Nursing Art and Science: Acuity & Complexity

Curriculum Guideline

Effective Date:
Course
Discontinued
No
Course Code
NURS 4511
Descriptive
Nursing Art and Science: Acuity & Complexity
Department
Nursing
Faculty
Health Sciences
Credits
3.00
Start Date
End Term
202020
PLAR
No
Semester Length
15
Max Class Size
36
Contact Hours
4.0 hours/week
Method(s) Of Instruction
Lecture
Seminar
Learning Activities

It is the intent of faculty to facilitate student learning, and promote critical inquiry, reflection and analytical reasoning through a variety of learning processes such as: lecture, client-based studies, problem based methods, focused reflection, computer assisted/managed instruction [web based resources], audio-visual resources, group discussion, interdisciplinary collaboration, reading guides, and concept mapping.

Course Description
In this next in the series of Nursing Art and Science courses, 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.
Course Content

In this next in the series of Nursing Art and Science courses, students continue to build and refine core competencies required to care for clients with a range of health challenges.  Those health challenges reflect the spectrum of acuity, chronicity, complexity, unpredictability, and palliative. Further, the select health challenges to be explored will be guided by global, national, regional and local statistical health reports.

Current health reports reveal the most prevalent health challenges include asthma, arthritis, cancer, cerebral vascular accidents, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), congestive heart failure (CHF), diabetes, and hypertension.  These commonly occurring as well as emerging health challenges will serve as the basis for exploring the complexities and co-morbidities of the conditions presented by clients. Through critical, systematic, creative and anticipatory thinking in clinical decision-making, students will formulate appropriate plans of care while meeting the professional standards of practice.

 

The concepts relative to health challenges to be explored include:

  • Homeostasis
  • Stress/Adaptation
  • Acuity/Chronicity
  • Co-morbidities
  • Anticipated/Unanticipated
  • Predictability/Unpredictability
  • Variability/Stability
  • Complexity/Palliative
  • Hardiness, healing, resilience, transition, and vulnerability.
Learning Outcomes

At the end of this course, learners will be able to:

  • Build knowledge to promote effective decision making in nursing practice to provide care that is competent, safe, ethical and compassionate and promotes health and well-being. Foundational knowledge to provide the care will be derived from knowledge of self, the profession, the health challenge case, the client and person, new knowledge, and consolidation and integration of past knowledge. 
  • Demonstrate ongoing evolution in the use of their clinical decision making in the determination of individualized focused client care.  Clinical decision-making will include the application of critical inquiry and clinical reasoning.
  • Demonstrate the application of knowledge in the planning of holistic, prioritized care for the client whose health status could encompass acuity, chronicity, complexity, unpredictability and variability.
  • Engage dynamically in the process of knowledge building through the application of the curricular core concepts.
  • Continue to evolve toward effective complex and interactional clinical reasoning and clinical decision making with the incorporation of a broad knowledge and experiential base to foster student confidence.
  • Demonstrate the ability to contribute to the transformation of nursing practice.
Means of Assessment

The course evaluation is consistent with Douglas College Evaluation Policy.  A course evaluation schedule and other course evaluation information are provided on the Instructor’s Course Outline which is available to students at the beginning of each semester.  This is a graded course. 

Textbook Materials

Textbooks and Materials to be Purchased by Students:

 

A list of recommended textbooks and materials is provided on the Instructor’s Course Outline which is available to students at the beginning of each semester. 

Prerequisites

NURS 3411 NURS 3412 AND NURS 3413 AND

NURS 3415 AND NURS 3417

Students in the BSN program are required to maintain a passing grade of 65% (C+) in all courses in order to progress in the program.

Corequisites
Which Prerequisite