NURSING

All seats for these courses are reserved for nursing students.

The nursing courses and most of the support courses (see Health Sciences course descriptions) for each semester, are prerequisites for other course work in the next semester. Due to the integrated nature of the nursing courses, progression from one semester to the next requires concurrent completion of the nursing courses.

NURS 101:
Determinants of Health 4 credits

Prerequisites: Admission requirements

Corequisites: NURS 102, NURS 103

This course will give students an overview of the determinants of health. The World Health Organization definition of health will give direction to the resources (personal, social, and professional) and environmental factors which interact to influence health. A specific discussion of personal resources will focus on the dimensions (physiological, psychosocial, cultural, developmental, spiritual) comprising each individual. Students will also consider the personal meaning of health, health promotion, and health maintenance within the primary healthcare philosophy of healthcare delivery. Another aspect of this course will be an introduction to the concept of transitions. Choices made by the person regarding transitions (developmental, health/illness, situational, and organizational) have implications for individual health. Exploration of lifespan development and developmental transitions relating to the childbearing family and aging will be discussed in greater depth.

NURS 102:
Introduction to Partnerships 3 credits

Prerequisites: Admission requirements

Corequisites: NURS 101; NURS 103

This course will examine the changing role of nursing from provider to partner. Students will discover the importance of personal and professional skills necessary for effective partnerships with individuals. The concept of caring is introduced as foundational to partnerships.

NURS 103:
Nursing Practice 4 credits

Prerequisites: Admission requirements

Corequisites: NURS 101; NURS 102

Nursing Practice will include laboratory, community, maternal/child follow through, and intermediate care experiences with wellness as a focus. Students will be introduced to beginning assessment and related clinical skills. Clinical practice will enhance students’ understanding of developmental transitions and give students an opportunity to observe, practice assessment and interviewing skills, and assist with selected self-care activities.

NURS 104:
Developmental Transitions 4 credits

Prerequisites: NURS 101

Corequisites: NURS 105; NURS 106

The interrelationship between determinants of health and transitions is the focus of this course. How an individual manages a transition is dependent on environmental factors and the personal, social, and professional resources available. An overview of social resources will emphasize social support. Professional resources will include continued discussion of the Framework for Caring. Students will also continue their exploration of lifespan development and developmental transitions relating to childbearing, childhood, adolescence, adulthood and aging.

NURS 105:
Teacher Learner Partnerships 3 credits

Prerequisites: NURS 102

Corequisites: NURS 104, NURS 106

This course explores teacher–learner partnerships in relation to peers, teacher–student, and student–person. Characteristics of teaching and learning are examined through thinking, critical thinking, and critical reflection processes. Primary health care concepts of advocacy, empowerment, accountability and responsibility, and choice are considered in the teacher–learner partnership. Integral to these concepts is professional caring as it relates to communication with individuals.

NURS 106:
Nursing Practice 5 credits

Prerequisites: NURS 103

Corequisites: NURS 104, NURS 105

This course will include laboratory and clinical experiences. Laboratory experiences will prepare students to effectively care for individuals in clinical settings. Clinical experiences will occur in community and hospital settings and will include extended care, maternal/child care, mental health, and family follow-through experiences. Caring for individuals undergoing developmental transitions will continue to be a focus. Students will have opportunity to use communication skills throughout their nursing practice experience.

NURS 120:
Clinical Consolidation I 3 credits

Prerequisites: NURS 106

Corequisites: none

Students will have a four-week clinical experience on a medical nursing unit in a hospital setting. This experience will provide opportunities to apply theory taught in the first year of the nursing program. The practicum will focus on the individual in transition. Students will have opportunities to consolidate basic assessment, personal care, and communication skills.

NURS 201:
Health Illness Transition I 3 credits

Prerequisite: NURS 120

Corequisites: NURS 202, NURS 203

This course focuses on application of the Model of Transition to persons experiencing health illness transitions. The Framework for Caring will provide the ongoing structure for studying examples of alterations in health. A case-study format facilitates the integration of theories and use of critical thinking skills. The concepts of pain and uncertainty will be introduced. This course also includes a continued study of PHC and environmental factors as they relate to health–illness transitions.

