Direct-Entry MSN Course Descriptions

Semester I

NUR 501 Foundations of Professional Nursing and Theories Guiding Practice

This course examines how nursing knowledge is developed and how that knowledge guides and informs safe nursing practice now and in the future. This course establishes the foundational nursing concepts, knowledge, skills, and competencies needed to provide safe, evidence-based best practice for nursing care of diverse patient populations across the lifespan. There is emphasis on helping nurses apply selected theoretical concepts so they can become critical thinkers, competent clinicians, patient advocates, clinical leaders, and patient educators within a broad spectrum of patient care experiences.

Finally, this course emphasizes nursing care regarding health status on the health and illness continuum, primary, acute, and restorative care across the lifespan. DEMSN nursing students learn how to apply the nursing process in care of patients along with fundamental knowledge, skills, and attitudes that inform basic elements of patient care.

NUR 502 Health and Physical Assessment

This course builds basic skills for completing and documenting a developmentally appropriate, age-appropriate, and thorough patient health history and physical assessment. Students will learn theoretical concepts underpinning the need for completing a thorough health history, health assessment, and physical examination skills in both theoretical and laboratory settings.

The course focuses on obtaining accurate and relevant health history and physical assessment data to inform clinical decision-making, along with strategies for differentiating between normal versus abnormal findings. Students learn how to integrate subjective and objective data from the health history and physical examination that informs evidence-based patient care and health outcomes for selected patients across the lifespan.

NUR 509 Pathophysiology and Pharmacology Concepts

This course addresses foundational concepts of pathophysiology and pharmacology as it relates to the nursing role, including medication calculation and other competencies needed to safely care for patients across the lifespan with common, selected diagnoses in order to achieve and maintain optimum and safe health outcomes.

Content focuses on neurobiological, psychosocial, cultural, and spiritual perspectives when caring for patients with common, selected medical and surgical diagnoses.  Students focus on practicing on safe, effective, therapeutic relationship development and communication skills as applied to care of patients across the lifespan.  There is also emphasis on the DEMSN nurse’s role promoting person-centered care while maintaining a culture of safety in selected inpatient and outpatient care settings and behavioral health units.

Pharmacology, pathophysiology, ethical and legal issues, and care of patients with selected acute and chronic medical and surgical diagnoses are examined. There is also focus on best practice for nursing care of special, high-risk, vulnerable populations as well as professional expectations of the DEMSN–prepared nurse.

NUR 520 Clinical Practice, Clinical Judgement, and Role Development I: Care of Adults with Common Health Problems

This course focuses on key concepts DEMSN-prepared nurses must understand in order to care for adult patients with acute and chronic health deviations on the health–illness continuum. There is specific focus on the physical, psychosocial, spiritual, and cultural forces impacting the health status of the adult population. This course is a combination of theory and clinical application of that theory.

Students learn nursing basic concepts and frameworks, including communication, safety, organization, critical thinking, clinical judgement, and the nursing process. Additionally, this course introduces students to common acute and chronic conditions commonly impacting adult patients. Students have learning opportunities to apply knowledge, skills, and competencies in nursing care of adult patients with selected common acute and chronic health conditions.

Semester II

NUR 530 Advanced Nursing Inquiry for Evidence-Based Practice

This course provides foundational knowledge of the original research process and translation of original research into evidence-based practice to inform one’s critical thinking and decision-making based on relevant contemporary science and best practice.

DEMSN students develop the requisite knowledge, skills, and attitudes necessary to integrate scientific evidence and best practice to inform their clinical nursing practice so that they can achieve optimal patient and health care system outcomes through safe, high-quality care. There is specific emphasis on integration of evidence-based science for individual patient care, care of populations, and systems innovation and change.

NUR 575 Clinical Practice, Clinical Judgement, and Role Development II: Mental Health Nursing

This course addresses the professional role of the DEMSN-prepared nurse in caring for patients with common, selected mental health disorders to achieve and maintain optimum and safe behavioral health of these patient populations. Content covers neurobiological, psychosocial, cultural, and spiritual perspectives.

