NURS601: Evidence Based Practice in
Nursing
Syllabu
s
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Course Overview
Evidence-based practice is the deliberate use of current best practice in making
informed decisions about the implementation of nursing knowledge. This course
emphasizes evidence-based practice as it relates to changing and improving
the discipline of nursing. Students systematically explore and evaluate current
nursing knowledge for scientific and clinical merit.
Learning Objectives
Upon successful completion of this course, you will be able to do the following:
• Critically analyze existing nursing research (Essentials II, III, IV, VII, VIII, IX).
• Synthesize a review of literature on a specific topic (Essentials I, IV, IV, VII,
VIII, IX).
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
,MSN
NURS601: Evidence Based Practice in
Recognizes that the master's prepared nurse integrates scientific findings
Nursing
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.
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
, MSN
NURS601: Evidence Based Practice in
Recognizes that the master's prepared nurse, as a member and leader of
Nursing
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.
Course Instructor Information
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Text and Materials
Please refer to the Text and Materials for this course.
Sessions and Days of the Week
The course is divided into eight weekly sessions. Due dates for assignments
are stated in Day numbers. Day One is Monday, the first day beginning each
weekly session.