ENG 101 First-Year Composition (3 or 4 credit hrs.)

An introductory expository writing course. Students will write a variety of short essays, culminating in a research essay. Emphasis is on close reading, discovering worthwhile topics, drafting and revising, and evaluation and presentation of evidence. Students will also be evaluated on the development and implementation of an oral presentation.

PSY 100 Principles of Psychology (3 or 4 credit hrs.)

Surveys the field of psychology, emphasizing issues of current importance. Topics covered include research methodology and the influence of biological, social, and environmental factors on behavior.

PSY 220 Life-Span Developmental Psychology (3 or 4 credit hrs.)

Examines the physical, cognitive, social, and emotional development of individuals from conception to death. Special attention is given to the environmental and biological factors that contribute to normal development in childhood, adolescence, adulthood and aging. Prerequisite: PSY 100 or equivalent.

SOC 100 Introduction to Sociology (3 or 4 credit hrs.)

Introduces the sociological perspective in understanding the everyday lives of members of a society. Emphasizes the influence of socialization, culture, inequality, institutionalization, conflict and collective behavior. Focuses primarily on the United States.

BIO 215: Anatomy & Physiology I (4 credit hrs.)

Covers the various systems of the human body. Emphasizes the anatomy and physiology of cells, the integumentary, skeletal, muscular and nervous systems. Laboratory studies include the skeletal system using articulated and disarticulated human skeletons, tissues using prepared slides, and the nervous system using preserved specimens and physiological exercises. Three lecture hours and three laboratory hours per week.

BIO 216 Anatomy & Physiology II (4 credit hrs.)

Covers the various systems of the human body. Emphasizes the anatomy and physiology of the autonomic nervous system, circulatory system, respiratory system, urinary system, acid-base balance, digestive system, endocrine system and reproductive system. Laboratory studies include the musculature of a cat, circulatory system, respiratory system, urinary system, digestive system and reproductive system. Dissections of a cat and cow hearts will be performed. Tissue studies will use prepared slides. Respiratory volumes will be measured and EKG’s will be recorded using IWORX. Three lecture hours and three laboratory hours per week. Prerequisite: BIO 215.

BIO 275 Microbiology (4 credit hrs.)

Covers the fundamentals of microbiology including the study of bacteria, viruses, fungi, algae and protozoa as well as microbial structure, metabolism, culturing, control and genetics. Basic laboratory skills and microscopy techniques are also included. Three hours of lecture and three hours of laboratory per week.

*If you have questions regarding transferring any of the above courses, please contact the
Registrar’s Office at (315) 801-8347.

Nursing Courses

Nursing 001: College Survival Skills

FOCUS – Essential Skills for College Success
Nursing 001 is a one-credit course designed to assist the three-year track learner in gaining the confidence that comes from self-knowledge and achievement to meet the challenges of college, life, and work. Vital study skills, critical thinking strategies, self-discovery techniques, and selfmanagement tools are explored and practiced throughout the course. The course is designed to help learners develop the affective strategies and practical skills they need to immediately see a positive difference in both academic performance and the life choices they make. Learners will learn to create and use study systems, think critically, concentrate, read with understanding, and manage their learning to achieve successful outcomes.

15 Theory Hours, Fall Semester: 1 Credit

Nursing 116: Fundamentals of Professional Nursing Practice

Nursing 116 is designed to prepare the learner with a sound basis for the practice of professional nursing. The essential elements of safety, caring, thinking, teaching, assessment, communication, and professionalism are addressed. Systems theory concepts are used to promote understanding of
the holistic nature of man. The nursing process is taught as a framework for application of critical thinking to the delivery of client-centered care for adults along the developmental continuum. Care strategies taught reflect the role of evidence in determining best clinical practice. The learner is introduced to the integrated roles of the associate degree nurse as determined by assessment of client needs along the wellness-illness continuum. The importance of working
competently within the scope of nursing practice as a member of the health care team is stressed. The responsibility of nurses to strive for continuous improvement in quality and safety along the continuum of health care settings is considered. Opportunities are provided for the learner to practice the components of information literacy.Nursing laboratory demonstrations and practice sessions allow the learner to develop cognitive, affective, and psychomotor skills essential for nursing care. During focused clinical experiences, the learner is guided in the application of these skills when caring for the adult client.