NURS 202:
Partnering with Families 2 credits

Prerequisite: NURS 120

Corequisites: HSC 210, NURS 201, NURS 203

Students will learn and apply theory integral to forming partnerships with families. A focus on dynamics of the family will heighten the student’s awareness and sensitivity to family diversity. The dimensions tool will provide a framework for family assessments.

NURS 203:
Nursing Practice 6 credits

Prerequisites: ENGL 105, NURS 120

Corequisites: NURS 201, NURS 202, HSC 210

Students will be given opportunities to establish partnerships with individuals and families. Laboratory experiences will prepare students to effectively care for individuals in clinical settings. Students will care for one or two individuals experiencing health–illness transitions in medical, surgical, and pediatric acute care settings.

NURS 204:
Health Illness Transitions II 3 credits

Prerequisite: NURS 201

Corequisites: NURS 205, NURS 206, HSC 212

This course is a continuation of the application of the Model of Transition to persons experiencing health–illness transitions introduced in NURS 201. A central focus for the health–illness transitions discussed in this course is the concept of chronicity. Other related concepts, such as hope and vulnerability, will be introduced within the context of various health–illness transitions. This course will continue to apply the Framework for Caring in a case-study format to selected examples of alterations in health.

NURS 205:
Leadership 2 credits

Prerequisite: NURS 202

Corequisites: NURS 204, NURS 206, HSC 212

This course will explore leadership in nursing practice. Nurse leaders must be able to communicate clearly within the profession and within a broader health care context. Students will explore the theory related to leadership and various organizational structures in which nurses practice. Effective decision making and conflict resolution strategies will be examined. A study of professional organizations at varying levels, and the role of unions will be discussed.

NURS 206:
Nursing Practice 6 credits

Prerequisite: NURS 203

Corequisites: NURS 204, NURS 205, HSC 212

Students will be given the opportunity to establish partnerships with individuals and families. Laboratory experiences will prepare students to effectively care for individuals in clinical settings. Students will have a four-week clinical experience on a surgical nursing unit in a hospital setting. This experience will provide opportunities to consolidate and integrate theory. The practicum will focus on various transitions experienced by the individual and involved family members. Students will have opportunities to apply the Framework for Caring.

NURS 220:
Clinical Consolidation II 3 credits

Prerequisites: NURS 206, HSC 212

Students will have a four-week clinical experience on a surgical nursing unit in a hospital setting. This experience will provide opportunities to consolidate and integrate theory. The practicum will focus on various transitions experienced by the individual and involved family members. Students will have opportunities to apply the Framework for Caring.

NURS 301:
Multiple Transitions 3 credits

Prerequisite: NURS 220

Corequisites: NURS 302, NURS 303

This course will focus on a study of individuals experiencing multiple transitions. Emphasis will be given to experiences associated with health illness, developmental, and situational transitions. Multiple transitions will be introduced through the concept of continuum of care. This concept will provide students with a framework to address a comprehensive array of activities spanning all levels of care. Particular emphasis will be given to persons experiencing transitions associated with psychiatric mental health, palliative care, and aging. Selected case studies based on complex practice examples will be discussed. This course will also include a review of nursing care related to multiple transitions associated with trauma.

NURS 302:
Collaboration 2 credits

Prerequisite: NURS 220

Corequisites: NURS 301, NURS 303

Collaborative partnerships will be the focus of this course. A knowledge of health care disciplines and an examination of various levels of working relationships will facilitate development of professional collaboration. A look beyond the traditional health care professions will include an exploration of the role of individuals practising complementary/alternative therapies. Social resources will be explored, specifically addressing the role of lay caregivers and volunteers.

NURS 303:
Nursing Practice 6 credits

Prerequisite: NURS 220

Corequisites: NURS 301, NURS 302

Students will establish partnerships with people experiencing multiple transitions. Laboratory experiences will prepare students to effectively care for individuals across the continuum of care. Students will care for individuals in medical acute care settings including a palliative care and rehabilitation focus and also in psychiatric acute care settings. In addition, students will experience the continuum of care as they follow people into the community.

NURS 304: 3 credits
Situational Transitions

Prerequisite: NURS 301 or NURS 311

Corequisites: none

This course will provide an in-depth exploration of the experience of situational transitions.
The nurse’s role in promoting health with persons experiencing these lifestyle changes requires
a knowledge of empowerment, resilience, and moral conflict. Theories of powerlessness, crisis management, counselling, and moral agency will provide the basis for the promotion of health. The role of groups will be explored as a source of support for individuals and families experiencing situational transitions. Collaboration with other disciplines and sectors will be addressed as it relates to health promotion.

