Students are introduced to the fundamental skills of professional nursing. An introductory unit of physics provides the basis for understanding concepts such as body mechanics, positioning and mobility. The laboratory component provides practice of selected fundamental nursing skills, as well as psychomotor skills necessary for care of individuals requiring assistance with mobility, hygiene and comfort. Included are basic principles of drug administration, teaching-learning and vital-sign assessment. Students have the opportunity to develop the beginning skills of a professional nurse through experiential learning.

This course provides an overview of the basic nutrients required by the body for optimal health and wellness. The role that nutrition plays in various phases of the human life cycle and the psychological and sociological implications of food are discussed. Students use scientific thinking to question nutritional information presented in the various media and dispel any common nutrition myths. Students learn how the scientific method of inquiry is used in nutritional science and the health fields. In addition, the application of nutritional concepts to care for patients are studied. Lastly, conditions that are amenable to modification and possible cure by diet therapy and other nursing and medical interventions are explored.

Select pathophysiologic processes of disease, clinical manifestations, complications and variations in wellness will be explored. Environmental and lifestyle influences are examined as well as other risks and influences on pathophysiological processes.

This course introduces a comprehensive approach to the clinical aspects of drug therapy, which are emphasized through the use of the nursing process, life span implications and basic principles of pharmacology. The course content includes several classifications of commonly prescribed medications, as well as selected complementary and alternative drugs. Within each classification, representative or prototype drugs are selected for study in terms of their mechanisms of action and therapeutic uses. Students apply knowledge of pharmacological concepts in the context of safe and effective nursing practice, which include methods of administration, safe dosage, side and adverse effects of medications, nursing implications and medication teaching.

The focus of this course is on the needs of adult patients and their families in relation to health promotion and management of conditions that require acute and chronic care. The nursing process is used in the discussion of health alterations affecting selected life processes. Students continue their professional skill development as members of the health team. A variety of populations and settings are used in the experiential learning component of this course.

This course focuses on alterations in life processes, including the effect on the patient’s family. The nursing process is used to make clinical decisions and foster health restoration and maintenance. Emphasis on discharge planning is included. A variety of populations and settings are used in the experiential learning component of this course.

Emphasis is on the dynamics of an individual’s ability to function in society. The course focuses on content relative to anxiety, self concept, thought disorders, mood alterations, addictive behaviors, organic brain dysfunction, abuse and violence issues. It also incorporates health promotion and wellness issues such as stress management and personal growth. Therapeutic communication techniques, individual and group therapy practices and community mental-health resources are also incorporated. A variety of population and settings are used in the experiential learning component of this course.

This course focuses on family-centered approaches to maternal/newborn care and incorporates health promotion and wellness issues. The childbearing cycle, including normal experience, high-risk factors, complications and alterations are studied. Additional women’s health issues are included. A variety of populations and settings are used in the experiential learning component of this course.

Family-Centered care of children is the focus of this course, exploring issues of normal child care as well as health alterations of children from infancy through adolescence. Students participate as members of the multidisciplinary health team to provide health promotion, illness prevention, health restoration and maintenance and rehabilitative care to children and families. A variety of population and settings are used in the experiential learning component of this course.