NURS 201. Concepts of Professional Nursing. 2 Hours.
Semester course; 2 lecture hours. 2 credits ( 2 credits lecture). Prerequisite: admission to the School of Nursing. Provides a foundation for all clinical nursing courses. Content focuses on professionalism, professional nursing values and health care delivery The core competencies identified by the Institute of Medicine for health care professionals are introduced as critical components of professional nursing practice, and selected concepts related to these core competencies are emphasized. Course activities are structured to establish effective professional behaviors and learning strategies useful across one's professional career.
NURS 202. Technologies of Nursing Practice. 6 Hours.
Semester course; 3 lecture and 90 clinical/laboratory hours. (3 credits lecture and 3 credits clinical/laboratory). 6 credits. Prerequisite: admission to the School of Nursing. This course introduces the student to the study and application of skills and interventions basic to nursing practice. Content focuses on the development of cognitive, psychomotor, affective, interpersonal and communication skills to become effective members of the collaborative health care team. Students will learn how the concepts of nursing process and evidence-based clinical decision-making are integrated into practice. Opportunities are provided for practice and demonstration of selected skills in the laboratory and in clinical settings. This course emphasizes techniques for the safe acquisition and management of patient information.
NURS 261. Health Assessment for Nursing Practice. 3 Hours.
Semester course; 2 lecture and 30 clinical/lab hours. 3 credits (2 credits lecture and 1 credit clinical/lab). Prerequisite: PHIS 206. Pre- or corequisite: NURS 201. Enrollment requires admission to the School of Nursing. This course builds on the biopsychosocial sciences and focuses on development of knowledge, skills and techniques necessary for history-taking and physical examination in adults. Students are introduced to the nursing process and diagnostic reasoning skills are developed through analysis and documentation of assessment data. A laboratory experience provides opportunities for students to integrate communication and problem-solving skills with the health assessment process. The course focuses on the healthy adult patient and emphasizes the diversity of patient populations in health care settings.
NURS 325. Nursing of Adults I. 6 Hours.
Semester course; 3 lecture and 90 clinical hours. 6 credits (3 credits lecture and 3 credits clinical/laboratory). Prerequisites: NURS 201, NURS 202, NURS 261 and PSYC 304. All prerequisites must be completed with a minimum grade of C. Focuses on adult and geriatric patients with acute and chronic physical illnesses that have relatively stable trajectories. Provides theoretical and evidence-based foundations for nursing management and related therapeutic regimens. Emphasizes clinical decision-making and technical skills in the provision of care to adult and geriatric patients in a variety of health care settings.
NURS 335. Nursing of Women. 5 Hours.
Semester course; 3 lecture and 60 clinical/laboratory hours. 5 credits (3 credits lecture and 2 credits clinical/laboratory). Prerequisites: NURS 201, NURS 202 and NURS 261. All prerequisites must be completed with a minimum grade of C. Examines the health needs of women across the life span with an emphasis on the health needs of the childbearing family. Applies nursing process, theory and research with an emphasis on the development of critical thinking skills in the diagnosis and treatment of human responses to health needs of women, neonates and families. Practices clinical skills and applies theoretical knowledge in selected ambulatory care settings for women's health and post-discharge care, and hospital settings for antenatal, intrapartum, post-partum and neonatal experiences.
NURS 345. Nursing of Children. 5 Hours.
Semester course; 3 lecture and 60 clinical/laboratory hours. 5 credits (3 credits lecture and 2 credits clinical/laboratory). Prerequisites: NURS 201, NURS 202, NURS 261 and PSYC 304, all completed with a minimum grade of C. Examines health care needs of children within the context of the family system. Focuses on application of evidence, nursing process, communication skills and critical thinking when providing nursing to children. Applies current theory and evidence related to the child and family environment, developmental capacity, stress, adaptation and resilience. Incorporates standards of care for both well and ill children in the provision of care.
NURS 355. Psychiatric-Mental Health Nursing. 5 Hours.
Semester course; 3 lecture and 60 clinical hours. 5 credits (3 credits lecture and 2 credits clinical laboratory). Prerequisites: NURS 201, NURS 202 and NURS 261. All prerequisites must be completed with a minimum grade of C. Examines theoretical, empirical and practical knowledge applied to the prevention and treatment of common psychiatric and mental health conditions encountered in basic nursing practice. Provides students with an integrative perspective from which to incorporate various frameworks of knowledge into practice. Provides didactic knowledge and clinical learning experiences to facilitate students' understanding of actual and potential psychiatric illnesses and mental health problems in individuals, families and communities.
