Nursing

Course List

Code Course Description
NURS 2111

Nursing Art and Science: Professional Foundations

In this first in a series of Nursing Art and Science courses, the following three inter-related concepts are addressed: professional nursing practice, health, and nursing practice with older adults. Students are introduced to foundational knowledge, standards and principles of nursing practice. The role of the nurse in the health care system and in promoting health and wellness, and the relationship among nursing theory, practice and research are emphasized. In addition, students are introduced to nursing practice decision making processes, critical reflection, and professional nursing practice with older adults.

NURS 2112

Health Assessment: Adults and Older Adults

In this course, students learn the basic holistic assessment of adults and older adults with a focus on physical assessment. The distinction between comprehensive and focused assessment is addressed. In addition, students learn a variety of basic psychomotor skills commonly used in nursing practice with adults and older adults. Knowledge development occurs through participation in a variety of experiential learning activities.

NURS 2113

Nursing Practice: Beginning Client Care

In this practice experience, students have opportunities to provide safe, competent, and compassionate evidence-informed client-centered nursing care for adults, with an emphasis on older adults experiencing health challenges. The development of students’ relational practice as the foundation for health promotion is central to this course. Students are active participants in the development of knowledge to expand and deepen their understanding of nursing practice and their nursing identity.

NURS 2114

Pharmacology: Introduction for Nurses

In this course, pharmacological principles and foundational concepts for safe medication administration are introduced. An overview of medication classifications and calculations for medication administration are emphasized. In addition, gerontological considerations in the administration of medication are addressed. Using client care scenarios, students are guided to apply pharmacology knowledge in nursing practice decisions.

NURS 2116

Relational Practice: Introduction

In this course, students develop the knowledge, attitudes and skills for respectful, compassionate and ethical relational nursing practice, the foundation for health promotion. Emphasis is placed on the relationship between health as a socio-environmental construct and the importance of nurses being responsive to the uniqueness of people and their contexts. In addition, students develop the knowledge, attitudes and skills required for effective participation in learning groups.

NURS 2211

Nursing Art and Science: Acute Health Challenges

In this course, students are introduced to the nurse’s role in caring for adults with common and predictable acute health challenges. Students build on previously learned knowledge and integrate new knowledge, skills, and attitudes required for the provision of safe, competent and compassionate nursing care for adults with an emphasis on those preparing for, undergoing, or recovering from surgery.

NURS 2212

Health Assessment: Acute Health Challenges

This course builds on the knowledge and skills learned in semester one courses. In this course, students learn holistic nursing assessments of adults experiencing acute health challenges with a focus on the assessments of clients preparing for, undergoing, or recovering from surgery. In addition, students learn a variety of psychomotor skills commonly used in nursing practice with adults in surgical nursing practice settings. Knowledge development occurs through active engagement in a variety of simulated nursing practice experiences.

NURS 2213

Nursing Practice: Acute Health Challenges

In this nursing practice experience, students have opportunities to provide safe, competent, compassionate, and evidence-informed nursing care to individuals with an acute health challenge. The focus is on the client experiencing a surgical intervention. This course builds on using a relational perspective and an ethic of caring in client-centered nursing within the context of family.

NURS 2215

Leadership: Interprofessional Collaboration

In this course, students are introduced to the role and responsibilities of nurses and other health professionals working together as members of an interprofessional collaborative team. Development of the competencies and commitment required for interprofessional collaborative practice and comprehensive client-centered care is emphasized. Major course concepts include team building, shared leadership, and interprofessional interaction.

NURS 2217

Nursing Inquiry: Evidence-Informed Practice

In this course students are introduced to the nature of nursing knowledge and evidence-informed practice. Students will examine the role of research in a practice profession, the philosophical and historical foundations of knowledge creation, and are introduced to the relationships among research, theory, education and practice. In addition, students are introduced to their role as research consumers. Students will demonstrate their understanding of evidence-informed practice by critically appraising nursing research and determining its applicability to nursing practice.

