ASSOCIATE DEGREE IN NURSING
COURSE SYLLABUS
Nsg 250 Basic Concepts of Health Alterations
Section A:
I. Instructor’s Information, Course Pre and Co-Requisites
Instructor’s Information: Dr. Rarang
J. Tribiana /
M. Mariano – Tutoring on Saturdays 10:30 am – 12:00 pm
Course Prerequisites: Successful completion of Bio 110, Bio 115, Bio 120, Mth 120, Nss 120, Nsg 230, Psy 130, Eng
140, Eng 145, Nsg 240, Psy 140, or all Quarter 1- 4 courses or transfer credit for prerequisite
courses in Anatomy, Physiology, and Microbiology and for equivalent nursing courses taken
within 1 calendar year of student’s admission and for which a grade of B or higher was earned
and/or general education courses taken within 5 calendar years of the student’s admission and
for which a grade of C+ was earned.
Class Schedule:
II. Mission and Outcomes
College Mission: CNI College is committed to providing excellent academic educational opportunities in
allied health disciplines for the intellectual, social and professional development of a
diverse student population. CNI is devoted to the community we serve and committed to
our graduates successful employment in the healthcare field
Core Values • Achieve the highest Integrity at all times;
• Provide excellence at every opportunity;
• Practice dignity, respect, humility, and justice at all times;
• Create an environment of positive forward thinking and fun energy;
• Contribute to the highest good of the community and employers that we serve; and
• Embrace and drive change with passion.
Institutional Learning Outcomes
(ILOs) 1. Demonstrate critical thinking through examination of ideas and evidence before
formulating an opinion or conclusion.
2. Demonstrate effective communication skills both oral and written
3. Demonstrate computer proficiency and literacy
4. Demonstrate working with diverse populations and respecting their perspectives
culture and socio economic status.
5. Achieve Programmatic learning outcomes of one’s discipline
6. Describe ethical standards and legal guidelines associated with one’s chosen career
field.
Program Mission: CNI College is committed to providing excellent academic educational opportunities in
allied health disciplines for the intellectual, social and professional development of a diverse
student population. CNI is devoted to the community we serve and committed to our
graduates successful employment in the healthcare field.
The mission of CNI College is to provide a quality nursing education to students of diverse
backgrounds, which enables graduates to be awarded an Associate Degree in Nursing
(A.D.N.) degree upon successful program completion. Graduates will then be eligible to take
the National Council Licensure Examination – Registered Nurse (NCLEX-RN). The CNI
program of study is designed to prepare safe and competent registered nurses (RNs) who are
able to provide quality and culturally appropriate nursing care to the patients, families, and
community they serve within the context of an increasing complex healthcare environment.
CNI’s A.D.N. Program strives to prepare future nurses to respond to the growing
complexities of the healthcare delivery system and who are dedicated to the promotion of
human flourishing through the provision of ethical, culturally sensitive, and evidence-based
nursing practice. A societal vision of health and well-being for all people guides the CNI
emphasis on preparing morally reflective graduates who are leaders and life-long learners.
This same vision guides current and future initiatives of CNI’s A.D.N. Program. The
foundation of the nursing program is built on:
• the recognition of the dignity of human beings;
• the growth-affirming role of nursing in meeting the current and future healthcare
Nsg 250 Basic Concepts of Health Alterations Page 1 of 69
Revised 8/31/18
, ASSOCIATE DEGREE IN NURSING
COURSE SYLLABUS
Nsg 250 Basic Concepts of Health Alterations
needs of society;
• health and illness as dynamic entities;
• complex and caring nature of nursing practice, and
• individualized process of education.
Program Philosophy: The A.D.N. Program Philosophy identifies a set of core values and reflects the faculty’s
beliefs about the nature of nursing, the teaching/learning process, and adapting the
teaching/learning process to the individual differences of the students we serve. The
Conceptual/Practice Framework for the A.D.N. program is adapted from the North Carolina
Curriculum Improvement Project (CIP) (available at http://adn-
cip.waketech.edu/curriculumfiles.html) and Pearson’s Concept-Based Approach to
Learning (http://media.pearsonhighered.com/conceptbasednursing/index.php). This
framework provides a unifying theme for the curriculum.
