The course covers the basic principles of epidemiology including descriptive epidemiology, causation, basic epidemiologic designs and interpretation.

This course provides a framework for advanced practice in a variety of specialty areas through analysis of essential concepts and methodologies.

The DNP scholarly project demonstrates an in-depth knowledge of each student's area of specialization in nursing practice. This project relates to advanced practice in the nursing specialty and benefits a group, population, or community rather than an individual patient. The DNP Scholarly project is a synthesis of the student's work and lays the groundwork for future scholarship with the goal of a tangible and deliverable academic product derived from the practice courses and immersion experience. The DNP scholarly project, unlike that of PhD level research, may take a number of forms such as: practice change initiative; pilot study; program evaluation; quality improvement project; evaluation of a new practice model; or a consulting project. This course addresses the unique needs and challenges second year DNP students face while completing their projects. Seminar content focuses on skills necessary for successful clinical project completion through: presentations, selected readings and online forums. The seminar operates at the group level and is designed to work in concert with and support individual students' DNP Faculty Director and external mentor (often the student's preceptor at the project site). Course content parallels the three overall stages of a DNP Scholarly Project: the design, proposal submission and proposal approval (First semester); project implementation (second semester); and, final presentation and dissemination (third semester). Students are expected to have a Faculty Director for their project and a tentative external mentor in place prior to course entry. This seminar is completed sequentially over a minimum of three semesters. Students are expected to be enrolled in this course each semester that they are working on the DNP Scholarly Project.

Theory, evidence, and the systematic translation of research into practice serve as the foci for DNP practicum experiences across the program of study. Students investigate clinical problems and refine their clinical translational capabilities within the context of the broader health care system. Clinical learning is directed toward systematic application of knowledge and scientific discovery in resolving new or persistent problems affecting the safety and quality of patient care. Mentored clinical application of evidence-based knowledge and skills, as well as independent investigation and evaluation of outcomes, supports integration of the DNP role into the complex circumstances of contemporary nursing practice. Leadership, consultation, advocacy, fiscal accountability and interdisciplinary collaboration serve as core competencies to effect organizational change.

In their various roles and practice settings, health care professionals participate in the unfolding stories of patients/clients and their families. They encounter ethical questions, concerns, problems and dilemmas in the course of their professional lives. These challenges affect health care professionals as independent and collaborative decision makers as well as members of the health care team who may be called upon to implement the decisions of others. This course provides students with opportunities to explore the impact of ethical issues on their personal and professional lives. Individual, family, institutional and societal issues are discussed. Students are guided in the application of frameworks that aid in resolving ethical dilemmas in professional practice. Emphasis is placed on developing skills in reflective moral thinking.

This course prepares graduate nursing students to obtain a complete and accurate health database, including history, physical examination, and laboratory components, as a foundation for advanced nursing practice. Building upon previously acquired assessment skills, the focus is on the critical skills of obtaining a meaningful history and integrating it with physical findings to begin to develop a problem list.

This course will be the foundation for the advanced practice nurse to make appropriate decisions regarding the pharmacological management of patients in clinical practice. Pharmacological principles, including pharmacokinetics, pharmacodynamics, mechanisms of adverse drug reactions, and contraindications will be discussed. Legal requirements for writing prescriptions and the format for prescriptions as well as common sources of medication errors and methods to prevent them will be described. Developmental considerations, socioeconomic status, and complementary therapies will be addressed throughout the course. Pharmacotherapy of selected common disorders will be addressed. Students will synthesize and integrate diverse viewpoints, principles, and selected research findings related to the complex needs of patients via case study analyses. This course, along with clinical courses, will prepare the advanced practice nurse for prescriptive authority.

This course presents contemporary principles of physiology that underlie the normal function of the human body and serve as a basis for clinical practice in a variety of settings. The content is taught within the context of key molecular processes, cellular and organ system function, and interactions among organ systems. Select clinical cases and exemplars are used to illustrate physiologic concepts and to facilitate the application of physiologic principles to understand the body's homeostatic processes in health and disease. Emphasis is on normal physiology but approaches are used to bridge physiological science with clinical application to common clinical disorders. The educational experience consists of three hours of classroom or on-line instruction per week, independent readings, case analyses, web-based applications, and classroom and/or course platform-supported discussion.

This course will introduce graduate nursing students to general health policy with a clinical approach. The focus of study in this course is to look at health policy as well as individual patients and caregivers and how they interact with each other and with the overall health systems. Health policy affects the patients we see on a daily basis, and the finances of health in the United States influences the care that is offered depending upon public or private health care funding. This course content will help bridge the gap separating the micro-world of individual patient and the macro universe of health policy.

This course introduces concepts of economics and financial management for health care professionals. Course content includes principles of economics, fundamentals of managed care, and health reform, budgets and budget preparation, financial analysis, preparation of business plans, and health program grant proposals, and issues relevant to international settings and future trends.

