Module 1A: Objectives
1) Articulate the criteria of a profession as applied to nursing.
a) Since nursing requires training and specific nursing knowledge, nursing is a profession. Nursing
provides services needed by society, a body of knowledge and research, accountability, higher
education, autonomy, a code of ethics, professional organization, licensure, and diversity. This
also follows the sociologist, Flexner’s criteria for a profession that was developed in 1915.
2) Discuss standards of practice and nurse practice acts.
a) The Standards of Professional Nursing Practices has two parts. The first part includes six
responsibilities for the nursing process (assessment, diagnosis, outcomes identification,
planning, implementation, and evaluation. The second part focuses on standards of professional
performance, which includes ethics, advocacy, communication, collaboration, and etc.) Nursing
practice acts provide the legal scope of practice in each jurisdiction.
3) Discuss the nurse’s responsibility in making clinical decisions.
a) The nurse is responsible for finding evidence-based solutions for providing patient care. Nursing
use critical thinking to make life-and-death decisions based on scientific research.
4) Define and describe the concept of communication.
a) Communication is the process is to convey or receive a message. Communication can be verbal
or nonverbal.
5) Explain types of communication.
a) Verbal communication is written, spoke, or electronically transmitted information. Most
communication is nonverbal and is expressed through body language, like in gestures or eye
contact.
6) Describe social, verbal, and nonverbal, therapeutic, and nontherapeutic communication techniques.
a) Social communication occurs among individuals who know or are getting to know each other
informally. Therapeutic communication is effective communication between the nurse and the
patient. Nontherapuetic communication can be hurtful and potentially damaging to an
interaction. Verbal communication is deliberately telling someone the message you want to
communicate. Nonverbal communication is all communication that is not verbalized.
7) Describe defense mechanisms and give examples.
a) Defense mechanisms are unconscious strategies that allow an individual to decrease or avoid
unpleasant circumstances. These include denial, compensation, and suppression.
Module 1B: Objectives
1. Define and describe the concepts of thermoregulation.
a) Thermoregulation comprises the physiologic and behavioral mechanisms that regulate the
balance between heat production and heat loss. Sweating and shivering are examples of
thermoregulation.
2) Notice risk factors that place individuals at risk for thermoregulation problems.
a) Age. Recent exercise, hormone fluctuations, circadian rhythms, stress, environment, and
clothing can all affect thermoregulation.
3) Identify vital sign ranges across the lifespan (heart rate, blood pressure, temperature, and
respiratory rate).
a) Younger patients have less of a temperature, pulse, and blood pressure. They also have more
respirations.
4) Identify methods of assessment of thermoregulatory status across the lifespan.
a) The five sites used to measure temperature are the mouth, ear, rectum, forehead, and axilla.
The nurse uses an electric, disposable, or noncontact infrared thermometer.
5) Apply appropriate techniques for obtaining vital signs across the lifespan.
a) Vital signs are obtained while keeping the patient’s medical history in mind. For example,
Patients with hypertension can be expected to have a higher blood pressure.
Module 2A: Objectives
1) Define and describe the concept of Gas Exchange.
a) Gas exchange describes breathing or respiration. The body intakes oxygen and release carbon
dioxide through the blood.
2) Notice risk factors for impaired gas exchange.
a) Age, exercise, illnesses, medications, pain, and emotions are all respiratory risk factors.
3) Recognize when an individual has compromised gas exchange.
a) COPD, Chronic bronchitis, Asthma, and Pneumonia are all examples of compromised gas
exchange.
4) Provide appropriate nursing and collaborative interventions for optimizing gas exchange.
a) Smoking cessation, agents to help cough up mucus, oxygen therapy, chest tubes, and coping
skills.
5) Define and describe the concept of perfusion.
a) Using a fluid through the circulatory system to get something to an organ or tissue.
6) Notice risk factors for impaired perfusion.
a) Smoking, diabetes, obesity, and a sedentary lifestyle.
7) Recognize when an individual has compromised perfusion.
a) Individuals who have risk factors for impaired perfusion have compromised perfusion.
8) Provide appropriate nursing and collaborative interventions to optimize perfusion.
a) Smoking cessation, pharmacotherapy, cardiac rehab, etc.
9) Identify basic EKG interpretation.
a)
EKG strips contain components with the letters p through t. You can read an EKG strip
by counting the complexes, which is the section labeled with QRS.
10) Describe techniques used during physical assessment.
a) Assessments are done in private where the patient can stand, sit, and lie down.
Module 2B: Objectives
11) Define and describe the concept of sensory perception.
a) Sensory perception includes the use of the five senses (seeing, hearing, smelling, tasting, and
touching). This is important for the promotion of physical and psychosocial health.
12) Notice risk factors for impaired sensory perception.
a) Age, congenital conditions, adverse and side effects of medications, acute injury, chronic
medical conditions, and lifestyle habits can impair sensory perception.
