Nursing
Department Chair: Elizabeth M. Bloom Ph.D., RN
Associate Chair: Terri Legare Ph.D., RN, CNE
The nursing educational program was established at Salve Regina University in 1947 and later became the first nationally accredited program in Rhode Island. True to the tradition of the Sisters of Mercy, the Department of Nursing creates a supportive learning community for students from all backgrounds and beliefs. The Department of Nursing endeavors to develop professional nurses who are liberally educated, ethically grounded, clinically competent providers of health care committed to human service and social justice regardless of the race, ethnicity or religion of the population served.
Committed to patient centered care, graduates will recognize and include the patient and family as full partners on the healthcare team. Graduates will be prepared to become lifelong learners, continuing to develop as health care providers and members of the global health partnership, crafting the role of the nurse of the future.
Graduates may earn a Bachelor of Science degree with a major in nursing by following one of two tracks, the pre-licensure plan of study or the degree completion plan of study for students who are already registered nurses. In the junior year, nursing majors who meet the qualifications are invited to join Sigma Theta Tau International, the international honor society of professional nurses.
Accreditation
Since its inception this baccalaureate program has maintained full approval by the Rhode Island Board of Nurse Registration and Nursing Education and is fully accredited by the Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education (CCNE).
Curriculum
The Bachelor of Science with a major in nursing prepares graduates to enter the profession as a provider of care; as leaders in the design, management and coordination of care; and as an ongoing contributing member of this profession prepared to continue with professional education. The Salve Regina University program of study in nursing provides students with the core knowledge required of health care professionals and the unique knowledge, attitudes, and skills required by the discipline of nursing. Graduates are prepared to practice competently in a variety of settings and provide for the health and healing of patients across the lifespan and along the continuum of health.
Within the scope of practice of a novice professional nurse, graduates will provide health promotion, disease prevention, and risk reduction treatments using evidence-based clinical reasoning, combined with information management, patient care technology, and personal leadership skills to address the complex health care needs of the individuals, families, groups, communities and populations. Graduates will deliver individualized, high quality, safe nursing care that identifies, respects, and addresses patients' differences, values, preferences and expressed needs.
Nursing Student Learning Outcomes
At the completion of the program, students will be able to:
- Demonstrate knowledge for safe and effective nursing practice with the ability to use clinical judgement, critical thinking, evidenced-based practice, as well as the knowledge from other disciplines including the arts and the sciences.
- Provide person-centered care by including family and/or important others; fostering a holistic, individualized, just, respectful, compassionate, and developmentally appropriate approach to patient care.
- Explore the health care delivery continuum, from health promotion and policy to disease management of populations, responding to the needs of an ever-evolving world for the improvement of equitable health outcomes.
- Critically appraise nursing knowledge and information management systems to synthesize, translate, apply, and disseminate information to promote best nursing practice and scholarly inquiry.
- Employ established and emerging principles of quality and safety as core values of nursing practice to improve patient outcomes and minimize risk of harm to patients and providers through both system effectiveness and individual performance.
- Recognize the need and engages in interprofessional partnerships through intentional collaboration across professions to optimize care, foster inclusion, enhance the healthcare experience, and strengthen outcomes.
- Describe various healthcare delivery environments in which nursing effectively and proactively coordinates resources to provide safe and equitable quality care to diverse populations supportive of the Critical Concerns of Mercy.
- Develop resilience by coming to know themselves through critical examination of their personal and professional ethics, talents, limitations, relationships, and goals while building skills needed to foster connections with those around them.
Admission
Students who indicate on their Salve Regina application the desire to major in nursing may be accepted if they meet the entrance requirements of the University and the Department of Nursing. Due to the site requirements for experiential learning, the number of students accepted into the major is limited to ensure clinical placement.
In keeping with the drug-free workplace act of 1988 and the Drug-Free Schools and Communities Act Amendments of 1989, students in the Department of Nursing of Salve Regina University are expected to lead responsible lives and care for their own health and wellbeing so that they have the capacity to care for others. Substance abuse and its sequelae, addictive illness, impedes self-care and can lead to serious physical, psychological, and social problems ranging from loss of employment, loss of license to practice, and death.
NUR-130: Medical Terminology (1 Credits)
Communication between medical specialists and supporting staff requires knowledge of a consistent and reproducible vocabulary. It is important for students to realize that accurate spelling, pronunciation and usage of medical terms is of extreme importance in the care of a patient. This course offers health-related personnel a simple approach to the building blocks of medical terminology: roots, prefixes and suffixes. Terminology for basic medical disciplines as well as medical specialties will be included. A variety of commonly used words or phrases for which there are medical terms will be presented.
