Master of Science in Nursing

This graduate-level course introduces students to the historical development, structure, operation, and current and future directions of the major components of the American health care delivery system. It reviews the historical evolution of the health care system's features and examines the ways in which health care services are organized and delivered, the influences that affect health care public policy decisions, factors that determine priorities for the allocation of health care resources, and the relationship of health care costs to measurable benefits. The course enables students to assess the role of organized efforts to influence health policy formulation, and the contributions of medical technology, research findings, and societal values on our evolving health care delivery system.

Required Text Book:

• Publication manual of the American Psychological Association (6th ed.) - 9781433805615
• Health Care USA: Understanding its Organization and Delivery, 7th Edition - 9780763784584

This graduate-level course in theory and research for advanced nursing practice is designed to develop and refine the knowledge and skills necessary to critique theory and research from nursing and related fields. The focus of this course is on the examination of the research process with applicability to advanced nursing practice. Emphasis is placed on the critique, evaluation, and utilization of nursing and related research that applies to advanced nursing practice and a comprehensive approach to care. Ethical and technological aspects of scholarly inquiry are explored. This course supports the development of the research design, theoretical framework, methods of analysis, and creating an abstract for the capstone project proposal.

Required Text Book:

• American Psychological Association (6th Edition) - 978-1-4338-0561-5
• Advanced nursing research: From theory to practice (2nd Edition) - 978-1284048308

This graduate-level course provides an in-depth study of cultural diversity, delineating ethnocultural congruent health-care practices in a pluralistic society. Assessment, planning, and interventions for health promotion and maintenance, illness and disease prevention, health restoration, and health policy are explored. The course examines the meanings of health and illness across ethnocultural groups and communities.

Required Text Book:

• Transcultural Health Care: A Culturally Competent Approach, 4th Edition - 9780803637054
• Publication manual of the American Psychological Association (6th ed.) - 9781433805615

This graduate-level course focuses on the legal and ethical rights, responsibilities, and obligations of the practicing nurse in a changing health environment. It is intended to provide graduate nursing students with the theory, knowledge and application necessary to deal with pressing legal and ethical issues in nursing practice. Learners will develop a framework for working through increasingly complex legal and ethical issues that affect nurses. This framework and broadened perspective will help practitioners recognize and respond to dilemmas within diverse health care settings and nursing roles. This course will provide an overview of regulatory action and the legislative and judicial processes, enabling learners to become familiar with changes affecting the health care system such as patient rights, technological advances, and managed care. Within an ethical framework, ethical and professional issues affecting the individual, the practice of professional nursing, and the profession will be explored.

Required Text Book:

• Publication manual of the American Psychological Association (6th ed.) - 9781433805615
• Legal and Ethical Issues in Nursing, 6th Edition - 9780133355871
• Legal and Ethical Issues for Health Professionals - 3rd Edition - 9781449672119

This graduate level course focuses on advanced health/physical assessment and includes the comprehensive history, physical, and psychological assessment of signs and symptoms, pathophysiologic changes, and psychosocial variations of the patient (individual, family, or community).  This course will prepare students by providing an in-depth knowledge of core general assessment content, in addition to geriatric, pediatric, genetic, social, cultural, and community-specific needs.  Appropriate screening and diagnostic testing methods will also be included.  Content knowledge will be reinforced through a series of virtual reality patient encounter simulations.  This will culminate with a precepted virtual reality comprehensive physical assessment. 

Required Text Book:

• American Psychological Association (6th Edition) - 978-1-4338-0561-5
• Bate’s guide to physical examination and history taking (11th Edition) - 9781609137625
• Disaster nursing and emergency preparedness (3rd Edition) - 978-0-8261-0864-7

This graduate-level course contains both theoretical content as well as an examination of processes involved in human behaviors in the healthcare organizational setting. Students will become more aware of the dynamics of group processes and acquire skills (i.e., motivation and leadership skills, conflict management, negotiation skills, etc.) to improve their group performance. This course examines (1) individual behaviors, (2) leadership, and (3) intrapersonal and interpersonal issues. Specific areas included in this course are diversity, perceptions and attitudes, communications, decision-making, power, leadership, motivation, stress and conflict management. Additionally, we will discuss strategies for facilitating learning experiences in a multicultural environment.

