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Delivery mode: Paced/home-study online
Credits: 3 - Applied Studies
Prerequisite: NURS 519, NURS 520 and NURS 521 or professor approval
Centre: Centre for Nursing and Health Studies
This course is part of a program of study leading to the Advanced Graduate Diploma: Advanced Nursing Practice or the Master of Nursing degree.
In NURS 524 Advanced Nursing Practice: Children, students study the primary health care principles of participation and collaboration and the community development principle of empowerment.
Students learn to provide primary health care, including clinical services, to children (infancy through adolescence). This care includes wellness counselling of healthy children, management of acute and chronic conditions of children, and referral of conditions requiring management by other health professionals. Students also consider community implications related to the health of children. Students examine trends in the health of children and evidence-based health care and explore areas of children's health research.
Students complete a minimum of 140 hours in the clinical practicum focusing on the health of children.
After completing this course, students should be able to:
NURS 524 comprises online, print-based and mobile electronic course materials.
The following textbook is used in this course.
Burns, C., Dunn, A., Brady, M., Starr, N., & Blosser, C. (2004). Pediatric primary care: A handbook for nurse practitioners (3rd ed.). St. Louis: Saunders.
Hill, N., & Sullivan, N. (2004). NPPediatrics for PDAs, Management guidelines for nurse practitioners working with children and adolescents (2nd ed.). Philadelphia: F. A. Davis.
Textbooks, mobile resources, and readings from other Advanced Nursing Practice courses will be used as appropriate.
The course includes Internet access to health-related websites around the world, participation in email, and computer conferencing with students from across the country. Students are expected to connect to an Internet Service Provider at their own expense.
NURS 524 consists of the following seven units:
Unit 1 - Clinical Practicum and Community Assessment: Processes and Requirements
Unit 1 provides an overview of the processes and requirements of the clinical practicum and community assessment of Nursing 524 Advanced Nursing Practice: Children. As well, the unit poses questions for you to consider during your clinical practicum and community assessment, about the health status of children and the influence of participation, collaboration and empowerment on health status.
Unit 2 - Primary Health Care and Nurse Practitioners: Participation and Collaboration
In this unit you will study the primary health care principles of participation and collaboration. Care of children and adolescents must include interactions with the family and community, interactions based on participation and collaboration. In this unit, you will study varying degrees of participation and consider issues related to the participation of children in decisions about their health. You will also study two types of collaboration: interdisciplinary and intersectoral collaboration.
Unit 3 - Community Development and Nurse Practitioners: Empowerment
In Unit 3, you will study one of the principles of community development, empowerment. You will explore the elements and dynamics of empowerment and identify empowering strategies for individuals and groups in your care. You will also consider a number of issues related to this principle.
Unit 4 - Well Children
Unit 4 lays the groundwork for a consistent approach to working with children and their families that can be used with all age groups. Family interviewing, pediatric history taking and pediatric physical examination are reviewed, and you will study the growth and development parameters of children. Gordon's (2002) functional health patterns are addressed with an emphasis on understanding that families are often central to assessing and maintaining a child's health.
Unit 5 - Children with Acute Presentations
Unit 5 explores acute infectious, communicable and dermatological diseases of children. In addition injury management, including both unintentional and intentional injury, is discussed with an emphasis on child maltreatment. The impact of acute illness on communities is discussed and the unit concludes with a discussion of the diagnostic and pharmacological implications of acute illness in children.
Unit 6 - Children with Chronic Presentations
The unit opens with an examination of the impact of chronic illness on the family. You will then study several chronic illnesses that occur in the childhood population, focusing on the advanced nursing skills required to diagnoses and treat these chronic conditions. The pharmacological and diagnostic implications of chronic conditions will also be reviewed.
Unit 7 - Issues, Trends and Research in Children's Health
In the last unit of NURS 524, you will explore the relationship between ethical decision-making and the health of children and study the importance of collaboration and participatory decision making in resolving ethical dilemmas. You will explore issues and trends that influence the health of children in your own community. Finally, you will also examine collaborative research for your practice with children.
The assessment structure for NURS 524 is based on the following course activities, with the percentage weighting of each activity as indicated. The final grade for the course is a composite mark based on performance on these course activities.
Conference Participation | 20% |
Assignment 1: Rourke Baby Record | 10% |
Health Assessment Exam | 15% |
Assignment 2: Community Health Development Record | 10% |
Assignment 3: Case Study | 20% |
Final Examination | 25% |
Total | 100% |
ALSO: Clinical Practicum | Pass/Fail |
In order to pass NURS 524, you must achieve a minimum mark of 60% on each element of the assessment structure (conference participation, written assignments, and average mark on the health assessment exam and the final exam). That is, you must achieve a minimum mark of 60% (12/20) on conference participation, a minimum average mark of 60% (24/40) on the written assignments, and a minimum average mark of 60% (24/40) on the health assessment exam and final exam.
In addition to these activities, you must receive a satisfactory evaluation of the clinical practicum.
If the minimum mark is not achieved on any element of the assessment structure (conference participation, written assignments, exams or clinical practicum), then a failing grade will be assigned for NURS 524. If the student re-registers in NURS 524, then all elements of the course must be repeated (conference participation, written assignments, exams and clinical practicum).
Feedback regarding conference participation will be ongoing. Quality of input (not quantity) is the goal. Feedback will focus on the student's ability to provide organized and original contributions that reflect analysis and synthesis of the material presented.
Participation will be measured against the following criteria:
In this assignment, students develop a clinical presentation of one element of a well child assessment and then present to the class in an online conference.
Assignment 2 consists of completing a Community Health Development Record documenting a data and inferences obtained during a community assessment.
In Assignment 3, students analyse a case study that presents a health concern appropriate for a nurse practitioner to assess, treat, and follow up.
The health assessment exam consists of multiple choice questions that test your knowledge of health assessment of children and adolescents.
The final exam consists of multiple choice questions and tests content of the entire course.