Nursing education at CNI College is defined as a process that facilitates change in student
behavior through the acquisition of knowledge, skills, and attitudes necessary to function in
the role of an entry-level RN. The CNI A.D.N. Program provides an education that is flexible,
progressive, and sensitive to the learner and changing needs of the healthcare environment
[e.g. student learning styles, significant support persons, and communityhealthcare trends].
Through planned and structured educational experiences, students will have the opportunity
to develop and apply critical thinking and clinical decision making skills.
The CNI faculty believes that nursing curriculum should be conceptually-based, founded
on principles of adult and collaborative learning, and provided within the A.D.N. Program.
Basic teaching-learning assumptions include self-direction of the learner, utilizing adult
experiences that the learner brings with them to the learning environment, and problem- and-
activity-centered learning (Rachel, 2002). The curriculum incorporates nursing theory,
practice opportunities, and general education coursework including coursework in thesocial
and biological sciences (Anatomy, Physiology, and Microbiology). Integration of general
education and nursing education comes from faculty members who guide students in building
bridges between key concepts in both. Education is provided within the context of an
environment that is conducive to learning, challenging the status quo, and forward thinking.
The organizing framework for the program integrates concepts foundational to the nursing
metaparadigm: the individual, nursing, the environment, and health-illness. The following
metaparadigm concept definitions are adapted from the North Carolina CIP and are the
concepts that are foundational to professional nursing practice.
Individual
The faculty of CNI believes that each patient or individual is a complex, multi-dimensional,
unique, and significant human being. The individual possesses inherent value and worth, and
is seen as a member of a family, community, and culturally diverse society. All individuals
have dynamic bio-physical, psychological, socio-cultural, spiritual, and developmental needs
that may contribute to or detract from health, quality of life, and achievement of the
individual’s full potential. Adaptation to the environment requires that the individual change
throughout the lifespan. Each individual has a right to health care and to information that will
assist him/her to participate actively in his/her health care in order to achieve the highest
level of wellness possible. All individuals should be cared for, respected, nurtured,
understood, and assisted by healthcare providers across settings. In order to provide and
manage care, nurses must view the individual at the center of all nursing activities.
Nursing
Nursing is the art and science of integrating and assimilating knowledge and skills derived
from biological, sociological, and behavioral sciences and information technology. The nurse
practices with ultimate compassion and respect for the inherent dignity, worth, and
uniqueness of every patient, regardless of socioeconomic status, personal attributes, or health
problems (ANA, 2001). The goal of nursing is to deliver client-centered, culturally
competent, safe, and holistic care. Through caring, empathy, ethics, and the development of
a therapeutic relationship with the individual and significant support persons, the nurse
integrates the art of nursing with the scientific foundation for nursing practice by utilizing
the nursing process.
Nsg 250 Basic Concepts of Health Alterations Page 2 of 69
Revised 8/31/18
, ASSOCIATE DEGREE IN NURSING
COURSE SYLLABUS
Nsg 250 Basic Concepts of Health Alterations
The nursing process is a systematic approach used within nursing that provides a problem
solving framework to planning individualized care (Hogston & Simpson, 2002). The nursing
process comprises five broad categories of nursing behaviors: assessing, analyzing, planning,
implementing, and evaluating. The nurse gathers information about the client, identifies his
or her specific needs, develops a plan of care with the client to respond to these needs,
implements the plan of care, and evaluates the effectiveness of the implementation(s). The
nurse involves the client and significant support persons in each step of the process to the
greatest extent possible, while acknowledging factors that may influence the provision of
care by the nurse and inter-professional healthcare team. Implicit in the nursing process is
the therapeutic and personal relationship of the nurse, the client and significant support
persons.
