Advanced Role Development

NURS 5003

3 Credit Hours  

Course Information

Course Description:

This course provides students with an in-depth understanding of the legal, historical, political, social, and ethical aspects of advanced nursing.  Traditional and emerging roles for advanced nursing are examined.

Course Objectives:

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

  1. analyze selected theories and principles applicable to advanced nursing roles,
  2. examine traditional and emerging roles for advanced nursing,
  3. debate the legal, historical, political, social, ethical, and financial issues and their impact on advanced nursing,
  4. analyze the current and emerging issues related to health care policy and advanced nursing,
  5. analyze the relationship between research and advanced nursing, and
  6. compare the traditional and preventive health care practices applied to advanced nursing practice.

Prerequisites and Co-requisites:

Admission to MSN-RODP Program

Course Topics:

I.                    Evolution of Advanced Practice

A.     History of advanced practice specialties

B.     Roles of the advanced practice nurse

C.     Role development

D.     Global perspective of advanced practice

II.                 The Practice Environment

A.     Reimbursement

B.     Prescriptive authority

C.     Managed care

D.     Malpractice insurance

E.      Resource management

F.      Reporting arrangements

G.     Conflict resolution

III.               Competency in Advanced Practice

A.     Evidence-based practice

B.     Advocacy

C.     Collaborative practice

D.     Case management

E.      Research

F.      Complementary therapies

G.     Teaching and learning

H.     Cultural competence

I.        Consultation and cooperation

IV.              Ethical, Legal and Business Concepts

A.     Cost efficiency

B.     Evaluation and outcome measures

C.     Employee status

D.     Marketing

E.      Entrepreneurial endeavors

F.      Legal principles

G.     Ethics

Specific Course Requirements:

Students will need to know how to use a word processor (preferably Microsoft Word or WordPerfect) and an Internet browser (Microsoft Explorer) in order to access and complete course materials and requirements.

Textbooks 

Please visit the Virtual Bookstore to obtain textbook information for this course:  http://rodp.bkstr.com

Hardware Requirements:

The minimum requirements can be found at http://www.rodp.org/students/hardware_software.htm. 

Software Requirements:

The minimum requirements can be found at http://www.rodp.org/students/hardware_software.htm. 

Instructor Information

Please see the Professor link in the left frame to find instructor contact information as well as a statement of virtual office hours and other communication information.

Assessment and Grading

Testing Procedures:

Written exams and other assignments will be submitted to the Assignment Dropbox.  

Grading Procedure:

Each student's final grade will be based on fulfillment of all required course assignments.

Grading Scale:

Point total falls in the following grade scale:

93-100 = A

85-92  =  B

77-84  =  C

70-76  =  D (not all campuses award a D; for those that do not D=F)

0-70    =  F

 

Assignments and Participation

Assignments and Projects: All assignments, tests, etc. are due based on U.S. Eastern Time Zone

Assignments and Projects: 

1.      Weekly Online Asynchronous Class Discussions   (10%)

         You will use the discussion questions at the end of each module to guide participation in weekly online asynchronous class discussions with your classmates and teacher.  These will take place on the discussion board.  (You can access the discussion board by the Discussions link in the left frame.)  The discussion board has been divided to allow for weekly sessions.  Each week we will discuss two modules. (See calendar for weekly module assignments.) Each weekly session will begin on Sunday at 8:00 a.m. and end on Saturday at midnight.  Only responses posted in the appropriate section by the deadline for each week will be counted for credit. Your postings on the discussion board will be graded using the following scale 1=A, 2=B, 3=C, and 4=D. You will be evaluated on the following: 1) provided adequate justification that supports the opinion expressed; 2) used clear and understandable language with no grammar or spelling mistakes; 3) used vocabulary relevant to the current week's topics; 4) participated in the discussion by asking a question, providing a statement of clarification, providing a point of view with rationale, challenging a point of discussion, or making a relatioship between one or more points of discussion; and 5) justified ideas and responses by using appropriate examples and references from texts, websites, and other references or personal experience.

      Date             Module

     Week One         1-2   

     Week Two         3-4

     Week Three      5-6

     Week Four        7-8

     Week Five         9-10

     Week Six           11-12

     Week Seven     13-14

     Week Eight       15-16

     Week Nine        17-18

     Week Ten          19-20

     Week Eleven     21-22

     Week Twelve     23-24

     Week Thirteen   25-26

     Week Fourteen  27-28

      NOTE:  Discuss those items that you are unclear about, have strong opinions about, or have information to add from your prior education or experience.  It is unreasonable to expect that you will be discussing all the questions every week.  Be sure to identify your comments with your last name first initial in order to get credit.  

2.       Weekly Quizzes (0%)

You may use the quizzes at the end of each module to help prepare you for the unit exams and comprehensive final.  Questions for the unit exams and final exam will mirror those at the end of each module.  If you have successfully answered these questions then you should be successful on the unit exams and final.

3.      Unit Exams (40%)

There will be three unit exams that will cover the following modules:

Exam One:     Modules 1-4

Exam Two:    Modules  5-12

Exam Three:  Modules 13-22

Exam Four:   Modules  23-28

These exams will cover the major points of each module as emphasized by the quizzes.  They will be due within a week of each posting.  You should answer the questions based on your present work environment.  The questions will be essay only. All exams will be graded based upon the following criteria: 1) addressed questions thoroughly and directly; 2) presented focused and coherent arguments; 3) supported answers with relevant examples; 4) articulated clearly all judgments and lines of reasoning; 5) demonstrated insight and analysis; 6) contained no grammatical or punctuation mistakes; and 7) used APA style appropriately.

