Course Descriptions

Nursing MSN Course Descriptions:

Core Courses

NURS 5106  Advanced Anatomy and Health Assessment (3 units)

This course focuses on health and wellness and associated anatomical dimensions, including health within the context of disability; assessment criteria and techniques are examined and developed. Attention is given to both theoretical content and hands-on laboratory experiences.

NURS 5204  Advanced Physiology and Pathophysiology (3 units)

This course examines physiological systems of the human body, aging processes and related pathologies, and investigates how these changes and pathologies influence or guide nursing practice. Current insights and explorations occurring in the field of psychoneuroimmunology are also explored.

NURS 5207  Pharmacology A (2 units)

The course focuses on topics of advanced pharmacology and herbalsm, other medicinal substances, and related healthcare practices, and examines the pharmacokinetics and pharmacotherapeutics of broad categories of Western pharmacologic and select non-Western agents. It investigates areas of interaction between non-Western medicinal remedies and Western prescription and/or over-the-counter drugs, and the influence drugs have on the elderly.

Nursing MSN Research Courses and Thesis Development

This is a series of four courses, Survey of Research and Research Methods, Outcomes Research, and MSN Thesis Development A and B. These courses guide and help the student to develop his or her thesis.

NURS 5108 Survey of Research  (2 units)

Research studies in nursing and associated disciplines are surveyed. An overview approach is taken in an examination of the research process and how it affects research. Students are guided to become better consumers of research. Issues concerning ethics, theoretical frameworks, project feasibility, collaborative research methods, funding, and barriers to dissemination are explored. Students begin to develop the literature review for their thesis.

NURS 5302 Outcomes Research and Evaluation (3 units)

This course examines research methods used to assess and evaluate the health and healthcare delivery to diverse populations, as well as the efficacy of the practices themselves. Evaluation methods for assessing the success of programs are explored. Students develop a plan for their thesis work, present their proposal, and secure approvals.

NURS 5703 MSN Thesis Seminar A (2 units)

MSN Thesis Seminar A aids the student in refining their thesis proposal, securing IRB approval, and preparing the project for implementation. Students will begin to consider where they will publish their findings.

NURS 5704 MSN Thesis Seminar B (2 units)

MSN Thesis Seminar B aids the student in bringing the implementation, the analysis/evaluation, and dissemination of the thesis work to completion. 

Integrated Health Practices Specific Courses

Integrated Practices Series I–IV

The overall purpose of this series is to explore philosophies, disciplines, methods, and skills in integrating Western and non-Western healthcare. Each of the courses focuses on an identified aspect of the integration of health and healing practices.

NURS 5105  (IHP) Integrated Practices I (Introduction) (1 unit)

This introductory course explores a holistic view of the body, mind, and spirit as aspects of a single, inseparable entity that is best approached at a personal and subjective level. This view is compared and contrasted with the Western approach to health that focuses on objective and primarily physical criteria. Non-Western disciplines are explored and comparisons are made with Western healthcare practices.

NURS 5205  (IHP) Integrated Practices II (Spirituality) (1 unit)

The spiritual foundations of health, along with both subjective and objective evidence of these foundations, are a focus of this course. Spiritual philosophies and practices that enhance health are explored.

NURS 5405 (IHP) Integrated Practices III (Creativity and Healing) (2 units)

Use of self-awareness and the expressive arts as avenues of healing is the theme for course. Through cross-cultural reviews of the healing arts, as well as through personal exploration of expressive art forms, students examine ways in which the arts are utilized in both Western and non-Western traditions.

NURS 5505 (IHP) Integrated Practices IV (Ethics) (2 units)

This course focuses on ethical issues in the integration of health practice and implications for the CNS. The ethics of offering and not offering integrated care, as well as other associated ethical dilemmas are examined.

Professional Role Development in Clinical Practices Series I–IV

This series includes clinical placements with a specific focus for each semester. It also includes regular, on-campus case conferences that allow the students to utilize group process in examining and evaluating their clinical experiences, while meeting the challenges of the transition that moves them forward from professional nurse to clinical nurse specialist. It focuses on health promotion through leadership aimed at the development of a broader professional appreciation of the links between cultural, spiritual, and philosophical foundations of individuals and communities and their health.

NURS 5602  (IHP) Professional Role Development in Clinical Practice I (3 units)

This course introduces the student to the generic Clinical Nurse Specialist (CNS) role that includes clinical practice expert, educator, researcher, consultant, and clinical leader. Students are placed clinically in a variety of practice settings to work closely with certified CNSs. Includes clinical hours.