13) Recognize when an individual has impaired sensory perception.
a) Diagnostic testing, like visual field tests and air conduction tests, can help determine impaired
sensory perception.
14) Provide appropriate nursing and collaborative interventions to optimize sensory perception.
a) Glasses, hearing aids, and surgery can all help optimize sensory perception.
Module 3A: Objectives
1) Describe the scope and categories of professional communication.
a) Communication is an integral part of professional communication, including among nursing. This
is especially important in the nurse-patient helping relationship. This focuses on building trust,
demonstrating empathy, establishing boundaries, recognizing and respecting cultural influences.
2) Define the phases of professional relationships.
a) Orientation or introductory, working, and termination.
3) Define and describe the concept of Technology and Informatics.
a) Technology, the information it holds, ands its relation to the healthcare system all encompass
technology and informatics.
4) Identify ways that technology and informatics impact health care.
a) Technology is useful in the transmission of electronic data. It enhances communication with the
whole medical team and allows it to be easier to share the medical record.
5) Discuss the uses of technology in health care.
a) Communicating, sharing information, recording information, saving space, and reducing
healthcare costs and risk are all uses of technology in healthcare.
6) Explain the importance of using standardized terminologies in electronic health records.
a) It helps enhance communication between healthcare providers and provides accurate health
information to people on the internet.
7) Describe SBAR used in healthcare facilities.
a) SBAR (Situation, Background, Assessment, Recommendation) is a verbal or written
communication tool that helps provide essential, concise information, usually during crucial
situations.
Module 3B: Objectives
1) Define and describe the concepts of Care Coordination and Caregiving.
a) Sharing information with everyone involved in patient care to find the best possible means to
treat said patient.
2) Identify how care coordination is applied in the context of nursing and health care practice.
a) Caregivers, Nurses, and all health providers should coordinate to help the patient.
3) Recognize stressors related to caregiving.
a) Stressors can include perception of the situation and coping, uncertainties and inadequate
understanding, and financial and social distress.
4) Implement appropriate interventions to support caregivers for positive outcomes.
a) Nursing should be done using a holistic approach. The nurse should listen intently to the
caregiver, and include them in the nursing process.
5) Define the nursing process.
a) Clinical decision-making is a process of data gathering, interpretation, analysis, and evaluation
to implement an evidence-based plan of care for a patient.
6) Describe the steps of the nursing process.
a) There are five phases of the nursing process: assessment, nursing diagnosis, planning,
implementation, and evaluation, often referred to by the acronym ADPIE.
Module 4A: Objectives
1) Define the nursing process.
a) Clinical decision-making is a process of data gathering, interpretation, analysis, and evaluation
to implement an evidence-based plan of care for a patient.
2) Describe the steps of the nursing process based on the clinical judgement model.
a) Assessment, diagnosis, planning, implementation, and evaluation.
3) Describe the relationship between identifying and analyzing cues and goal attainment.
a) Analyzing cues can help you assess where you need to go next to attain your goal.
4) Discuss the importance of planning throughout patient care.
a) Nursing care plans are a vital part of the nursing process. A well-documented care plan ensures
the patient's entire care team (doctors, nurses, etc.) can access the same information, give
input, and join forces to provide the best care possible.
5) Explain the significance of implementation and evaluation in the nursing process.
a) Implementation involves putting the plan into practice and how. Evaluation leads to
implementation, and observing the implementation is an important part of evaluation and can
lead to changes.
6) Describe the relationship between care plan modification and quality improvement.
a) Modifying the care plan is done to make up for changes in the patient’s condition or knowledge
and convenience of the nurse. This is necessary for quality improvement.
7) List the five rights of delegation.
a) Right Task.
b) Right Circumstances.
c) Right Person.
d) Right Direction/Communication.
e) Right Supervision/Evaluation.
Module 4B: Objectives
1) Define and describe the concept of Patient Education.
a) Patient education is anything that provides patients and families with information that enables
them to make informed choices about their care, health, and wellbeing, and that helps them
gain knowledge and skills to participate in care or healthy living processes.
2) Make links between the concept of Patient Education and theory.
a) Patients are educated based on information the nurse knows from nursing theory. Nursing
theory is nurse education, which is then passed down to the patient.
3) Know when and how to apply the concept to the context of nursing and health care.
a) Different education and practices are required for different situations and the nurse must know
how to differentiate between what situations need what.
4) Explain the factors that affect and influence client learning.
a) Lack of motivation, social background, Physical discomfort, developmental stage, and preferred
learning style can affect the learning of the patient.
5) Discuss the application of evidence in nursing practice.
a) Evidence-based practice in nursing involves providing holistic, quality care based on the most
up-to-date research and knowledge rather than traditional methods, advice from colleagues, or
personal beliefs.
6) Define and describe the concept of Clinical Judgment.
a) Clinical judgment refers to the thought process (clinical reasoning) that allows healthcare
providers to arrive at a conclusion (clinical decision-making) based on objective and subjective
information about a patient.