Required Text Book:

• (8 Week Course) Organizational Behavior, Theory, And Design In Health Care (2nd Edition) - 978-1284050882
• (10 Week Course) Organizational Behavior, Theory, and Design in Healthcare (1st Edition) - 9780763742850
• Publication manual of the American Psychological Association (6th ed.) - 9781433805615

This graduate-level course covers the history of healthcare informatics, current issues, basic informatics concepts, and health information management applications. Health informatics is the intersection of information science, computer science, and health care. It deals with the resources, devices, and methods required to optimize the acquisition, storage, retrieval, and use of information in health care settings. Health informatics tools include not only computers but also clinical guidelines, formal medical terminologies, and information and communication systems. This course focuses on the application of health care informatics from a nursing perspective. Based on the Foundation of Knowledge model, this course demonstrates how nursing and healthcare informatics relate to knowledge acquisition, knowledge processing, knowledge generation, knowledge dissemination, and feedback, all of which build the science of nursing.

Required Text Book:

• Publication manual of the American Psychological Association (6th ed.) - 9781433805615
• Nursing Informatics and the Foundation of Knowledge - 978-1-4496-3174-1

This graduate-level course will help nurse managers to understand and implement processes for management of financial issues in health care. Finance is a complicated and frequently confusing part of providing healthcare in the United States. Regulatory bodies, multiple payer sources, and complicated reimbursement schedules are just of few of the things that contribute to the state of healthcare finance in the 21st century. This course will introduce the concepts of reimbursement based on meeting the needs of the client rather than meeting the bottom line. Budgetary considerations, cash flow, cost to benefit analysis, and salaries are discussed in a forthright and comprehensive manner. Understanding how clients view healthcare and then understanding the role of healthcare payment will assist nursing leaders to make quality decisions that will benefit the patient and the facility. This course will assist the nurse manager to implement financial considerations into quality patient care.

Required Text Book:

• Publication manual of the American Psychological Association (6th ed.) - 9781433805615
• Financial Management for Nurse Managers: Merging the Heart with the Dollar, 2nd Edition - 9780763757137

This graduate-level course focuses on developing advanced knowledge of human pathophysiological functions and responses to altered conditions, and includes integration of this knowledge into evidenced-based nursing practice. The focus is on frequently encountered primary care conditions across the general lifespan and for special populations. This course will prepare students to function in advanced practice and nurse educator roles by providing an in-depth understanding of pathophysiologic processes, enabling the student to predict clinical manifestations, select evaluative studies, initiate appropriate therapies, and anticipate potential complications. Insights into the underlying disease process will prepare the practitioner and educator for integration of new and innovative interventions, pharmacotherapeutics, analysis of risk factors, and associated signs and symptoms. Appropriate screening and diagnostic testing methods will also be included. Emphasis will be placed on important pathophysiological concepts needed to support the goals of Healthy People 2020 to improve clients’ quality of life and reduce health disparities. Additionally, this course will address the pathophysiologic needs of communities and individuals in emergency and disaster settings.

