Advanced Health Assessment

NURS5101

3 Credit Hours

Course Information

Course Description:

This course prepares the advanced practice nurse to conduct focused and comprehensive health assessments of clients across the lifespan.  The process of diagnostic reasoning is emphasized as the primary means of collecting and analyzing data obtained from the client history, physical examination, and diagnostic procedures.

Course Objectives:

At the conclusion of this course the student will be able to:

1.   Obtain a pertinent, relevant, and problem-specific health history utilizing interviewing skills that are appropriate to the developmental, educational, and cultural characteristics of the client.

 

2.    Demonstrate knowledge of advanced physical assessment techniques and diagnostic procedures indicated for common problems encountered in primary care.

 

3.    Analyze data from the history, physical examination, and diagnostic procedures to differentiate normal from abnormal findings.

 

4.    Interpret underlying pathophysiology for selected abnormal findings.

 

5.    Synthesize the findings from the health history, physical examination, and diagnostic procedures, and differential diagnoses to formulate a problem list.
Prerequisites and Corequisites:

Admission to the RODP-MSN program

Course Topics:

Diagnostic Reasoning in Advanced Nursing Practice

Interviewing and the Health History

Assessing Problems related to the

Skin, Hair, and Nails

Head and Neck

Thorax and Lungs

Cardiovascular System

Abdomen

Breasts and Axillae

Musculoskeletal System

Neurological System

Male Genitourinary System

Female Genitourinary System
Textbooks, Supplementary Materials, Hardware and Software Requirements
Required Textbooks:

Please visit the Virtual Bookstore to obtain textbook information for this course: http://rodp.bkstr.com
Supplementary Materials:
Supplemental periodicals and journal articles assigned by instructor.
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 athttp://www.rodp.org/students/hardware_software.htm. Additional software requirements for this course include Microsoft Office (Word, PowerPoint), Acrobat Reader, and supporting software for video-conferencing.
Instructor Information
Please see the separate page inside the course to find instructor contact information as well as a statement of virtual office hours and other communication information.
Assessment and Grading
Testing Procedures:

All course requirements are submitted online. 

Grading Procedure:

Online Participation

10%

Graded Assignments and Quizzes

15%

Exam 1

20%

Exam 2

20%

Final comprehensive examination

35%
Grading Scale:

A  = 93-100
B  = 85-92
C  = 77-84
D  = 70-76

F  = <70
Assignments and Participation
Assignments and Projects:

Online resources and technology are used for covering content in each of the course modules. Throughout the course, graded assignments, reviews, and quizzes will be required.
Class Participation:

All students are expected to actively participate in online class discussions. Each discussion question posted will be assigned a date by which the student must respond.  If a student is unable to fulfill this requirement for any reason, he/she should notify the instructor prior to the class and make alternative arrangements.  The aim is to encourage interaction among students and faculty, not simply to present information. Students are required to respond to all discussion questions. Student responses to discussion questions must be substantive, that is, thoughtful and analytical. Because the WebCT system has its own way of formatting material posted on the discussion feature, the student will not be expected to strictly follow APA guidelines for online submissions. However, the student is held to academic standards of writing style and the use of proper grammar, punctuation and spelling. 
Punctuality:

Students are expected to:

•         Check the course calendar for the due dates of assignments.

•         Check the course bulletin board frequently for announcements.
Course Ground Rules

The student is expected to:

•         Learn how to navigate in the WebCT system.

•         Participate by responding to all discussion questions.

•         Keep abreast of course announcements.

•         Use the assigned college or university e-mail address as opposed to a personal e-mail address.

•         Contact the instructor if unclear about assignment expectations.

•         Address technical problems immediately.

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.
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

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:
If you are having problems logging into your course,
timing out of your course, using your course web site tools, or other technical problems, please E-mail the RODP Student Services Help Desk or call 866-550-7637.
Additional help is available by clicking "AskROD-P" or you may call 1-866-550-7637, search the WebCT Knowledge Base or Ask Dr. C @ WebCT a question.