Course Descriptions

Study of the use of select leadership skills in the administration of healthcare organizations. A comprehensive overview of the components of the U.S. health care system, theories of change, political influences on practice, group/team process and communication patterns will be presented to foster development of negotiation skills. The course will also integrate the conceptual methodologies underlying health care policy development and implementation. Students will gain the skills necessary to analyze, synthesize, and enact healthcare policy in organizations and wider public venues.

This course builds upon an understanding of leadership and health organizational structure to examine the financial and business aspects of healthcare practice as they relate to the delivery of anesthesia services and social justice. Exploration of basic economic theory, healthcare financing and reimbursement, cost/benefit analysis, and entrepreneurism.

An in-depth study of select evolving clinical anesthesia practices. Focus will include the diagnosis, treatment and management of acute and chronic pain with an emphasis on interventional pain management and the use of imaging. A comprehensive overview of adult and pediatric advanced airway management techniques will also be presented. This course will require students to analyze the current available science on the assigned topics and develop practice patterns that are evidence-based.

This course explores the theoretical and practical foundation of medical errors, patient safety, perioperative risk reduction, and quality improvement. A comprehensive overview of the human factors involved in errors, crew resource management techniques, simulation, and the impact of team performance on safety is presented. This course will also integrate the theories, methods, and statistical tools underlying the quality improvement process. Students will gain the skills needed to design, implement and evaluate evidence-based practices that reduce risk and promote safety in their areas of practice.

Completion and formal presentation of the scholarly project begun in Scholarly Projects I and II that demonstrates synthesis of the student’s work. The project will require students to engage in scholarly inquiry to analyze, evaluate, and/or transform a relevant aspect of nurse anesthesia clinical practice.  Dissemination of the student’s scholarly work is culminated by the oral podium presentation and poster presentation of the DNP Scholarly Project. 

This is a core course for students in the nurse practitioner and nursing education specialization tracks. The purpose is to establish differential diagnoses based on logical diagnostic reasoning for health maintenance, disease prevention and detection. Content builds on previously acquired knowledge and skills of advanced physiology and pathophysiology, advances pharmacology, and the domains and competencies common to the advanced practice roles.

Emphasis is on the identification of the essentials of the Doctor of Nursing Practice role in preparation for the highest level of nursing leadership and application of evidence-based practice. The eight essentials that will be introduced are: scientific underpinnings for practice, organizational and systems leadership for quality improvement and systems thinking, clinical scholarship and analytical methods for evidence-based practice, information systems/technology and patient care technology for the improvement and transformation of health care, health care policy for advocacy in health care, inter-professional collaboration for improving patient and population health outcomes, clinical prevention and population health for improving the nation’s health, and advanced nursing practice. Ultimately the course establishes fundamental bases wherein the nurse leader reflects and identifies an area of need in the practice setting.

This course will explore the development of nursing knowledge and theory; the philosophies of science and epistemologies, their influence on knowledge development for doctoral nursing practice, and strategies for theory development and analysis will be discussed.

This course will provide a knowledge and skills based related to information systems/technology to prepare the doctoral practice nurse to apply new knowledge, manage individual and aggregate information, and assess the efficacy of patient care technology appropriate to a specialized area of advanced nursing practice. Computer programs and software relevant to nursing administration, education, research, and practice will be explored.

This course focuses on the methodological basis for translational research for the purpose of improving the efficiency and effectiveness of nursing care in diverse practice settings through critical evaluation, synthesis, transference, and application of appropriate evidence-based findings. Students will critically appraise the nature of the evidence for potential inclusion in the capstone project

This course provides a survey of fundamental statistical concepts and applied techniques related to the practice of health services management. Methods of data collection, management, presentation, and descriptive and inferential statistics are included in this course, as well as basic research methodology theory applied to Public Health and Health Services. Theoretical concepts, as well as the descriptive and analytic research methods that are used by the main disciplines engaged in research and evaluation of health status and health services are also included.

The provision of health care services is one of the most regulated industries in the United States. As the law and health care delivery become more interconnected, it is essential for those in the industry to keep pace with the significant changes in health law and their impact on the health care system. A strong background in health regulation is therefore becoming increasingly relevant to both clinical practice and to organizational management. Completion of this course will provide a basic understanding of such legal issues as civil liabilities including medical malpractice, professional fees splitting, self-referrals, and licensing, administrative and corporate law/governance pertaining to health services.

Appropriate health administration requires not only understanding of applicable laws and regulations, but of the distinct ethical and social issues presented by the provision of healthcare services. Administrators, health professionals, patients and even communities as a whole are stakeholders in the ethical provision of health services. Qualified administrators and managers therefore are able to competently focus not only on the legal and business aspects of their field, but also on the social and behavioral aspects of the health administration from an ethical standpoint. This course therefore provides a practical and applicable framework to analyze the many complex issues and competing interests that arise in the modern healthcare industry.

Emphasis is on the identification of the essentials of the Doctor of Nursing Practice role in preparation for the highest level of nursing leadership and application of evidence based practice. The eight essentials that will be introduced are: scientific underpinnings for practice, organizational and systems leadership for quality improvement and systems thinking, clinical scholarship and analytical methods for evidence-based practice, information systems/technology and patient care technology for the improvement and transformation of health care, health care policy for advocacy in health care, inter- professional collaboration for improving patient and population health outcomes, clinical prevention and population health for improving the nation’s health, and advanced nursing practice. Ultimately the course establishes fundamental bases wherein the nurse leader reflects and identifies an area of need in the practice setting.  This seminar will focus on guiding the student through the organization of the Scholarly project proposal.  Emphasis is on the commitment to a clinical practice issue appropriate to the Scholarly project. Course content will guide the process of data exploration and substantiating and refining the rationale for issue selection, population and setting.  The Scholarly Project includes the translation of research in the clinical setting resulting in the potential for change in practice or outcome analysis.

This seminar will focus on data exploration for the organization and refinement of all aspects of the Scholarly Project design, implementation, and evaluation.  Course content includes preparation for Scholarly Project defense with an emphasis on methodology, data analysis and oral presentation.