Course Description:

The focus of this clinical course is delivery of advanced nursing care to women.  Various clinical settings with diverse populations may be employed for clinical practice.

Course Objectives:

1. Demonstrate appropriate and effective oral and written communication with women, their families, and other health professionals;
2. Conduct comprehensive health assessments of women;
3. Develop management plans for health promotion, disease prevention, and acute and chronic illnesses in women;
4. Collaborate with other health professionals to provide comprehensive health services for women;
5. Manage the health care of women, and their families incorporating ethical, legal, cultural, economic, political and psychosocial principles;
6. Teach individuals, families, and groups skills and behaviors to promote health, prevent disease, and manage acute and chronic illnesses in women; and
7. Incorporate current research related to diagnostic and treatment protocols to improve the delivery of health care to women
8. Evaluate the effectiveness of interventions and management strategies in improving the health status of women;.

Prerequisites and Corequisites:

Admission to the RODP MSN program or permission from the department chair.

Prerequisites:  NURS 5101/5102 Advanced Health Assessment; NURS 5103 Advanced Pathophysiology; NURS5104 Advanced Pharmacology

Co requisite:  NURS 5602 FNP I Clinical

Course Topics:

The emphasis of this course is the care of women. The content will encompass those topics addressed in the didactic content (NURS 5601). These will include:

I.          Family Theory Content

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

III.         Clinical Assessment and Management across the Lifespan

       A.  The Child-Bearing Years

       B.  Post Child-Bearing Years

IV.        Clinical Assessment and Management Related to Selected Conditions

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

Specific Course Requirements:

Knowledge and skill in WebCT

          1.  Students must complete a total of 120 clinical hours over the course of the semester. In order that the student will benefit from ongoing evaluation and feedback of SOAP notesand progress, this experience must be spread out over the course of the semester.

          2.  Preceptor licensure will be verified at http://www2.state.tn.us/health/licensure/index.htm. Students are expected to verify current licensure of a requested preceptor to make certain that information submitted to faculty contains correct spelling, etc. in order to expedite the verification process.

          3. Submit the following:

                       *  Name of preceptor

                       * Credentials of preceptor (WHP, FNP, MD)

                       * Vitae of Preceptor

                       * Name and Address of practice site

                       * Type of patients served at site (e.g., family practice, OB/GYN practice, etc)

The student CAN NOT begin the clinical experience until approval is received from the faculty and the preceptor agreement is signed. Students are expected to contact faculty if difficulty is experienced locating a preceptor.

     4.      Women's Health Promotion Project.

     5.       Clinical Reflections/Discussions

     6.       Every 2 weeks, turn in clinical logs for all practice hours.

     7.       SOAP notes for at least three clinical cases. (for review of documentation, planning and decision-making). Three of these will be graded (see evaluation methods below).

     8.      Clinical Skills Inventory 

     9.      Preceptor evaluation.

Preceptors:

Students will need to arrange for a nurse practitioner or physician to precept this women's health experience.  Nurse practitioners must be minimally prepared at the Master's level.

Clinical practice experience with an approved NP or MD preceptor in a community settingfor120 hours during the term A obstetrical/gynecological practice is the preferred clinical setting; however, a family practice setting where providers care for a high volume of women (including gynecological care) is acceptable. Some of the hours may be obtained in a family planning clinic with permission of the clinical faculty. Specialty practices (ENT, Endocrinology, etc.) are discouraged because they limit the student's exposure to a diversity of experiences. Some hours (no more than 40) may be done in a Planned Parenthood Clinic (with permission of the faculty). 

Preceptor licensure will be verified at http://www2.state.tn.us/health/licensure/index.htm Students are expected to verify current licensure of a requested preceptor to make certain that information submitted to faculty contains correct spelling, etc. in order to expedite the verification process.

The student will submit a practice site proposal to the course faculty via email within four weeks of the beginning of the course. In the subject of the email write "Preceptor Information" In the body of the email include:

·         Name of preceptor (as officially listed on the verification site above)

·         Curriculum Vitae and Credentials of preceptor (WHP, FNP, MD)

·         Name and address of practice 

·          Type of patients served at practice site (e.g., ob/gyn practice, family practice.

      THE STUDENT CANNOT BEGIN THE CLINICAL EXPERIENCE UNTIL APPROVAL IS RECEIVED FROM FACULTY. STUDENTS ARE EXPECTED TO CONTACT FACULTY IF DIFFICULTY IS EXPERIENCED LOCATING A PRECEPTOR. 

