Curriculum
Core courses (6 course units):
NURS6080 |
Advanced principles of clinical pharmacology and therapeutics are applied to the nursing care of individuals across the life-stage spectrum. It focuses on the content and knowledge employed by the advanced practice registered nurse in the management of various conditions and disease states. The course builds on the pharmacology knowledge base acquired in the baccalaureate nursing program. The advanced pharmacology and therapeutics of several common diseases or conditions found in the acute care and primary care setting is presented. This is supplemented with pharmacotherapy modules to meet program specific needs. |
NURS6240 |
TBA |
NURS6560 |
This course is intended for students planning a career that involves primary health care delivery. It includes lectures, discussions, readings, and projects focused on health, social, economic and professional factors influencing health care delivery in the community. |
NURS6570 |
This laboratory/clinical course is designed to help future advanced practice nurses develop advanced clinical assessment skills. Provider-patient interaction, data collection, and hypothesis formulation are emphasized. All participants engage in actual practice with fellow students, and/or models, and consenting patients. This course is to be taken the semester before clinical begins. |
And one of the following two courses:
NURS6070 |
This course will integrate advanced physiology with pathophysiology and clinical implications across the lifespan for advanced nursing practice. Organ systems function and dysfunction from the level of the cell through integrated organ levels will be presented, and the genetic basis of disease will be discussed. Recent scientific advances will be discussed with application to new approaches to disease and symptom management. The interrelationships between basic physiology, clinical pathophysiology, and genetics are emphasized through lecture and case studies. Registration is restricted to students enrolled in the MSN or DNP programs or by permission of instructor. |
NURS6850 |
This course will address advanced human embryology, physiology and pathophysiology. Biochemical genetics and the genetic basis of disease will be discussed. Normal fetal development and physiology of organ systems will be used as the foundation for understanding the pathophysiology of disease across the lifespan. |
And one of the following two courses:
NURS5470 |
This course is designed to advance students’ understanding of the research process, methods of scientific inquiry, and analytical techniques. Students acquire knowledge of systematic approaches used by scientists to design and conduct studies. Course content prepares students to appraise quantitative and qualitative research, and evaluate the scientific merit and clinical significance of research for translation into practice. Evidence-based guidelines are examined and rated for strength of evidence and expert consensus using evidence grading systems and defined criteria. Students engage in variety of creative learning experiences to facilitate appreciative inquiry, clinical reasoning, and evidence-based practice. Quality improvement, comparative effectiveness analyses, information science, and electronic health systems technology demonstrate the capacity for measurement and surveillance of nursing-sensitive and other outcomes used to evaluate quality nursing care and test interventions. Ethical, legal and health policy implications for research are explored. This course serves as the basis for scientific inquiry about human experiences to address important problems that require solutions and to expand the research and the evidence base for professional nursing practice. NURS 547 is a graduate-level research methods course approved for Penn BSN students only. |
NURS6370 |
The relationships among nursing theory, research and practice will be examined. An emphasis will be placed on research competencies for advanced practice nurses (APNs), including understanding nursing research methods and strategies in order to evaluate research results for applicability to practice and to design projects for evaluating outcomes of practice. An understanding of statistical techniques will be integrated into the course and build on the required undergraduate statistics course. Published nursing research studies will be evaluated for scientific merit and clinical feasibility, with a focus on evidence-based practice. Please note, the online version of this course has a synchronous component (live online class sessions). See department for meeting days/times. Prerequisite: Undergraduate Statistics Class, Must hold an RN license. |
Theory courses (5 course units):
NURS5260 |
TBD |
NURS5320 |
Cognitive therapy will be studied as it has been adapted to treat a broad spectrum of clinical disorders including depression, anxiety, phobias, substance, obesity, marital problems, sexual dysfunction, and psychosomatic disorders. Students will have an opportunity to study and observe the crucial link between thoughts and emotions and the sense of competency patients can develop through self-help techniques. The course utilizes didactic, experiential and observational techniques. |
NURS6250 |
Crisis intervention, brief psycho-therapy, group processes and practices, milieu therapy, and intervention with families are examined as they relate to nursing practice in mental health. |
NURS6260 |
This course presents Bowen Family Systems Theory as it applies to families over the life and organizations over time. This is a theoretical course whose purpose is to provide the student with a broad, systemic perspective on human functioning. The course begins with a detailed presentation of Systems Theory, from both a family and organizational perspective. As presented there is a continual compare and contrast to other dominant theories of human functioning. It then applies the concepts of Systems Theory to the understanding and assessment of the stages of the normal family life cycle from a multi-generational, multi-cultural perspective. This is followed by discussions of the theory’s application to the emotional problems of children, adolescents, adults and their families. Likewise, application to organizational behavior is made, including health care organizations. Relevant research is discussed throughout. |
NURS6280 |
An examination of the psycho-socio-cultural processes which influence the behavior patterns, coping, and adaptation of older adults. The course emphasizes strategies to promote mental health as well as assessment, presentation, and intervention in the major acute and chronic psychiatric disorders affecting the older adult. |
Clinical courses (3 course units):
NURS7050 |
Supervised advanced psychiatric mental health nursing practice with children, adolescents and their families, or adults and/or older adults and their families in a variety of settings, depending on the subspecialty option selected. Focus is on clinical assessment/diagnosis and decision-making. A minimum of 16 hours of practice and 3 hours of small group supervision is required. |
NURS7060 |
Supervised advanced psychiatric mental health nursing practice with children, adolescents and their families, or adults and/or older adults and their families in a variety of settings, depending on the subspeciality option selected. Refinement and development of clinical intervention with an increasingly diverse caseload. A minimum of 16 hours of practice and 3 hours of small group supervision is required. |
NURS7070 |
Supervised advanced psychiatric mental health nursing practice with children, adolescents and their families, or adults and/or older adults and their families in a variety of settings, depending on the subspecialty option selected. Outcome evaluation, termination and professional role development. A minimum of 16 hours of practice and 3 hours of small group supervision is required. |