Master of Science in Nursing

Nursing Courses

NURS 200. Pathophysiology. 3 Units.

Students examine complex physiologic processes essential to the understanding of diseases. Disease management concepts are explored in relation to body systems. Age specific alterations are correlated with clinical and medical diagnostic findings to provide the student a basis for biomedical and nursing clinical decision-making, diagnostic reasoning, and pharmacotherapeutics. Prerequisites: Admission to the ELMSN program or permission by instructor.

NURS 202. Professional Nursing. 1 Unit.

This course provides an overview and a historical perspective of the profession, social contexts, professional standards, ethical standards, legal issues, and socialization into the profession. This course assists the student to gain a state-wide and national perspective for the profession. Current nursing issues will be discussed. Evidence-based practice and theory are introduced to focus students on current strategies to advance patient outcomes and improve health care. Prerequisites: Admission to the ELMSN program or permission by instructor.

NURS 204. Health Assessment. 4 Units.

This competency-based course prepares students to complete a health history and includes the knowledge and skills to complete a physical exam on individuals across the lifespan. In addition, students will appreciate cultural variations and demonstrate psychosocial sensitivity and knowledge of genetic and nutritional assessments. In the laboratory component (45 hours), students will practice skills to complete system exams, demonstrate competency, and document findings. Prerequisites: Admission to the ELMSN program or permission by instructor.

NURS 206. Pharmacology. 3 Units.

This course will provide fundamental knowledge for students on the pharmacological knowledge for interventions for disease management, health prevention, and health promotion. Students will study pharmacotherapeutic agents used to manage acute and chronic disease including drug actions and potential side effects. Fundamental principles of safe and effective administration of pharmacotherapeutics are emphasized. Prerequisites: Admission to the ELMSN program or permission by instructor.

NURS 208A. Nursing Fundamentals. 3 Units.

Foundational nursing competencies and techniques are accomplished in this course. Students will be introduced to basic nursing knowledge and concepts that provide a working foundation of compassionate, evidence-based, collaborative care and will develop critical thinking abilities in the roles of communicator, educator, and caregiver. Students will develop fundamental competencies in maintaining a safe and hygienic environment, medical asepsis and infection control, principles of body biomechanics and mobility, basic gastrointestinal and urinary care, oxygen therapy and airway management, calculation of drug doses, and safe medication administration. Prerequisites: Admission to the ELMSN program or permission by instructor.

NURS 208B. Nursing Fundamental Lab/Practicum. 2 Units.

Students will apply theory, critical thinking, and the nursing process to gain mastery of selected fundamental competencies through practice in the skills/simulation lab. Clinical experiences may be incorporated with local health care facilities to provide opportunities for students to perform history taking, health histories, and assessments. Prerequisites: Admission to the ELMSN program or permission by instructor.

NURS 210. Health Promotion and Disease Prevention. 2 Units.

To promote Healthy People 2030, nurses require additional competencies in patient education, theory, and practice. Theoretical constructs and literacy are emphasized to incorporate the social determinants of health for improving health promotion and prevention. This course provides the foundational knowledge for patient education and theoretical and practical strategies to attain competency in motivational interviewing to promote positive behavior change. Chronic diseases such as diabetes, heart disease, COPD, and hypertension are prioritized for encouraging behavior change and health promotion. Prerequisites: Admission to the ELMSN program or permission by instructor.

NURS 212A. Nursing of Adults and Older Adults I. 4 Units.

This course utilizes nursing theory and evidence-based practice in caring for adults and older adults with both acute and chronic health conditions in acute health care settings. Emphasis is placed on the delivery of safe, patient-centered, team-based care while integrating knowledge of psychophysiology and pharmacotherapy, developmental theories, and the human response to illness. Prerequisites: Admission to the ELMSN program or permission by instructor.

NURS 212B. Clinical Practicum: Nursing of Adults and Older Adults I. 3 Units.

Through clinical experiences, students will develop the psychomotor and critical thinking/clinical judgment skills to provide safe, patient-centered, team based care to adults and older adults. Students demonstrate safe administration of medications and the clinical skills that meet both agency and evidence-based practice (EBP) guidelines required for nursing practice. Prerequisites: Admission to the ELMSN program or permission by instructor.

