Course Descriptions

NRPHD 708. Advanced Health Policy and Advocacy. This course equips students with the skills necessary to develop, evaluate, and provide leadership in improving the health of the public through health policy development and the education of policy makers regarding nursing and patient outcomes recognizing the critical need for health equity in services and outcomes. Students will evaluate the health policy making processes and the disparities in both the U.S. and international health care delivery systems. Students will use policy theory to critically evaluate the current and historic policies, laws, and financial incentives that affect health care delivery and nursing practice. They will explore how health services research can motivate change in public health and policymaking. They will apply principles of organizational change, cultural effectiveness and evaluate components of leadership necessary for public health improvement. Students will participate in a selected health policy-making process. Prerequisite: NRPHD 801, NRPHD 730, NRPHD 738, NRPHD 750, NURSU 740, NURSU 807, NRPHD 746, NRPHD 752, NRPHD 734 3 s.h.(3,0,0)

NRDNP 830. Applied Health Care Economics and Finance. This course provides an introduction to the financial structures that support nursing practice. The focus is on economic principles, financial management methods, and business strategies that form the foundation for balancing productivity with quality of care and designing effective and realistic care delivery systems that optimize performance, minimize costs, and enhance outcomes. Students will examine methods to evaluate costs and cost effectiveness of care using knowledge regarding health equity and diversity. This course provides graduates with the tools to plan, monitor, and evaluate the acquisition, use, and outcomes of fiscal resources for practice and program initiatives. Prerequisite: NRDNP 860, NRDNP 854 3 s.h. (3,0,0)

NRDNP 836. Informatics in Health Care Delivery. Study of information science concepts, principles, and methods with application in the support, improvement, and evaluation of nursing interventions, outcomes of care, and delivery systems. Focuses on the development of knowledge and technical skills to use data management systems and technological resources for decision-making, implementation of quality improvement initiatives, and evaluation of patient care technologies. Includes use of systems analysis, decision theory, and consideration of ethical, regulatory, social, health equity, diversity, and legal issues. Clinical and administrative data sources will be used to evaluate the efficacy of patient care technology appropriate to a particular area of practice. Prerequisite: NRDNP 860, NRDNP 854 3 s.h. (3,0,0)

NRDNP 846. Frameworks for Leadership. This course incorporates the study of knowledge and principles of organizational leadership and advanced communication, mentoring, and team building skills that improve quality of care delivery, health outcomes, and safety of patient populations. Examination of consultative and leadership strategies that facilitate intra- and interprofessional collaboration that promotes equity in diverse populations (toward common goals and outcomes). Students will analyze effective strategies for the resolution of ethical and legal issues in the delivery of care. Students will synthesize knowledge from ethics, organizational, leadership, and communication theories with nursing science as a framework for organizational assessment, diagnosis of systems issues, and facilitation of system-wide practice initiatives. Graduates will be prepared to assume leadership in addressing complex practice and organizational issues. Prerequisite: NRDNP 854, NRDNP 860 3 s.h. (3,0,0)

NRDNP 850. Organizational Theory and Health Care Systems. In this course, students will study organizational and management theories and evidence-based research that guide effective organizational and policy development, as well as advanced practice. Emphasis is placed on the study of organization structures and processes in delivery of health care and related health programs. Major functions of management (planning, organizing, and directing and controlling, root cause analysis) are examined, including the principles and processes of risk management and continuous quality and patient safety improvement, impact of health disparities and diversity, measurement and management of organizational effectiveness and effects of organization development on costs and patient outcomes. As an organization is a microcosm where many different social and cultural factors intersect, it is imperative to be proficient in recognizing and functioning effectively as an advanced practice nurse within the organization's cultural beliefs, practices, resources and needs represented while attending to and advocating for its consumers and the community. Prerequisite: NRDNP 838, NRDNP 860, NRDNP 854, NRDNP 856, NRDNP 842, NRDNP 836, NRDNP 864, NRDNP 858, NRDNP 865, NRDNP 866, NRDNP 708, NRDNP 848B 3 s.h. (3,0,0)

NRDNP 858. Evidenced Based Practice, Quality and Safety. This course provides the foundation for evaluating current evidence-based research and practice to develop a quality improvement project, implementing evidence of best practices after a thorough search of the literature and other evidence, and formulating a cogent argument of need based upon a critical appraisal. Guided experience of the critical appraisal process provides the foundation for determining best practices, solving practice problems, insuring patient safety, and considering health disparities. Emphasis will be placed on integration and dissemination of new knowledge and the effect on equitable health outcomes. Graduates will be prepared to provide leadership for designing, implementing and evaluating quality improvement projects and safety initiatives to guide practice and improve outcomes. Prerequisite: NRDNP 860, NRDNP 854, NRDNP 856 3 s.h. (3,0,0)

