Nursing (NURS) 522

Introduction

This course is part of a program of study leading to the Post Master's Diploma: Nurse Practitioner or the Master of Nursing degree.

In Nursing 522: Nurse Practitioner Practice: Women’s and Men’s Health, students study the primary health care principle of appropriate technology, the community development principle of connective processes, and the NP competency of cultural safety and inclusiveness and discuss how these influence health.

Students learn to provide primary health care, including clinical services, to women, men, and sexual minorities. Low-risk prenatal and postpartum care is also covered. Students will also learn about wellness counseling for healthy women and men, management of acute and chronic gender-specific conditions, and referral of conditions requiring management by other health professionals or resources. Health promotion and illness prevention is emphasized throughout. Students will also consider community implications related to the health of women, men and sexual minorities. Students examine trends and issues in the health of men, women, including those within specific cultures and subcultures, and explore evidence-based health care resources.

Students complete a minimum of 140 hours of clinical practice focusing on the health of women. You are required to have a successful clinical evaluation in order to achieve a passing grade; additional hours over and above 140 may be required in order to achieve course objectives. You are encouraged to use the clinical hours in NURS 522 to focus on the care of female clients.. By the end of NURS 530 you must have logged a total of at least 100 hours of clinical practice in the care of female clients. The provision of clinical services to men will be included in N526.

Course Goals

After completing this course, students should be able to:

1. critically analyze the primary health care principle of appropriate technology, the community development principles of connective processes and NP competency of cultural safety and inclusion, and discuss how these influence the health of clients;
2. explore effects of the determinants of health on health including ethnicity, migration, and socio-economic status;
3. implement strategies to enhance the determinants of health;
4. implement strategies to foster connections with individual clients and communities;
5. implement strategies to promote culturally sensitive, inclusive health care to populations and individuals;
6. explore issues like disability in pregnancy, Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgendered health, fatherhood, pregnancy loss, circumcision and breastfeeding with an emphasis on social context, diversity, and cultural relevance;
7. identify and utilize current recommendations for preventative screening for pregnant women;
8. provide evidence-based clinical services to well women(including pregnant women) and to those men and women presenting with gender-specific acute and chronic health concerns, at a level appropriate to a beginning practitioner, including:
   1. health history and physical examination
   2. clinical decision-making
   3. ordering of laboratory and diagnostic tests
   4. prescription of medications
   5. therapeutic communication
   6. administering treatments or procedures
   7. collaborative relationships;
   8. documentation of clinical data, diagnoses, collaborations, communications and treatments, monitoring and follow-up;
9. refer men and women with health concerns that exceed the scope of practice of a beginning practitioner to other health professionals or appropriate resources;
10. articulate, promote and practice evidence-based primary, secondary and tertiary health promotion and illness prevention strategies along the health-illness continuum;
11. demonstrate integration of medical and nursing management of health concerns of women;
12. recognize obstetrical emergencies and initiate appropriate interventions;
13. synthesize community assessment data to develop inferences about:
    1. accessibility of determinants of health to a community's members
    2. relationships between culture and health status of a community's members
    3. community vulnerabilities and strengths in relation to the health of women, men and sexual minorities
    4. the status of a community's health in relation to women, men, and sexual minorities;
14. discuss issues and trends that affect the health of women, men and sexual minorities;
15. utilize clinical practice guidelines and review Internet-based sources of information about evidence-based health care for women, men and sexual minorities;
16. adhere to federal and provincial/territorial legislation, policies and standards related to privacy, documentation and information management in the primary care setting and in their advanced nursing practice;
17. explore the legal, professional and ethical issues in the use of technology including electronic health records, diagnostic tools and mobile devices;
18. suggest areas for research in nurse practitioner practice with diverse populations.

Course Materials

NURS 522 comprises online materials and an eText.

Online Materials

• Introduction: Provides essential information about the course materials, the design of the course, and the procedures you should follow to complete the course successfully
• Schedule: Outlines the timing of course activities
• Units: Contains the 6 units that make up the course
• Assessment: Outlines the assignments/evaluation procedures of the course
• Reference: Listing of required readings and websites resources included in the units
• Clinical Practicum: Explains how to complete the clinical practicum requirements of the course
• Community Health Component: Explains how to complete the community assessment requirements of the course

Textbook

Recommended Texts (Not Supplied)

Course Structure

In this course, you will access health-related websites worldwide. You will also participate in email and computer conferencing with other students. Students are expected to connect to an Internet Service Provider at their own expense.

Technical Requirements

Computer System

In order to successfully complete this course, you must own or have ready access to certain computer hardware and software programs. For complete and up-to-date information on the minimum computer requirements required to complete the graduate nursing courses, visit the Centre for Nursing and Health Studies technical site.

Course Outline

NURS 522 consists of the following 6 units:

Unit 1: Nurse Practitioner Competency – Inclusiveness, Cultural Safety and Diversity
In Unit 1, students explore components of culturally sensitive care to diverse populations in the Canadian mosaic. Inclusiveness and cultural safety is studied in relation to the determinants of health, and in relation to specific populations and social context. Students will explore strategies to promote and practice cultural safety, sensitivity, inclusive health care to populations and individuals and suggest areas for research in nurse practitioner practice with diverse populations.

Unit 2: Perinatal Care
In Unit 2, students learn to identify and utilize preventative screening and risk identification for pregnant women. Students will focus on providing evidence-based prenatal care for low risk patients. They will learn to recognize acute illness in the pregnant woman, associated chronic conditions during pregnancy, urgent and emergent obstetrical emergencies and initiate appropriate interventions. Students also learn when to refer clients to other health professionals or other appropriate resources. Post-partum care is also reviewed including newborn assessment, breastfeeding issues, and other pregnancy related issues relevant to the family. Students are NOT expected to be able to attend normal deliveries by completing this course nor are they expected to attend deliveries in their practicum experience.

Unit 3: Reproductive Health for Men and Women
In this unit, students explore health issues specific to men, specific to women, and reproductive issues experienced by both genders. Students will learn to provide comprehensive assessment, diagnoses, treatment, counseling, and follow-up for these health concerns, explore when to refer to other professionals, and finally, how to document and monitor these conditions. Health promotion and disease and illness prevention is highlighted.

Unit 4: Issues in Women’s and Men’s health
In this unit, students learn about issues and trends that affect the health of women, men and sexual minorities and covers LGBT issues, domestic violence, rape, incest and sexual violence, eating disorders, mental health and addiction. The focus remains on cultural safety, inclusion and diversity with a framework of health promotion and illness prevention.

Unit 5: Community Health Development Principle: Connective Processes
In this unit, students study explore a community in terms of its relationship between culture and health status, vulnerabilities and strengths in relation to the health of men, women and sexual minorities, and implement strategies to foster connections with individual clients and communities. Connective processes are studied within the context of the determinants of health.

Unit 6: Primary health Care Principle: Appropriate Technology
In Unit 6, students will review the use of technology in the health monitoring, treatment and documentation is studied, including electronic medical records, from a cost-benefit and harm-benefit perspective. The legal professional and ethical issues of certain technologies are also reviewed. Legislation, policies and standards regarding privacy, documentation and information management in the primary care setting is also studied.