nurs
MSN
NURS612: Advanced Health Assessment
Syllabus
Note: Log in to the course to view activities, videos, and presentations.
Course Description
Advanced practice nurses perform comprehensive health assessments in a variety
of settings. Advanced health assessment integrates the health history, physical, and
psychological changes and psychosocial variations. The assessment is used to
determine health and risk status, develop health promotion strategies, and
establish priorities of care. Differences between a complete health history and a
history for an episodic event are established.
Course Objectives
Upon successful completion of this course, you will be able to do the following:
Perform and integrate the functional assessment, health history, physical
exam, psychosocial assessment, and appropriate diagnostic testing into a
comprehensive database in order to develop an appropriate plan of care for
both adult and geriatric clients (MSN Essential I, II, V).
Using the process of evidence based practice, perform a risk assessment
including lifestyle risk factors and determine appropriate health promotion
strategies (MSN Essential I, II, V, VII).
Incorporate concepts of lifestyle, cultural or ethnic background, and
developmental variations into comprehensive health assessment (MSN
Essential I, II, V).
Relate assessment findings to underlying pathological or physiological
changes (MSN Essential I, II, V, VII).
Critically analyze interview data, physical exam findings, and diagnostic
tests/procedures in order to begin to formulate a differential diagnosis (MSN
Essential I, II, III, VIII).
,MSN
NURS612: Advanced Health Assessment
MSN Essentials
The following represent the core content for all master's programs in nursing and
"provide curricular elements and framework, regardless of focus, major, or
intended practice setting" (AACN, 2011, p.3). The reference and the link for these
essentials are provided for you at the end of the document. These essentials
"delineate the knowledge and skills that all nurses prepared in a master's nursing
program acquire" (AACN, 2011, p.4), and you should see evidence of these
essentials in each of the courses in the MSN-NP curriculum. Below are brief
descriptions of each essential and can be found on pages 4 and 5 of the Essentials
document. In the document, you will find a deeper discussion of each of them, as
well as expected student outcomes and sample content.
Essential I: Background for Practice from Sciences and Humanities
Recognizes that the master's prepared nurse integrates scientific findings from
nursing, biopsychosocial fields, genetics, public health, quality improvement,
and organizational sciences for the continual improvement of nursing care
across diverse settings.
Essential II: Organizational and Systems Leadership
Recognizes that organizational and systems leadership are critical to the
promotion of high quality and safe patient care. Leadership skills are needed
that emphasize ethical and critical decision making, effective working
relationships, and a systems-perspective.
Essential III: Quality Improvement and Safety
Recognizes that a master's-prepared nurse must be articulate in the methods,
tools, performance measures, and standards related to quality, as well as
prepared to apply quality principles within an organization.
Essential IV: Translating and Integrating Scholarship into Practice
Recognizes that the master's-prepared nurse applies research outcomes within
the practice setting, resolves practice problems, works as a change agent, and
disseminates results.
,MSN
NURS612: Advanced Health Assessment
Essential V: Informatics and Healthcare Technologies
Recognizes that the master's-prepared nurse uses patient-care technologies to
deliver and enhance care and uses communication technologies to integrate
and coordinate care.
Essential VI: Health Policy and Advocacy
Recognizes that the master's-prepared nurse is able to intervene at the system
level though the policy development process and to employ advocacy strategies
to influence health and health care.
Essential VII: Interprofessional Collaboration for Improving Patient and
Population Health Outcomes
Recognizes that the master's prepared nurse, as a member and leader of
interprofessional teams, communicates, collaborates, and consults with other
health professionals to manage and coordinate care.
Essential VIII: Clinical Prevention and Population Health for Improving Health
Recognizes that the master's-prepared nurse applies and integrates broad,
organizational, client-centered, and culturally appropriate concepts in the
planning, delivery, management, and evaluation of evidence-based clinical
prevention and population care and services to individuals, families, and
aggregates/identified populations.
Essential IX: Master's-Level Nursing Practice
Recognizes that nursing practice, at the master's level, is broadly defined as any
form of nursing intervention that influences health outcomes for individuals,
populations, or systems. Master's-level nursing graduates must have an
advanced level of understanding of nursing and relevant sciences as well as the
ability to integrate this knowledge into practice. Nursing practice interventions
include both direct and indirect care components.
American Association of Colleges of Nursing (AACN) (2011). The essentials of Master's
education in nursing (PDF). Washington, DC: Author.
, MSN
NURS612: Advanced Health Assessment
Course Instructor Information
Log in to the course to view this information.
Text and Materials
Please refer to the Text and Materials for this course.
Sessions and Days of the Week
Each course is divided into either eight or sixteen weekly sessions. Due dates for
assignments are stated in Day numbers. Day One is Monday, the first day
beginning each weekly session.
Monday: Day One
Tuesday: Day Two
Wednesday: Day Three
Thursday: Day Four
Friday: Day Five
Saturday: Day Six
Sunday: Day Seven
Assignments are due no later than 11:59 p.m. C.T. on the day that is stated in the
assignments section.
