Critical Care II

NURS 5523

 3 Credit Hours

Course Description

This course focuses on advanced concepts of critical care related to multi-organ/system function and dysfunction.  Nursing care relating to physiology, assessment, pathophysiology, system failure, and clinical management of the defense systems (infection, sepsis, organ/bone marrow transplant), shock, trauma, neurological system, hepatic system and gastrointestinal systems are addressed.  Integrative core concepts with more complex pathophysiology and advanced treatment modalities of advanced nursing care are integrated to provide care to critically ill patients.

Course Objectives

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

1.      Relate normal anatomy, physiology, assessment parameters, and management of pathophysiologic alterations of the nervous system, including subarachnoid hemorrhage, stroke, increased intracranial pressure, and seizures.

2.      Relate normal anatomy, physiology, assessment parameters, and management to pathophysiologic alterations of the defense system, including infection, sepsis, solid organ transplantation, and bone marrow transplantation.

3.      Detail the etiology, pathophysiologic progression, clinical manifestations, and management of shock.

4.      Describe advanced treatment modalities for shock.

5.      Correlate pathophysiologic derangements in shock.

6.      Summarize the pathophysiologic alterations, manifestations, and emergent/urgent management of specific types of trauma, including chest, abdominal, and head traumas.

7.      Relate normal anatomy, physiology, assessment parameters, and management to pathophysiologic alterations of the gastrointestinal system, including pancreatitis and upper gastrointestinal bleed.

8.      Relate normal anatomy, physiology, assessment parameters, and management to pathophysiologic alterations of the hepatic system, including hepatitis, cirrhosis, portal hypertension, hepatic encephalopathy, and hepatorenal syndrome.

9.      Synthesize advanced nursing roles and standards of professional practice relating to the care of critically ill patients.

Prerequisites

Prerequisites:  NURS 5103 Advanced Pathophysiology

Course Topics

              I.      Defense Systems

A.     Anatomy and Physiology of the Defense System

B.     Alterations of the Defense System

                                                               i.      Infection

                                                             ii.      Sepsis

                                                            iii.      Solid organ transplantation

                                                           iv.      Bone marrow transplantation

C.     Advanced Concepts of Nursing Management

           II.      Shock

A.     Classifications/etiologies

B.     Progression to multi-system failure

C.     Assessment

D.     Advanced Concepts of Nursing Management

         III.      Trauma

A.     Chest

B.     Abdominal

C.     Head

D.     Advanced Concepts of Nursing Management

        IV.      Cell Anatomy and Physiology/Cell Metabolism

           V.      Neurological System

A.     Anatomy and Physiology of the Nervous System

                                                               i.      Neurological Assessment

                                                             ii.      Neuropathophysiology

1.      Stroke

2.      Subarachnoid hemorrhage

3.      Seizures

4.      Increased intracranial pressure

B.     Advanced Concepts of Nursing Management

        VI.      Hepatic System

A.     Anatomy and Physiology of the Hepatic System

                                                               i.      Assessment of Hepatic Function

                                                             ii.      Hepatic Pathophysiology

1.      Hepatitis

2.      Cirrhosis

3.      Portal hypertension

4.      Hepatic encephalopathy

5.      Hepatorenal syndrome

B.     Advanced Concepts of Nursing Management

      VII.      Gastrointestinal (GI) System

A.     Anatomy and Physiology of the Gastrointestinal (GI) System

                                                               i.      Assessment of GI Function

                                                             ii.      GI Pathophysiology

1.      Pancreatitis

2.      GI bleed

B.     Advanced Concepts of Nursing Management

   VIII.      Advanced Nursing Roles in Critical Care

A.     Clinical Nurse Specialist

B.     Nurse Practitioner

C.     Nurse Educator

D.     Professional Roles

                                                               i.      Quality of Care

                                                             ii.      Individual Practice Evaluation

                                                            iii.      Education

                                                           iv.      Collegiality

                                                             v.      Ethics

                                                           vi.      Collaboration

                                                          vii.      Research

                                                        viii.      Resource Utilization

Textbooks

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

Supplemental Material

Assigned periodicals, documents, position statements, and Internet online articles.  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

A video-camera is also required for this course.

Software Requirements

The minimum requirements can be found at http://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.

Testing Procedure

All course requirements are submitted online. 

Grading Procedure

Two unit examinations (20% each)

40%

Comprehensive final examination

30%

Case Study (10% each)

20%

Role Paper

10%

Grading Scale

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

F  = <70

Assignment and Projects

Participation in weekly online discussions of course content is expected as topics are introduced and as applied to assigned readings. 

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.

•         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 others’ 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 suggestions.

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 his/her 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 right 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

If you are having problems logging into the course, timing out of the course, using the course web site tools, or other 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)