Required Text Book:

• Pathophysiology: The biologic basis for disease in adults and children (7th Edition) - 978-0-323-08854-1
• American Psychological Association (6th Edition) - 978-1-4338-0561-5
• 100 case studies in pathophysiology - 978-0781761451
• Disaster nursing and emergency preparedness - 978-0-8261-0865-4

This course imparts valuable insight into the planning, organizing, and controlling of user services. Managing the essential technologies as well as the management of the traditional information systems development process is explored. This course also incorporates investigation into organizational learning curves, dealing with vendors, budgeting, accounting, management reporting, and legal considerations of information systems (IS). Each module in this course melds textbook material with additional content from external resources. This course addresses issues and strategies enabled through creative exercises and brief research projects designed to help students synthesize new learning and apply the concepts presented. Each encourages critical thinking about the subject matter. A broad range of analysis and synthesis skills, such as inference, recognition of assumptions, deduction, evaluation of arguments, and interpretation are enlisted through such project-oriented assignments. Investigating articles and case studies that present timely and different approaches to information systems management assists in emulating real MIS challenges. Discussion questions afford online interactive students the opportunity to exchange ideas with peer learners on current topics concerning this dynamic field.

Required Text Book:

• Business Driven Information Systems, 3rd Ed. - 9780073376820
• The leadership challenge: how to make extraordinary things happen in organizations (5th Edition) - 978-0470651728

This graduate level course focuses on developing advanced knowledge of pharmacology and pharmacologic responses. A deeper look will be taken at cultural, social, genetic, and other issues that impact patient decisions regarding pharmacologic treatment. Students will be prepared to address common herbal and alternative therapies utilized by patients. Also included in the course is a discussion of the role of the nurse in the process of approvals for new pharmacologic treatments and in the coordination of medication distribution. Application will be made to disaster and emergency management and the role of the nurse in the multidisciplinary team under these circumstances.

Required Text Book:

• American Psychological Association (6th Edition) - 978-1-4338-0561-5
• Pharmacology for Nurses: A Pathophysiologic Approach (4th Edition) - 978-0133026184
• Disaster nursing and emergency preparedness (3rd Edition) - 978-0-8261-0865-4

In this course we will provide you with both a strong foundation for understanding what is meant by information technology and the business side of managing it. We will explain information technology in the context of organizations and their use of it. This course focuses on business pressures and the strategies used to counter them, especially through the use of Web-based strategic information systems.

Required Text Book:

• Management: Digital strategies for Insight, Action, and Sustainable Performance (10th Edition) - 978-1118897782

Public health nurses are part of an exciting future with the potential of solving many of the health and psychosocial ailments currently affecting the population. The underlying assumption of this course is that public health nurses, who comprise a major part of the public health workforce, must take a leadership role in improving the health of our nations’ residences. Information on the use of population data and how it is used to assess, plan, monitor and evaluate is included. This course includes content on the diverse knowledge of complex health systems public health nurses must have to be able to function independently. The public health nurse must have knowledge of the impact of environment or a disaster on health. Content on the influence of policies, regulations and governmental programs is interwoven throughout the course. Emphasis is placed on the multitude of other disciplines and how the nurse must collaborate at every level to promote population health. The role of the public health in serving patients in a variety of settings is examined. A focus on how nursing serves the vulnerable or selected specific populations is also included.

Required Text Book:

• Population-based nursing: Competencies and concepts for advanced practice - 978-0826106711
• Disaster nursing and emergency preparedness (2nd Edition) - 978-0826108647
• Epidemiology For Public Health Practice (5th Edition) - 978-1449665494
• **(Supplemental Text-Recommended, Not Required)** Population and Community Health Nursing (6th Edition) - 978-0133859591
• American Psychological Association (6th Edition) - 978-1-4338-0561-5

This graduate level course explores foundational principles of the scholarship of teaching as the basis for examining the role of the nurse educator in academic, clinical, and community settings. Characteristics of learners with diverse learning styles and backgrounds are explored, with emphasis on assessing learning style preferences, critical thinking abilities, and literacy. Current trends in nursing education are examined, including the evolving role of technology, the influence of demographics, and educational policies that impact the learner, the teacher, and the learning environment. This course concludes with an analysis of legal and ethical issues that relate to client/staff education as well as the academic performance of students.