Learning Activities Tables
Week One Learning Activities Table
Time
Description Due Date
Estimate
Course Content Day 6 2 hours
MSN
NURS612: Advanced Health Assessment
Syllabus
Note: Log in to the course to view activities, videos, and presentations.
Course Description
Advanced practice nurses perform comprehensive health assessments in a variety
of settings. Advanced health assessment integrates the health history, physical, and
psychological changes and psychosocial variations. The assessment is used to
determine health and risk status, develop health promotion strategies, and
establish priorities of care. Differences between a complete health history and a
history for an episodic event are established.
Course Objectives
Upon successful completion of this course, you will be able to do the following:
Perform and integrate the functional assessment, health history, physical
exam, psychosocial assessment, and appropriate diagnostic testing into a
comprehensive database in order to develop an appropriate plan of care for
both adult and geriatric clients (MSN Essential I, II, V).
Using the process of evidence based practice, perform a risk assessment
including lifestyle risk factors and determine appropriate health promotion
strategies (MSN Essential I, II, V, VII).
Incorporate concepts of lifestyle, cultural or ethnic background, and
developmental variations into comprehensive health assessment (MSN
Essential I, II, V).
Relate assessment findings to underlying pathological or physiological
changes (MSN Essential I, II, V, VII).
Critically analyze interview data, physical exam findings, and diagnostic
tests/procedures in order to begin to formulate a differential diagnosis (MSN
Essential I, II, III, VIII).
,MSN
NURS612: Advanced Health Assessment
MSN Essentials
The following represent the core content for all master's programs in nursing and
"provide curricular elements and framework, regardless of focus, major, or
intended practice setting" (AACN, 2011, p.3). The reference and the link for these
essentials are provided for you at the end of the document. These essentials
"delineate the knowledge and skills that all nurses prepared in a master's nursing
program acquire" (AACN, 2011, p.4), and you should see evidence of these
essentials in each of the courses in the MSN-NP curriculum. Below are brief
descriptions of each essential and can be found on pages 4 and 5 of the Essentials
document. In the document, you will find a deeper discussion of each of them, as
well as expected student outcomes and sample content.
Essential I: Background for Practice from Sciences and Humanities
Recognizes that the master's prepared nurse integrates scientific findings from
nursing, biopsychosocial fields, genetics, public health, quality improvement,
and organizational sciences for the continual improvement of nursing care
across diverse settings.
Essential II: Organizational and Systems Leadership
Recognizes that organizational and systems leadership are critical to the
promotion of high quality and safe patient care. Leadership skills are needed
that emphasize ethical and critical decision making, effective working
relationships, and a systems-perspective.
Essential III: Quality Improvement and Safety
Recognizes that a master's-prepared nurse must be articulate in the methods,
tools, performance measures, and standards related to quality, as well as
prepared to apply quality principles within an organization.
Essential IV: Translating and Integrating Scholarship into Practice
Recognizes that the master's-prepared nurse applies research outcomes within
the practice setting, resolves practice problems, works as a change agent, and
disseminates results.
,MSN
NURS612: Advanced Health Assessment
Essential V: Informatics and Healthcare Technologies
Recognizes that the master's-prepared nurse uses patient-care technologies to
deliver and enhance care and uses communication technologies to integrate
and coordinate care.
Essential VI: Health Policy and Advocacy
Recognizes that the master's-prepared nurse is able to intervene at the system
level though the policy development process and to employ advocacy strategies
to influence health and health care.
Essential VII: Interprofessional Collaboration for Improving Patient and
Population Health Outcomes
Recognizes that the master's prepared nurse, as a member and leader of
interprofessional teams, communicates, collaborates, and consults with other
health professionals to manage and coordinate care.
Essential VIII: Clinical Prevention and Population Health for Improving Health
Recognizes that the master's-prepared nurse applies and integrates broad,
organizational, client-centered, and culturally appropriate concepts in the
planning, delivery, management, and evaluation of evidence-based clinical
prevention and population care and services to individuals, families, and
aggregates/identified populations.
Essential IX: Master's-Level Nursing Practice
Recognizes that nursing practice, at the master's level, is broadly defined as any
form of nursing intervention that influences health outcomes for individuals,
populations, or systems. Master's-level nursing graduates must have an
advanced level of understanding of nursing and relevant sciences as well as the
ability to integrate this knowledge into practice. Nursing practice interventions
include both direct and indirect care components.
American Association of Colleges of Nursing (AACN) (2011). The essentials of Master's
education in nursing (PDF). Washington, DC: Author.
, MSN
NURS612: Advanced Health Assessment
Course Instructor Information
Log in to the course to view this information.
Text and Materials
Please refer to the Text and Materials for this course.
Sessions and Days of the Week
Each course is divided into either eight or sixteen weekly sessions. Due dates for
assignments are stated in Day numbers. Day One is Monday, the first day
beginning each weekly session.
Monday: Day One
Tuesday: Day Two
Wednesday: Day Three
Thursday: Day Four
Friday: Day Five
Saturday: Day Six
Sunday: Day Seven
Assignments are due no later than 11:59 p.m. C.T. on the day that is stated in the
assignments section.
Learning Activities Tables
Week One Learning Activities Table
Time
Description Due Date
Estimate
Course Content Day 6 2 hours
