JMU - Nursing

Full and part-time students will be admitted in August of each year. Applications are processed on a rolling admission basis until the class fills. Applicants who apply prior to April 1 will be given first consideration.

Application Evaluation Criteria

Evaluation criteria will include previous academic and scholarly work, professional experience, personal and professional goals and their relationship to the mission of the Department of Nursing. References will be reviewed and an interview may be required.

Mission

The primary mission of the nursing department is to provide quality, professional undergraduate and graduate nursing education that prepares nursing leaders to influence a changing profession, society, health care system, and global health needs.

Purposes

In order to support and accomplish this mission the nursing faculty has identified the following purposes:

� Prepare nursing professionals who provide culturally competent, holistic, evidence-based nursing care to individuals, families, aggregates, and communities in a wide variety of settings.

� Promote a community of learning that models professional values and lifelong professional development for both faculty and students.

� Promote service-learning activities that include collaborative, interdisciplinary initiatives and partnerships between nursing education and the practice arena to meet the future health needs of consumers.

� Conduct research and creative scholarship to generate nursing knowledge and disseminate that knowledge through collaboration, publication, and presentations.

Accreditation

The Department of Nursing has full Bachelor�s of Science in Nursing accreditation by the Center for Credentialing Nursing Education (CCNE) and will seek accreditation for the Masters in Science in Nursing in the fall of 2005.

Program of Study

The James Madison University Department of Nursing offers a Masters of Science in Nursing degree with role options as an Adult or Gerontological Nurse Practitioner; and a Nurse Educator in collegiate, acute and community health care settings. The program is 47 (Educator) or 48 (NP) credit hours and emphasizes care coordination and rural health care. Students are admitted for full-time or part-time study and the program can be completed in four full-time academic semesters, six part-time academic semesters plus summers or eight part-time academic semesters. The Adult and Gerontological Nurse Practitioner students complete a total of 550 contact practicum hours required for certification in their specialty areas by the American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC). Nurse Educator students complete 150 contact hours of classroom and clinical teaching in addition to substantive indirect teaching time. Nurse Practitioner students can obtain dual certification as Adult and Gerontological Nurse Practitioners with additional study.

Master of Science in Nursing

Curriculum Components

Graduate Core: Courses and content essential to any master�s degree in nursing. Many of these courses can be interdisciplinary.

Advanced Practice Core: Courses and content essential to care delivery and care coordination in an advanced practice nurse role

Role Specialty Courses: Courses and clinical practica or educator residencies that are unique to the role specialties of advanced practice or nursing education.

Graduate Core	Credit Hours
HTH 659. Health Care Environment	3
NSG 510. Health Informatics for Advanced Practice Professionals	2
NSG 511. Epidemiology	3
NSG 611. Research for the Advanced Health Professional	3
	11

Advanced Practice Core	Credit Hours
NSG 520. Advanced Health Assessment	3
NSG 521. Advanced Concepts in Pathophysiology	3
NSG 522. Advanced Clinical Pharmacotherapeutics	3
NSG 523. Concepts in Aging	3
	12

Role Specialty Courses	Credit Hours
Adult/Older Adult NP
NSG 630. Care Delivery and Coordination I	4
NSG 631. Care Delivery and Coordination II	4
NSG 632. Coordinated Care of the Elderly	3
NSG 633. Concepts in Advanced Practice Nursing	3
NSG 671. Practicum I 1	2
NSG 672. Practicum II1	3
NSG 673. Practicum III1�	4
NSG 696. Dual Certification Practicum (optional)	3
NSG 697. Directed Study	2
	25-28
Nurse Educator
NSG 640. Curriculum Development in Nursing	3
NSG 641. Curriculum Evaluation	3
NSG 642. Concepts in Nursing Education	3
Elective	3
NSG 674. Education Residency I2	3
NSG 675. Education Residency II2	4
NSG 697. Directed Study	2
Required Technology Course	3
	24

1 Practicum I, II, and III entail a total of 550 contact hours of supervised practice. Practicum credit hours are determined on the following basis: 1 credit hour = 78.5 clock hours. 2 Residency I and II entail a total of 150 contact hours of classroom and clinical teaching, plus substantive indirect teaching time to develop materials and grade assignments. Residency credit hours are determined on the following basis: 1 credit hour=25 contact hours of direct teaching plus approximately 50 hours indirect teaching time.

Course Offerings

NSG 510. Health Informatics for Advanced Practice Professionals. 2 credits.

This course focuses on the nature, functions, present and future applications of clinical informatics. Emphasis is on preparing advanced practice professionals to utilize informatics for effective health care delivery, management, and organizational and client outcomes. The role of government regulations in clinical informatics is also explored.

NSG 511. Epidemiology. 3 credits.

This course provides an introduction to epidemiology as a body of knowledge and a method for analyzing community health problems. Emphasis is on measuring and describing the health of populations, the natural history of diseases in population groups, standardization of rates, sources of data, study designs, measurements of risk, evaluation of screening tests.��

NSG 520. Advanced Health Assessment. 3 credits.

This course provides advanced knowledge and health assessment skills. Emphasis is placed on interviewing, history taking, physical assessment and diagnosis based on clinical findings. Common variances characteristic of adult and aging clients from diverse ethnic and cultural backgrounds are considered. Practice of advanced skills will occur in various adult heath care settings.

NSG 521. Advanced Concepts in Pathophysiology. 3 credits.

Built upon existing knowledge of anatomy and physiology, this course provides essential theoretical foundations for advanced practice nursing. From a systems perspective, students will interpret deviations in normal function leading to manifestations of illness/ disease. Students will develop realistic goals consistent with the prognosis of disease. Current research will be examined.