Required Text Book:

• Nurse as Educator: Principles of Teaching and Learning for Nursing Practice - 9781449697501
• Teaching in Nursing: A Guide for Faculty, 4th Edition - 9781455705511
• National League for Nursing, The Scope of Practice for Academic Nurse Educators - 9781934758175
• Theory and Research for Academic Nurse Educators: Application to Practice - 9780763774134

This course provides an introduction to forensic nursing science, and the role the forensic nurse plays in the bridge between medical and legal components. The course presents the evolution of forensic nursing and explores the various roles and responsibilities of the forensic nurse in a variety of healthcare and non-traditional settings. The forensic nursing specialty has evolved in part from society’s need to reduce and prevent interpersonal violence and criminal behavior. In both criminal and non-criminal incidents requiring investigation, there is a gap between the medical/forensic medical information and law enforcement/investigative agencies and the criminal justice system. This course will provide the framework for bridging this gap and students will uncover the potential for nurses to apply forensic nursing expertise in variety of settings and multidisciplinary environments.

Required Text Book:

• Forensic nursing science (2nd Edition) - 978-0323066372
• Forensic nursing: Scope & standards of practice - 978-1558102651
• Publication manual of the American Psychological Association (6th Edition) - 978-1-4338-0561-5

This course will provide students with an understanding of the American correctional system. It covers various topics including the history and law of corrections, punishment and rehabilitation of offenders, correctional practices ranging from probation to prison, and correctional trends. To begin, this course provides an overview of corrections, including the early history of correctional thought. Later, correctional law and the punishment of offenders will be examined, including the various types of correctional clients. Correctional practices including jails, probation, and intermediate sanctions and community corrections are explored. Corrections also covers incarceration, including the prison experience for men and women. This course reviews issues related to institutional management and programs; as well as once offenders are released from incarceration. This course explores supervision of offenders in the community, as well as corrections for juveniles. It also covers various trends including incarceration, race and ethnicity, and the death penalty. Finally, surveillance and control in the community are discussed, as well as community justice. The discussion will conclude with a look at the future of corrections.

Required Text Book:

• (8 Week Course) American Corrections - 11th Edition - 978-1305093300
• (10 Week Course) Cengage Advantage Books: American Corrections, 10th ed - 978-1111841638

This graduate-level course provides in-depth coverage of strategic thinking, strategic planning, and managing the strategic momentum. This course demonstrates how strategic managers can become strategic thinkers with the crucial skills to evaluate the changing environment, analyze data, question assumptions, and develop new ideas. Students will be introduced to methods to develop and document a plan of action through strategic planning and illustrate how, as managers attempt to carry out the strategic plan, they evaluate its success, learn more about what works, and incorporate new strategic thinking into future planning. Diverse strategic situations will be presented in case study format, which enhances the applicability of the concepts.

Required Text Book:

• Publication manual of the American Psychological Association (6th ed.) - 9781433805615
• Strategic Management of Health Care Organizations (7th ed.) - 9781118466469

This course addresses the role of the school nurse in the school and the community, including public health, other health providers, and the family. The profession of nursing, development of preschool-adolescent students, evidence-based care, care of children with common conditions, intellectual disabilities, and high-risk behavior will be examined, with respect to cultural and legal considerations. The role of the school nurse with regards to disaster planning will also be discussed.

Required Text Book:

• American Psychological Association (6th Edition) - 978-1-4338-0561-5
• School Nursing: A Comprehensive Text (2nd Edition) - 978-0803622098

This graduate level course introduces the principles of teaching and learning among a diverse population of learners in academic and clinical environments. A variety of strategies to facilitate learning in cognitive, psychomotor and affective domains will be explored. Students will develop learning activities for the traditional, non-traditional and online learning environments in academic and clinical settings, utilizing evidence-based resources to support teaching and learning. Integrating educational technology within the learning environment is also a component of the course. Various methods for designing, conducting, and analyzing assessments and evaluations of learning outcomes will be appraised.

