Curriculum
This is a 45-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 548 — Advanced Pathophysiology
Building on a foundation of normal physiology, students are exposed to the major disturbances of normal function and the basic mechanisms involved in disease of the major organ systems. The course includes discussion of the general aspects of the common human pathophysiological conditions and syndromes.
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NURS 549 — Advanced Pharmacology
This course is designed to build on prior pharmacologic study of actions and effects of drugs on the human system across the life span. Students will study pharmacologic mechanisms of action, effects on organ systems, routes of administration, pharmacokinetics, therapeutic uses, considerations related to age and physiologic state, adverse reactions, contraindications, and drug interactions.
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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 582 — Foundations of Good Clinical Practice in Clinical Trials Management
This foundation course in clinical research provides a comprehensive review of the fundamentals of human clinical research. It includes the principles of Good Clinical Practice (GCPs), regulatory requirements and guidelines, and ethical requirements for human drug and device development in the United States.
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NURS 583 — Operational Leadership in Clinical Trials Management
This course focuses intensely on the integration and application of Good Clinical Practices (GCPs) and regulatory requirements in clinical trials managements, including the development of an informed consent and responsibilities of an IRB. There is a strong focus on the financial aspects of study management including development of study budgets.
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NURS 584 — Current Topics in Clinical Trials Management
This third course in clinical research builds on the regulatory knowledge and skills learned in the foundation courses and offer an opportunity for the student to explore current topics in clinical trials management. It focuses on the challenges of running a clinical trial including, fraud, adverse event reporting and patient recruitment.
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NURS 585 — Clinical Trials Research Practicum
The practicum/project provides an opportunity for the student to operationalize the clinical trials role in appropriate agencies and facilities in conjunction with an expert clinical trials researcher. Emphasis is placed on practical experience in the clinical trials research process. A capstone project will be completed in conjunction with the practicum.
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