This course is designed to provide the student with an overview of the philosophy and principles of palliative care; the course emphasizes the unique knowledge that describes, explains, and guides the provision of hospice and palliative care. Students consider a holistic approach to care, including state-of-the-art nursing interventions that provide effective pain and symptom management and promote psychosocial and spiritual well-being. Students are prepared to serve diverse client populations whose diseases are life-threatening, and to perform effectively as members of an interdisciplinary team providing palliative care.

Directed study in a specific topic area under the supervision of a faculty member.

One course of a three-course sequence, GNUR 514 is designed to prepare the Nurse Practitioner to assume responsibility for coordination and management of adult/older adult health care. A major focus of the course is to prepare the student to assess and manage selected common health problems of adults/older adults in primary care settings. Indications for collaboration, consultation, and/or referral to other health care providers are emphasized as an integral part of the nurse practitioner's role. The accompanying practicum offers the student an opportunity to exercise critical judgment and implement theoretical knowledge in the management of care of adults experiencing common health problems.

This practicum course guides the student toward a synthesis of content from nursing and related sciences and the application of this knowledge to the advanced practice role of Nurse Practitioner in primary care. During each practicum, the student will care for patients progressing in complexity from health promotion and disease prevention to assessment and management of the most common acute, chronic, and complex health problems. The student's level of performance is expected to progress throughout the clinical practicum from requiring assistance to becoming primarily independent. Clinical seminars will include discussion of concepts introduced in previous courses with application to clinical practice. Seminars will include student and faculty-led discussions, case reviews, and guest speakers.

This one-day seminar focuses on helping the primary care nurse practitioner student prepare for the first clinical practicum. The seminar includes a standardized patient experience.

This course provides an opportunity for the student to undergo a mentored experience in scientific inquiry. With the Course Director, students will identify a faculty mentor who has an active program of research and can provide an environment for a mentored experience in scientific investigation. The student and faculty mentor will mutually develop achievable objectives with measureable outcomes. This experience can encompass a broad range of research activities that span the scope of scientific investigation. Successful completion of the internship will provide the student with an experiential base of research, which will enhance their knowledge and skills in the conduct of research and facilitate their socialization into the multifaceted role of an investigator.

Directed Study is a focused, defined, and substantive reading or research experience supervised by a faculty member. Directed study involves a close collaboration between the student, supervising faculty, and the academic advisor/chair in the design, scope, and expected student learning outcomes from the experience. Directed study may not be used as a substitute for an existing course or a cancelled course. Directed study credits may range from 1 to 3 semester hours. A course topic of Directed Readings or Directed Research may be requested to be entered on the transcript.

This course focuses on continuing formation as a scholar through the development of the dissertation proposal. Using the student's dissertation plans as a reference point, the course will target strategies and competencies in generating and critically evaluating new knowledge, understanding the legacies of past and current work in the discipline and topic area, the transformational nature of knowledge, and the transformative work of communicating knowledge to others. Students are expected to maintain close and frequent contact with their dissertation chairperson/ committee members during their enrollment in the course. Two semesters in seminar format and thereafter the student works with the Dissertation Chair and committee in completing the dissertation

Course designation for students who have completed their coursework and are completing the master's comprehensive examination. Enrollment in GNUR 605 is considered full-time study. Graded as credit (pass) or no credit (fail). This course can be taken twice.

This course can only be taken two times during a doctoral student's career.

MCN 401 is designed to prepare the Nurse Practitioner to assume responsibility for the coordination and management of health care for children, birth through adolescence. A developmental perspective is used to address the primary health care needs of the childrearing family with an emphasis on meeting the psychosocial and developmental needs of children and families. A major focus of the course is to prepare the student to assess, diagnose and manage selected common health problems of the pediatric population in primary care settings. Indications for collaboration, consultation, and/or referral to other members of the health care team are emphasized as an integral part of the nurse practitioner's role. The accompanying practicum offers the student an opportunity to exercise critical clinical judgment and implement theoretical knowledge in the management of the pediatric population, both in health and when experiencing common health problems.

This course will prepare the advanced practice nurse to manage the health care of essentially normal childbearing women during the prenatal and postpartum periods. Theories and knowledge from biological, behavioral, social and nursing sciences will be applied in the provision of care for childbearing women and families. Emphasis is on the concept of wellness during pregnancy, recognition of high-risk conditions requiring referral or collaborative practice, and the importance of support from family and community networks.