Required Text Book:

• Nurse as Educator: Principles of Teaching and Learning for Nursing Practice (4th Edition) - 9781449697501
• Innovative Teaching Strategies in Nursing and Related Health Professions (6th Edition) - 9781284030990
• Teaching strategies for nurse educators (3rd Edition) - 978-0133565232

The relationship between technology-based products and the consumers of these products comes under investigation in this course. This course also teaches methods for designing, developing, and delivering technology-based products that can solve real-world problems. Students will examine best practices for integrating technology solutions and metrics managers can apply to measure the return on an IT investment. Throughout the course, students will learn skills they can use to increase their own creative skills.

Required Text Book:

• The Management of Technology and Innovation: A Strategic Approach - 978-0538478229

This graduate level course focuses on designing nursing curriculum in diverse learning environments using evidence-based theories and concepts as well as relevant standards and criteria for evaluation. The relationship of nursing curriculum to the parent institution’s mission and philosophy is analyzed. Development, implementation and evaluation of a continuing education program for staff, patient or public education also is emphasized.

Required Text Book:

• Curriculum Development and evaluation in nursing, 2nd Edition - 9780826107220
• Teaching in Nursing: A Guide for Faculty, 4th Edition - 9781455705511
• Curriculum Development in Nursing Education, 2nd Edition - 9780763755959

This course will build on previous informatics knowledge to apply problem-solving skills to complex nursing informatics problems. Healthcare organizations face many issues that will be covered in this course including interoperability, integration, health information exchange, and electronic health records. Applying successful solutions through the lens of quality, meaningful use, education, public health and evidence-based practice will be emphasized. Additional emphasis on underserved populations also be a thread throughout this course.

Required Text Book:

• American Psychological Association (6th Edition) - 978-1-4338-0561-5
• Handbook of informatics for nurses and healthcare professionals (5th Edition) - 978-0-13-257495-2

This course provides a solid foundation in case management strategies and home health nursing concepts and interventions for individuals and targeted populations. The leadership roles of the nurse in case management and home health are explored. The impact of political, economic, social, environmental, and cultural concerns on the health of populations is examined. Standards and principles of practice for both of these specialty areas is explored. Innovation in care delivery is discussed. This course demonstrates the core functions of public health and is designed to demonstrate competency in each of the practice domains of Advanced Public Health Nursing as defined by the American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC).

Required Text Book:

• Scope and standards of practice: Home health nursing (2nd Edition) - 978-1558102828
• Population and Community Health Nursing (6th Edition) - 978-0133859591

This practicum experience focuses on the analysis, synthesis, and application of principles and theories related to nursing administration and leadership. It is designed to provide the student with the opportunity to integrate theory in a context of the nurse executive’s role. During the precepted practicum experience, students observe, analyze, and participate in the role of the nurse executive in a designated health care delivery system. Experiences are designed and arranged by the student and approved by the faculty to provide executive level exposure to nursing administration operations and local business health policies and procedures. Within the asynchronous classroom environment, students will explore concepts pertinent to enactment the nurse executive role, with an emphasis on application of leadership/management theory, effective supervision, problem solving, organizational theory and structure, personnel and operations management, and communication. 80 practicum hours are required. PLEASE NOTE: PRIOR to registering for this class, all required practicum documents must be submitted to the Nursing Practicum Center classroom and approved by the NP Coordinator. Please contact npcoordinator@aspen.edu if you have questions. 

Required Text Book:

• Scope and Standards for Nursing Administrators, 3rd Edition - 9781558102675
• Publication manual of the American Psychological Association (6th ed.) - 9781433805615
• Management and Leadership for Nurse Administrators, 6th Edition - 9781449614928
• Beyond Leading and Managing: Nursing Administration for the Future - 9780323028776

This course builds upon the introductory content mastered in N560 Forensic Nursing. In this course participants will have the opportunity for in-depth exploration of current issues driving the evolving forensic nurse role.  Participants will gain additional specialized knowledge and skills required for current and evolving forensic nursing practice.  Examples of topics covered in this course include human trafficking; sexual violence; at risk and vulnerable populations; violence in the workplace; prevention and education; organizational and community consultation; policy/laws/regulation; advocacy; the nurse as expert witness; terrorism and torture; self-care and compassion fatigue prevention for the forensic nurse.