NURS 5610  (IHP) Professional Role Development in Clinical Practice II (2 units)

Students are placed in a variety of selected alternative/complementary/integrated practice settings. Case conferences focus around comparisons of the clinical experiences, examination of the practices and their impact on the health of clients, and the nursing role(s) associated within these settings. Includes clinical hours.

NURS 5606  (IHP) Professional Role Development in Clinical Practice III (3 units)

This course focuses on the CNS as a facilitator for integration. The student develops a unique knowledge base around a variety of practices and their philosophies, which he/she can also assess from the perspective of a Western knowledge base and practices. The ability to integrate these two perspectives toward the purpose of enhanced client health, including collaboration with professional peers, is explored and developed. Includes clinical hours.

NURS 5608  (IHP) Professional Role Development in Clinical Practice IV (3 units)

This course focuses on the refinement of the CNS competencies in the areas of clinical expert, educator, researcher, consultant and clinical leader in integrated practices. This is translated into practice through clinical experiences, case conferences, and thesis related activities, as the students are supported in their movement from student learner to clinical leader in integrated practices. Includes clinical hours.

NURS 5104  (IHP) Seminar on Theoretical Foundations  & Leadership for Integrated Practice (2 units)

This course explores leadership and nursing theories that provide the foundation and direction for integrated nursing practice. It explores new directions and adaptations for current nursing theory, and examines how nurses can utilize these theories for their practice in a manner that provides leadership for others in integrated health practice.

NURS 5107  (IHP) Nutrition in Integrated Practice (1 unit)

This course surveys Western nutritional sciences (including new technologies) and examines RDA vitamin recommendations. It also examines cultural food practices, the principles of megavitamin therapy and other alternative practices focused around particular food regimens.

NURS 5305  (IHP) The Impact of Culture on Health and Health Practices (2 units)

This course is an exploration of the influence of culture on health and health practices, the barriers that occur between people, their systems, and their health practices as a result of cultural differences, and the influences of culturally aligned health interventions on health outcomes.

NURS 5307  (IHP) Pharmacology and Herbalism B (2 units)

Further investigation of herbal remedies and their reactions and interactions with other medicinal or non-medicinal substances are pursued.  Prerequisite: NURS 5307.

NURS 5404  (IHP) Contemporary Healthcare Issues A (2 units)

The first of a two-part series, this course examines healthcare policy in the US with attention to both the historical context and current political influences; it links US policy to the organization of healthcare and its delivery systems in this country. The US systems are compared and contrasted with those of other developed countries. This course is a macro view of healthcare policy, organization, and financing in the US with a focus on integrated practice.

NURS 5504 (IHP) Contemporary Healthcare Issues B (2 units)

This course is a micro economic view of independent nursing practice and healthcare delivery with attention to integrated health practices. It examines program planning and management with a view on influencing the integration of alternative/complementary health practices into Western medical/nursing settings and in entrepreneurial enterprises.

Geriatric/Nurse Educator Specific Courses

NURS 5110 (G/NE) Theories and Concepts of Aging: Healthy Aging  (2 units)

This course examines the psychosocial and behavioral aspects of aging and the theories and concepts related to healthy aging.  Extrapersonal, interpersonal, and intrapersonal factors are considered.

NURS 5111 (G/NE) Human Diversity and Social Issues in Aging  (2 units)

This course offers an exploration of the influence of culture on health and health practices, the barriers that occur between people, their systems, and their health practices as a result of cultural differences, and the influences of culturally aligned health interventions on health outcomes, especially among the elderly.

NURS 5208 (G/NE) Leadership and the Geriatric Clinical Nurse Specialist  (1 unit)

This course prepares the student for the leadership role in nursing with lecture and discussion of various leadership theories.  The role of the clinical nurse specialist is clarified and explored as it relates to leadership in geriatrics and nursing education.

NURS 5308 (G/NE) Instructional Design and Technology in Nursing Education  (2 units)

Students learn how to apply technology in the delivery of nursing education. Design, application, and delivery of didactic as well as clinical materials for teaching nursing students and how students apply concepts to teaching the elder client.

NURS 5309 (G/NE) The Nurse Educator and Educational Theory (2 units)

This course examines pedagogical practices specifically related to nurse education. Educational theory is examined as it applies to both the mature and younger student and how it should be incorporated in both classroom and a clinical setting. This also incorporates assessment of student needs and learning styles.

