Women’s Health and Perinatal Nursing I

NURS 5541

3 Credit Hours

Course Description

This course focuses on evidence-based care of the women experiencing common health alterations and developmental transitions. Nursing strategies will include health promotion, prevention of disease, maintenance, and restoration,

Course Objectives

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

  1. Analyze the physiology of the key hormones related to sexuality, reproduction, infertility, contraception, and menopause.
  2. Analyze the effects of various cultural, socioeconomic, environmental, and nutritional factors that may impact the woman during developmental transitions and the family.
  3. Develop management plans for health promotion, disease prevention, and selected acute health problems in women.
  4. Explore current issues in women's health care and identify barriers to care.
  5. Evaluate the health status of women throughout the lifespan.
  6. Explore strategies to improve the delivery of health care to women.
  7. Evaluate relevant research related to the transitional stages of the life cycle and evidence-based practice.

Prerequisites

Prerequisites:  NURS 5103 Advanced Pathophysiology

Course Topics

I.          Current Status and Issues in Women's Health Care

A.   Empowerment of Women and Families

B.   Cultural, Socioeconomic, Environmental, Education

C.   Ethical, Technological, and Research Issues

D.   Barriers to Health Care for Women

E.   Health Promotion for Women

F.   Healing Environment

II.         Clinical Assessment and Management Related to Developmental Transitions

A.   Developmental Stages

       1,   Puberty

       2.   Pregnancy and Puerperium

       3.  Perimenopausal Period

B.   Wellness/health issues

       1.   Health Beliefs

       2.   Family Theory

       3.   Nutrition

       4.   Physical activity

    5.   Contraception

    6.   Breast health

    7.   Bone Health

    7.   Aging process

III.       Management Related to Selected Gynecological Alterations

A.     Problems and Concerns related to the Menstrual Cycle

B.     Infertility

C.     Vaginitis

D.     Sexually Transmitted Diseases

E.      HIV and Hepatitis

F.      Common Gynecologic Disorders

IV.       Nurses' Role in Recognition and Management of Psychosocial Crises in Women

A.     Physical and Emotional Abuse

B.     Substance Abuse

C.     Depression

D.     Situational Pregnancy

Course Requirements

Knowledge and skill in using WebCT.

Textbooks

Please visit the Virtual Bookstore to obtain textbook information for this course:  http://rodp.bkstr.com  Current Maternity and Women Health textbook.

Supplementary Materials

Current textbook in nutrition throughout the life span.  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 Procedures

All course requirements are submitted online. 

Assessment and Grading

The course grade is based on the following:

Community Assessment Paper                                      25%

Health Promotion Plan                                                  25%

Research Paper                                                           25%

Participation                                                                 25%

Grading Scale

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

F  = <70

Assignment and Projects

1.      Complete all assigned readings.

2.      Weekly participation (discussion postings) of assigned readings and questions.

3.      Paper on the assessment of women’s health issues in your community.

4.      Health promotion plan for a selected area of women’s health.

5.      Final paper on specific topic on women’s health issues approved the faculty.

Class Participation

Discussions are expected to demonstrate an understanding and synthesis of course material.  Responses must be substantive and add to discussions in an educational manner.

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://help.rodp.org or call the AskRODP Help Desk at 1-866-550-RODP (1-866-550-7637)