Nursing Art and Science: Acute Health Challenges

Curriculum guideline

Effective Date:
Course
Discontinued
No
Course code
NURS 2211
Descriptive
Nursing Art and Science: Acute Health Challenges
Department
Nursing
Faculty
Health Sciences
Credits
3.00
Start date
End term
Not Specified
PLAR
No
Semester length
15 weeks
Max class size
36
Course designation
None
Industry designation
None
Contact hours

Lecture: 4 hours/week

Method(s) of instruction
Lecture
Learning activities

Faculty will facilitate the student's integration of nursing theory and promote the development of critical inquiry, clinical reasoning and judgment through learning activities such as lectures, group discussions, client-based scenarios, and using electronic resources.

Course description
In this course, students are introduced to the nurse’s role in caring for adults with common and predictable acute health challenges, focusing on perioperative experiences. Students build on previously learned knowledge and integrate new knowledge. Students will explore the theory necessary to develop the skills, attitudes, and abilities required to provide safe, ethical, competent, compassionate, and evidence-informed adult nursing care.
Course content

Adult medical-surgical clients:

  • Growth and developmental considerations
  • Considerations for older adults
  • Common and predictable acute health challenges
  • Health challenges requiring surgical intervention
  • Fatigue
  • Infection
  • Loss of consciousness 
  • Mobility/immobility
  • Social determinants of health

Nursing care:

  • Perioperative experience
  • The nursing process
  • Decision-making
  • Adverse events
  • Patient education

Pain:

  • Management
  • Physical, psycho-social, spiritual

Anxiety and fear:

  • Hospitalization
  • Separation
  • Courage
  • Trauma
  • Body integrity
  • Dying
  • Complications
  • Recovery
  • Control
  • Hardiness
  • Resilience

Safety:

  • Client/family safety
  • Nurses’ work environment

Teaching and learning:

  • Preoperative
  • Postoperative
  • Discharge planning

Legal responsibilities:

  • Client rights
  • Advocacy
  • Confidentiality
  • Informed consent
  • Reporting and documentation
Learning outcomes

Upon the successful completion of this course, students will be able to:

  1. Synthesize knowledge to formulate client-centred nursing decisions;
  2. Examine health issues and trends relevant to the medical-surgical context through critical inquiry, reflection, and analytical reasoning;
  3. Employ a relational perspective to explore individuals' experiences of health challenges;
  4. Apply knowledge from a variety of sources to plan care for adult clients in a medical-surgical setting;
  5. Describe the role of the nurse within an interprofessional team.
Means of assessment

This is a graded course, and the means of assessment are consistent with the Douglas College Evaluation Policy. The instructor's course outline will be available to students by the first class and list the evaluative components of the course.

Textbook materials

The instructor's course outline will be available to students by the first class and list the required textbooks and materials that students must purchase.

Prerequisites

NURS 2111 AND NURS 2112 AND NURS 2113 AND NURS 2114 AND NURS 2116

Students in the BSN program are required to maintain a passing grade of 65% (C+) in all courses in order to progress in the program.

Corequisites
Which prerequisite