NURS 214A. Mental Health Nursing Care. 3 Units.

This course provides an introduction to mental health nursing services and nurse-person and nurse-group communication patterns. Focus is on interdisciplinary collaboration, teaching-learning, and change-persistence patterns with health promotion, disease prevention, and care of individuals, families, and communities of diverse cultural backgrounds with acute and chronic mental health conditions. Nursing services with special populations, including the unsheltered, and issues regarding abuse, neglect, trauma, and substance abuse are explored. Prerequisites: Admission to the ELMSN program or permission by instructor.

NURS 214B. Clinical Practicum: Mental Health Nursing Care. 2.5 Units.

Clinical learning experience will take place with persons with emotional needs or a medical diagnosis of mental illness in both inpatient and community treatment settings. Focus is on therapeutic communication in nurse-person, nurse-group, nurse-community patterns of relating, and care of individuals and families with acute and chronic mental health problems. This course consists of clinical practice, simulated learning experiences, and clinical practice discussions (debriefings), led by the clinical instructor to outline a nursing care plan that uses the therapeutic nurse-patient relationship, psychopharmacology, and a therapeutic milieu to support the patient. Prerequisites: Admission to the ELMSN program or permission by instructor.

NURS 216A. Nursing of Adults and Older Adults II. 4 Units.

Building on the integrated knowledge and competencies from Nursing of Adults and Older Adults I, students will care for complex and chronically ill clients in acute care and settings. Emphasis is placed on the delivery of safe, patient-centered, team-based care that incorporates health promotion, disease prevention, and patient/family education. Prerequisites: Admission to the ELMSN program or permission by instructor.

NURS 216B. Clinical Practicum: Nursing of Adults and Older Adults II. 3 Units.

Through advanced clinical experiences, students will enhance their psychomotor and critical thinking/clinical judgment skills to provide safe, patient-centered, team-based care to adults and older adults with complex health conditions. Students will demonstrate safe administration of medications and the clinical competencies that meet both agency and EBP guidelines. Prerequisites: Admission to the ELMSN program or permission by instructor.

NURS 218A. Maternity and Women's Health Care. 2 Units.

This course emphasizes applying nursing theory and evidence-based clinical judgment in the care of low and high risk antepartum, intrapartum, post partum, neonatal clients, and families of diverse psychosocial and cultural backgrounds. Family theory, systems theory, developmental theories, and the nursing process serve as an organizing framework for this population of clients. Prerequisites: Admission to the ELMSN program or permission by instructor.

NURS 218B. Clinical Practicum: Maternity and Women's Health Care. 2 Units.

In this practicum course, students will use theory and evidence-based clinical judgment in the care of low and high-risk antepartum, intrapartum, postpartum, and neonatal clients. Students will gain skills and competencies in critical thinking/clinical judgment, psychomotor, and communication skills to develop competence in the care of antepartum, intrapartum, and postpartum clients, neonates, and families. Students will also participate in simulated learning experiences. Prerequisites: Admission to the ELMSN program or permission by instructor.

NURS 220A. Nursing Care of Children. 3 Units.

This course applies nursing theory and uses evidence-based clinical judgment in the care of children and adolescents with acute and chronic illnesses. An additional focus will be on child growth and development, health promotion, health prevention, and family-centered care of diverse populations. Prerequisites: Admission to the ELMSN program or permission by instructor.

NURS 220B. Clinical Practicum: Nursing Care of Children. 3 Units.

This course provides clinical care experiences in acute, sub-acute, chronic, and ambulatory care settings. Family-centered care provides the framework for this course. Students will also participate in competency-based simulated learning experiences. Prerequisites: Admission to the ELMSN program or permission by instructor.

NURS 222. Evidence-Based Research in Health Care. 3 Units.

The role of the master's prepared nurse in knowledge generation, dissemination, and application within collaborative inter-professional teams is emphasized. Students gain knowledge and skills to critically appraise and analyze research findings to apply the best evidence to improve practice. This course prepares students to find and use evidence to support individual clinical practice and appropriately apply evidence to different population-based settings. This course prepares the student for identifying a topic for their clinical improvement project. Prerequisites: Admission to the ELMSN program or permission by instructor.