There is emphasis on the therapeutic nurse-patient relationship, including safe, effective, therapeutic relationship development and therapeutic communication skills, as well as application of the nursing process as applied to care of patients across the lifespan. Students also gain understanding of the DEMSN nurse’s role promoting person-centered care while maintaining a culture of safety in selected inpatient and outpatient care settings and behavioral health units.

Psychopharmacology, ethical and legal issues, care of patients with acute and chronic psychiatric and mental health issues are examined and nursing care of special, high-risk, vulnerable populations are major areas of focus.

NUR 580 Clinical Practice, Clinical Judgement, and Role Development III: Care of Adults with Complex Health Problems

This course focuses on key concepts in care of the adult patient with selected complex acute diagnoses across the health–illness continuum by the DEMSN-prepared nurse. There is specific focus on the physical, psychosocial, spiritual and cultural forces impacting the complex and acute health status of the adult population. This course is a combination of theory and clinical experience. There is emphasis on advanced nursing concepts and frameworks in care of adult patients, including communication, safety, organization, critical thinking, clinical judgement and the nursing process.

Additionally, this course introduces students to common complex acute diagnoses impacting body systems of the adult patient with selected complex acute diagnoses across the health-illness continuum. Students have learning opportunities to apply knowledge, skills, and competencies in complex acute care of adult patients.

Semester III

NUR 609 Advanced Pathophysiology and Pharmacology Across the Lifespan

This course builds upon basic knowledge of pathophysiology and pharmacology, focusing on the advanced interrelationship between these two nursing concepts across the lifespan to guide professional nurses in the diagnosis and management of health and disease. Students learn how to integrate in-depth theoretical and clinical principles of diseases encountered in primary care settings as well as health disparities resulting from genetic, environmental, and stress-related causes.

Students explore assessment findings, diagnostic testing, and interventions specific to selected health problems to strengthen the development of critical-thinking skills for pathophysiologic causes and pharmacologic treatments of given disease processes. The advanced pharmacology focus includes drug classification and concepts and principles of pharmacology with special consideration for the nursing role in developing a comprehensive approach to the clinical application of drug therapy. Selected major health problems are explored, including clinical manifestations associated with pathophysiology.

NUR 618 Clinical Practice, Clinical Judgement, and Role Development IV: Nursing Care of Women, Children, and Families

This course focuses on the foundational concepts of entry-level knowledge, skills, and competencies the DEMSN-prepared nurse needs to provide safe, effective, holistic family-centered nursing care to childbearing families from diverse cultures.

The course covers women’s health issues prior to conception, during and after conception as well as content exploring relevant concepts in the event of untoward fetal or neonatal demise. The course also includes male and female reproductive anatomy and physiology as well as concepts related to family-centered, pre-, intra-, and post-partum care of women, babies, and children. Students learn how to apply scientific foundations and best practices to provide optimal, safe patient care in a family-centered approach.

NUR 623 Clinical Practice, Clinical Judgement, and Role Development V: Population-Focused Nursing

This course focuses on the core concepts of nursing care of groups, communities, and populations. Emphasis is placed on understanding the health of individuals, populations, and aggregates including assessment and nursing care systems at all three levels of prevention.

The effect of teaching and counseling is analyzed and applied at the micro and macro levels. Students examine issues associated with vulnerable populations and groups experiencing health disparities in relation to health policies, health care finance, and sociological trends. Students learn how to become successful change agents by integrating knowledge from other disciplines and collaborating to enhance their capacities for advocacy.

Semester IV

NUR 624 Health Care Systems Management and Policy in a Diverse Community

This course is designed to help students gain a detailed understanding of the structure, function, and culture of health care delivery organizations, with a focus on the components of nursing leadership situations within the health care delivery system. To better understand and prepare for the changing role of the professional nurse leader in complex and diverse health care settings, the course emphasizes developing skills in critical thinking, team building, communication, priority setting, collaborative decision-making, and advocacy.

Students will apply nursing leadership and management theory as well as the basic and applied sciences and humanities from previous courses. They will be encouraged to examine health care organizational cultures though the lenses of responsible leadership and caring.