NUR-150: Introduction to Professional Nursing (1 Credits)
This course introduces the development of the discipline of nursing and the expectations of the nurse of the future. Topics include nursing history, nursing theories and models of practice, the various settings of practice and the roles of the professional nurse, the social policy statement of the profession, the scope and standards of nursing practice, ethical and legal challenges encountered in practice, and the responsibility of the nurse to communicate appropriately and effectively while advocating for both the patients and the profession.
NUR-216: Healthcare Informatics (3 Credits)
This course establishes the foundational knowledge for understanding and practicing nursing informatics in healthcare settings. It will explore the impact on patient care within the contemporary health care environment and examine a variety of interactive strategies and technologies used to enhance health care delivery to consumers. Core and supporting models and theories for nursing informatics and the sciences that support nursing informatics are studies. Consideration is given to the use of information technology to support decisions that promote safety and quality in patient-centered care, and concerns about protecting information and system integrity are addressed.
NUR-230: Human Pathophysiology (3 Credits)
Co-requisite(s): NUR-240 is required.
This course includes the concepts of matter, energy, motion of fluids, and electrical impulses from the field of physics as it explores the disruptions of normal physiology and the related signs, symptoms, physical and laboratory findings. The etiology, pathogenesis, clinical manifestations, and sequelae of various alterations of human structure and function will be examined. Transcultural pathologies will be reviewed as well as pathological conditions that have a higher incidence in humans at specific stages of growth and development.
NUR-240: Pharmacotherapy (3 Credits)
Co-requisite(s): NUR-230 is required.
This course provides an introductory study of the principles of drug action and drug therapy in health and illness. Prototypical agents from major drug classifications, routes of administration, standards of care, legislation requirements and nursing responsibilities will be explored. Variation in medication administration policies related to patient variations in gender, age, culture, environmental challenges and diagnoses will be considered. Emphasis is on nursing responsibilities for accurate dosage calculation, patients' rights in safe administration, and legal considerations in the delivery of medication.
NUR-250: Normal and Therapeutic Nutrition (2 Credits)
Pre-requisite(s): CHM-121 is required.
This course introduces the science of nutrition. The normal nutritional requirements of humans throughout the lifespan are presented as a basis for planning an adequate diet with consideration for variation in food choices due to social, economic, cultural, ethnic and psychological factors. Health promotion guidelines and patient diet therapy for various genetic and systemic disorders are discussed. Implications of possible interactions between foods, herbal therapies and pharmaceutical therapies will be explored.
NUR-332: Holistic Health Assessment and Fundamentals of Nursing (3 Credits)
Co-requisite(s): NUR-333 is required.
This course focuses on the knowledge, procedures and skills required to perform and document a holistic health assessment, diagnosis and plan of care for patients in various settings. It introduces the fundamental skills for holistic nursing care with adults and older adults, women and men from diverse backgrounds. The student will use the nursing process to assess, determine nursing diagnoses, plan, develop interventions and evaluate procedures for health and wellness promotion, illness prevention, and risk anticipation, and the utilization of referral to colleagues will be included. The systematic approach to documentation will be included in the process.
NUR-333: Experiential Learning: Health Assessment and Fundamentals of Nursing (2 Credits)
Co-requisite(s): NUR-332 is required.
The first part of this course will take place in the nursing simulation lab and would allow students the opportunity to learn/practice fundamental nursing skills, perform health assessments, reinforce learning through simulation and case studies, and practice documentation. Students will be introduced to the development and application of therapeutic communication techniques for the collection of subjective data through interviews and will learn proper examination techniques for collection of objective data. The integration of theoretical and practice skills learned in the lab will prepare students for their introduction into the clinical setting as this course presents students with the opportunity to provide appropriate, safe, holistic nursing care with adults and older adults from diverse backgrounds living with chronic health problems in a Chronic care facility.
NUR-334: Genetics and Genomics (3 Credits)
This course introduces the advances made in the field of genetics (the study of individual genes) and genomics (the study of all the genes in the human genome) and the application of resulting technologies to patient care. Essentially all human conditions and diseases have a genetic or genomic component. Options for care are increasingly including genetic and genomic information for disease prevention, screening, diagnostic prognosis, selection of treatment and monitoring of treatment effectiveness. Anticipated future research findings and their expected impact on patient care, the possible ethical, fiscal and social justice issues will be considered.