NURS 224. Leadership and Management in the Clinical Setting. 3 Units.

This course introduces the leadership roles and management functions of professional registered nurses within the structure of the organization. The management process of planning, organizing, staffing, directing, and controlling provides the structure for the course. Emphasis is given to organizational theory, management theory, and behavioral theory. Accountability for quality assurance in the provision of nursing care, multidisciplinary communication, and collaborative relationships are emphasized. Various modes of inquiry, including the nursing process, problem-solving models, and decision-making tools are utilized for analyzing complex leadership and management problems common to nurse leaders and managers. Prerequisites: Admission to the ELMSN program or permission by instructor.

NURS 226. Quality and Safety and Health Care Improvement. 3 Units.

Quality and safety have emerged to provide an evidence-based focused framework for healthcare improvement for systems, safety, and policy. This course is designed to assist professional nurses to utilize the Model for Healthcare Improvement to diagnose, measure, analyze, change, and lead systems improvements in healthcare. Students, working in groups, will analyze clinical problems in their practice setting and develop an improvement science solution using the Plan Do Study Act (Model for Healthcare Improvement) for innovation to improve practice. Prerequisites: Admission to the ELMSN program or permission by instructor.

NURS 228. Population Health and Applied Epidemiology. 3 Units.

Students will examine individual, collective, environmental, and organizational factors that affect the health of human populations. The focus will include concepts of population assessments for high-risk patients in both acute care and community-based settings. Areas of emphasis will include risk assessment, health promotion, illness prevention, and protection to promote improved management of high acuity clients and populations. Students will use descriptive and analytical approaches to evaluate the distribution of disease within select populations. Interventions for primary, secondary, and tertiary prevention will be explored in the broader context of determinants of health to promote the well-being of individuals and communities. Prerequisites: Admissions to ELMSN program or permission by instructor.

NURS 230. Informatics and Technology in Health Care. 3 Units.

This course examines the history of healthcare informatics, current issues, basic informatics concepts, and health information management systems. The use of technology to help make decisions and to improve the health status of the individual, family, and community is emphasized. Students will apply informatics concepts to a current clinical practice setting, suggesting methods to use technology to improve patient safety and work effectiveness. The student will also learn to identify, gather, process, and manage information/data. Prerequisites: Admissions to ELMSN program or permission by instructor.

NURS 232. Clinical Improvement Project I. 2 Units.

The student will identify a topic (faculty approved) for the clinical improvement project. Students will conduct a comprehensive literature and systematic review of the selected topic. This learning activity will assist the student to focus their project to synthesize previous course work for the ELMSN capstone project. The plan will include the design for the implementation of a quality improvement system's project or an EBP improvement project to improve patient outcomes. Using APA format, a bibliography of resources will be submitted with the project plan. Prerequisites: Admissions to ELMSN program or permission by instructor.

NURS 234. Health Systems Leadership. 3 Units.

This course studies the current complex health care systems of today and challenges nurse leaders to champion improvement in health care delivery systems to improve patient and population health outcomes. Master's prepared nurses are needed to advance from expert clinician to transformational leaders to engage in innovation, positive change, and to actively participate in evidence-based collaborative interdisciplinary solutions. Students will assess their leadership strengths and areas for improvement to develop an action plan to build leadership capacity. Students will acquire competencies in leadership and facilitation skills, organizational systems assessments, financing of health care systems, and theories of change to design new practice models. Prerequisites: Admissions to ELMSN program or permission by instructor.

NURS 236. Advanced Pharmacology. 3 Units.

In this course, students will gain advanced pathophysiologic and pharmacological knowledge of chronic illnesses and management of complex high acuity illnesses that impact our health care systems. Management of diabetes will include a skills practicum of medication management, including CGM, and current diabetic medications to assist clients to better manage their blood glucose. Prerequisites: Admissions to ELMSN program or permission by instructor.

NURS 238A. Public Health and Population-Based Nursing. 3 Units.

