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Mississippi College School of Nursing
NUR 324 - Transition to Professional Practice- RN
Course:
NUR 324 - Transition to Professional Practice- RN
Credit:
4 semester hours
Course Placement: Semester of RN-BSN track entry
Prerequisite: Admission to nursing program with advanced standing
Faculty:
Teresa Ellis Jarnagin, DNS, RN, BC
Assistant Professor
Catalog Description: Focuses on concepts, processes, and skills necessary to facilitate the transition to
baccalaureate nursing practice
Course Description: Builds on previous knowledge & skills applicable to the practice of professional
nursing. This course provides an overview of professional concepts basic to the development of
professionalism in nursing practice. The philosophical and theoretical framework of the Mississippi College
School of Nursing is examined. Emphasis is placed on changes in the health care environment and the
impact on the professional nurse’s role. Accountability and responsibility issues as they relate to
professional nursing are discussed. The students will begin the development of a professional portfolio for
use throughout the curriculum and in the professional practice settings.
Course Outcomes:
1.
Discuss knowledge of philosophy and organizing framework of the curriculum at Mississippi College
School of Nursing with Christian caring as a component of professional nursing care delivery.
2.
Discuss significant events in the evolution of professional nursing as a scientific discipline.
3.
Identify concepts related to communication, health promotion and disease prevention, health care
delivery, professional nursing processes, environmental and global health, and public policy.
4.
Identify professional nursing roles in approach to client systems, teaching and learning, leadership,
and quality improvement.
5.
Explore career options for nurses, the development of a professional nursing career, and shaping
the future of nursing.
6.
Synthesize major concepts of nursing into an individual nursing philosophy for use as a basis for
making professional nursing judgments.
7.
Develop a professional portfolio to demonstrate professional competence and to document reflective
practice.
Content Outline:
I.
Introduction to Course
A. Course expectations
B. Evaluation methodologies
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II.
MCSON Curriculum
A. Philosophy
1. Integrity
2. Christian caring
B. Mission Statement
C. Goals/Program Objectives
D. Organizing framework
E. Categories of human functioning
F. MC SON RN to BSN program
1. Review of MCSON student handbook
2. Transition Process
III. The Professional Nurse
A. Returning to School
B. Socialization and Resocialization into the Nursing Profession
C. Development of a Professional Self-Concept
D. Self-care of the nurse
E. Characteristics of a profession
F. Insuring Competence
G. Reflective Practice
IV. Introduction to Professional Writing
A. Integrity
B. APA style
C. Library and internet resources
V. Historical Context, Nursing Models, and Theories
A. Nursing across the ages
B. Movement to a respectable profession
C. Nursing in the 20th & 21st Century
D. Patterns of Knowing
E. Development of Nursing Science
1. Theories
2. Models
VI. Professional Processes
A. Nursing Process
B. Critical Thinking
C. Communication
D. Helping relationships
1. The nurse as a helper
2. The nurse’s role in healing
E. Health protection and promotion
VII. Changing Health Care Context
A. World views of health
B. Environmental and global health
C. Health Care Delivery Systems
D. Costs of Health Care
E. Evidence-Based Nursing
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F. Multicultural Issues in Professional Practice
G. Professional Nurse Accountability
H. Informatics and Technology in Practice
I.
Professional Nurse’s Role in Public Policy
VIII. Professional Nursing Roles
A. Caregiver
B. Advocate
C. Teacher
1. Philosophical assumptions
2. Traditional teaching learning process
3. Learning theories
4. Strategies for Effective Teaching and Learning
5. Client education as an interdisciplinary process
D. Leader/Manager of care
1. Leadership Theories
2. Leadership Development
3. Key leadership skills for nurses
4. Professional nurses as leaders
5. Leadership effectiveness
6. Quality Improvement and professional practice
E. Counselor
F. Researcher/Scholar
IX. The Future of Professional Nursing
A. Career Options for Professional Nurses
B. Development of a Professional Nursing Career
C. Shaping the Future of Nursing
1. Nursing Practice
2. Nursing Education
3. Nursing Research
4. Nursing Scholarship
5. Nursing Service and Commitment
Learning Strategies:
Directed independent study, written assignments, discussion boards, powerpoint presentations, and cyberjourneys
Evaluation Methods:
1.
Portfolio foundation development with philosophy
2.
Participation in discussion boards
3.
APA assignment/plagiarism assignment
4.
Reflective journal
5.
Professional Issues Powerpoint presentation to class
6.
Professional meeting attendance
25%
25%
10%
15%
20%
5%
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Required Texts:
American Psychological Association (2001). Publication manual of the American Psychological
Association (5th ed.). Washington, D.C.: American Psychological Association.
Kearney-Nunnery, R. (2008). Advancing your career: Concepts of professional nursing (4th ed.).
