Online Adult-Gerontology Acute Care Nurse Practitioner Programs

A master's-prepared nurse is expected to critique, evaluate and utilize appropriate theory within his/her practice. This course focuses on the application of theoretical and conceptual frameworks to guide decision making that enhances health for culturally diverse populations. A variety of theories, e.g., developmental, systems, psychodynamic, physiological, and nursing theories relevant to health and illness care and organizations are explored. (3 credit hours)

Evidence-based practice is the deliberate use of current best practice in making informed decisions about patient care. This course emphasizes evidence-based practice as it relates to changing and improving nursing practice. Students systematically explore and evaluate current nursing knowledge for scientific and clinical merit. (3 credit hours)

The advanced practice nurse needs to understand the complexities and functioning of health care delivery systems, health care financing systems, and the development and implications of health care policies that guide those systems. The philosophical and sociocultural underpinnings of health care policy are examined. (3 credit hours)

Advanced Practice Nurse This course provides a theoretical foundation for exploring, analyzing, and evaluating the advance practice nursing roles within the health care system. The legal and ethical context in which the advanced nurse practices is addressed. (3 credit hours)

This course focuses on preparing the graduate nursing student to assume leadership roles on interprofessional teams that effectively implement patient safety and quality improvement initiatives. The course explores using a complexity science and systems theory approach to analyze organizations and the provision of health care within those organizations, as well as plan change strategies to improve the care environment. Budget and marketing principles will also be discussed. (3 credit hours)

Provides the basis for understanding the pathophysiology of diseases and the changes in normal function that result in manifestations indicative of illness. Emphasis is on correlating manifestations of illness with pathophysiological processes in order to formulate diagnoses and health care goals. (3 credit hours)

Advanced practice nurses perform comprehensive health assessments in a variety of settings. Advanced health assessment integrates health history, physical and psychological changes and psychosocial variations. The assessment is used to determine health and risk status, develop health promotion strategies, and establish priorities of care. Differences between a complete health history and a history for an episodic event are examined. This course incorporates documented clinical experience with a preceptor focusing on health history and physical assessment. Students will apply concepts related to advanced health assessment and health promotion to problems of adults in rural and/or urban health settings and will begin their clinical logs. (5 credit hours)

Nurse practitioners diagnose and prescribe treatment regimens for persons with common acute and/or chronic health problems. This course focuses on the pharmacological foundation for safely prescribing medical regimens for illnesses that affect individuals. Also included are illness prevention and non-pharmacological primary care for individuals and populations at risk. Selection of appropriate therapies, patient education and evaluation parameters are stressed. (3 credit hours)

First didactic management course in the Adult Gerontology Acute Care Nurse Practitioner program. Focus is on evidence based theory and research in individuals experiencing acute illness with common problems seen in the acute care setting. Students will analyze practice guidelines and learn to develop differential diagnoses implementing clinical judgment and decision-making as it relates to pathophysiology, pharmacology and evidence based management. (3 credit hours)

First practicum course in the Adult Gerontology Acute Care Nurse Practitioner (AGACNP) program. Application and integration of concepts presented in NURS 640 with focus on applying knowledge and skills in acute care practice settings. This course will examine common acute care presentations. (3 credit hours)

Second didactic management course in the Adult Gerontology Acute Care Nurse Practitioner program. Students will continue to expand on knowledge, decision making and management of acute and emergent physiological alterations in cardiovascular, pulmonary, renal, genitourinary, gastrointestinal, endocrine, infectious disease, OB-GYN and Hematology-Oncology disorders, while implementing critical thinking of pathophysiology, pharmacology and evidence-based management of complex symptomatology. (3 credit hours)

Second practicum course in the Adult Gerontology Acute Care Nurse Practitioner (AGACNP) program. Application and integration of concepts presented in the NURS 642 with focus on comprehensive health care to complex, acute and critically ill patients in a clinical, preceptored practicum experience. (3 credit hours)

Final didactic management course in the Adult Gerontology Acute Care Nurse Practitioner (AGACNP) program. Students will continue to refine knowledge, decision making and management of acute and emergent physiological alterations in neurological, traumatic, toxicology/ingestions, psychiatric, burns, shock states, failures states, sepsis, and multisystem disorders, as well as intensive life support and end of life, while implementing critical thinking of pathophysiology, pharmacology and evidence based management of complex symptomatology. (3 credit hours)

