Contact hours vary depending on the specialty area and the health authority curriculum. Minimum 392 hours.
In this course, faculty oversee student learning and act as an educational consultant to students and preceptors in the practice setting. Students engage in guided study, following a rigorous curriculum provided by the health authority. Students engage in learning in the specialty nursing practice area through a variety of activities including online learning modules, skills labs, role play, simulation, observation, and preceptorship.
Faculty facilitate the student’s development of critical inquiry and reflection through individual discussions and ensure students are meeting the BCCNM Standards of Practice and Entry-level Competencies through midterm and end of semester nursing practice evaluations.
The course content is specific to the nursing practice specialty area but in general includes the following basic concepts:
- health care policy
- resource management
- quality improvement
- risk management
- organizational culture and climate
- power and politics
- leadership and management
- relational practice
- health promotion
- illness and injury prevention
Nursing Process
- assessment
- diagnosis
- planning
- implementation
- evaluation
Professional Standards
- responsibility and accountability
- knowledge-based practice
- client-focused provision of service
- ethical practice
Role of the Nurse
- evidence-informed practice
- holistic health assessment
- collaboration with clients
- interprofessional collaboration
- nursing practice decision-making
- care planning
- ensuring client safety
- reflective practice
- scope of practice
- practice standards
At the end of this course, successful students will be able to:
- Provide safe, competent, and compassionate nursing care that is grounded in professional integrity and pride and that honors the perspective of self and others as unique beings who affect, and are affected by, their context and environment.
- Formulate nursing practice decisions that promote health through critical inquiry, reflection, and analytical reasoning processes that are informed by multiple sources of knowledge.
- Use a relational perspective and an ethic of caring to engage with individuals, families, groups and communities in a variety of settings to promote health and well-being.
- Demonstrate leadership qualities that promote and support an interprofessional collaborative model of client-centered care which will influence the future of nursing practice at a political, social, and professional level to attain quality care for clients and quality work environments for nurses.
- Meet the British Columbia College of Nurses and Midwives (BCCNM) requirements for professional practice as identified in the BCCNM Professional and Practice Standards, the Scope of Practice for Registered Nurses, the Entry-level Competencies for Registered Nurses in B.C., and the Canadian Nurses Association Code of Ethics for Registered Nurses.
The course evaluation is consistent with the Douglas College Evaluation Policy. A course evaluation schedule and other course evaluation information are provided on the Instructor’s Course Outline which is available to students at the beginning of each semester. A nursing practice assessment form is used to guide nursing practice course evaluation. This form includes indicators of successful nursing practice at the end of the semester. Nursing practice congruent with these indicators is an essential component of successful completion of this course. This is a mastery course.
Textbooks and materials to be purchased by students:
A list of recommended textbooks and materials is provided on the Instructor’s Course Outline which is available to students at the beginning of each semester.