NUR 626 Nursing Informatics

This course focuses on information systems technology, its applications within health care settings, and the value of technology for managing health care data. Students will trace the history of health data management and the role of the electronic health record (EHR) and other clinical informatics applications in health care organizations.

Attention is focused on the role of the nurse in interfacing with these systems to improve health care quality and patient outcomes through the integration of evidence-based practice and informatics. Emphasis is also given to clinically transformative technologies, communication processes and informatics practices in nursing and health care.

NUR 627 Health Promotion and Disease Prevention Across the Globe

This course builds on the content from the foundational population health course in the DEMSN program. It will explore and analyze supra-territorial health care systems and models, and their influence on health disparities and health care within a global environment.

Students will examine key principles and topics in global health, which include measures of the global burden of disease, identification of regional key health problems, impactful determinants, health system impacts, and the influence of international public health organizations and policies. Attention will be given to cross-cutting and timely issues in health promotion, disease control programs, and operational research in international settings. Students will identify and explore roles in advanced nursing practice as they relate to the health of diverse individuals, families, communities, and populations.

NUR 628 Clinical Practice, Clinical Judgement, and Role Development VI: Synthesis of Concept-Based Practicum

This is a clinical course in the DEMSN program and provides the student with multiple opportunities to develop independence in nursing practice, skill in clinical reasoning, and demonstrate accountability for clinical decisions. Course and clinical activities focus on the delivery and management of nursing care within the context of legal, ethical, and evidence-based practice.

Building upon competencies developed in the previous semesters, students will sharpen their critical thinking and clinical reasoning, practice and clinical judgment skills. They will develop the roles of manager/leader, collaborator, care provider, and member of the profession as they prepare for transition into practice and licensure. Students will learn to work as a team in caring for patients and will be assigned to a variety of types of care settings to complete 180 clinical practice hours under the supervision of clinical faculty. Emphasis is placed on the synthesis of previous coursework and knowledge as the student progresses through the program.

Semester V

NUR 639 Clinical Practice, Clinical Judgement, and Role Development VII: Contemporary Nursing Leadership/Management

This is a clinical course in the DEMSN program and provides the student with multiple opportunities to develop independence in nursing practice, skill in clinical reasoning, and demonstrate accountability for clinical decisions. Course and clinical activities focus on the delivery and management of nursing care within the context of legal, ethical, and evidence-based practice. Building upon competencies developed in the previous semesters, students will sharpen their critical thinking and clinical reasoning, practice, and clinical judgment skills, and develop the roles of manager/leader, collaborator, care provider, member of the profession, as they prepare for transition into practice and licensure. Students will learn to work as a team in caring for patients and will be assigned to a variety of types of care settings to complete 180 clinical practice hours under the supervision of clinical faculty. Emphasis is placed on the synthesis of previous coursework and knowledge as the student progresses through the program.

This course supports the DEMSN student to transfer previous learning to new situations by using an active learning strategy to promote the student’s understanding of complex patient care and management situations. Rich experiences that are tied to the real world provide new ways to introduce students to new ideas and promote and support them as they carry out in-depth reflection about learning. The course also enhances the preparation of students for the Next Generation (NGN) NCLEX-RN licensure exam and entrance into the workforce as a professional nurse.

NUR 641 Knowledge Integration and Transition into Practice

This course occurs at the end of the DEMSN program and serves as the culminating experience with the specific objective of integrating and synthesizing core nursing knowledge as well as the range of courses that demonstrate the student’s mastery of knowledge learned in general education and nursing courses.

The course facilitates the student’s transition into professional nursing through the exploration of an evidence-based practice formal paper or presentation that identifies a health care problem and develops intervention strategies that promote health, improve outcomes, enhance quality of life and foster safe care practices for patients.

A comprehensive nursing program review is embedded in this course to support mastery of essential nursing content for beginning practice as a registered nurse, preparation for the Next Generation (NGN) NCLEX-RN licensure examination and transition to professional nursing practice.