NURS 306:
Nursing Practice 3 credits

Prerequisites: NURS 303 or NURS 311

Students will be given the opportunity to establish partnerships in the community with individuals and families experiencing developmental, health/illness, and situational transitions. Students will further their understanding of the continuum of care through selected community experiences such as Home Nursing Care. Additional community experiences will include health promotion activities for individuals and families experiencing situational transitions. Placement experiences will provide the opportunity for participation in interdisciplinary and intersectoral collaboration as it applies to the promotion of health and the continuity of care of individuals and families.

NURS 307:
Nursing Research 3 credits

Prerequisites: program admission requirements

Corequisites: none

This course is currently offered through distance education at the OU. Students enroll in the OU course APST 450 or 451 (Understanding Research in Nursing) in order to meet the
NURS 307 course requirement. Please contact the UCFV Nursing program assistant for any further information.

NURS 311:
Perspectives on Transition 6 credits

Prerequisites: RN Access admission

Corequisites: none

This course provides an overview of critical concepts and trends associated with the complexity of nursing practice within the current health care system. The course will introduce the concept of Transitions as it relates to the self as learner, individual and family, the profession of nursing and transitions reflected within the health care system. The UCFV Nursing Program Philosophy and Model of Transition will provide overall direction to the discussion of key concepts and issues within this course. Some of the significant challenges facing today’s nursing roles will be a particular focus of discussion. The Determinants of Health and the Principles of Primary Health Care will be explored in relation to the continuum of care. Collaborative health care practice will also be addressed as a critical problem-solving approach within an interdisciplinary team. In addition, students will study the concept of chronicity and the role of social support in the promotion of well-being.

NURS 320:
Preceptorship (Diploma Exit) 10 credits

Prerequisites: NURS 303

Corequisites: none

This course provides the opportunity to consolidate and integrate theory and skills learned in the program in preparation for assuming the responsibilities of a graduate nurse. Emphasis is placed on organization, leadership and collaboration within the context of adult medical or surgical units. Students will be partnered with an RN preceptor and are expected to gradually assume responsibility for an RN workload.

NURS 401
Community Health 4 credits

Prerequisites: NURS 304

Corequisites: None

An exploration of community health nursing using the philosophy of primary health care as a model. Students will learn how to do a community assessment and plan a health promotion program relevant to an identified community population. Students will explore the role of the public health nurse and the scope of that practice. An understanding of epidemiological concepts will assist students as they consider the role of the community health nurse. A potential role for nursing within the political environment will emphasize the need for intersectoral collaboration. A study of organizational transitions including transitions in the agencies within which nurses practise, communities in transition, and transitions in nursing practice.

NURS 403
Nursing Practice 4 credits

Prerequisites: NURS 306, NURS 401 (as prerequisite or corequisite)

Corequisites: NURS 401 (as corequisite or prerequisite)

Students will be given the opportunity to establish partnerships with person(s) (individuals, families, groups/populations, and community as client) experiencing a variety of transitions. By experiencing the role of the public health nurse, students will further their understanding of the principles of primary health care, teaching and learning, and the concept of epidemiology when partnering with person(s) in homes, health clinics, schools, and community settings. Placement experiences will provide an opportunity for participation and intersectoral collaboration as it applies to promotion of health, communicable disease control and continuity of care for person(s) in the community.

NURS 406:
Preceptorship/Mentorship 16 credits

Prerequisites: NURS 403, NURS 307

This course is designed to provide students with a consolidated practice experience. A concentrated experience at a primary site will enhance and further develop the student’s scope of practice. A program development project will facilitate the integration of core curriculum concepts including determinants of health, transitions, and principles of primary health care. A research- based approach will be reflected in both the practice arena and the program development project. Basic students will have the opportunity to further integrate theory and skills in preparation for entry to practice. The Basic student will be partnered with an RN preceptor to assist the student to gradually assume responsibility for entry-level RN practice. RN Access students will have the opportunity to explore new role experiences and challenges in relation to the integration of theory and practice. The RN Access student will be partnered with a mentor to facilitate the student experience.

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