NSG 522. Advanced Clinical Pharmacotherapeutics. 3 credits.

This course builds upon the knowledge of pharmacology learned at the undergraduate level. It examines concepts in pharmacotherapeutics necessary for advanced nursing practice. Emphasis will be placed on pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics of important classes of drugs. Considerations for the aging client will be highlighted. Issues regarding prescription writing, client education and care coordination will be included.

NSG 523. Concepts in Aging. 3 credits.

Examines the physiological, psychosocial, cognitive, legal and ethical aspects of aging within a care coordination context. A focus is on the issues that surround the concepts of aging and how the ethical aspects of care relate to the utilization of resources.

NSG 611. Research for the Advanced Health Professional. 3 credits.

This course will focus on study of research methods that generate quantitative and qualitative data. Students will examine the components of the research process and the interrelationships among these components in the study of nursing. Emphasis will be placed on student critique of research literature and student participation in the research process.

NSG 630. Care Delivery and Coordination I. 4 credits.

This course focuses on the evaluation, management, and care coordination for clients with common health deviations across the adult lifespan in a variety of contexts. The course builds on knowledge and skills from health systems management, advanced health assessment, pathophysiology, and pharmacology. Emphasis is placed on formulating diagnoses and plans of care that encompass client, family, and coordinated systems of care. Prerequisites and corequisites: NSG 520, NSG 521 and NSG 522.

NSG 631. Care Delivery and Coordination II. 4 credits.

This course focuses on the evaluation, management, and care coordination for clients with common health deviations across the adult lifespan within a variety of contexts. The course builds on knowledge and skills from health systems management, advanced health assessment, pathophysiology, and pharmacology. Emphasis is placed on formulating diagnoses and plans of care that encompass client, family, and coordinated systems of care. Prerequisite: NSG 630.

NSG 632. Coordinated Care of the Elderly. 3 credits.

This course focuses on the health issues and needs of older adults and principles for evaluating, managing, and coordinating their care. Differentiating normal changes and symptoms of aging from disease-related changes, and strategies to optimize health and functioning are addressed. Emphasis is on the collaborative role of nurses in assisting elders and families (especially those in rural settings) to negotiate health care delivery systems. Prerequisites or corequisites: NSG, 520, NSG 521 and NSG 523.

NSG 633. Concepts in Advanced Practice Nursing. 3 credits.

This course explores advanced practice nursing (APN) and the varied and evolving roles that APNs assume in the health care system. The course will focus on historical and developmental aspects of advance practice nursing, competencies of advanced practice nursing, operational definitions of advanced practice nursing, and the continuing evolution of APN role. An emphasis will be placed on care coordination with the rural, aging adult population.

NSG 640. Curriculum Development in Nursing. 3 credits.

This course investigates models, techniques and instructional strategies for constructing curricula and developing programs in health care settings, the community, continuing education and in collegiate settings. Instructional design processes, procedures, implementation and evaluation will be emphasized

NSG 641. Curriculum Evaluation. 3 credits.

This course focuses on theories and practice in evaluation of nursing education programs, healthcare systems, and nursing practice. Emphasis is placed on evaluation of program goals and outcomes, and evidence based practice. Methods and processes in developing specific instruments for program evaluation data collection and data analysis will be discussed.

NSG 642. Concepts in Nursing Education. 3 credits.

Prepares advanced practice nurses to integrate educational theories, research and teaching-learning strategies in the education of staff, students, health care professionals, clients and communities across the lifespan. Emphasizes instructional design that reflects current learning theory, technology and health care systems.

NSG 671. Practicum I. 2 credits.

Emphasizes advanced practice role development, complex and holistic client/family care, health promotion/maintenance, and care coordination. Practicum is individualized and will highlight the advanced practice roles of clinician, manager, consultant, educator and researcher. Clinical Competencies will be emphasized to prepare the student for adult and gerontology clinical specialist certification or adult and geriatric nurse practitioner certification. Prerequisite: NSG 520; Corequisite: NSG 630.�

NSG 672. Practicum II. 3 credits.

Emphasis will be placed upon the application of clinical skills, theories, concepts, issues and research findings to the clinical care of older adults. Care coordination issues will be addressed as they specifically impact the aging population in all care settings. Clinical competencies required for certification in gerontological nursing will be emphasized. Prerequisite: NSG 671.

NSG 673. Practicum III. 4 credits.

Continuing emphasis on application of clinical skills, theories, concepts, issues and research findings to the clinical care of older adults. Care coordination issues will be addressed as they specifically impact the aging population in all care settings. Clinical competencies required for certification in gerontological nursing will be emphasized. Prerequisite: NSG 672.

NSG 674. Education Residency I. 3 credits.

Students apply theories of education to the development of teaching objectives, courses, and syllabi under faculty and preceptor guidance. A variety of assigned teaching practice settings afford the opportunity for students to develop competence with different teaching methods. Prerequisites or corequisites: NSG 640, NSG 641 and NSG 642.

NSG 675. Education Residency II. 4 credits.

Students demonstrate successful integration of theory with practice and synthesis of knowledge and skills in a selected teaching practice setting under faculty and preceptor guidance. Students practice and develop competence with a variety of advanced teaching methods. Students will engage in various forms of educational evaluation. Prerequisite: NSG 674.

NSG 697. Directed Study. 2 credits.

This course is designed to provide opportunities for professional role development and growth through the completion of a research or scholarly project relevant to advanced practice nursing or education. The project will focus on the specific professional goals of each student. Topic approval must be granted by study advisor. Prerequisite: NSG 611.