67.5 Theory Hours First Year: First Semester 45 Nursing Laboratory Hours 8 Credits
90 Clinical Instruction Hours
Co-requisites: BIO215, ENG101, NUR141

Nursing 141: Introduction to Pharmacotherapy

Nursing 141 is designed to introduce the learner to the role and responsibilities of the nurse in pharmacotherapy. The essential elements of safety, caring, thinking, teaching, assessment, communication, documentation, and professionalism are emphasized. The concepts of pharmacokinetics, pharmacodynamics, and pharmacotherapeutics are outlined and applied to specified drug classifications used to restore and maintain human system balance. Drug classifications studied correlate with theory being taught concurrently in Nursing 116 and include the following: natural/herbal preparations, antimicrobials, electrolytes, diuretics, analgesics, antianxiety drugs, ophthalmic drugs, otic drugs, and gastrointestinal drugs. Prototype drugs selected from these classifications are the focus of study. The learner is guided in the application of the nursing process, standards of care, national patient safety goals, and quality and safety education for nurses (QSEN) competencies to safe medication administration. Criteria for appropriate sources of drug information are specified, including currency, accuracy, consistency with agency policies, and inclusion of FDA guidelines. The impact of biopsychosocial factors that influence individual client responses to medications is studied to foster client-centered care. Examples include occurrence of expected and unexpected drug and food interactions. Nursing laboratory demonstrations and practice sessions allow the learner to develop the cognitive, psychomotor, and technological skills essential for the safe delivery of medications via oral, parenteral, and non-parenteral routes. Skills practiced include clinical calculations of drug dosage and primary intravenous (IV) infusions, navigation through computer medication administration program, programming IV infusion pumps. Delivery of medication via nasogastric/gastric tubes is also practiced.

22.5 Theory Hours First Year: First Semester
15 Nursing Laboratory Hours 2 Credits
0 Clinical Instruction Hours
Co-requisites: NUR 116, BIO215, ENG101

Nursing 118: Concepts of Holistic Nursing I

Nursing 118 emphasizes the essential elements of safety, caring, and thinking as the learner is introduced to experiences that showcase the client’s physiological and psychosocial needs along the continuums of development, wellness-illness, and health care settings. Areas of physiological study include metabolic, tissue perfusion, oxygenation, excretory and mobilization needs. The learner is afforded opportunities to practice holistic assessment with further emphasis on mental status and neurological functioning. The nursing process is the modality for the application of Watson’s carative factors in the delivery of holistic client-centered care. Learners are taught to individualize care strategies reflective of best current practice and human diversity. Human responses to psychosocial disorders are also emphasized. Learners are guided in the analysis of interpersonal communication following goal-directed interactions with clients to enhance their ability to apply therapeutic communication skills. The interfusion of experiences in the classroom, lab, and clinical settings stimulates the learner to think from multiple perspectives. MultiPedagogical approaches are used to encourage further development of the learner’s affective, cognitive, and psychomotor skills in the settings where
learning takes place.

71.25 Theory Hours First Year: Second Semester
7.5 Nursing Laboratory Hours 8 Credits
135 Clinical Instruction Hours
Prerequisite: NUR116, NUR141, BIO215, ENG101
Co-requisites: NUR142, BIO216, PSY100

