University of Arkansas at Little Rock

NURS 3400 Health Assessment
(Three credit hours)

May be taken the last semester in 2910

Prerequisites: Admission to BSN completion program or enrollment in final semester of a National League of Nursing Accreditation Commission (NLNAC) approved associate degree or diploma program with approval of department chairperson.

Provides the knowledge base in assessment of the patient across the lifespan. Focus is on the expanded role of provider of care through increased knowledge and skills necessary to perform a competent, comprehensive health history, physical, psychosocial, and environment assessment using specific assessment tools. Further focus is on analysis of data collected to support clinical decision making.

NURS 3310 Professional Role Development
(Three credit hours)

Prerequisite or Corequisite to all other upper level courses except (N3400)
N3320, N3330, N3340, N3350, N4510, N4520, N4530

Provides an overview of the historical development of professional nursing and explores the impact of historical, current, and future trends and issues in nursing practice including extant nursing theories. Professional nursing roles of designer, provider, manager and coordinator of care and member of the profession will be presented within the context of a multidisciplinary health care delivery system with a focus of improving health care outcomes.

NURS 3320 Wellness Promotion and the Nurse Educator
(Three credit hours)

Provides an overview of the nurse’s role as educator.  Emphasis is on principles of teaching and learning across the lifespan including health promotion and risk reduction.  Assessment of learning needs of patients and communities will be discussed.  This course will culminate with students designing and implementing a teaching project.

NURS 3330 Healthcare Economics
(Three credit hours)

Focuses on economic factors affecting consumers, health care providers, and health care delivery systems. The intent of the course is to provide information on administration and funding of health care systems while examining local and national policy issues relating to health care and cost management.  Emphasis is placed on the role of informatics, data management, emerging technologies, and policy development in the health care industry.

NURS 3340 Research and Evidence-Based Practice in Nursing
(Three credit hours)

Prerequisite (one of the following)

PSYC 2310 General Psyc Statistics
PSYC 2340 Statistics & Methods I
SOCI 3381/3181 Social Statistics
STAT 2350 Intro to Stat MethodsPre or

Corequisite:  N3310

Provides an overview of the research process and utilization of current nursing research in evidence-based practice. Issues of scientific merit and relevance of research to clinical practices will be explored. Emphasis is placed on the role of research in clinical problem solving, practice, and evaluation.

NURS 3350 Ethics, Legalities, and Advocacy
(Three credit hours)

Explores various ethical guidelines that inform and guide the decision making of nurses, including the American Nurses Association Code of Ethics. Emphasis is on the legal and ethical responsibilities of nurses in issues such as professional behavior, nurse-person relationships, end of life decisions, abortion, and biomedical research.

NURS 4510 Nursing Practice: Community Health Needs
(Five credit hours: 3 credits theory, 2 credits lab)

Provides information and exploration of community health nursing concepts and epidemiological principles with emphasis on health promotion, illness prevention, and illness management in aggregates at risk. Major public health and social issues are examined within the context of community systems along with the environmental, economical, political, and legal constraints in relation to current and future community needs. Practicum focus is on the professional nurse’s role in community assessment and development of an interventional project to meet identified community needs.

NURS 4520 Nursing Practice: Leadership and Management
(Five credit hours: 3 credits theory, 2 credits lab)

Provides the opportunity to synthesize previous learning experiences and develop knowledge and skills required for leadership and management roles.  Leadership, organizational management, and change theories are examined with students completing an organizational analysis of a health care system.  Practicum concepts addressed include organizational structure, strategic planning, change, conflict management, managing quality and performance, workplace diversity, budgeting and resource allocation, and delivery systems.

NURS 4530 Nursing Practice: Integration of Concepts
(Five credit hours: 3 credits theory, 2 credits lab)

Prerequisites: 3310, 4510, 4520

Prerequisites or Corequisites:  N3320, 3330, 3340, 3350

Focuses on a cumulative analysis of nursing knowledge and skills necessary to practice in an evolving health care system.  Practicum focus is on personal role development and integration of previous learning into one’s own nursing practice.  Students will complete and present a professional portfolio accumulated throughout the BSN completion program showing evidence or performance in the roles of designer, provider, educator, research utilizer, manager and coordinator of care, and member of the profession.