NURS 2218

Nursing Elective: Service Learning Experience

This course is designed for students who are interested in engaging in service learning. This could take place at the local, national, or international level, and within rural or urban environments. Students may travel to low, middle, or high income countries. Students will have the opportunity to observe and practice alongside health care professionals and explore population health from a global perspective. This experience can be applied toward the Global Competency Certificate, in addition to the required 12 credits of GCC-eligible coursework.

NURS 3311

Nursing Art and Science:Family-Centered Care

In this course, students are introduced to the nurse’s role as a member of an interprofessional team caring for childbearing and childrearing families, newborns, infants, children and adolescents. Students build on previous knowledge and integrate new knowledge, skills and attitudes to enable them to provide safe, competent, compassionate, and evidence-informed care for clients experiencing developmental transitions and/or health challenges in a maternity and pediatric context. A family-centered perspective and the integration of teaching and learning principles for health promotion and illness/injury prevention are emphasized.

NURS 3312

Health Assessment: Maternal and Child Care

In this course, students learn the holistic assessment of childbearing women, newborns, infants, children and adolescents. In addition, students learn a variety of psychomotor skills commonly used in maternity and pediatric nursing practice. Knowledge development occurs through active participation in a variety of experiential learning strategies.

NURS 3313

Nursing Practice: Family-Centered Care

This nursing practice experience provides students with the opportunity to provide safe, competent, compassionate, and evidence-informed nursing care to childbearing women, infants, children and adolescents. In this course family-centered care and the integration of teaching and learning principals for health promotion and illness/injury prevention are emphasized.

NURS 3315

Leadership: Partners in Health Promotion

This course builds on the concepts examined in the previous leadership course with a focus on promoting health from a Canadian primary healthcare perspective. In this course, students are introduced to a community nursing context. Emphasis is placed on nurses’ working in partnership with individuals, families, groups and communities in promoting and supporting mutually identified health goals. In addition, topics in global health including epidemiology, community and global disasters, and the effect of these on the health of Canadians are discussed.

NURS 3316

Relational Practice: Engaging with Families

This course builds on knowledge and processes for relational nursing practice introduced in the previous Relational Practice course. Students integrate and apply relational processes and knowledge of family theory to facilitate health promoting partnerships with families. Using a relational perspective and an ethic of caring, students participate in interactive classroom activities, reflexive exercises, and examine theories, methods, and research relevant to the topics.

NURS 3318

Nursing Elective: Global Health

This course provides students with an opportunity to explore global health at the local, national, or international level. Students will gain cultural awareness and knowledge in the pursuit of becoming global citizens. Students will explore current and emerging issues in global and population health and expand their world views through engagement in critical inquiry and reflection.

This course is Global Learning Global Citizenship (GLGC) equivalent and can be used toward the requirements of the Global Competency Certificate. This course is open to students outside of the nursing program and is not specific to students studying in health care disciplines.

NURS 3411

Nursing Art & Science: Vulnerable Populations

In this course, a population health approach is taken in addressing the nursing care of vulnerable populations. This includes persons with common, predictable and emerging mental health issues and substance use disorders. Students develop the knowledge, skills and attitudes that enable them to engage respectfully with clients and provide safe, competent, compassionate and holistic nursing care in mental health and community settings.

NURS 3412

Health Assessment: Community Health & Mental Health

In this course, students learn the holistic assessment of adults with mental health challenges and/or substance use disorders. They also learn the holistic assessment of individuals, families and groups in a variety of community settings. In addition, students learn a variety of psychomotor skills commonly used in mental health and community health nursing practice. Knowledge development occurs through active participation in a variety of experiential learning strategies.

NURS 3413

Nursing Practice: Community Health & Mental Health

In this nursing practice experience, students have opportunities to provide safe, competent, compassionate, and evidence-informed nursing care to vulnerable individuals, families, groups and communities. The focus of this course is persons with mental health challenges and/or substance use disorders. In addition, the nursing care of persons in a variety of community settings is emphasized.

NURS 3415

Applied Nursing Ethics, Leadership and Moral Courage

This course focuses on applied nursing ethics and the Canadian Nurses Association (CNA) Code of Ethics for Registered Nurses is strongly emphasized. Applied nursing ethics is a sub-category of ethics and it is involved with the translation of ethical principles to professional nursing practice. Classroom activities focus on nursing oriented practices for reaching ethical decisions when working with ethical problems and issues, including utilizing an ethical decision making model specifically designed for nurses. This course builds on prior leadership courses, viewing leadership from the perspective of individual and collective influence. This course provides students with the education and skills to act as leaders in the professional field of nursing, with specific emphasis on acts of moral courage.