NURS 5407 (G/NE) Healthcare Policy, Organization of Healthcare Systems, and Healthcare Financing  (2 units)

This overview of the healthcare system examines healthcare policy in the US with attention to both the historical context and current political influences. It links US policy to the organization of healthcare and its delivery systems in this country. US systems are compared and contrasted with other developed countries, and provide a macro view of healthcare policy, organization, and financing in the US focusing on geriatric issues in healthcare policy.

NURS 5408 (G/NE) Spirituality and the Older Adult  (1 unit)

The spiritual foundations of health, along with both subjective and objective evidence of these foundations, are a focus of this course. Spiritual philosophies and practices that enhance health are explored.  How spiritual factors influence the elders’ concepts of aging, living, and death are considered.

NURS 5409 (G/NE) Nutrition and the Older Adult (1 unit)

This course surveys Western nutritional sciences (including new technologies) and examines RDA vitamin recommendations. It also examines cultural food practices, the principles of megavitamin therapy and other alternative practices focused around particular food regimens.

NURS 5506 (G/NE) Long Term Care Policy (3 units)

This is a micro economic view of independent nursing practice and healthcare delivery with attention to the state of long term care policies. Also examines program planning and management with a view on influencing health services for the elderly.

NURS 5507 (G/NE) Teaching End-of-Life Issues, Ethics, and Pain Management (1 unit)

This course discusses end-of-life issues related to the elder client including comfort measures, dying with dignity, family issues, care giver issues, do not resuscitate orders, living wills, positive v. negative experiences, hospice, etc. 

Professional Role Development in Geriatric Nursing and Nurse Educator Roles

This series of classes for the Geriatric CNS/Nurse Educator student follows a logical flow in developing the student’s expertise in geriatric nursing and progresses to teaching undergraduate students in a geriatric setting. This series includes clinical placements with a specific focus for each semester. It also includes regular, on-campus case conferences that allow the students to utilize group process in examining and evaluating their clinical experiences, while meeting the challenges of the transition that moves them forward from professional nurse to clinical nurse specialist and nurse educator. It focuses on the nurse educator and the development of professional application of geriatric clinical nurse work. (400 clinical hours required + 64 hours of seat-time, and 36 hours of related CE units)

NURS 5620 (G/NE) Management of Acute & Chronic Illness in the Elderly  (3 units)

This course is the first in the Geri series and is a seminar / lecture format that focuses on issues related to the management of acute and chronic illness in the elderly. Health promotion, regimen management, caregiver stress, health behaviors, client education, and conceptions of health are examined in the context of the most common acute and chronic conditions affecting elderly persons.  Students will discuss salient socioeconomic, psychosocial, spiritual and political dimensions of health and illness and the elderly.  Seminars will supplement and support students’ activities in the clinical setting. Includes clinical hours.

NURS 5630 (G/NE) Professional Role Development in Chronic Care Clinical Practice II: Clinical Teaching Strategies in Nursing: Implementing Best Practices (2 units)

The second in the clinical series, the students are placed in a variety of selected geriatric practice settings. The students work with a preceptor or clinical instructor and learn the process of teaching best nursing practice to undergraduate students in a chronic care setting. Students enhance their knowledge about the CNS role in this setting. Case conferences focus around comparisons of the clinical teaching experiences, examination of the practices, and their impact on the health of clients, and the nursing role(s) associated in these settings. In-class seminars supplement clinical activities. Includes clinical hours.

NURS 5640 (G/NE) Professional Role Development in Teaching in Clinical Practice III: Curriculum and Course Development (3 units)

This third clinical course focuses on the CNS as a clinical instructor. The student works with a preceptor or clinical instructor and CNS to provided learning activities and oversight for undergraduate student nurses.  In-class seminars supplement clinical activities. Includes clinical hours.

NURS 5650 (G/NE) Professional Role Development IV: Curriculum Delivery, Evaluation, and Performance Assessment (3 units)

This final course in the geri education series focuses on the refinement of the educator role in the area of curriculum and course delivery, evaluation, and authentic assessment of student performance. The student works with a nursing faculty member in the assessment of curriculum, course delivery and course evaluation. Special attention will be focused on student performance assessment. In class seminars supplement nursing teaching practicum. Includes clinical/teaching practicum.