NRDNP 860. Applied Epidemiology and Biostatistics. This course provides an overview of epidemiological and biostatistical methods for use by clinical practitioners to enhance the quality of healthcare practice. The focus is on common study designs found in descriptive, observational, and experimental research, as well as measures of association and procedures for data collection, management and analysis. It provides an opportunity for students to apply descriptive and inferential statistics to explore, analyze and disseminate aggregate health data. The course also highlights methods for the design, implementation and evaluation of evidence-based changes in clinical practice. The utilization of data to examine variability and disparities in population trends, practice patterns and systems of care is also emphasized. Prerequisite: Graduate standing 4 s.h. (4,0,0)

NRDNP 861. Neuroscience of Psychotherape. This course further builds on the principles of neuroscience in the treatment of mental health disorders. Psychotherapeutic interventions and psychopharmacologic treatment will be explored with emphasis on their neurobiological impact. The course will provide the licensed advanced practice nurse with the knowledge to develop individualized and family treatment plans with integrated modalities for psychiatric and mental health disorders across the lifespan. Prerequisite: Graduate standing and previous APRN Advanced Pharmacology course 3 s.h. (3,0,0)

NRDNP 862. Practice Inquiry and IRB. This course provides the student with the opportunity to synthesize previous learning about the implementation and evaluation of system level change through the full development of an evidence-based practice improvement project. The project is a culmination of the knowledge gained in the DNP coursework with the primary objective of improving healthcare outcomes in the practice setting. These evidence-based projects may include changes in the healthcare delivery system, organizational changes that impact healthcare at the local, regional and/or national level, or legislation and health care policies that reduce healthcare disparities. The DNP project requires student engagement in partnership building with interprofessional colleagues, consumers, and/or faculty to examine a clinical question or issue that involves translating evidence to everyday practice in health care systems, and ultimately informs and influences health care delivery and health equity. Integral to the project is a strong evaluation component and the preparation of a manuscript that will be submitted to a professional journal for publication consideration. In addition, emphasis will be placed on ethical considerations and human subjects protection through the process of fully developing and submitting an Institutional Review Board (IRB) application. Prerequisite: NRDNP 838, NRDNP 860, NRDNP 854, NRDNP 856, NRDNP 842, NRDNP 836, N

NRDNP 873. Scientific Underpinnings IV. This course addresses the scientific underpinnings that provide a framework for the Doctor of Nursing Practice Scholarship including theories from nursing and the behavioral and social sciences, quality improvement models, and evidence-based guidelines as they affect the quality and safety of health care and health disparities. Theory and change, identifying and understanding problems in healthcare, healthcare organizations and patient outcomes, root cause analysis, the approach to interventions and translation and facilitation of change and alignment of stakeholders are predominant themes in this course at both the individual level in terms of improving patient outcomes and at the system level focused on improving healthcare outcomes. Skills to understand the root cause of problems and intervention identification and application will be examined from a variety of viewpoints. Additionally, skills to facilitate change and align stakeholders will be examined from a variety of viewpoints.

NRDNP 890. Residency. This multi-semester intense clinical or administrative experience enables synthesis of the cumulative knowledge from nursing, biophysical, psychosocial, analytical, and organizational sciences. Students demonstrate increasing competency in nursing administration, population focused primary care, or specialty care. Students integrate theoretical perspectives with evidence-based knowledge, as they collaborate with intra/interprofessional teams. Residency includes implementation and evaluation of an evidence-based, scholarly practice improvement project in an area of advanced practice in partnership with a selected agency or organization that solves a practice problem or improves population health, educational, or performance outcomes. Students develop and present a poster to faculty and peers describing outcomes of their scholarly improvement project and prepare a manuscript suitable for submission to a peer-reviewed journal. During Residency, students will synthesize and apply the Cultural Effectiveness Model to their project and clinical or administrative practice. Prerequisite or Corequisite: NRDNP 862 & Post-BSN DNP Student Prerequisite: NRDNP 864, NRDNP 865, NRDNP 866, NRDNP 848B Variable 1-10 s.h.(0,0,1-10)