NURS 3417

Nursing Inquiry: Research in Nursing

Building on the content from the first Nursing Inquiry course, this course will further enhance students’ ability to locate and critically appraise nursing research and determine its applicability to nursing practice. Students critically examine the link between nursing research, theory, and practice. Students will develop an understanding of the underlying paradigms and activities within quantitative, qualitative, and mixed-methods research and explore the study design process.

NURS 3418

Nursing Elective: Planetary Health

This course provides students with an opportunity to explore planetary health. Students will gain awareness and knowledge of the complex relationships between human health and the environment, focusing on the interconnectedness of ecological, social, political, and economic factors. Students will explore the impacts of environmental degradation, climate change, biodiversity loss, and other global challenges on planetary health and well-being. Current and emerging issues in planetary health will be examined and students will expand their world views through engagement in critical inquiry and reflection.

This course is Global Competency Certificate (GCC) eligible. This course is open to students outside of the Bachelor of Science in Nursing and is not specific to students studying in healthcare disciplines.

NURS 4511

Nursing Art and Science: Acuity & Complexity

In this course, students continue to build and refine core competencies required to care for a diverse population of clients with a range of acute and complex health challenges in a variety of contexts. Students focus on the integration and application of relevant theory and concepts through the exploration and suggested resolution of client case scenarios.

NURS 4512

Health Assessment: Complex Health Challenges

In this course, students learn the holistic assessment of adults and older adults with complex health challenges and/or unstable health status. In addition, students learn a variety of increasingly complex psychomotor skills commonly used in nursing practice with adults in acute medical and surgical nursing practice settings. Knowledge development occurs through active participation in a variety of experiential learning strategies.

NURS 4513

Nursing Practice: Complex Health Challenges

In this nursing practice course, students have the opportunity to provide safe, competent, compassionate, and evidence-informed nursing care in a variety of acute, complex medical surgical settings. Grounded in professional integrity, participants practice with a greater level of autonomy. Using critical inquiry, reflection, and analytical reasoning processes that are informed by multiple sources, students make nursing practice decisions that promote the health and well-being of individuals. Students have the opportunity to utilize the expertise of a variety of health team members and demonstrate leadership and interprofessional collaboration.

NURS 4515

Leadership: Influencing Health Care Reform

In this course, the integration and synthesis of concepts from previous leadership courses occurs with an emphasis on selected concepts related to health care reform. Using primary health care as a foundation, students further develop their critical inquiry skills related to examining emerging health care issues and trends. Emphasis is placed on the role of the nurse as an innovative leader for influencing change and participating in the reform of the Canadian health care system. Selected global health care issues and trends are examined and their impact on the Canadian health care system explored.

NURS 4611

Nursing Art and Science: Professional Transition

This course builds on all previous courses and focuses on issues of importance that arise in a professional nursing practice setting as students transition to their role as new graduates. Examples include, but are not limited to, quality improvement and risk management, access to and continuity/quality of health care, health care policy and policy development, organizational culture and climate, power and politics, quality of nurses’ work lives, and professional support networks. The course uses a praxis approach which involves examination of the dynamic interplay between knowledge and practice.

NURS 4613

Nursing Practice: Professional Transition

In this final nursing practice course students integrate learning from prior semesters and advance their professional nursing practice. The focus of this course is the transition to professional nursing practice within the context of caring for clients with complex health challenges. Students develop their professional practice and nursing knowledge within a specific area, for example, a particular practice setting and/or with a specific client population.

NURS 4618

Nursing Practice: Pathways

This course builds on all previous courses with a particular focus on transition to professional nursing practice in a specialty area. This is an intensive and extended preceptorship experience in a collaborative partnership with the health authorities. Students must undergo a selection process and receive approval to take this course. Students enrolled in this course consolidate their nursing theory and practice and gain work-ready skills.