Nursing 142: Caring Processes in Pharmacotherapy

Nursing 142 is designed to enhance the learner’s understanding of the use of pharmacotherapeutics in restoring and maintaining human systems balance. The essential elements of safety, caring, thinking, teaching, assessment, communication, documentation, and professionalism are emphasized as the learner’s theory base is broadened by study of drug classifications used in the prevention and treatment of conditions taught concurrently in Nursing 118. Prototype drugs representing the following classifications are included: antidiabetics, antihypertensives, antilipidemics, anticoagulants, glucocorticoids, respiratory drugs, autonomic nervous system drugs, antidepressants, antimanic/mood stabilizing drugs, antiparkinsonian drugs. The learner is guided in the application of the nursing process, standards of care, national patient safety goals, and quality and safety education for nurses (QSEN) to safe medication administration with specific emphasis on client assessment and education. These include analysis of the multiple pharmacotherapeutic agents that a client may be taking to identify and minimize potential detrimental effects of pharmacotherapy. Client-centered education relative to pharmacotherapeutics is emphasized. Criteria for appropriate sources of drug information continue to be emphasized. Nursing laboratory demonstrations and practice sessions allow the learner to broaden their practice of skills required for delivery of safe medication administration. Practice of clinical calculations is expanded to include calculation of intravenous drug dosages. Psychomotor skill practice involves the delivery of medication intravenously (IV) via peripheral and central venous access devices (CVAD) using the IV direct and IV secondary piggyback methods. Administration of total parenteral nutrition (TPN) is also addressed.

26.25 Theory Hours First Year: Second Semester
7.5 Nursing Laboratory Hours 2 Credits
0 Clinical Instruction Hours
Prerequisites: NUR 116, NUR 141, BIO 215, ENG 101
Co-requisites: NUR 118, BIO 216, PSY100

Nursing 122: Clinical Practicum in Nursing

Nursing 122 provides the learner with an intensive clinical experience in the acute care setting. This practicum fosters the ability to unify and apply caring concepts central to safe nursing practice. During this clinical experience, the learner is challenged to further develop critical thinking skills in the effective delivery of holistic client-centered care. The facilitator guides the learner in practicing the roles of teacher, critical thinker, communicator, caregiver, and professional. An emphasis is on the use of best practice evidence as essential constructs in the provision of nursing care to a culturally diverse client population. Throughout this course, Jean Watson’s carative factors are explored as the learner develops a plan of care to assist clients in achieving health goals. Clinical preparation, guided by the educator, assists the learner to interfuse the interdisciplinary approach into the delivery of quality care, promoting positive client outcomes. Additional teaching strategies and learning activities enhance the learner’s creative inquiry and ability to correlate theory with clinical practice.

0 Theory Hours First Year: Summer Session
0 Nursing Laboratory Hours 2 Credit
90 Clinical Instruction Hours (2 cr. hrs.)
Prerequisites: NUR116, NUR141, NUR118, NUR142, BIO215, BIO216, ENG101, PSY100

Nursing 232: Care of the Childrearing Family

Nursing 232 provides the learner with the opportunity to apply fundamental caring concepts to women, children and their families. A major component of this course is the incorporation of family-centered caring concepts within levels of prevention. Caring processes for the pregnant woman and her neonate are applied to facilitate systems balance throughout the perinatal experience. The learner is privileged to share in the uniqueness of the perinatal experience with the family. The needs of women across the lifespan are studied, with the inclusion of strategies to promote wellness based on best current evidence and an understanding of diverse client values and preferences. Additionally, major developmental theorists are discussed and utilized as the basis for understanding the affective, social, cognitive, and spiritual development of the child along the continuums. The achievement of physical competencies is incorporated as an important measure of the child’s attainment of optimum systems balance. Emphasis is on health promotion for the maturing woman along the continuums, progressing to family-centered caring concepts within levels of prevention. The learner is guided in the understanding of health promotion needs from infancy to adolescence. Thinking activities call upon the learner to apply a foundation of developmental theory when planning and implementing care strategies for the childrearing family, based on best current evidence and awareness of
cultural diversity. Caring processes for select physiologic disorders of childhood are studied. Clinical experiences in acute care and community settings involve the learner in activities designed to meet the diverse needs of the childrearing family. The learner is expected to apply critical thinking skills when delivering client care to promote, maintain, or restore wellness.