Final practicum course in the Adult Gerontology Acute Care Nurse Practitioner (AGACNP) program. Application and integration of concepts presented in the NURS 644 with focus on comprehensive health care to complex, acute and critically ill patients in a clinical, preceptored practicum experience. (3 credit hours)

A master's-prepared nurse is expected to critique, evaluate and utilize appropriate theory within his/her practice. This course focuses on the application of theoretical and conceptual frameworks to guide decision making that enhances health for culturally diverse populations. A variety of theories, e.g., developmental, systems, psychodynamic, physiological, and nursing theories relevant to health and illness care and organizations are explored. (3 credit hours)

Evidence-based practice is the deliberate use of current best practice in making informed decisions about patient care. This course emphasizes evidence-based practice as it relates to changing and improving nursing practice. Students systematically explore and evaluate current nursing knowledge for scientific and clinical merit. (3 credit hours)

Advanced Practice Nurse This course provides a theoretical foundation for exploring, analyzing, and evaluating the advance practice nursing roles within the health care system. The legal and ethical context in which the advanced nurse practices is addressed. (3 credit hours)

The master's-prepared nurse is in a key position to influence the health practices of individuals, groups and communities. Health screening, risk assessment, targeted needs assessment, and health promotion are emphasized. Health care goals at the local, regional, and national levels are implemented to direct program planning, development, implementation, and evaluation. (3 credit hours)

Provides the basis for understanding the pathophysiology of diseases and the changes in normal function that result in manifestations indicative of illness. Emphasis is on correlating manifestations of illness with pathophysiological processes in order to formulate diagnoses and health care goals. (3 credit hours)

Advanced practice nurses perform comprehensive health assessments in a variety of settings. Advanced health assessment integrates health history, physical and psychological changes and psychosocial variations. The assessment is used to determine health and risk status, develop health promotion strategies, and establish priorities of care. Differences between a complete health history and a history for an episodic event are examined. This course incorporates documented clinical experience with a preceptor focusing on health history and physical assessment. Students will apply concepts related to advanced health assessment and health promotion to problems of adults in rural and/or urban health settings and will begin their clinical logs. (5 credit hours)

Nurse practitioners diagnose and prescribe treatment regimens for persons with common acute and/or chronic health problems. This course focuses on the pharmacological foundation for safely prescribing medical regimens for illnesses that affect individuals. Also included are illness prevention and non-pharmacological primary care for individuals and populations at risk. Selection of appropriate therapies, patient education and evaluation parameters are stressed. (3 credit hours)

This course introduces students to the purpose, content, and methods of epidemiology and biostatistics. The fundamental concepts and techniques of descriptive and inferential statistics are explored with particular emphasis on applications in epidemiology, public health, global health, disease surveillance and outbreak analysis, health care administration, and the social and biological sciences. Basic statistics, including exploratory data analysis, descriptive statistics, hypothesis testing, correlation, regression, and ANOVA methods are presented. Evaluating and using output from statistical computing software are also addressed. (3 credit hours)

As the first course in the DNP program, this course is designed to refine students' scholarly writing skills through a variety of strategies. Along with important works in nursing, literature in other disciplines is also explored. The process of concept analysis is emphasized. (3 credit hours)

This course emphasizes an objective approach to the integration and synthesis of knowledge according to scientific principles and rules. The conceptual consequences imposed by science on philosophies of knowledge are also discussed. Manuscript preparation and practical use of evidence are incorporated in an effort to prepare students for the design of research proposals. (3 credit hours)

This course is designed to present ethical principles and decision-making models for the highest level of nursing practice. Evidence-based nursing and interprofessional literature are used to analyze ethical dilemmas that arise in professional practice. (3 credit hours)

This course is designed to provide students with the foundation of process improvement (PI) and quality improvement (QI) concepts. Theoretical perspectives of quality and patient safety factors and the use of selected process improvement tools will be examined. Evidence-based practice and change management will be integrated with concepts of PI and QI. Systems thinking will be emphasized. (3 credit hours)

In this course, students design an evidence-based research study that will guide clinical practice. The feasibility of conducting this research initiative is explored. Potential funding sources and budget issues will be examined. Students complete the human subjects training and write a proposal. (3 credit hours)