This course is designed to assist the nurse to meet the Scope and Standards for Public Health Nursing. These 17 standards provide a broad scope of practice to assess, diagnosis, identify, plan, implement, and evaluate public health and community-based intervention plans. The health of the community and subgroups within the community are the focus of this course. Students will apply nursing and public health standards to promote health, prevent disease, to restore the health of the population. Prerequisites: Admission to the ELMSN program or permission by instructor.

NURS 238B. Clinical Practicum: Public Health and Population-Based Nursing. 2.5 Units.

This practicum will provide students with a community and public health perspective of the population they serve. Students will complete experiential learning in multiple settings and develop an EBP public health community-based intervention plan to improve the health of a population. Prerequisites: Admission to the ELMSN program or permission by instructor.

NURS 240. Advanced Concepts in Nursing Practice. 2 Units.

Building on the integrated knowledge and competencies from Nursing of Adults and Older Adults I and II, students will care for complex and emergent clients in an acute care setting. Emphasis is placed on the delivery of safe, patient-centered, team-based care incorporating health promotion, disease prevention, and patient/family education. Core competencies from previously taken medical-surgical nursing courses are emphasized, with the focus on the care of adults with acute conditions. Prerequisites: Admission to the ELMSN program or permission by instructor.

NURS 242. Advanced Preceptored Clinical Immersion. 5 Units.

Students will complete 225 clinical hours under the guidance of a faculty mentor and program-approved preceptor. Students will coordinate clinical days with the preceptor. The course is designed to provide an in-depth clinical experience for students to assist with their transition to professional practice. Prerequisites: Admission to the ELMSN program or permission by instructor.

NURS 244. Advanced Professional Role & Advocacy. 2 Units.

The role of the master's prepared nurse in advocacy and leadership related to policy development and innovation in health care delivery is emphasized. This course explores current nursing and health care issues within the context of transformational leadership strategies. Prerequisites: Admission to the ELMSN program or permission by instructor.

NURS 246. Care Coordination and Transition Management. 2 Units.

This course prepares nursing students to integrate care coordination and transition management into practice throughout the continuum of care. Students are co-enrolled in the precepted immersion course; therefore, students will identify complex care patients (with approval of their preceptor) to meet course objectives. Prerequisites: Admission to the ELMSN program or permission by instructor.

NURS 248. Clinical Improvement Project II. 3 Units.

Using the guidelines for the Clinical Improvement Project, each student will complete a scholarly written paper for their Clinical Improvement Project. In addition, students will complete a poster (conference quality) of their project and present findings to the agency. Dissemination of the student's project findings will be presented at a poster presentation, hosted by the program to faculty, students, and invited members of the health science and graduate school professional community. Prerequisites: Admission to the ELMSN program or permission by instructor.

Program Outcomes

  1. Integrate, translate, and apply evidence and evolving evidence from nursing and other academic disciplines to inform clinical judgment an innovation into nursing practice in diverse healthcare settings.
  2. Demonstrate person-centered care that is holistic, just, respectful, and compassionate, and reflects the differences, values, needs, and preferences of the patient as a full partner in their care.
  3. Integrate clinical prevention, health promotion, and population health knowledge in the planning, design, management and evaluation of health care services for individuals, families, and aggregate populations.
  4. Generate, synthesize, translate, apply and disseminate research and evidence to advance patient outcomes and improve health care systems.
  5. Analyze organizational and systems of care and use quality improvement science strategies, tools, methods, and performance measures to improve safety and outcomes of patients and care systems.
  6. Engage in relationship centered leadership to build and sustain collaborative interprofessional teams to optimize care, enhance the experience, improve outcomes, and reduce costs.
  7. Integrate meaningful data obtained from information and healthcare technologies to monitor, manage, and improve the delivery of nursing and healthcare services in accordance with best practices.
  8. Participate in the health policy development process and employ advocacy strategies to influence health and healthcare.
  9. Formulate and cultivate a professional nursing identity that is accountable to patients, society, and the profession.
  10. Demonstrate organizational and systems leadership competencies for ethical and critical decision-making to build effective working relationships that result in high quality and safe systems of healthcare.
  11. Incorporate advanced knowledge and competencies into nursing specialty practice to improve healthcare outcomes at the individual, populations, or systems level.