The nurse incorporates documented best practice, quality improvement practices, research,
and professional standards in planning and providing care. The nurse functions both
autonomously and collaboratively with the healthcare team to assist individuals to reach their
maximum health potential. This occurs through assurance of quality client outcomes,
promotion of wellness, prevention of illness, restoration of health, or in assisting the
individual in achieving a dignified death.
Environment
The individual is in constant interaction with a changing environment that consists of both
internal and external forces that vary throughout the lifespan and has the potential to cause
stress in the individual. The nurse can assist the individual to alter aspects of the environment
and to utilize his/her innate and learned coping mechanisms to adapt to these stressors. The
healthcare system is also a part of the environment that influences health. The community
healthcare system is a macrosystem and consists of a variety of parts or microsystems.
Clinics, hospitals, pharmacies, laboratories, long term care, rehabilitation facilities, and
internet sites are microsystems that are a part of the individual’s environmentas they seek
services and navigate through the healthcare system.
Health-Illness
Health is a dynamic, ever-changing state of mental, physical, and spiritual well-being, which
exists on a continuum from optimal wellness to illness and ending in death. The individual’s
needs for healthcare are determined by his/her position on the health-illness continuum. Each
individual’s health is based on his/her cultural perceptions and beliefs of health and illness
and the ability to adapt to internal and external environmental forces. The individual is
responsible for and capable of identifying, learning, and practicing health behaviors that
promote wellness, prevent illness, and restore or maintain wellness. At the end of the health-
illness continuum is death. Nursing assists the individual and their family
in achieving a peaceful and dignified death through the provision of empathetic end-of-life
care.
Core Program Components Professional Behaviors
Other core program components
Professional behaviors within nursing practice are characterized by a commitment to the
include the National League for
profession of nursing. The graduate adheres to the standards of professional practice, is
Nursing’s (NLN) Core Components
accountable for his/her actions and behaviors, and practices nursing within legal, ethical, and
of Nursing Practice (NLN 2000
regulatory framework. Professional behaviors also include a concern for others as
Education Competencies). These
demonstrated by caring, valuing the profession of nursing, and participating in ongoing
components are the elements
professional development and lifelong learning.
essential and inherent to the work of
the entry level registered nurse as the Assessment
provider of care, manager of care,
and member within the discipline of Assessment is the collection, analysis and synthesis of relevant data for the purpose of
nursing. The following eight Core appraising the client’s health status. Comprehensive assessment provides a holistic view of
Components provide the foundation the client, which includes dimensions of physical development, emotional, psychosocial,
for formative and summative cultural, spiritual, and functional status. Assessment follows the orderly collection of
evaluation of student learning information from the client, significant support persons, and collaboration with other
outcomes. members of the healthcare team, and assessment procedures. The culmination of materials
and input from all sources is used to establish a foundation for provision of client-centered
care, and includes identification of available resources to meet client needs. The individual
assessment provides a baseline for future comparison and reassessment is required to meet
Nsg 250 Basic Concepts of Health Alterations Page 3 of 69
Revised 8/31/18
, ASSOCIATE DEGREE IN NURSING
COURSE SYLLABUS
Nsg 250 Basic Concepts of Health Alterations
client’s changing needs.
Communication
Communication in nursing is an interactive process through which there is an exchange of
information that may occur verbally, non-verbally, in writing or through information
technology. Included in the process are the nurse, client, significant support persons, other
members of the healthcare team, and community agencies. Effective communication
demonstrates caring, compassion, and cultural awareness, and is directed toward promoting
positive outcomes and establishing a trusting relationship. Therapeutic communication is an
interactive verbal/nonverbal process between the nurse and the client that assists the client
to cope with change, develop more satisfying interpersonal relationships, and integrate new
knowledge and skills.
Clinical Decision Making
Clinical decision-making encompasses the performance of accurate assessments, the use of
multiple methods to access information, and the analysis and integration of knowledge and
information to formulate clinical judgments. Effective clinical decision making results in
finding solutions, individualized client-centered care and assuring the delivery of accurate
safe care that moves the client and significant support persons toward positive outcomes.