In this course, students implement their clinical project and complete data collection. Students apply integrated research concepts as they pertain to their clinical project. Utilization of various methods of data analysis and data management systems will be explored. (3 credit hours)

In this course, students complete data analysis of the clinical project. Based upon the results of data analysis, students disseminate their evidence-based research through written and oral delivery. (3 credit hours)

Organizational, management and social science theories are analyzed in the context of organizational leadership and change management. Systems thinking is emphasized. (3 credit hours)

In this course knowledge of the American healthcare system is used to identify economically and politically feasible and viable policy changes that would improve the efficiency and effectiveness of the system's delivery of health care. The policy-making process is examined to prepare students to be effective advocates for health policy change. (3 credit hours)

First didactic management course in the Adult Gerontology Acute Care Nurse Practitioner program. Focus is on evidence based theory and research in individuals experiencing acute illness with common problems seen in the acute care setting. Students will analyze practice guidelines and learn to develop differential diagnoses implementing clinical judgment and decision-making as it relates to pathophysiology, pharmacology and evidence based management. (3 credit hours)

First practicum course in the Adult Gerontology Acute Care Nurse Practitioner (AGACNP) program. Application and integration of concepts presented in NURS 640 with focus on applying knowledge and skills in acute care practice settings. This course will examine common acute care presentations. (3 credit hours)

Second didactic management course in the Adult Gerontology Acute Care Nurse Practitioner program. Students will continue to expand on knowledge, decision making and management of acute and emergent physiological alterations in cardiovascular, pulmonary, renal, genitourinary, gastrointestinal, endocrine, infectious disease, OB-GYN and Hematology-Oncology disorders, while implementing critical thinking of pathophysiology, pharmacology and evidence-based management of complex symptomatology. (3 credit hours)

Second practicum course in the Adult Gerontology Acute Care Nurse Practitioner (AGACNP) program. Application and integration of concepts presented in the NURS 642 with focus on comprehensive health care to complex, acute and critically ill patients in a clinical, preceptored practicum experience. (3 credit hours)

Final didactic management course in the Adult Gerontology Acute Care Nurse Practitioner (AGACNP) program. Students will continue to refine knowledge, decision making and management of acute and emergent physiological alterations in neurological, traumatic, toxicology/ingestions, psychiatric, burns, shock states, failures states, sepsis, and multisystem disorders, as well as intensive life support and end of life, while implementing critical thinking of pathophysiology, pharmacology and evidence based management of complex symptomatology. (3 credit hours)

Final practicum course in the Adult Gerontology Acute Care Nurse Practitioner (AGACNP) program. Application and integration of concepts presented in the NURS 644 with focus on comprehensive health care to complex, acute and critically ill patients in a clinical, preceptored practicum experience. (3 credit hours)

Advanced Practice Nurse This course provides a theoretical foundation for exploring, analyzing, and evaluating the advance practice nursing roles within the health care system. The legal and ethical context in which the advanced nurse practices is addressed. (3 credit hours)

The master's-prepared nurse is in a key position to influence the health practices of individuals, groups and communities. Health screening, risk assessment, targeted needs assessment, and health promotion are emphasized. Health care goals at the local, regional, and national levels are implemented to direct program planning, development, implementation, and evaluation. (3 credit hours)

Provides the basis for understanding the pathophysiology of diseases and the changes in normal function that result in manifestations indicative of illness. Emphasis is on correlating manifestations of illness with pathophysiological processes in order to formulate diagnoses and health care goals. (3 credit hours)

Advanced practice nurses perform comprehensive health assessments in a variety of settings. Advanced health assessment integrates health history, physical and psychological changes and psychosocial variations. The assessment is used to determine health and risk status, develop health promotion strategies, and establish priorities of care. Differences between a complete health history and a history for an episodic event are examined. This course incorporates documented clinical experience with a preceptor focusing on health history and physical assessment. Students will apply concepts related to advanced health assessment and health promotion to problems of adults in rural and/or urban health settings and will begin their clinical logs. (5 credit hours)

Nurse practitioners diagnose and prescribe treatment regimens for persons with common acute and/or chronic health problems. This course focuses on the pharmacological foundation for safely prescribing medical regimens for illnesses that affect individuals. Also included are illness prevention and non-pharmacological primary care for individuals and populations at risk. Selection of appropriate therapies, patient education and evaluation parameters are stressed. (3 credit hours)

