ADVANCED CLINICAL NURSING PRACTICE III

Masters in Nursing Science Degree

NRS 512

Breyer State University
Instructor: David A. Dutcher, BSN, RN, MSN, DC

SYLLABUS

COURSE OVERVIEW: Welcome to Advanced Clinical Nursing Practice III, the third of four Masters level courses in the curriculum for the Degree, Masters of Science - Nursing. I am pleased to mentor you through this course. These are exciting courses. As you are aware, there is a shortage of nurses nationally. And Medical-Surgical nurses are in great demand. This course will allow you, the professional nurse, to position yourself in a prestigious and high paying discipline in nursing.

In order to be in demand in nursing, it is imperative that nurses at all levels realize they must acquire proficiency in specialty areas. Skills needed are basic knowledge of all aspects of medical and surgical medicine, and the ability to function independently and professionally on the Medical-Surgical unit.

The future of nursing is taking a turn to the wholly computerized unit. This involves computerized charting, patient assessment, care planning; every aspect of patient care. The future Medical-Surgical nurse must be able to understand the complex issues of medical intervention and treatment and apply advanced nursing care across the gamut of acute care services. The future Medical-Surgical nurse must be able to understand the complex nature of such issues as family interaction and ethics. These skills are not acquired easily or quickly.

In Advanced Clinical Nursing Practice I, you began to acquire those skills. In Advanced Clinical Nursing Practice II, you will build on the skills you have previously learned. In Advanced Clinical Nursing Practice III you will master the subject.

The last course you take will consist of writing a Masters Level paper on a current issue, process, procedure or theory in Advanced Clinical Practice. This paper will be 10-15 pages and in APA format.

I know you will enjoy the challenge of these courses.

TIME FRAME: This is a six (6) hour course. This course is allotted ten weeks of time. You must complete all of the requirements for the course successfully by the end of the ten-week period. The first day of week one will begin the day that you register for the course, or the day that you notify me that your textbooks have arrived and you are ready to begin your studies. Please be cognizant of the time frame. It is rare that extensions of time are permitted, unless you have good justification. Upon successful completion of this course, you will be awarded six (6) semester hours of credit.

TEXTBOOKS: There is one (1) required textbook for this course.

Book 1: Current Surgical Diagnosis and Treatment, Lawrence W. Way (Editor), Gerard M. Doherty (Editor): ISBN # 0838514561.

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EXAMINATIONS: There is one examination for this course. You will take the exam after the tenth week.

The final exam is a 150 question multiple choice, true-false type test. You will have four hours to take the exam.

This exam is programmed and is located in the classroom for this course. To take the exams, you must send me an email and let me know that you are ready to take the exam. I will then contact administration and grant access to the exam. You will need to log into the exam using your student number and password. You may access the exam only once.

GRADING: The grading scale for this course is as follows:

90-100%    = A
80-89%      = B
70-79%      = C
Below 70% = Fail

COMMUNICATION: You are encouraged to communicate with me. I am available as a teacher, coach, and mentor to assist you in meeting your goals for this course. Primarily, communication is through email. However, I am also available for conversation by telephone if you would like. Our classroom for this course has a “chat” room. I am also very willing to meet with you one-on-one in the chat room at your request. Please keep my email address handy so that you can contact me. If at any time during this course you change your email address, please be sure to notify me right away.

WRITTEN ASSIGNMENTS: None

ABOUT YOUR INSTRUCTOR:

David A. Dutcher, MSN, RN, DC, currently teaches courses at Breyer State University. Additionally, he teaches two certificate courses through Canyon College-Online: Musculoskeletal Complaints - Rapid Assessment and Correctional Nursing. He holds a degree as a Doctor of Chiropractic and a Masters of Science in Nursing Education. He has owned and operated his own Chiropractic clinic, managed all aspects of a professional clinic and managed staff of eight. Dr. Dutcher lives in Southern California. He has also published a children's science fiction book, "Feebie Brainiac and the Lysis Virus." Dr. Dutcher’s adult fiction novel, “Whitelighters for April,” will be published June 1st.

COURSE OBJECTIVES: Upon completion of this course, you will be able to:

1). Identify the major needs of clients with complex mufti-system illnesses.
2). Demonstrate knowledge of medical-surgical nursing principles in the construction of nursing care plans based on clients' needs.
3). Demonstrate knowledge of the five phases of the nursing process (assessment, analysis, planning, implementation, evaluation) in the construction of nursing care plans based on prioritized needs.
4). Demonstrate the technical and organizational skills that are necessary to provide nursing care to multiple clients exhibiting complex medical-surgical problems.
5). Formulate first line nursing interventions for clients experiencing physiological and psychological crises, and chronic conditions that interfere with homeostasis.
6). Identify and describe common sexual dysfunctions and disorders of clients with medical-surgical illnesses along with the nursing interventions used to treat them.
7). Utilize established standardized protocols in the care of clients in all settings.
8). Apply a variety of therapeutic communication skills in the emergency, critical care and home health settings.
9). Recognize the need for and initiate the use of community health resources when planning for client discharges.
10). Demonstrate an awareness of the community resources available to assist clients in meeting their post-hospitalization needs.
11). Utilize adult teaching-learning principles in formulating and implementing teaching plans for a variety of clients.
12). Discuss the needs of the aging health care consumer in our society and identify or the scope of resources available to this group.
13). Apply knowledge of developmental theory to the care of clients experiencing acute life threatening physiological and psychological crises.
14). Create individualized nursing care plans that address clients' cultural differences.
15). Demonstrate the knowledge of legal, ethical, and moral implications specific to the care of the medical-surgical client.
16). Discuss the role similarities and differences of nurses working in medical-surgical, emergency, critical care and home health settings.

ASSIGNMENTS: Read the entire text at your leisure.

INFORMATION: If you have any questions regarding this program, you may contact the instructor at drdd@comcast.net.

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