75 Theory Hours Second Year: First Semester
0 Nursing Laboratory Hours 7 Credits
90 Clinical Instruction Hours
Prerequisites: NUR116, NUR118, NUR141, NUR142, NUR122, BIO215, BIO216, ENG101,
PSY100
Co-requisites: NUR233, BIO275, PSY220

Nursing 233: Issues in Professional Nursing Practice

Nursing 233 provides the learner with opportunities to gain enhanced understanding of the independent and collaborative role of the professional nurse. The major emphasis of this course is on concepts related to nursing research/best practice, liability in nursing practice, and current issues that affect the delivery of quality client care. Bioethical theories are explored to assist the learner in analyzing ethical dilemmas related to client systems imbalance. Multipedagogical activities are used to facilitate ongoing study of the legal responsibilities of the nurse across the continuums. The learner is guided in creative inquiry regarding issues and trends that impact on nursing as a caring profession, which includes monitoring data to evaluate outcomes of care in order to continually improve the quality and safety of healthcare. Clinical experiences may occur in the acute and community care settings to involve the learner in activities that encompass the identification of possible ethical dilemmas, bioethical decision making and applying legal principles in daily nursing practice.

15 Theory Hours Second Year: First Semester
0 Nursing Laboratory Hours/45 Clinical Instruction Hours 2 Credits
Prerequisites: NUR116, NUR118, NUR141, NUR142, NUR122, BIO215, BIO 216,ENG101,
PSY100
Co-requisites: NUR232, BIO275, PSY220

Nursing 240: Concepts of Holistic Nursing II

Nursing 240 charges the learner with the opportunity to integrate the concepts of caring, safety, multiperspectival thinking, teaching, communication, assessment, and professionalism when caring for clients exhibiting select physiologic disorders resulting in multisystem imbalance. The interfusion of experiences in the classroom, laboratory, and clinical settings stimulates the learner to think from multiple perspectives to promote optimal client wellness, incorporating nationally established client health and safety goals. The major emphasis of this course is the holistic care of these clients with complex needs who may require intensive care strategies to promote systems balance. Exemplars are chosen to correlate with the areas of study inclusive of: complex tissue perfusion, oxygenation, cellular maturation, cognition and perception, metabolism, excretion, immunity and protection needs as they impact on clients along the continuums. Multipedagogical approaches are used to encourage further development and emulation of characteristics of the professional nurse, reflective of best practice models. Evidence based practice is utilized to promote quality improvement during the delivery of collaborative care measures. Additionally, the professional nurse’s role in the protection of the community and emergency preparedness is explored. Laboratory experiences provide an opportunity for the demonstration and practice of caring strategies that correlate with theory content. Clinical simulations are integrated throughout this course to provide the learner with opportunities to apply theory and critical thinking while experiencing the interrelationship among members of the healthcare team. Through varied clinical experiences within the acute care setting, the learner practices critical thinking when collaborating with the health care team to promote optimal client wellness. A culminating clinical experience provides the learner with the opportunity to be socialized into the profession of nursing, under the guidance of a registered nurse preceptor. The educator and preceptor support the learner in the internalization of the roles of critical thinker, citizen, caregiver, manager, learner, collaborator, communicator, teacher, and professional. The learner is supported in synthesizing all educational experiences in preparation for the practice of nursing inclusive of the nursing process and across the continuums of development, wellness-illness, and
health care settings.

67.5 Theory Hours Second Year: Second Semester
15 Nursing Laboratory Hours 9 Credits
180 Clinical Instruction Hours
Prerequisites: NUR116, NUR118, NUR141, NUR142, NUR122, NUR232, NUR233,BIO215,
BIO216, ENG101, PSY100, PSY220, BIO275
Co-requisites: NUR244, SOC100

Nursing 244: Transition to Professional Practice

Nursing 244 provides the learner with opportunities to gain enhanced understanding of the independent and collaborative role of the professional nurse. The major emphasis of this course is on best-practice strategies to facilitate role transition from learner to graduate nurse utilizing principles of political activity, management, and research to enhance safe client-centered care. Leadership styles and collaboration strategies are explored in order to foster the application of multiperspectival thinking to the management of client-centered care. The learner is guided in creative inquiry regarding issues and trends that impact nursing as a caring profession. This includes review of data via published research and professional sources to facilitate continuous quality improvement and fiscal responsibility.

15 Theory Hours Second Year: Second Semester
0 Nursing Laboratory Hours 1 Credit
0 Clinical Instruction Hours
Prerequisites: NUR116, NUR118, NUR141, NUR142, NUR122, NUR232,NUR233, BIO215, BIO
216, BIO 275, ENG 101, PSY100, PSY220
Co-requisites: NUR 240, SOC100