Learning activities are designed to guide discovery of knowledge, evaluation and application of research, and the development of innovative strategies for incorporation into Forensic Nursing practice. Course participants will have the opportunity to select and interact with preferred target populations within the broader module foci to provide for a richer, more diverse collaborative, interactive learning experience.   

Required Text Book:

• Forensic nursing: Scope and standards of practice - 978-1558102651
• Forensic nursing: A handbook for practice (2nd Edition) - 978-0763792008
• Publication manual of the American Psychological Association (6th Edition) - 978-1-4338-0561-5

This practicum experience focuses on the analysis, synthesis, and application of principles and theories related to nursing administration and leadership. It is designed to provide the student with the opportunity to integrate theory in a context of the nurse executive’s role. During the precepted practicum experience, students observe, analyze, and participate in the role of the nurse executive in a designated health care delivery system. Experiences are designed and arranged by the student and approved by the faculty to provide executive level exposure to nursing administration operations and local business health policies and procedures. Within the asynchronous classroom environment, students will explore concepts pertinent to enactment the nurse executive role, with an emphasis on application of leadership/management theory, effective supervision, problem solving, organizational theory and structure, personnel and operations management, and communication (Minimum 80 practicum hours for N550, and 100 practicum hours for N552). PLEASE NOTE: Students cannot start this course before completing N550.

Prerequisite:

• N550

Required Text Book:

• Management and Leadership for Nurse Administrators, 6th Edition - 9781449614928
• Beyond Leading and Managing: Nursing Administration for the Future, 1st Edition - 9780323028776
• Publication manual of the American Psychological Association (6th ed.) - 9781433805615
• Scope and Standards for Nursing Administrators, 3rd Edition - 9781558102675

This graduate level course focuses on the implementation of the specialist nurse role through the application of theoretical concepts and strategies for a selected learner population in an academic, legal, or clinical setting. Emphasis is on effective communication and sensitivity to varying needs of the learner based on cultural and educational background. The specialist nurse role will be analyzed and applied in collaboration with a master's prepared nurse preceptor with experience in the specialty. Evidence-based strategies will be developed into a comprehensive activity or teaching plan to engage learners in active learning and implemented to meet mutually determined outcomes. Activities might include, but are not limited to: creating toolkit of resource references, developing a PowerPoint®   or Prezi® for presentation, creating a survey to measure satisfaction with activity, attending professional meetings, writing a publishable article, presenting a topic to patients, creating a webinar, delivering a training module to staff nurses, developing software to meet a need, creating a Review of Literature, developing an advocacy agenda, or proposing a change in process or procedure. 180 hours of real work nursing experience will be required. PLEASE NOTE: PRIOR to registering for this class, all required practicum documents must be submitted to the Nursing Practicum Center classroom and approved by the NP Coordinator. Please contact npcoordinator@aspen.edu if you have questions. 

Required Text Book:

• Publication manual of the American Psychological Association (6th ed.) - 9781433805615

The purpose of this individualized learning experience is to enable you to develop an original comprehensive nursing research project on a topic of professional or personal interest. This project-based course is intended to enable you to research, design and develop a substantial original applied project of your own authorship. This project is intended to encourage the application of theories, principles, and processes that you have studied in the Aspen graduate courses to an actual nursing related problem or issue of interest and relevance to you in your professional activities. PLEASE NOTE: Students cannot start the Capstone concurrently with the Practicum, as the Capstone is based upon the data collected from the Practicum.

Prerequisite:

• N586