Philadelphia: F. A. Davis.
O=Brien, M.E. (2003). Spirituality in nursing: Standing on holy ground. Boston: Jones & Bartlett.
Required Other:
Computer access and Internet access
Suggested Readings/Optional Texts:
O=Brien, M.E. (2003). Prayer in nursing: The spirituality of compassionate caregiving. Boston:
Jones & Bartlett.
Taber=s cyclopedia medial dictionary (19th edition), (2001). Philadelphia: Davis
Grading Scale
The grading scale used by the School of Nursing is as follows:
A - 93-100
B - 85-92
C - 77-84
D - 70-76
F - 69 and below
For purposes of progression in the School of Nursing, grades of D and F represent unacceptable work.
Students must have a 77% or higher average in order to successfully complete a course.
Participation in discussion boards:
For those classes that have participation in discussion boards as part of the class requirements, the student
is expected to contribute to the class in a substantive way at least twice each week. Postings should
demonstrate thought and an attempt to discuss the student’s personal/work experiences, as they are relevant
to the class discussion, and/or sharing information from outside readings, properly cited (see specific
Grading Criteria for Online Participation and Contribution). Please remember that the instructor is looking
for quality, not quantity. [If you are going to be gone for more than 48 hrs, be sure and e-mail your
instructor ahead of time].
See ..\Discussion.board.rubric.landscape.f09.doc Grading Criteria for Online Participation and Contribution
Late Work
Assignments are considered late if not submitted by the specified due date and time. Any difficulty in
meeting a due date should be discussed with the instructor prior to the due date.
Late penalties will be calculated at 5 points per day, with the exception of Saturday and Sunday
counting as one day.
Papers must follow the acceptable style (grammar, spelling), or the paper may be returned to be
corrected before grading occurs. No late penalty will be imposed unless the revised deadline for the
paper is missed. All written work, once turned in to faculty, becomes property of the School of Nursing.
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Other issues (adapted from O’Neal, Fisher, & Newbold (2004):
Time Expectations:
Remember that online is not ‘easier’ than the traditional educational process; it is simply a different
delivery system. In fact, many students will say it requires much more time and commitment.
An online student is expected to
Be willing and able to commit to 4 to 15 hours per week per course in preparation
Check for announcements, memos, and e-mails 5 out of 7 days
Be able to work with others in completing projects
Be able to use the technology properly
Be able to meet the minimum standards as set forth by the institution
Be able to complete assignments on time
Be able to communicate effectively in writing
Academic Honesty
Mississippi College students are expected to be scrupulously honest. Dishonesty, such as cheating
or plagiarism, or furnishing false information, including forgery, alteration or misuse of University
documents, records or identification, will be regarded as a serious offense subject to severe penalty,
including, but not limited to, loss of credit and possible dismissal. See the Mississippi College Student
Handbook or University Policy 2.29 for specific information regarding penalties associated with dishonest
behavior at Mississippi College. Copies of the Mississippi College Student Handbook are available on line
under Campus Life; Student publications. Copies of university policies are available on the Mississippi
College web site. (Source: Mississippi College Undergraduate Catalog)
Plagiarism
The School of Nursing adheres to the Mississippi College policy concerning plagiarism which appears in
the Mississippi College General Bulletin and the Mississippi College Student Handbook. It is as stated
here:
No student shall submit as his own work any term paper, research paper, thesis or other academic
assignment of original work that in any substantial part is not in fact his own work. (This is not
intended to prohibit clerical or stenographic assistance such as typing of manuscripts, nor is it to
hinder the normal use of reference or other material, provided that the source is acknowledged and
documented.) Violation of this regulation shall result in a grade of "0" on the paper or project;
repeated violation shall be cause for severe disciplinary action; aiding or abetting plagiarism of the
sort described above shall also be cause for disciplinary action (refer. In the absence of clear
evidence of a violation, but when there are grounds for reasonable doubt that any item of work is the
student's own, the work (paper, thesis, etc.) shall be rejected and the student shall be given another
opportunity to do the work with proper safeguards for the assurance of honesty.
Also, a student who has taken a course may not ‘share’ assignments or specific course information with any
other students.
Failure to adhere to this policy may result in dismissal.
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Disabilities Act of 1990
In accordance with Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, Mississippi College does not
discriminate on the basis of handicap in admission or access to, or treatment or employment in, its
programs and activities. If students need special accommodations due to learning, physical, psychological,
or other disabilities, they should direct their inquiries to Director of the Counseling and Testing Center,
Mississippi College, Lowery, Room 101, Telephone: 601.925.3353. For more information including
student appeals, see the Mississippi College Student Handbook, Students with Disabilities section.
(Source: Mississippi College Undergraduate Catalog.)
Revised & Approved: 11/07
Revised & Approved: 1998
Reviewed: 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002 , 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009