This practicum course guides the student toward a synthesis of content from nursing and related sciences and the application of this knowledge to the advanced practice role of Nurse Practitioner in primary care. During each practicum, the student will care for patients progressing in complexity from health promotion and disease prevention to assessment and management of the most common acute, chronic, and complex health problems. The student's level of performance is expected to progress throughout the clinical practicum from requiring assistance to becoming primarily independent. Pre or

This course prepares the student to understand that scholarly inquiry, evaluation of evidence, and the development of evidence-based practices/protocols form the foundation for evidence-based practice. Methods of operationalizing scholarly inquiry include understanding relationships among nursing theory, research, principles of epidemiology and practice; formulating research questions and evidence-based practice questions; identifying and appraising existing literature; critically evaluating research methodologies used in the study of an issue or problem; and applying inquiry to practice. The importance of the translation of scientific evidence to improve practice is emphasized. Social, cultural, political and ethical issues related to research are addressed, consistent with the Jesuit values surrounding social justice.

12-Lead ECG Interpretation is a summer course that promotes in-depth exploration of the significant diagnostic ECG challenges encountered in the advanced practice nursing environment. An understanding of the importance of clinical assessment skills and clinical judgment associated with diagnosis of clients in a variety of settings is an underlying assumption of faculty teaching this course. Included in this course are techniques for interpreting a variety of basic and advanced dysrhythmias and the ECG changes associated with bundle branch block, myocardial ischemia and infarct, atrial and ventricular hypertrophy, electrolyte imbalance, drug effects on the ECG, and other miscellaneous changes. Diagnostic characteristics, causes of the disorder, clinical significance, and management strategies will be highlighted. The student will be provided with opportunities for practicing 12-lead ECG interpretation using a variety of media.

This course offers the advanced practice registered nurse (APRN) basic principles of radiographic interpretation. A systematic approach to interpret chest x-rays (CXR) will be discussed. Normal and abnormal findings commonly seen in emergency departments and critical care areas are presented. Correlation between symptoms and radiographs will be delineated. Common indications for obtaining a plain x-ray, CT, or MRI and orthopedic injury will be discussed in regard to patient safety, cost contained care and optimization of outcome.

This course is designed to enable the APRN student to obtain the theoretical knowledge and practical skills necessary to assess and manage acute wounds. This didactic/lab course discusses principles of wound care and teaches students techniques of wound closure including pain control, basic suturing and advanced skin closures; management of infections and injuries to the skin, hands and feet; and simple incision and drainage of abscesses. The student will be able to practice advanced skills that essential in the clinical management of the patient with acute wounds.

This course promotes in-depth exploration of significant clinical problems occurring in adult health patients from the vantage point of the advanced practice nurse prepared as a clinical nurse specialist (CNS). This course will prepare the CNS student for expert clinical practice and the competencies to translate clinical expertise into quality, cost-effective outcomes for adult patients. A major focus of the course is to prepare CNS students to assume responsibility for coordination, management and assurance of safety and quality of care of adult patients across the three spheres of influence: patient/client, nurses and nursing practice, organization/system of adult health patients. Attention will be directed to identifying and analyzing selected problems, designing effective advanced nursing interventions and evaluating health care outcomes related to adult health patients. Special consideration with be given to the top Medicare diagnoses, National Patient Safety Goals, CMS core performance measures, and new models for healthcare delivery. Indications for leadership, collaboration and consultation with other health care professionals are emphasized to insure optimal clinical management and achievement of evidence-based outcomes for the hospitalized adult patient. Strategies for improving the quality of health care through patient safety interventions and strategies are incorporated into patient care protocols at the individual, group and system level. The subsequent APN practicum offers the student an opportunity to exercise critical judgment and implement theoretical knowledge in the coordinating and managing the care of adults experiencing acute and chronic health problems.

This clinical practicum is designed to guide the student toward the development of scientific knowledge and advanced practice skills in the area of acute care nursing. The attainment of this advanced practice mastery involves the synthesis of concepts, knowledge and skills gained in the previous courses applied to the care of the acutely ill adult patient. Course content focuses primarily on the advanced practice of acute care nursing and guides the student toward an actualization of the role of the acute care practitioner. The student will care for the acute care patient from admission to the tertiary care center through discharge/rehabilitation when possible. Through the use of nursing frameworks, nursing diagnosis, the nursing process, application of advanced knowledge, and advanced practice skills, the student will develop strategies for the nursing management of the critically ill patient. Professional, legal, cultural and ethical implications are presented. The practicum offers the student opportunities to work with the interdisciplinary team and to develop skills necessary for advanced practice nursing, advanced management, and exploration of research in the area of acute care nursing. Clinical seminars will include discussion of concepts that have been introduced in previous courses and will be built upon with added depth. A grand rounds/case study approach will be utilized with cases cared for by students in the clinical arena. Other possible topics include: implementation of the advanced practice nursing role, social support, patient advocacy, vulnerable populations, cultural diversity, contracting, credentialing, privileging, etc. Seminars will also include identification of ethical issues in the students' practice, application of research findings, applying a Jesuit philosophy in the care of the acutely ill individual or family, and individual development of a philosophy of advanced practice nursing. Seminars will include student and faculty-led discussions.