Evidence based practice, the use of critical thinking and nursing process provide the
foundation for appropriate clinical decision making
Caring Interventions
Caring interventions are those behaviors and actions that assist clients in meeting their needs.
These interventions are based on knowledge and understanding of the natural, behavioral
and social sciences, nursing theory, research and past nursing experiences. Caring creates an
environment of hope and trust where the client’s choices related to cultural and spiritual
values and beliefs, and lifestyle are respected. Caring behaviors are nurturing, protective,
compassionate, and person-centered, assisting the client to achieve the desired results.
Teaching and learning
Teaching and learning processes are used to promote and maintain health and reduce risk,
and are implemented in collaboration with the client, significant support persons and other
members of the interdisciplinary healthcare team. Teaching encompasses the provision of
health education to promote and facilitate informed decision-making, achieve positive
outcomes, and support self-care activities. Integral components of the teaching process
include the transmission of information, evaluation of the response to teaching, and
modification of teaching based upon client need and identified responses. Learning involves
the assimilation of information to expand knowledge and change behavior.
Collaboration
Collaboration is shared planning, decision making, problem solving, goal setting, and
assumption of responsibilities by those who work together cooperatively, with open
professional communication. Collaboration occurs with the client, significant support
persons, and other members of the interdisciplinary healthcare team, peers, and community
agencies. The nurse participates in the team approach to holistic client-centered care across
the health care continuum. The nurse functions as advocate, liaison, coordinator, and
colleague as participants work together to meet client needs and move the client toward
positive outcomes. Collaboration requires consideration of client needs, priorities and
preferences, available resources and services, shared responsibility, and mutual respect.
Managing Care
Managing care is the efficient use of human, physical, financial and technological resources
to meet client needs and support organizational outcomes. Effective management is
accomplished through the process of planning, organizing, directing and controlling, The
nurse, in collaboration with other members of the interdisciplinary healthcare team, uses
these processes to assist the client to move toward positive outcomes in a cost effective
manner, to transition within and across the healthcare continuum, and to access resources.
Nsg 250 Basic Concepts of Health Alterations Page 4 of 69
Revised 8/31/18
COURSE SYLLABUS
Nsg 250 Basic Concepts of Health Alterations
Section A:
I. Instructor’s Information, Course Pre and Co-Requisites
Instructor’s Information: Dr. Rarang
J. Tribiana /
M. Mariano – Tutoring on Saturdays 10:30 am – 12:00 pm
Course Prerequisites: Successful completion of Bio 110, Bio 115, Bio 120, Mth 120, Nss 120, Nsg 230, Psy 130, Eng
140, Eng 145, Nsg 240, Psy 140, or all Quarter 1- 4 courses or transfer credit for prerequisite
courses in Anatomy, Physiology, and Microbiology and for equivalent nursing courses taken
within 1 calendar year of student’s admission and for which a grade of B or higher was earned
and/or general education courses taken within 5 calendar years of the student’s admission and
for which a grade of C+ was earned.
Class Schedule:
II. Mission and Outcomes
College Mission: CNI College is committed to providing excellent academic educational opportunities in
allied health disciplines for the intellectual, social and professional development of a
diverse student population. CNI is devoted to the community we serve and committed to
our graduates successful employment in the healthcare field
Core Values • Achieve the highest Integrity at all times;
• Provide excellence at every opportunity;
• Practice dignity, respect, humility, and justice at all times;
• Create an environment of positive forward thinking and fun energy;
• Contribute to the highest good of the community and employers that we serve; and
• Embrace and drive change with passion.
Institutional Learning Outcomes
(ILOs) 1. Demonstrate critical thinking through examination of ideas and evidence before
formulating an opinion or conclusion.
2. Demonstrate effective communication skills both oral and written
3. Demonstrate computer proficiency and literacy
4. Demonstrate working with diverse populations and respecting their perspectives
culture and socio economic status.
5. Achieve Programmatic learning outcomes of one’s discipline
6. Describe ethical standards and legal guidelines associated with one’s chosen career
field.