Textbooks, Supplementary Materials, Hardware and Software Requirements

Textbooks:

Please visit the Virtual Bookstore to obtain textbook information for this course:  http://direct.mbsbooks.com/tbr.htm  

Supplementary Materials:

 Students are expected to purchase their own stethoscope with both bell and diaphragm (or stethoscope with a floating diaphragm), goggles, and a watch with a second hand. Students may need to purchase an otoscope/ophthalmoscope set if this is not provided at the clinic site.

Students may find a PDA with medical reference applications very helpful. Two programs that may be particularly useful are Epocrates DX for PDA (http://www2.epocrates.com) and Merck Medicus for PDA (http://www.merckmedicus.com)

Hardware Requirements:

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

Software Requirements:

The minimum requirements can be found at http://www.tn.regentsdegrees.org/students/hardware_software.htm. Specific hardware requirements for this course include...

Microsoft Word

 Additional software requirements for this course include Microsoft Office (Word, PowerPoint, Excel), Acrobat    Reader.

Instructor Information

Click on the "Faculty" link located in the left frame of each page inside this course to find instructor contact information.

Assessment and Grading

Testing Procedures:

There are no written examinations in this course.

Grading Procedure:

Grades on the following assignments constitute the grade for this course. Specific requirements for each assignment are detailed at the end of this syllabus:

            The course grade is based on the following:

             SOAP Notes  (3)                              45%   (15% each)              

              Women's Health Promotion Project   40%                     

              Clinical Reflection/Discussion           15%  (3%/entry)    

            Completion of 120 hours of clinical practice--Clinical hours MUST be documented daily by the clinical preceptor

               Clinical Log                                                        Pass / Fail 

               Clinical Skills Inventory                                       Pass / Fail 

               *Clinical Evaluation by Clinical Preceptor               Pass / Fail                                                                                                   

In addition, the student must maintain satisfactory clinical performance as evidenced by preceptor evaluations of the student and must participate in scheduled asynchronous clinical conferences.

Grading Scale:

    A = 93-100

    B = 85-92

    C = 77-84

    D = 70-76

    F = <70

Late Assignments:

Late assignments will receive a 10% grade deduction for each day or portion of a day that the assignment is late - even if the portion of a day is only one minute. Central standard time will be used as the standard in this course.

Assignments and Participation

Assignment guidelines and the rubrics used for grading these assignments are provided at the end of this document.  

Clinical Log

Students are required to log all patient encounters using the Clinical Log tool. All encounters must be entered within 24 hours of each day spent in the clinic.

Class Participation:

Students are expected to participate in all interactive aspects of the course. Students should check the course bulletin board at least twice a week for any announcements and ongoing discussions. It is especially important for students in an on-line course to maintain contact with their instructor.  The instructor must hear from every student at least once a week; if during a given week, a student fails to make contact in some way (by submitting an assignment or participating in a chat or discussion), he or she must email the instructor, even if the student is sick or out of town. A student who fails to contact the instructor on a regular basis may miss important updates or even fail the course.

Course Ground Rules

Students are expected to:

• Learn how to navigate and use tools in WebCT
• Keep abreast of course announcements
• Use WebCT for all communication UNLESS problems occur with online delivery of the WebCT course
• Contact technical support for any WebCT problems (number provided below)
• Notify faculty of any difficulties related to the preceptor, clinical issues, or other factors affecting participation or performance in this course

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 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

Telephone  and Online 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 contact the RODP Help Desk by calling 1-866-550-7637 (toll free)

or go to their website at: http://askrodp.custhelp.com

Assignments

The requirements for all assignments are detailed in the sections that follow. All assignments must be submitted to the Assignment DROPBOX unless otherwise indicated.

General Clinical Guidelines

CONDUCT

 Professional conduct in the clinical site is expected.

 Problem/disagreements are to be handled in a quiet, professional manner, away from the patient. If any problem arrives, you                          MUST contact the clinical faculty in a timely manner.

       DRESS

  Professional dress (usually a lab coat) and visible identification badge is required.  There may be certain sites/situations where    lab coats may not be desired (i.e. pediatrics).  No sandals, or open toe shoes, or jeans should be worn to clinical.

ABSENCES/DELAYS

 Arrive on time at all clinical sites.  If there is an unanticipated delay call the preceptor as soon as possible.  Notify the preceptor  of any anticipated absence prior to the start of the clinical day.  Failure to notify the preceptor of any delay or absence as stated above may result in an unsatisfactory grade for the clinical experience.  Arrangements must be made with the clinical coordinator for any make-up time for absences.