NUR-336: Research and Evidence-Based Practice (3 Credits)
Pre-requisite(s): STA-173 is required.
This course focuses on the role of the professional nurse as an informed consumer of research and other evidence to facilitate care of individuals, families, groups, and communities. Emphasis is placed on the introduction to the values, characteristics and process of quantitative and qualitative research. The student examines the research process and develops the beginning skills of analysis and critique of nursing research. Emphasis is placed on the development of clinical reasoning by analyzing published studies related to the delivery of nursing care. The professional responsibility to apply findings to direct patient care and develop best practices in nursing care is presented.
NUR-338: Care of Adults With Chronic Health Conditions (3 Credits)
Pre/Co-requisite(s): NUR-336 is required.
This course introduces the knowledge and fundamental skills for holistic nursing care with adults and older adults, women and men from diverse backgrounds living with a chronic illness and the appropriate therapeutic responses based on the patient's understanding of the risk factors and morbidity common during the aging process. Students will learn how to assess each patient's personal perception of health, the impact of the chronic illness on the patient and their family, including the common physiological, spiritual, psychological, and social changes, challenges, and adaptations used by adults and older adults. Nursing interventions will integrate critical analysis of clinical findings, evidence-based practice, patient advocacy and teaching, communication, patient safety, and professional functioning within a multi-professional team in order to provide appropriate patient-centered care for patients and their families.
Theme: Defining the American Experience.
NUR-339: Experiential Learning: Care of Adults With Chronic Health Conditions (3 Credits)
Co-requisite(s): NUR-338 is required.
This course presents students with the opportunity to provide appropriate, safe, holistic nursing care with adults and older adults from diverse backgrounds living with chronic health problems, while also minimizing the occurrence of additional health challenges. Using the nursing process and in collaboration with the patient, students will provide appropriate patient-centered, ethical, cost-effective nursing interventions that support the healthy adaptation and well-being of patients and their families at the highest level of independence. Appropriate therapeutic responses will be based on critical analysis of research and evidence-based practice, methods for patient advocacy and teaching, issues of patient safety, clinical reasoning skills, and processes for documentation and communication, and the implementation of the nursing role in a variety of settings and within a multi-professional team.
NUR-344: Care of Adults With Acute Health Conditions (3 Credits)
Co-requisite(s): NUR-345 is required.
This course presents the knowledge and skills necessary to provide holistic nursing care for adults and older adults from diverse backgrounds experiencing acute health conditions. The appropriate therapeutic responses will be based on the patient's personal perception of health, understanding of risk factors, morbidity, and mortality common with their acute health condition. Genetic syndromes and the interaction of acute and chronic co-morbid conditions common in older adults will be presented. Students will learn the impact of acute disease on patients and their families, including the common physiological, spiritual, psychological, and social changes, challenges, and adaptations used by adults and older adults. Nursing interventions will integrate critical analysis of clinical findings, research, evidence-based practice, patient advocacy and teaching, communication, patient safety, and professional functioning within a multi-professional team in order to provide appropriate patient-centered care for patients and their families.
NUR-345: Experiential Learning: Care of Adults With Acute Health Conditions (3 Credits)
Co-requisite(s): NUR-344 is required.
This course presents students with the opportunity to provide appropriate, safe, holistic nursing care of adults and older adults from diverse backgrounds who are experiencing acute health conditions, while also minimizing the potential for the occurrence of additional health challenges. Using the nursing process and in collaboration with the patient, students will provide appropriate patient-centered, ethical, cost effective nursing interventions that support the healthy adaptation and well-being of patients and their families at the highest level of independence. Appropriate therapeutic responses will be based on critical analysis of research and evidence-based practice, methods for patient advocacy and teaching, issues of patient safety, clinical reasoning skills, and processes for documentation and communication, and the nursing roles within a multi-professional team.
NUR-346: Families in Transition: Care of Childbearing and Childrearing Families (3 Credits)
Co-requisite(s): NUR-347 is required.