4.      Final Exam (20%)

There will be a final exam that will be very similar to the format for the unit exams.  This exam will be comprehensive and will contain essay questions only.  Your response should be based upon your present work environment. All exams will be graded based upon the following criteria: 1) addressed questions thoroughly and directly; 2) presented focused and coherent arguments; 3) supported answers with relevant examples; 4) articulated clearly all judgments and lines of reasoning; 5) demonstrated insight and analysis; 6) contained no grammatical or punctuation mistakes; and 7) used APA style appropriately.

5.      Research Paper (15%)

The research paper should be over your advanced practice role (family nurse practitioner, educator, informatics nurse, or administrator) and the grading of the research paper will using the following percentages: Grammar style, APA format, writing style (10%); Content ( includes your definition of metaparadigm of person, nursing, health and society; information about your area of focus or career aspiration (60%); philosophy of practice area/your beliefs about your practice area (10%); and interview of someone in your future career choice (20%).

6.      Cover letter and Resume (15%)

Cover letter (5%) This cover letter should include your contact information, potential employer information if known, first paragraph should tell the person how you found out about the job and your interest in it; the second paragraph should talk about your qualifications; and the third paragraph should ask for an interview.

Resume (10%)Remember to put your specific objective at the beginning of the resume; put education first citing the most recent first with the dates at the left of the page, do add MSN and possible date of graduation; next talk about work experience with most recent first, remember to place dates on left and cite job responsibilities in bulleted fashion making sure that all first words following bullets are consistent i.e. worked. . . taught. . .; and put honors, awards last before the statement references available upon request. Remember to revamp your resume - you are changing your focus so make sure all your past duties are going to embellish your future career choice. Your ability to assist CABG patients will not be a plus necessarily in a primary care position or an informatics position but your ability to assess patients or work with computerized charting will.

Drafts will be reviewed and suggestions made if submitted before deadline.   Please focus this project on a position that you desire.

 

Class Participation:

Students are required to participate weekly in online asynchronous discussion.

Punctuality: Students are required to log into the course weekly. 

Course Ground Rules

A reiteration and emphasis of certain rules and course expectations. For example, participation is required, expected to communicate with other students in team projects, learn how to navigate in WebCT, keep abreast of course announcements , use the assigned college or university e-mail address as opposed a personal e-mail address, address technical problems immediately, and observe course netiquette at all times.   A resource for netiquette is http://www.getnetiquette.com .

Guidelines for Communications

Email:
  • Always include a subject line.
  • Remember without facial expressions some comments may be taken the wrong way. Be careful in wording your emails. Use of emoticons might be helpful in some cases.
  • Use standard fonts.
  • Do not send large attachments without permission.
  • Special formatting such as centering, audio messages, tables, html, etc. should be avoided unless necessary to complete an assignment or other communication.
  • Respect the privacy of other class members

Discussion Groups:
  • Review the discussion threads thoroughly before entering the discussion. Be a lurker then a discussant.
  • Try to maintain threads by using the "Reply" button rather starting a new topic.
  • Do not make insulting or inflammatory statements to other members of the discussion group. Be respectful of other’s ideas.
  • Be patient and read the comments of other group members thoroughly before entering your remarks.
  • Be cooperative with group leaders in completing assigned tasks.
  • Be positive and constructive in group discussions.
  • Respond in a thoughtful and timely manner.
  • Do not use profanity online.

Chat:

  • Introduce yourself to the other learners in the chat session.
  • Be polite. Choose your words carefully. Do not use derogatory statements.
  • Be concise in responding to others in the chat session.
  • Be prepared to open the chat session at the scheduled time.
  • Be constructive in your comments and suggestion

Writing Style 

  • Use the current edition of the American Psychological Association manual (APA) as your guide.

Library

The Tennessee Virtual Library is available to all students enrolled in the Regents Degree Program. Links to library materials (such as electronic journals, databases, interlibrary loans, digital reserves, dictionaries, encyclopedias, maps, and librarian support) and Internet resources needed by learners to complete online assignments and as background reading must be included in all courses. 

Students With Disabilities

Qualified students with disabilities will be provided reasonable and necessary academic accommodations if determined eligible by the appropriate disability services staff at their home institution. Prior to granting disability accommodations in this course, the instructor must receive written verification of a student's eligibility for specific accommodations from the disability services staff at the home institution. It is the student's responsibility to initiate contact with their home institution's disability services staff and to follow the established procedures for having the accommodation notice sent to the instructor.

Syllabus Changes

The instructor reserves the left to make changes as necessary to this syllabus. If changes are necessitated during the term of the course, the instructor will immediately notify students of such changes both by individual email communication and posting both notification and nature of change (s) on the course bulletin board.

Technical Support

Telephone Support:
For HELP with:
  • TECHNICAL PROBLEMS please visit the AskRODP Customer Support web page at http://askrodp.custhelp.com or call the AskRODP Help Desk at 1-866-550-RODP (1-866-550-7637)
  • REGISTRATION PROBLEMS contact your home school RODP Campus Contact
  • TBR-RODP RELATED ISSUES contact RODP Help Desk at 1-888-223-0023