FALL2009
NUR 3905 Health Assessment
THE UNIVERSITY OF WEST FLORIDA
DEPARTMENT OF NURSING
Course Title and Number:
NUR 3991 – Health Assessment & Promotion in Diverse Populations
Credit:
Four (4) semester hours
Placement:
Junior/Senior Year
Instructors:
Linda Tibbits, RN, MA
Office: Bldg 8 Room 105
850-473-7762
E-mail: ltibbits@uwf.edu
Semester:
Fall 2009
Course Date/Time:
Online
Course Description:
For the RN to BSN student to enhance their knowledge and skills in the interviewing and physical
assessment techniques necessary to systematically and accurately assess the health status of diverse and
vulnerable clients. The importance of therapeutic communication skills in performing a health assessment
is emphasized. Cultural and sociological influences on health behavior and health assessment,
maintenance, and preventative health interventions and education will be explored along with utilizing
objectives outlined in Healthy People 2010.
Course Information:
In this course emphasis is placed on the application of the nursing process when performing health
assessments for clients throughout the life cycle. Adaptation theory and systems theory are readily
appreciated by the student in visualizing and understanding how each body component contributes to the
physiological functioning of the total person. Theories of teaching and learning provide the basis for
individual application of addressing health education.
REQUIRED TEXT:
Jarvis, C. (2008). Physical Examination and Health Assessment, (5th ed.). St. Louis Missouri:
Saunders, an imprint of Elsevier Inc. Online Version with Skills DVD.
ISBN: 1-4160-5617-3.
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NUR 3905 Health Assessment
REQUIRED EQUIPMENT: Stethoscope of good quality; both diaphragm and bell head capacity
ACADEMIC LEARNING COMPACT
Upon successful completion of this course the student will be able to:
I. Content
 A. Use the concepts of nursing theory, research and practice, based on the foundation of the arts and
sciences courses, in the provision of care to diverse clients of all ages
o Utilize techniques of inspection, auscultation, percussion, and palpation.
 C. Describe and use appropriate teaching-learning theories to design, implement, and evaluate
educational experiences with clients of all ages and abilities
o Employ teaching-learning strategies during client interactions.
II. Critical Thinking
 A. Use effective critical thinking skills (e.g., observation, analysis, synthesis) through the nursing
process to provide and direct quality care to diverse clients of all ages
o Identify appropriate methods of data collection in assessing the client’s health status and
formulating a nursing diagnosis.
o Demonstrate the process of assessment to determine the client’s level of wellness.
o Obtain a complete health history from clients of different developmental states.
o Integrate appropriate physical assessment techniques when performing health assessment.
 B. Incorporate socio-cultural, ethnic, religious, and other unique individual considerations in the
plan of care
o Identify relevant developmental considerations of the mental status examination.
o Obtain a complete health history from clients of different developmental states.
III. Communication
 C. Uses media resources and information technologies to enhance knowledge base
o Conduct a basic health history, including recognition of genetic risks and environmental
exposure to identify current and future health problems.
o Demonstrate the ability to elicit a minimum of three generation family health history
information
o Compare and contrast expressions of behaviors of health and illness among clients of different
cultures when performing health assessments.
IV. Integrity/Values
 A. Demonstrate accountability, responsibility, authority, and professionalism based on the
American Nurses Association Code of Ethics in own professional nursing practice
o Relate the nursing responsibilities for health and physical assessment to prepare for
conducting the examination.
o Adhere to ANA Standards of Clinical Nursing Practice
o Discusses responsibility for involving clients in development of plan for health promotion.
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NUR 3905 Health Assessment
V. Project Management
The Project Management learning domain in nursing is organized into four categories with related student learning
outcomes. The four broad categories with associated specific student learning outcomes are:
A. Project Conceptualization
 2. Integrates discipline concepts, resources, and research appropriately
o Describe evidence-based practices that guide health teaching, health counseling, screening,
outreach, referral, and follow-up for patients throughout the life span.
EVALUATION:
Criteria
Points
Exams (5)
Health History Interview and Write-Up with Genogram
Mini Mental Exam Case Study
Health exams and documentation (3)
Teaching Project Research and Plan
Discussion Participation, Relevancy
Total
200
20
10
120
30
20
400
Grading Scale (%):
A
AB+
B
B-
93-100
90-92
87-89
83-86
80-82
C+
C
CD+
D
77-79
73-76
70-72*
67-69*
63-66*
*Constitutes a failure in this course.
Satisfactory completion of the course is based on satisfactory achievement of course student learning
outcomes. The student who fails to meet the course student learning outcomes must repeat the course in
its entirety.
Penalty for late papers/Quizzes
Due dates are posted in the assignments area for all exams and recommended due dates are listed with the
weekly assignments with a terminal due date of August 7th for all assignments except the quizzes. All
assignments and activities are be submitted in the drop box in the course electronically.
Withdrawal Dates
Please refer to the UWF Student Handbook and Calendar for events for these deadlines. This is your
responsibility. No exceptions are made for withdrawal deadlines.
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NUR 3905 Health Assessment
Instructor Availability
You may reach me via e-mail at ltibbits@uwf.edu for assistance. Please allow
24 hours during the workweek to respond to any course work questions. Weekend e-mails will be
answered on Monday. You may leave a detailed message on my office line at 850-473-7762.
Reference Format for Written Work
Please follow the most recent guidelines from the current APA edition.
Special Technology Utilized by Students
This course is being offered fully and completely online. Each student is required to :
1. Have Internet access
2. Utilization of UWF student email accounts for all correspondence
3. Software access for Evolve Course requirements and assignments. Please refer to the online
package within your textbook
4. Adobe Acrobat Reader for PDF file utilization
5. d2L understanding and familiarization is a must. Threaded discussions, drop box utilization,
quiz/testing, course content, links, and assignments are all here.
6. Library research utilization
7. Access to a DVD or CD player
Please note that while you will be using both the d2L site and the Evolve site, all of your assignments,
communication, testing, etc will be through the UWF d2L platform.
To access the Evolve website
Go to http://evolve.elsevier.com There is a separate Student Evolve page and a Faculty Evolve page.
Once you’ve entered the Student Welcome Evolve page, you will need to click on "Enroll in an InstructorLed Evolve Course" (see below) which will then prompt you to first put in the Course ID number:
1313_ltibbits_0002 By filling in this Course ID number, you can then begin your registration into the
course which will require the unique access code you received in the User Guide that came packaged with
the Jarvis, Physical Examination & Health Assessment text.
If you encounter any difficulty with your access codes or have any other problems, please
contact the Tech Support department at 800-401-9962, or submit a Help Ticket on the Evolve
site by clicking on the Evolve Support Portal.
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NUR 3905 Health Assessment
Evolve Learning System
Evolve Support Portal New!
How To
Request Evolve Resources
Enroll in a Self-Study Evolve Course
Enroll in an Instructor-Led Evolve Course
About Us
Visit Instructor Site
Contact Us
University Policy on Academic Conduct
Honesty is a vital element in academic success of this course.
Honesty in our academic work is vital, and we will not knowingly act in ways that erode that integrity.
Accordingly, we pledge not to cheat, nor tolerate cheating, nor to plagiarize the work of others. (UWF
Student Handbook).
Academic dishonesty is a serious offense and will be taken seriously. Please refer to the UWF Student
Handbook for a list of behaviors that fall under the definition of academic misconduct and the due process
and procedures that must be followed.
Scholastic Dishonesty
Students who violate the University of West Florida rules on scholastic dishonesty are subject to
disciplinary penalties, including the possibility of failure in the course and dismissal from the University.
All policies on scholastic dishonesty will be strictly enforced. Please refer to the Academic Misconduct
Policy and Student Code of Conduct at http://uwf.edu/judicialaffairs/
Plagiarism Policy
Plagiarism is defined by the University as "the act of representing the ideas, words, creations, or work of
another as one's own. Should a student be found plagiarizing in a paper, the student will be reported by the
faculty member to the Nursing Program Director & follow the process described in the University's
Student Life Handbook Plagiarism is a serious offense in academia & may result in expulsion from the
University. The UWF library has an excellent tutorial on plagiarism found at
http://library.uwf.edu/Tutorials/module_plagiarism/default.htm
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NUR 3905 Health Assessment
Support Services----Students with Special Needs
Students with a documented disability who require specific examination or course related academic
accommodations should contact the Students Disability Resource Center (SDRC) by email at
sdrc@uwf.edu or by phone at (850) 474-2387.
Quality Assurance
This course is reviewed during the semester and in an ongoing basis for quality by assessment personnel
within the School of Allied Health and Life Sciences (SAHLS) to meet national standards established by
the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools, the Council on Education for Public Health, and/or to
address quality enhancement initiatives of SAHLS. Student feedback is also vital to this process. When
reviewing our programs, our accrediting partners expect to see 100% participation in the State of Florida
mandated State University System Student Assessment of Instruction evaluations (SUSSAI). Thus at the
end of the semester, we need to hear from all students who participated in the course, regardless of their
comments or suggestions.
When SUSSAI evaluations are ready for your attention to complete, you will see News posting in the
course. Please take a few minutes to complete this anonymous, brief web-based evaluation on this course,
using these directions:

