Nursing

Class - 3 Credits, Capstone - 1 Credit, Clinical - 12 Hours/Week (Total 168 Hours)Management of the Severely and Persistently Mentally Ill. In this capstone course the advanced practice psychiatric nursing role is further developed as the learner integrates psychiatric theory and practice skills while intervening with the chronically mentally ill in the rural community. Emphasis is on combining psychotherapeutic, pharmacological, and alternative therapeutic approaches, including crisis intervention. Through seminar and practicum experiences students incorporate the comprehensive goal of case management which is to decrease fragmentation and insure access to appropriate individualized cost effective care (ANA Standards of Care). During the practicum experiences students coordinate care and advocate for special populations of individuals, families, and groups across the lifespan. As a part of this course, the student completes a capstone project that demonstrates integration of previous learning.

This course focuses on the theoretical foundations and strategies of teaching and learning in nursing education. The graduate nursing student will explore learning theories and pedagogical frameworks that guide the selection of faculty-centered instructional strategies and student-centered learning activities. Additionally, the student will identify the differences and similarities in the learning theories specific to (a) the basic procedures of learning, (b) the assumptions made about the learning, (c) the role of the educator, (d) the sources of motivation, and (e) the way in which the transfer of learning is facilitated.

This course is designed to introduce learning evaluation concepts, including test and measurement, at the didactic, clinical, and programmatic levels. Course content will include strategies to assess and evaluate learning in the cognitive, psychomotor, and affective domains. Quality improvement, as well as legal and ethical considerations is explored within these concepts.

This is the capstone clinical course in the nurse educator track. It involves the synthesis, refinement, and application of nursing, education, and evaluation theory in a variety of educational settings and integrated seminars. The bi-weekly seminars are framed within the context of established nurse educator scope of practice (NLN, 2005) and competencies (Council on Collegiate Education for Nursing, 2002; NLN, 2005) and students apply these in a variety of diverse academic and clinical settings under expert preceptor guidance. Graduate nursing students will create and share comprehensive portfolios demonstrating their ability to plan, deliver, assess and refine effective professional education offerings in varied settings with diverse learners.