NRSG 1700 - Transition to Professional Nursing

7 sem hrs cr (5 lecture; 2 clinical/lab)

Course is designed to assist the student in transitioning to the role of the professional nurse. This course is not transferable for meeting degree requirements. Prerequisite: Program admission; ENGL 1010 ; BIOL 2010 , BIOL 2020 , PSYC 1030 , MATH 1530  

In rare and unusual circumstances, a course prerequisite can be overridden with the permission of the Department Lead for the discipline. 

Transfer (UT) or Non-Transfer Course (UN): UN

Upon completion of NRSG 1700, the student will be able to demonstrate the following competencies and behaviors: 

• PROFESSIONAL BEHAVIOR
  • Conduct self in a professional manner in dress and behavior while caring and interacting with clients, instructors, peers, and the health care team. 
  • Practice within the legal, ethical, and regulatory frameworks of the nursing profession and the standards of professional nursing practice, with instructor guidance. 
  • Demonstrate accountability, for nursing care given, by maintaining confidentiality and incorporating ethical/legal principles in documentation, discussions, and performance of care, with instructor guidance. 
• COMMUNICATION
  • Demonstrate principles of therapeutic communication in interactions with clients, families, and members of the health care team using oral, written, and electronic forms of   communication. 
  • Report and document, according to agency guidelines, assessments, interventions, and progress toward client outcomes, with assistance of instructor. 
• ASSESSMENT
  • Demonstrate the ability to collect subjective and objective data to identify actual or potential health alterations. 
  • Perform physical and psychosocial assessments; utilize normal and abnormal findings and other supportive data to identify appropriate nursing diagnoses, with instructor assistance. 
  • Assess the client and significant support person(s), and identify learning strengths, barriers, and educational needs. 
• CLINICAL DECISION MAKING
  • Formulate clinical decisions to provide safe and effective evidenced based nursing care. 
  • Utilize assessment data to evaluate the client’s condition, and, with instructor guidance, plan care. 
  • Evaluate the client’s progression toward planned outcomes; identify modifications to care which are needed to assist client to meet outcomes, with instructor assistance. 
• CARING INTERVENTIONS
  • Demonstrate caring interventions that incorporate principles of dignity, diversity, safety, and knowledge. 
  • Demonstrate preparedness to safely provide care for client(s). 
  • Create a safe physical and psychosocial environment to protect the client(s) from injury, infection, and harm. 
  • Discuss the care regimen, as prescribed by the health care provider, with clinical instructor and health care team. 
  • Continue to demonstrate competency in previously learned psychomotor skills and theory, within the scope of LPN training, as well as the skill set of NRSG 1700, and apply these to the clinical setting. 
  • Utilize theory knowledge regarding disease processes and human physiology to identify clinical signs and symptoms. 
  • Plan care based on an understanding of disease process. Identify varied treatment modalities and implement, with instructor assistance. 
  • Demonstrate knowledge of assigned medications, dosage calculations, and administration methods to evaluate desired effects and monitor for side effects. 
• TEACHING
  • Develop individualized basic teaching to meet the educational needs of patients, families, and/or groups. 
  • With instructor guidance, teach the client and significant support person(s) the information and skills needed to achieve desired learning outcomes. 
  • Evaluate learning that has taken place, and identify how the teaching plan may be modified. 
  • Incorporate teaching into the plan of care. 
• COLLABORATION 
  • Collaborate with clients and significant support person(s) to identify health goals and promote optimal health maintenance. 
  • Identify and interact with members of the health care team who are involved in the coordination of cost effective, competent care with positive quality outcomes. 
  • Interact with client, support person(s), clinical instructor, and members of the health care team to identify and solve problems which may impede the achievement of client goals and outcomes. 
• COORDINATION AND MANAGEMENT
  • Using basic principles of managing care, identify prioritization of client needs and nursing actions to ensure positive outcomes. 
  • Discuss available resources, time constraints, and environmental factors which impact the management of the client’s care.