 EQUIPMENT

 Students are expected to bring any equipment not supplied by the clinical site (i.e. stethoscope, otoscope/opthalmascope, pen light, percussion hammers, etc.).

 VALUABLES

 Avoid bringing valuables into the clinical site. Neither the home school nor the clinical site is responsible for valuables.

 MEDICATIONS/MEDICAL PROCEDURES

 Students may not administer medications or perform medical procedures without prior approval of the preceptor.

Women's Health Promotion Project  Assignment

Women's Health Promotion Project

  GUIDELINES:

  Purpose:

  To provide an integrative, holistic approach project that benefits a group of women.

  Method:

  The student will develop a holistic community service project to be used for health promotion, health prevention, or health   education.

  Process:

  The student will identify a problem in their community setting related to women's health. The problem will be clearly identified and the best solution of the problem will be described. The project will include an interactive time with the group of women. The project will be implemented utilizing teaching tools, such as a brochure or handout as part of the intervention. The intervention will include teaching about health promotion, health prevention, or health education.

  The student will present the problem and solution. The student will answer the following about the problem and the solution.

  Proposal

  Assessment

  I.                What is the problem and how is it determined to be a problem?

  II.                How does this problem affect the group of women? Describe the participants.

  III.              What are the possible solutions to the problem?

  IV.              How will the solution reach the women?

  V.              What is the best content and design to implement the solution?

  VI.              Describe in detail what the project will involve.

  The student will implement the project in the clinical setting during the second half of the semester.

  Implementation

  I.              Implement and evaluate a community service project that addresses an identified need;

  II.              What was the service provided?

  III.             What will the impact be on the overall population being served?

   Evaluation

  I.               Develop a program evaluation plan for the service project.

  The student will present the project to the class on-line and turn in a written paper using APA (5th edition) guidelines describing the project. The presentation and paper will address the questions about the problem, the solution and an evaluation of the project after implementation.

  Guidelines for Grading:

Conversion for percentage of grades is as follows:

10 points = 100%; 9 points = 90%; 8 points = 80%; 7 points = 70%; 6 points =60%; 

5 points = 50%   4 points = 40%; 3 points = 30 %;  2points = 20 points;  1 point = 10%

Clinical Hours

Students who want to meet the certification requirements for family nurse practitioner need to complete the required number of practicum hours (600 hours).  These hours are distributed throughout each semester.  The breakdowns of these hours are as follows:  FNP I Clinical - 120 hours;  FNP II  Clinical - 240 hours, FNP III Clinical -120 hours & FNP IV 240 - hours.  If the student has declared the intent to be certified as a family nurse practitioner, all clinical hours must be completed during the semester enrolled in that specified course.  Hours may not be accumulated between semesters or after completion of the clinical courses.  Ninety (90) of the hours must be with pediatric patients.  

SOAP Documentation Assignment

The SOAP documentation assignment directly addresses course objective 1, 2, 3, & 8.

Three SOAP Notes will be submitted over the course of the semester. For each, the student will write up one women's health patient encounter using the SOAP Documentation Form. The SOAP Documentation Form and instructions for its completion are found in the Assignment section of this course.

Grading Guidelines (Rubric)

If the instructor disagrees with the student regarding any element of the diagnostic reasoning process, the student must be prepared to discuss rationales for decisions and respond to any questions asked. The decision of faculty, once made, is final.

Faculty may require rewrites of SOAP notes for purposes of clarity or other elements of documentation. If revisions are required, they should be submitted within 7 days.  

Guidelines for Grading:

Recommendations for Improvement:

* The diagnosis has coherence if the patient's findings are consistent with the signs/symptoms typical for the diagnosis; it is adequate if it accounts for all the patient's findings; it is parsimonious if it is the simplest and most logical explanation for the patients findings. (Reference: Dains, J. E., Baumann, L. C., & Scheibel, P. (2003). Advanced health assessment & clinical diagnosis in primary care (2nd ed.). St. Louis: Mosby.)

Clinical Performance Evaluation

The Clinical Performance Evaluation is an evaluation of competency based on the National Organization of Nurse Practitioner Faculty (NONPF) Competency Guidelines. It addresses course objectives 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, and 7.

.

The Clinical Performance Tool is use to evaluate student competence. This will be evaluated by the clinical preceptor. .

FNPI

Student:                                                                                               Date:

Preceptor:

Clinical Performance Evaluation:  Students should be evaluated before the end of the rotation.

Guidelines for Evaluating Competence:

.