This course presents the knowledge and skills necessary to provide holistic nursing care with individuals and their families during the years of childbearing and childrearing. Content includes women's health, reproductive issues, genetic counseling, pre-natal and postpartum assessments and treatments, and the specialized assessments and interventions required during the intrapartum experience. Knowledge of the growth and development of the child from birth to adolescence, altered patterns in growth and health, and the treatment and rehabilitation of children when they experience a genetic or microbial threat to their well-being will make possible the appropriate care of the patient and their family. Biological, psychosocial, spiritual, and cultural considerations that impact the childbearing and childrearing family are addressed using a family-centered approach. Nursing interventions will integrate critical analysis of clinical findings, research, evidence-based practice, patient advocacy and teaching, communication, patient safety, and professional functioning within a multi-professional team in order to provide appropriate patient-centered care for patients and their families.
NUR-347: Experiential Learning: Care of the Childbearing and Childrearing Families (3 Credits)
Co-requisite(s): NUR-346 is required.
This course presents students with the opportunity to provide appropriate, safe, holistic nursing care with childbearing and childrearing families from diverse backgrounds while also minimizing the potential for the occurrence of additional health challenges for the patient and their family. Collaboration with the patient will provide the basis for patient-centered, ethical, cost effective nursing interventions that support the healthy adaptation and well-being of patients and their families in a variety of settings. Appropriate therapeutic responses will be based on the patient's perception of health and understanding of risk factors, critical analysis of clinical findings, clinical research, evidence-based practice, methods of patient advocacy and teaching, issues of patient safety, clinical reasoning skills, processes for documentation and communication, and the nursing roles within a multi-professional team.
NUR-432: Care of Patients with Mental Health Conditions (3 Credits)
Pre-requisite(s): All 300-level nursing courses are required.
Co-requisite(s): NUR-433 is required.
This course presents the knowledge and skills necessary to provide holistic nursing care with patients experiencing abnormal mental health processes and the appropriate therapeutic responses for patients from diverse backgrounds. Genetic syndromes and the interaction of acute and chronic co-morbid conditions common in mental health patients will be explored. Emphasis will be placed on the process of assessment of mental health conditions and their impact on patients and their families, including the common physiological, spiritual, psychological, and social changes, challenges, and adaptations used. Nursing interventions will integrate critical analysis of evidence based practice, patient advocacy and teaching, communication, patient safety, and professional functioning within a multidisciplinary team in order to provide appropriate patient centered care.
NUR-433: Experiential Learning: Care of Patients with Mental Health Conditions (3 Credits)
Co-requisite(s): NUR-432 is required.
This course presents students with the opportunity to provide appropriate, safe, holistic nursing care to individuals with mental health conditions, while also minimizing the potential for the occurrence of additional health challenges for the patient and their family. Collaboration with the patient will provide the basis for appropriate patient-centered, ethical, cost-effective nursing care to mentally ill patients in a variety of settings. Appropriate therapeutic responses will be based on the patient's perception of health and understanding of risk factors, critical analysis of clinical findings, clinical research, evidence-based practice, clinical reasoning skills, methods of patient advocacy and teaching, issues of patient safety, processes for documentation and communication, and the nursing roles within a multi-professional team.
NUR-436: Care of Families in Transition: Aging and End-of-Life Care (3 Credits)
Pre-requisite(s): All 300-level nursing courses are required.
Co-requisite(s): NUR-437 is required.
This course presents the knowledge and skills necessary to provide holistic nursing care of families challenged by the loss of abilities of family members due to aging and the need for end-of-life care, with special attention to issues of quality of life of the patient and family members. Emphasis will be placed on assessment of function, physical, cognitive, psychological, and social changes common in old age, and the complex symptomatology, pain management, and risk factors associated with decline in health status. Attitudes and values that affect care to the aged and the dying process will be explored. Content related to end of life issues for the elderly, including communication, evidence-based practice, cultural expectations, spiritual and religious values, and planning advanced directives will be explored.
NUR-437: Experiential Learning: Families in Transition: Aging and End-of Life Care (3 Credits)
Co-requisite(s): NUR-436 is required.
This course presents students with the opportunity to provide appropriate, safe, holistic nursing care to families with aged members and patients who are approaching the end-of-life, while also minimizing the potential for the occurrence of additional health challenges for patients and their family. Collaboration with the patient will provide the basis for appropriate patient-centered, ethical, cost-effective nursing care to aged individuals, dying patients and their families in a variety of settings. Appropriate therapeutic responses will be based on the patient's perception of health and understanding of risk factors, critical analysis of clinical findings, clinical research, evidence-based practice, clinical reasoning skills, methods of patient advocacy and teaching, issues of patient safety, processes for documentation and communication, and the nursing roles within a multi-professional team.