Program Mission: CNI College is committed to providing excellent academic educational opportunities in
allied health disciplines for the intellectual, social and professional development of a diverse
student population. CNI is devoted to the community we serve and committed to our
graduates successful employment in the healthcare field.
The mission of CNI College is to provide a quality nursing education to students of diverse
backgrounds, which enables graduates to be awarded an Associate Degree in Nursing
(A.D.N.) degree upon successful program completion. Graduates will then be eligible to take
the National Council Licensure Examination – Registered Nurse (NCLEX-RN). The CNI
program of study is designed to prepare safe and competent registered nurses (RNs) who are
able to provide quality and culturally appropriate nursing care to the patients, families, and
community they serve within the context of an increasing complex healthcare environment.
CNI’s A.D.N. Program strives to prepare future nurses to respond to the growing
complexities of the healthcare delivery system and who are dedicated to the promotion of
human flourishing through the provision of ethical, culturally sensitive, and evidence-based
nursing practice. A societal vision of health and well-being for all people guides the CNI
emphasis on preparing morally reflective graduates who are leaders and life-long learners.
This same vision guides current and future initiatives of CNI’s A.D.N. Program. The
foundation of the nursing program is built on:
• the recognition of the dignity of human beings;
• the growth-affirming role of nursing in meeting the current and future healthcare
Nsg 250 Basic Concepts of Health Alterations Page 1 of 69
Revised 8/31/18
, ASSOCIATE DEGREE IN NURSING
COURSE SYLLABUS
Nsg 250 Basic Concepts of Health Alterations
needs of society;
• health and illness as dynamic entities;
• complex and caring nature of nursing practice, and
• individualized process of education.
Program Philosophy: The A.D.N. Program Philosophy identifies a set of core values and reflects the faculty’s
beliefs about the nature of nursing, the teaching/learning process, and adapting the
teaching/learning process to the individual differences of the students we serve. The
Conceptual/Practice Framework for the A.D.N. program is adapted from the North Carolina
Curriculum Improvement Project (CIP) (available at http://adn-
cip.waketech.edu/curriculumfiles.html) and Pearson’s Concept-Based Approach to
Learning (http://media.pearsonhighered.com/conceptbasednursing/index.php). This
framework provides a unifying theme for the curriculum.
Nursing education at CNI College is defined as a process that facilitates change in student
behavior through the acquisition of knowledge, skills, and attitudes necessary to function in
the role of an entry-level RN. The CNI A.D.N. Program provides an education that is flexible,
progressive, and sensitive to the learner and changing needs of the healthcare environment
[e.g. student learning styles, significant support persons, and communityhealthcare trends].
Through planned and structured educational experiences, students will have the opportunity
to develop and apply critical thinking and clinical decision making skills.
The CNI faculty believes that nursing curriculum should be conceptually-based, founded
on principles of adult and collaborative learning, and provided within the A.D.N. Program.
Basic teaching-learning assumptions include self-direction of the learner, utilizing adult
experiences that the learner brings with them to the learning environment, and problem- and-
activity-centered learning (Rachel, 2002). The curriculum incorporates nursing theory,
practice opportunities, and general education coursework including coursework in thesocial
and biological sciences (Anatomy, Physiology, and Microbiology). Integration of general
education and nursing education comes from faculty members who guide students in building
bridges between key concepts in both. Education is provided within the context of an
environment that is conducive to learning, challenging the status quo, and forward thinking.
The organizing framework for the program integrates concepts foundational to the nursing
metaparadigm: the individual, nursing, the environment, and health-illness. The following
metaparadigm concept definitions are adapted from the North Carolina CIP and are the
concepts that are foundational to professional nursing practice.
Individual
The faculty of CNI believes that each patient or individual is a complex, multi-dimensional,
unique, and significant human being. The individual possesses inherent value and worth, and
is seen as a member of a family, community, and culturally diverse society. All individuals
have dynamic bio-physical, psychological, socio-cultural, spiritual, and developmental needs
that may contribute to or detract from health, quality of life, and achievement of the
individual’s full potential. Adaptation to the environment requires that the individual change
throughout the lifespan. Each individual has a right to health care and to information that will
assist him/her to participate actively in his/her health care in order to achieve the highest
level of wellness possible. All individuals should be cared for, respected, nurtured,
understood, and assisted by healthcare providers across settings. In order to provide and
manage care, nurses must view the individual at the center of all nursing activities.