Step 1: Log into Argus (http://argus.uwf.edu).

Step 2: Click on "My Info" tab.

Step 3: Click the link under the category "Personal Student Access" that says "Instructor
Assessment (Distance Learning)."

Need Help? Contact Connie Works at (850) 474-3080 or cworks@uwf.edu
Please be assured that all evaluations completed online are of a confidential matter. Only one
evaluation per course may be submitted per student. Please be assured your name, social security number,
or e-mail addresses will not be revealed to your instructor, department, or college/university. Due to the
importance of this information, I will not be able to pre-release grades in e-learning if we are not in
compliance with participation before finals week. Thank you in advance!
ONLINE QUIZ/TEST TAKING GUIDELINES--IMPORTANT INFORMATION
Please do not begin any timed, online exams/quizzes in the course that may overlap with eLearning
maintenance window. The eLearning maintenance window runs 3:00-6:00am CST (Central Standard
Time) each day. If you initiate an exam that overlaps with the eLearning maintenance times and experience
technical difficulties, your score may not translate accurately and may be lost all together. There are no
exceptions to this policy.
If you experience any other technical problems or errors during any timed exam/quiz, you are to notify
your instructor via email immediately and then notify the helpdesk at helpdesk@uwf.edu or (850) 474-
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NUR 3905 Health Assessment
2075. Failure to contact the Help Desk for any technical problems will result in a grade of "0" for the
assignment. Please also refer to your Evolve online resource information for assistance with instructional
materials. If you are unable to get immediate assistance from the Help Desk or Evolve staff during the
exam or assignment attempts, but have documented the problem in an email or voice mail, you may
attempt to restart the exam using the same browser, or attempt to re-enter the exam with another browser.
If you are still unable to restart the exam and continue with saving, please note that for your final submitted
score to be recorded, you must still prove that you documented the original technical problem with the
Help Desk via email or phone. Failure to do so will result in an automatic "0" being assigned. For
Evolve/Elsevier support, please refer to your online package purchased from the UWF Bookstore.