Course

Health Assessment: Acute Health Challenges

Faculty
Health Sciences
Department
Nursing
Course Code
NURS 2212
Credits
2.50
Semester Length
15
Max Class Size
24
Method(s) Of Instruction
Lab
Typically Offered
To be determined

Overview

Course Description
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.
Course Content

In this course, the holistic health assessment of adults experiencing acute health challenges including those associated with surgical experiences and the psychomotor skills commonly used in surgical nursing practice are the foci of discussion. The concepts and essential content that will be addressed relative to these topics are listed below. In addition, the core curriculum concepts are integrated in this course.

Holistic health assessment of adults experiencing acute health challenges in a surgical context with a focus on physical assessment

  • Perioperative Care
  • Comprehensive and focused assessment
  • Neurovascular assessment
  • Pain assessment
  • Integumentary assessment
  • Wound assessment
  • Ostomy and peristomal assessment
  • Gerontological considerations

 Psychomotor skills commonly used in nursing practice with adult clients in a surgical context

  • Pain management
  • IV therapy
  • Medication administration
  • Mobilization
  • Dressing changes (sterile field)
  • Specimen collection
  • Nasogastric tube
  • Urinary catheters

Safety

  • Review of safe work practice
  • Infection transmission precautions
  • Handling biohazardous materials
  • Needlestick injury
  • Cultural safety

Nurse’s role

  • Consolidation, integration, and application of course and other nursing knowledge in simulated nursing practice experiences.

Concepts relative to health assessment to be explored include:

  • Purpose
  • Principles
  • Engaging with clients
  • Planning
  • Rationale
  • Implementation
  • Evaluation
  • Preventing complications
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 online and audiovisual resources, hands-on practice, and simulation.

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. 

Learning Outcomes

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

  • Demonstrate the knowledge, attitudes and skills required for the holistic assessment of adults experiencing acute health challenges with a focus on the assessments of clients preparing for, undergoing, or recovering from surgery.
  • Demonstrate the knowledge, attitudes and skills required for the safe implementation of a variety of psychomotor skills commonly used in nursing practice with adults in surgical nursing practice settings.
  • Demonstrate the consolidation, integration and application of course and other nursing knowledge in simulated nursing practice experiences.
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. 

Requisites

Course Guidelines

Course Guidelines for previous years are viewable by selecting the version desired. If you took this course and do not see a listing for the starting semester / year of the course, consider the previous version as the applicable version.

Course Transfers

These are for current course guidelines only. For a full list of archived courses please see https://www.bctransferguide.ca

Institution Transfer Details for NURS 2212
Kwantlen Polytechnic University (KPU) DOUG NURS 2112 (2.5) & DOUG NURS 2212 (2.5) = KPU HEAL 2150 (3)

Course Offerings

Summer 2024