NURS 365. Pathophysiology and Pharmacology I. 3 Hours.
Semester course; 3 lecture hours (delivered online). 3 credits (3 credits lecture). Prerequisites: anatomy, physiology and microbiology; BIOL 205, PHIS 206; and BIOL 209 or BIOL 303. Enrollment is restricted to students admitted to the School of Nursing. Introduces general and foundational principles in pathophysiology and pharmacology. Examines pathophysiological mechanisms selected diseases, syndromes and/or conditions and integrates related pharmacotherapeutics. Establishes a biophysiological basis for understanding relevant clinical assessments, clinical manifestations and disease trajectories. Provides a foundation for establishing physiological priorities for nursing care.
NURS 366. Pathophysiology and Pharmacology II. 3 Hours.
Semester course; 3 lecture hours (delivered online). 3 credits (3 lecture credits). Prerequisite: NURS 365 completed with a minimum grade of C. Examines pathophysiological mechanisms in selected human systems diseases, syndromes and/or conditions and integrates related pharmacotherapeutics. Establishes a biophysiological basis for understanding relevant clinical assessments, clinical manifestations and disease trajectories. Provides a foundation for establishing physiological priorities for nursing care.
NURS 416. Community Health Nursing. 5 Hours.
Semester course; 3 lecture and 60 clinical hours. 5 credits (3 credits lecture and 2 credits clinical laboratory). Prerequisites: NURS 325, NURS 335, NURS 345, NURS 355, NURS 365, NURS 366 and NURS 403, all completed with a minimum grade of C. Focuses on development of knowledge and skills essential for care of communities and populations. Explores theory and evidence relevant to the assessment, planning, implementation and evaluation of communities and populations. Incorporates epidemiological principles to population-focused nursing and emphasizes the study and application of community health nursing roles for health promotion and disease prevention. Evaluates the impact of health policy on the public’s health. Designs an evidence-based service-learning project to address the health care needs of at-risk populations.
NURS 425. Nursing of Adults II. 6 Hours.
Semester course; 3 lecture and 90 clinical hours. 6 credits (3 credits lecture and 3 credits clinical laboratory). Prerequisites: NURS 325, NURS 335, NURS 345, NURS 355, NURS 365 and NURS 366, all completed with a minimum grade of C. Focuses on the patient in acute phases of physical illnesses and with complicated multisystem health problems. Provides theoretical and evidence-based foundations for nursing management and related therapeutic regimens. Focuses on the development and application of clinical decision-making and an evidence-based model in the provision of care to acutely ill adults in a variety of settings.
NURS 478. Leadership and Management in Health Care: Theory and Application. 3 Hours.
Semester course; 3 lecture hours (3 credits lecture). 3 credits. Prerequisites: NURS 325, NURS 335, NURS 345, NURS 355, NURS 365 and NURS 366, all completed with a minimum grade of C. Integrates principles of leadership and management to prepare students for management, coordination and implementation of safe and ethical patient care in contemporary health care delivery systems. Based on an understanding of nursing's development as a profession, advances enactment of professionalism.
NURS 496. Senior Synthesis. 6 Hours.
Semester course; 2 lecture and 120 clinical/lab hours. Honors section only: 2 lecture, 1 seminar and 120 clinical/lab hours. 6 credits (2 credits lecture and 4 credits clinical/lab). Honors section: 7 credits (2 credits lecture, 1 credit seminar [2 contact hours] and 4 credits clinical/lab). Prerequisites: NURS 325, NURS 335, NURS 345, NURS 355, NURS 365, NURS 366, NURS 371, NURS 425, IPEC 501 and IPEC 502. Honors section prerequisite: NURS 512. All prerequisites must be completed with a minimum grade of C. This course is designed as a culminating experience that meets the criteria of the third tier of the VCU Core Curriculum. It prepares students for successful transition into professional practice; thus it requires higher-level cognitive processes that include synthesis of knowledge, evidence and skills from all previous course work and clinical experiences. The course requires that the student consistently enact professional practice, demonstrate competency in standards of care, application of evidence, professionalism and safe and legal practice. This course is taken during the last semester of the nursing program.