First didactic management course in the Adult Gerontology Acute Care Nurse Practitioner program. Focus is on evidence based theory and research in individuals experiencing acute illness with common problems seen in the acute care setting. Students will analyze practice guidelines and learn to develop differential diagnoses implementing clinical judgment and decision-making as it relates to pathophysiology, pharmacology and evidence based management. (3 credit hours)

First practicum course in the Adult Gerontology Acute Care Nurse Practitioner (AGACNP) program. Application and integration of concepts presented in NURS 640 with focus on applying knowledge and skills in acute care practice settings. This course will examine common acute care presentations. (3 credit hours)

Second didactic management course in the Adult Gerontology Acute Care Nurse Practitioner program. Students will continue to expand on knowledge, decision making and management of acute and emergent physiological alterations in cardiovascular, pulmonary, renal, genitourinary, gastrointestinal, endocrine, infectious disease, OB-GYN and Hematology-Oncology disorders, while implementing critical thinking of pathophysiology, pharmacology and evidence-based management of complex symptomatology. (3 credit hours)

Second practicum course in the Adult Gerontology Acute Care Nurse Practitioner (AGACNP) program. Application and integration of concepts presented in the NURS 642 with focus on comprehensive health care to complex, acute and critically ill patients in a clinical, preceptored practicum experience. (3 credit hours)

Final didactic management course in the Adult Gerontology Acute Care Nurse Practitioner (AGACNP) program. Students will continue to refine knowledge, decision making and management of acute and emergent physiological alterations in neurological, traumatic, toxicology/ingestions, psychiatric, burns, shock states, failures states, sepsis, and multisystem disorders, as well as intensive life support and end of life, while implementing critical thinking of pathophysiology, pharmacology and evidence based management of complex symptomatology. (3 credit hours)

Final practicum course in the Adult Gerontology Acute Care Nurse Practitioner (AGACNP) program. Application and integration of concepts presented in the NURS 644 with focus on comprehensive health care to complex, acute and critically ill patients in a clinical, preceptored practicum experience. (3 credit hours)

This course introduces students to the purpose, content, and methods of epidemiology and biostatistics. The fundamental concepts and techniques of descriptive and inferential statistics are explored with particular emphasis on applications in epidemiology, public health, global health, disease surveillance and outbreak analysis, health care administration, and the social and biological sciences. Basic statistics, including exploratory data analysis, descriptive statistics, hypothesis testing, correlation, regression, and ANOVA methods are presented. Evaluating and using output from statistical computing software are also addressed. (3 credit hours)

As the first course in the DNP program, this course is designed to refine students' scholarly writing skills through a variety of strategies. Along with important works in nursing, literature in other disciplines is also explored. The process of concept analysis is emphasized. (3 credit hours)

This course emphasizes an objective approach to the integration and synthesis of knowledge according to scientific principles and rules. The conceptual consequences imposed by science on philosophies of knowledge are also discussed. Manuscript preparation and practical use of evidence are incorporated in an effort to prepare students for the design of research proposals. (3 credit hours)

In this course knowledge of the American healthcare system is used to identify economically and politically feasible and viable policy changes that would improve the efficiency and effectiveness of the system's delivery of health care. The policy-making process is examined to prepare students to be effective advocates for health policy change. (3 credit hours)

Understanding the measurement of phenomena is a critical component of the research process. Procedures for selecting, applying and interpreting the correct statistical application to a research problem will be presented with students processing the results. (3 credit hours)

This course is designed to present ethical principles and decision-making models for the highest level of nursing practice. Evidence-based nursing and interprofessional literature are used to analyze ethical dilemmas that arise in professional practice. (3 credit hours)

This course is designed to provide students with the foundation of process improvement (PI) and quality improvement (QI) concepts. Theoretical perspectives of quality and patient safety factors and the use of selected process improvement tools will be examined. Evidence-based practice and change management will be integrated with concepts of PI and QI. Systems thinking will be emphasized. (3 credit hours)

In this course, students design an evidence-based research study that will guide clinical practice. The feasibility of conducting this research initiative is explored. Potential funding sources and budget issues will be examined. Students complete the human subjects training and write a proposal. (3 credit hours)