NUR-442: Care of Adults with Complex Health Conditions (3 Credits)
Pre-requisite(s): All 300-level nursing courses are required.
Co-requisite(s): NUR-443 is required.
This course presents the knowledge and skills necessary to provide holistic nursing care with adults and older adults experiencing complex, multi-dimensional disease processes. Emphasis will be placed on the assessment of a complex health condition, including the physiological, spiritual, psychological, and social adaptations used by patients from diverse backgrounds. Nursing interventions will integrate critical analysis of clinical findings, clinical research and evidence-based practice, patient advocacy and teaching, patient safety, communication and professional functioning within a multi-professional team in order to plan appropriate patient-centered care for individuals and their families.
NUR-443: Experiential Learning: Care of Adults with Complex Health Conditions (3 Credits)
Co-requisite(s): NUR-442 is required.
This course presents students with the opportunity to provide appropriate, safe, holistic nursing care of adults and older adults experiencing complex, multidimensional health conditions, including life threatening critical illnesses, while simultaneously minimizing the potential for the occurrence of additional health challenges. Appropriate therapeutic responses will be based on the patient's perception of health and understanding of risk factors, critical analysis of clinical findings, clinical research, evidence-based practice, methods of patient advocacy and teaching, communication, and the nursing roles within a multi-professional team.
NUR-444: Public Health and Disaster Response Planning (3 Credits)
Pre-requisite(s): All 300-level nursing courses are required.
This course introduces the student to public health nursing. Epidemiological principles will be utilized in discussing global health issues, environmental health, infectious disease, and health disparities within populations. Concepts of vulnerability to natural and man-made disasters, and the challenges of prevention and healthcare advocacy for the preparedness of all will be explored within the context of social justice. Community disaster preparation and management will be explored. Local, regional and national preparedness will be evaluated with an emphasis on the effect on the local community. This course may include fieldwork on a public health issue.
Theme: Building Global Awareness.
NUR-446: Leadership and Management (3 Credits)
Pre-requisite(s): All 300-level nursing courses are required.
This course presents concepts of organizational and systems leadership, quality improvement, risk management and patient safety that promote high quality patient care within institutional and community arenas. Principles of leadership and management are discussed with emphasis on the mission and vision of an organization, models of care delivery, and communication across the continuum of care. After analyzing trends and issues in the current healthcare system, students will determine ways they can provide the leadership required to affect a positive change within the evolving environment of health care. This course may include fieldwork.
NUR-449: Preparation for Professional Licensure I (1 Credits)
This course provides students with the information, content, and test-taking strategies required to prepare for the computerized testing necessary to obtain licensure. Senior Nursing majors only.
NUR-450: Preparation for Professional Licensure II (2 Credits)
Pre-requisite(s): NUR-449 is required. Last semester of study in pre-licensure track.
This course provides students with the information, content, and test-taking strategies required to prepare for the computerized testing necessary to obtain licensure.
NUR-451: Nursing Capstone (4 Credits)
Pre-requisite(s): NUR-332, NUR-333, NUR-334, NUR-336, NUR-338, NUR-339, NUR-344, NUR-345, NUR-346 and NUR-347 are required.
This course provides the opportunity for the student to demonstrate synthesis of the knowledge, attitudes, and skills of a developing professional nurse while participating in more autonomous and collaborative clinical functioning within a selected setting. The student will organize, prioritize, and delegate care of patients, as appropriate within a multi-professional system of patient care. Seminar sessions will explore the emerging challenges of professional practice within the particular setting. Students will write a detailed analysis of a nursing care issue which will include a literature review, proposed solutions to the concern or issue and implications for practice.
NUR-475: Service Learning: Public Health/Ireland (3 Credits)
This service-learning course introduces the student to public health nursing throughout the world. Epidemiological principles will be utilized in discussing global health issues, environmental health, infectious disease, and health disparities within populations both in the United States and in Ireland. Concepts of vulnerability to natural and man-made disasters, and the challenges of prevention and healthcare advocacy for the preparedness of all will be explored within the context of social justice. Community disaster preparation and management will be explored. Public health emergencies such as past conflict resolutions during the "Troubles" in Ireland as well as the Great Famine will be explored with current events in the world today. Local, regional, national, and international preparedness will be evaluated with an emphasis on the effects within the local community.
Theme: What is Western Heritage?- Ancient and Modern.