broadly and more profoundly address the moral difficulties the advance practice practitioner in an interdisciplinary environment is likely to encounter.
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NURS 519 — Intro to Biostatistics
This is an introductory course which focuses on the fundamentals of biostatistics for health sciences graduate students. Excel-based and SPSS assignments will be used to supplement the content.
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NURS 523 — Methods for Health Research
The course is designed to provide professional graduate students with the skills necessary to evaluate the relationship between practice and published research. The course content includes an overview of research concepts, ethics in research, literature searching and reviews, quantitative and qualitative research methods and designs, and data collection, analysis, and interpretation techniques. An interdisciplinary team of faculty teaches the course using a problem solving approach.
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NURS 526 — Information, Innovation and Technology in Advanced Nursing Practice
This course is designed to provide an in-depth introduction to information systems and technologies that support practice and improve patient care and outcomes. Development of information management and technology skills (which meet the ANA Informatics Competencies) will be incorporated through out the course. Content is directed toward assisting the student in understand the relationships between patient care and complex information and data issues involved in clinical practice. Students will learn to use tools and strategies for building and managing information system components that require knowledge of informatics issues, standards, and relevant theories as well as evidence-based quality improvement strategies. This course also examines informatics issues within complex healthcare systems including organizational, professional, policy, ethical, social, cultural, economic, and legal factors.
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NURS 527 — Evidenced Based Approaches to Practice
This course focuses on using research to guide evidence-based practice. Communication, collaboration, and decision making skills from a multidisciplinary approach essential to collect, evaluate, and apply research to practice will be emphasized. During this course the student will learn to (1) conduct efficient, thorough searching of the research literature; (2) evaluate the quality of a body of research through an appraisal of design, methodology, and data analysis; (3) summarize the findings from an overall body of research; and (4) apply research evidence to issues of current nursing practice.
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NURS 669 — Professional Seminar for Advanced Nursing Practice
This required course is the application and integration of the role and competencies of the MSN prepared nurse with advanced nursing knowledge who will seek employment in a diversity of advanced practice roles. The roles of the MSN graduate as clinician, educator, researcher, expert, and leader are presented and explored. Interpretation and application of professional issues, practice issues, legislative issues, certification issues, insurance issues, legal issues, and ethical conflict resolution in advanced nursing practice are explored, and integrated into a model for interdisciplinary collaborative practice. Emphasis will be on preparing the graduating MSN prepared nurse for practice and of assuming new professional advanced practice roles. Last, all MSN graduates must establish competency in oral and written communication skills as a graduation outcome.
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NURS 557 — Leadership and Stewardship in the Health Professions
Changes in the health care system are demanding practitioners with well-honed leadership skills and with a sense of stewardship. This course explores the concepts of leadership and stewardship from a historical and contemporary perspective with particular application to the health professions.
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NURS 558 — Economics of Healthcare Management and Policy
Understanding the economic and financial issues that affect today’s health care environment is required for the nurse providing evidence-based services to manage and compete effectively in the health care marketplace. This course will address the changing demands for health care services, quality improvement and management measures and cost containment strategies.
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NURS 559 — Operations Management in Contemporary Healthcare Organizations
Ongoing demands for increased productivity, quality and service have resulted in a renewed emphasis on operational efficiency in the delivery of healthcare services and nursing care. This course will utilize clinical practice settings and case studies to examine critical issues related to restructuring patient care delivery models and clinical practice.
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NURS 563 — Building and Leading High Performance Healthcare Organizations
This course presents an intensive examination of the role of organizational leaders in building and leading high performance teams for maximum effectiveness. It is focused on the evolving role of leaders as they advance from front line to higher level management positions in clinical settings.
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NURS 564 — The Business of Healthcare
This course will address the basics of financial management in health care organizations including accounting, cost analysis, managing financial resources, and other management tools helpful to a nurse manager. Budget development and FTE allocation will be addressed along with federal and state regulations.
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NURS 567 — Strategic Positioning: Power, Politics and Influence in Healthcare
Nursing care is increasingly recognized as vital to the success of health care initiatives and organizations. This course will utilize a systems focus to analyze the "fit" and "position" of nursing within organizations. Issues related to power, politics and influence; the ethics of scarcity management systems and processes; and organizational dynamics will be examined.
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NURS 568 — Practicum and Symposium in Healthcare Operations Management
This practicum provides the Student an opportunity to operationalize the leadership role in appropriate agencies and facilities in conjunction with an expert nursing leader. A capstone project involving a project of interest to both the Student and the organization will be initiated, to be completed in conjunction with NURS 569.
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NURS 569 — Practicum and Symposium for Nurse Administrators in the Management of Information
The focus of the practicum will be on exposure to the management of information to support decision-making, communication, and strategic planning. These include systems for managing human resources, improving quality of care and tracking organizational metrics. The capstone project begun in the Operations Management Practicum (NURS 568) will be completed.
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