In this course, students implement their clinical project and complete data collection. Students apply integrated research concepts as they pertain to their clinical project. Utilization of various methods of data analysis and data management systems will be explored. (3 credit hours)

In this course, students complete data analysis of the clinical project. Based upon the results of data analysis, students disseminate their evidence-based research through written and oral delivery. (3 credit hours)

Organizational, management and social science theories are analyzed in the context of organizational leadership and change management. Systems thinking is emphasized. (3 credit hours)

Advanced Practice Nurse This course provides a theoretical foundation for exploring, analyzing, and evaluating the advance practice nursing roles within the health care system. The legal and ethical context in which the advanced nurse practices is addressed. (3 credit hours)

The master's-prepared nurse is in a key position to influence the health practices of individuals, groups and communities. Health screening, risk assessment, targeted needs assessment, and health promotion are emphasized. Health care goals at the local, regional, and national levels are implemented to direct program planning, development, implementation, and evaluation. (3 credit hours)

Provides the basis for understanding the pathophysiology of diseases and the changes in normal function that result in manifestations indicative of illness. Emphasis is on correlating manifestations of illness with pathophysiological processes in order to formulate diagnoses and health care goals. (3 credit hours)

Advanced practice nurses perform comprehensive health assessments in a variety of settings. Advanced health assessment integrates health history, physical and psychological changes and psychosocial variations. The assessment is used to determine health and risk status, develop health promotion strategies, and establish priorities of care. Differences between a complete health history and a history for an episodic event are examined. This course incorporates documented clinical experience with a preceptor focusing on health history and physical assessment. Students will apply concepts related to advanced health assessment and health promotion to problems of adults in rural and/or urban health settings and will begin their clinical logs. (5 credit hours)

Nurse practitioners diagnose and prescribe treatment regimens for persons with common acute and/or chronic health problems. This course focuses on the pharmacological foundation for safely prescribing medical regimens for illnesses that affect individuals. Also included are illness prevention and non-pharmacological primary care for individuals and populations at risk. Selection of appropriate therapies, patient education and evaluation parameters are stressed. (3 credit hours)

First didactic management course in the Adult Gerontology Acute Care Nurse Practitioner program. Focus is on evidence based theory and research in individuals experiencing acute illness with common problems seen in the acute care setting. Students will analyze practice guidelines and learn to develop differential diagnoses implementing clinical judgment and decision-making as it relates to pathophysiology, pharmacology and evidence based management. (3 credit hours)

The theoretical, clinical, and role components of care are implemented in a supervised clinical practicum with a board certified nurse practitioner or physician preceptor. Opportunity is provided for the assessment, management, and evaluation of young, middle, and older aged adults with common and complex health problems in a primary care setting. Emphasis is on independence in decision-making within a multidisciplinary context. (3 credit hours)

Care of adults experiencing selected common acute and chronic health problems as well as those experiencing complex and multiple health problems is studied in this course. Emphasis is placed on detailed history taking, differential diagnosis, management of health care problems, and documentation of findings. Strategies to manage health problems of adults in urban and rural primary care settings are explored with an emphasis on evidence-based research guidelines. Nursing care to support positive life-style behaviors, primary prevention, and support of functional ability is discussed. (3 credit hours)

The theoretical, clinical, and role components of care are implemented in a supervised clinical practicum with a board certified nurse practitioner or physician preceptor. Opportunity is provided for the assessment, management, and evaluation of young, middle, and older-aged adults with common and complex health problems in a primary care setting. Emphasis is on independence in decision-making within a multidisciplinary context. (3 credit hours)

Final didactic management course in the Adult Gerontology Acute Care Nurse Practitioner (AGACNP) program. Students will continue to refine knowledge, decision making and management of acute and emergent physiological alterations in neurological, traumatic, toxicology/ingestions, psychiatric, burns, shock states, failures states, sepsis, and multisystem disorders, as well as intensive life support and end of life, while implementing critical thinking of pathophysiology, pharmacology and evidence based management of complex symptomatology. (3 credit hours)

Final practicum course in the Adult Gerontology Acute Care Nurse Practitioner (AGACNP) program. Application and integration of concepts presented in the NURS 644 with focus on comprehensive health care to complex, acute and critically ill patients in a clinical, preceptored practicum experience. (3 credit hours)