Nursing
Nursing is the art and science of integrating and assimilating knowledge and skills derived
from biological, sociological, and behavioral sciences and information technology. The nurse
practices with ultimate compassion and respect for the inherent dignity, worth, and
uniqueness of every patient, regardless of socioeconomic status, personal attributes, or health
problems (ANA, 2001). The goal of nursing is to deliver client-centered, culturally
competent, safe, and holistic care. Through caring, empathy, ethics, and the development of
a therapeutic relationship with the individual and significant support persons, the nurse
integrates the art of nursing with the scientific foundation for nursing practice by utilizing
the nursing process.
Nsg 250 Basic Concepts of Health Alterations Page 2 of 69
Revised 8/31/18
, ASSOCIATE DEGREE IN NURSING
COURSE SYLLABUS
Nsg 250 Basic Concepts of Health Alterations
The nursing process is a systematic approach used within nursing that provides a problem
solving framework to planning individualized care (Hogston & Simpson, 2002). The nursing
process comprises five broad categories of nursing behaviors: assessing, analyzing, planning,
implementing, and evaluating. The nurse gathers information about the client, identifies his
or her specific needs, develops a plan of care with the client to respond to these needs,
implements the plan of care, and evaluates the effectiveness of the implementation(s). The
nurse involves the client and significant support persons in each step of the process to the
greatest extent possible, while acknowledging factors that may influence the provision of
care by the nurse and inter-professional healthcare team. Implicit in the nursing process is
the therapeutic and personal relationship of the nurse, the client and significant support
persons.
The nurse incorporates documented best practice, quality improvement practices, research,
and professional standards in planning and providing care. The nurse functions both
autonomously and collaboratively with the healthcare team to assist individuals to reach their
maximum health potential. This occurs through assurance of quality client outcomes,
promotion of wellness, prevention of illness, restoration of health, or in assisting the
individual in achieving a dignified death.
Environment
The individual is in constant interaction with a changing environment that consists of both
internal and external forces that vary throughout the lifespan and has the potential to cause
stress in the individual. The nurse can assist the individual to alter aspects of the environment
and to utilize his/her innate and learned coping mechanisms to adapt to these stressors. The
healthcare system is also a part of the environment that influences health. The community
healthcare system is a macrosystem and consists of a variety of parts or microsystems.
Clinics, hospitals, pharmacies, laboratories, long term care, rehabilitation facilities, and
internet sites are microsystems that are a part of the individual’s environmentas they seek
services and navigate through the healthcare system.
Health-Illness
Health is a dynamic, ever-changing state of mental, physical, and spiritual well-being, which
exists on a continuum from optimal wellness to illness and ending in death. The individual’s
needs for healthcare are determined by his/her position on the health-illness continuum. Each
individual’s health is based on his/her cultural perceptions and beliefs of health and illness
and the ability to adapt to internal and external environmental forces. The individual is
responsible for and capable of identifying, learning, and practicing health behaviors that
promote wellness, prevent illness, and restore or maintain wellness. At the end of the health-
illness continuum is death. Nursing assists the individual and their family
in achieving a peaceful and dignified death through the provision of empathetic end-of-life
care.
Core Program Components Professional Behaviors
Other core program components
Professional behaviors within nursing practice are characterized by a commitment to the
include the National League for
profession of nursing. The graduate adheres to the standards of professional practice, is
Nursing’s (NLN) Core Components
accountable for his/her actions and behaviors, and practices nursing within legal, ethical, and
of Nursing Practice (NLN 2000
regulatory framework. Professional behaviors also include a concern for others as
Education Competencies). These
demonstrated by caring, valuing the profession of nursing, and participating in ongoing
components are the elements
professional development and lifelong learning.
essential and inherent to the work of
the entry level registered nurse as the Assessment
provider of care, manager of care,
and member within the discipline of Assessment is the collection, analysis and synthesis of relevant data for the purpose of
nursing. The following eight Core appraising the client’s health status. Comprehensive assessment provides a holistic view of
Components provide the foundation the client, which includes dimensions of physical development, emotional, psychosocial,
for formative and summative cultural, spiritual, and functional status. Assessment follows the orderly collection of
evaluation of student learning information from the client, significant support persons, and collaboration with other
outcomes. members of the healthcare team, and assessment procedures. The culmination of materials
and input from all sources is used to establish a foundation for provision of client-centered
care, and includes identification of available resources to meet client needs. The individual
assessment provides a baseline for future comparison and reassessment is required to meet
Nsg 250 Basic Concepts of Health Alterations Page 3 of 69
Revised 8/31/18
, ASSOCIATE DEGREE IN NURSING
COURSE SYLLABUS
Nsg 250 Basic Concepts of Health Alterations
client’s changing needs.
Communication
Communication in nursing is an interactive process through which there is an exchange of
information that may occur verbally, non-verbally, in writing or through information
technology. Included in the process are the nurse, client, significant support persons, other
members of the healthcare team, and community agencies. Effective communication
demonstrates caring, compassion, and cultural awareness, and is directed toward promoting
positive outcomes and establishing a trusting relationship. Therapeutic communication is an
interactive verbal/nonverbal process between the nurse and the client that assists the client
to cope with change, develop more satisfying interpersonal relationships, and integrate new
knowledge and skills.
Clinical Decision Making
Clinical decision-making encompasses the performance of accurate assessments, the use of
multiple methods to access information, and the analysis and integration of knowledge and
information to formulate clinical judgments. Effective clinical decision making results in
finding solutions, individualized client-centered care and assuring the delivery of accurate
safe care that moves the client and significant support persons toward positive outcomes.
Evidence based practice, the use of critical thinking and nursing process provide the
foundation for appropriate clinical decision making
Caring Interventions
Caring interventions are those behaviors and actions that assist clients in meeting their needs.
These interventions are based on knowledge and understanding of the natural, behavioral
and social sciences, nursing theory, research and past nursing experiences. Caring creates an
environment of hope and trust where the client’s choices related to cultural and spiritual
values and beliefs, and lifestyle are respected. Caring behaviors are nurturing, protective,
compassionate, and person-centered, assisting the client to achieve the desired results.
Teaching and learning
Teaching and learning processes are used to promote and maintain health and reduce risk,
and are implemented in collaboration with the client, significant support persons and other
members of the interdisciplinary healthcare team. Teaching encompasses the provision of
health education to promote and facilitate informed decision-making, achieve positive
outcomes, and support self-care activities. Integral components of the teaching process
include the transmission of information, evaluation of the response to teaching, and
modification of teaching based upon client need and identified responses. Learning involves
the assimilation of information to expand knowledge and change behavior.
Collaboration
Collaboration is shared planning, decision making, problem solving, goal setting, and
assumption of responsibilities by those who work together cooperatively, with open
professional communication. Collaboration occurs with the client, significant support
persons, and other members of the interdisciplinary healthcare team, peers, and community
agencies. The nurse participates in the team approach to holistic client-centered care across
the health care continuum. The nurse functions as advocate, liaison, coordinator, and
colleague as participants work together to meet client needs and move the client toward
positive outcomes. Collaboration requires consideration of client needs, priorities and
preferences, available resources and services, shared responsibility, and mutual respect.
Managing Care
Managing care is the efficient use of human, physical, financial and technological resources
to meet client needs and support organizational outcomes. Effective management is
accomplished through the process of planning, organizing, directing and controlling, The
nurse, in collaboration with other members of the interdisciplinary healthcare team, uses
these processes to assist the client to move toward positive outcomes in a cost effective
manner, to transition within and across the healthcare continuum, and to access resources.
Nsg 250 Basic Concepts of Health Alterations Page 4 of 69
Revised 8/31/18