7) Discuss the attributes of clinical judgment (KSAs)-Knowledge, Skills, and Attitudes.
a) When nurses don’t have the property KSA’s to help a patient, it puts the patient at risk. Clinical
judgement is essential to nursing.
8) Identify the ways that nurses make judgments.
a) Giving advice, helping through nursing interventions, and speaking up when something is off,
are all examples of ways nurses make judgements.
Module 5A: Objectives
1) Define and describe the concept of Health Policy.
a) The decisions, plans, and actions that are undertaken to achieve specific healthcare goals within
a society.
2) Identify the process of health policy development.
a) Health policies result from the government's interest in promoting optimal health in
populations.
3) Discuss the application of health policy in nursing practice.
a) Nurses who engage in professional misconduct are subject to legal and disciplinary action in
their state or jurisdiction. Professional practice conduct, adherence to the ANA’s principles for
delegation, and accurate and timely documentation, are all professional liability issues for
nurses.
4) Define and describe the concept of Health Care Law.
a) Health care law focuses on the legislative, executive, and judicial rules and regulations that
govern the health care industry.
5) Explore theoretical perspectives of health care law.
a) Deontology and utilitarianism are the main ethical theories in nursing healthcare, in which
rights, justice, and virtue have evolved.
6) Discuss the application of health care law to nursing and health care.
a) Under the law, nurses are responsible for providing safe patient care, including preventing
patient injury from physical restraint and unrestrained, accidental falls.
7) Explain HIPAA.
a) HIPPA is the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act in which encompasses
guidelines for healthcare workers to protect patient privacy.
Module 5B: Objectives
1) Define and describe the concept of Ethics.
a) Ethics are moral principles that govern a person’s behavior or how they conduct an activity.
Personal ethics are influenced by values, societal norms, and practices, and the “rightness” or
“wrongness” of these determine a person’s character.
2) Discuss ethical principles and theories.
a) The main difference between a theory and a principle is that the principle is a rule to be
followed, while a theory is a rational or generalized way of thinking. There are two primary
ethical theories, deontology and utilitarianism. Ethical principles can include Beneficence,
Nonmaleficence, Veracity, Justice, and advocacy.
3) Identify ways that ethical issues impact nursing and health care.
a) Ethical dilemmas may lead to moral distress for nurses. Moral distress is the anguish healthcare
professionals experience when their basic beliefs about right and wrong or ethical principles are
challenged. Ethics in healthcare change as society develops and changes.
4) Describe the nursing implications associated with legal issues that occur in nursing practice.
a) Nursing issues regarding the law can be intentional or unintentional. These can include stealing
and intervening in patient relationships, but can also include negligence and malpractice, too.
5) Identify significant features and desired outcomes of nurse-health care team member relationships.
a) The nurse must use communication techniques, such as SBAR. This provides a framework for a
conversation among health care providers that fosters patient safety. Consistent communication
practices minimize risk with hand-off communication.
6) Define and describe the concept of Collaboration.
a) Working with others in healthcare is used to ensure the patient has the most effective care
possible.
7) Recognize attributes of collaboration in the nursing profession.
a) Collaboration between physicians, nurses, and other health care professionals increases team
members’ awareness of each other’s type of knowledge and skills, leading to continued
improvement in decision-making.
8) Identify ways that collaboration impacts health care.
a) To ensure an effective plan of care, you sometimes need to collaborate with other health
care team members who have expertise in communication strategies. Speech therapists
help patients with aphasia, interpreters are often necessary for patients who speak a
foreign language, and mental health nurse specialists help angry or highly anxious
patients to communicate more effectively.
Module 6A: Objectives
1) Define and describe the concept of Safety.
a) Safety minimizes risk of harm to patients and providers through system effectiveness and
individual performance.
2) Discuss the underlying theory of safety.
a) A safe environment reduces the risk for illness and injury and helps to contain the cost of health
care by preventing extended lengths of treatment and/or hospitalization, improving or
maintaining a patient's functional status, and increasing a patient's sense of well-being.
3) Identify safety in the nursing and health care practice.
a) Injuries are a leading cause of death in children. Toddlers should be supervised and choking
hazards should be removed. School-aged children should be wearing bicycle helmets. Accidents
and risky behaviors increase as individuals get older.
4) Implement safety measures in the home, community, and health care settings.
a) The nurse provides patient education and safety promotion for patients to minimize safety risks
in the home and community. Keeping patients and staff safe from the risks for electrical hazards,
fire, radiation exposure, and infections is part of the nurse's role.
5) Define National Patient Safety Goals.
a) The purpose of the National Patient Safety Goals is to improve patient safety. The goals focus on
problems in health care safety and how to solve them.
6) Define QSEN.
a) The Quality and Safety Education for Nurses
7) Discuss the purpose of QSEN within healthcare.
a) The Quality and Safety Education for Nurses (QSEN) initiative was developed to integrate quality
and safety competencies into nursing education.
8) Describe the different types of community health nursing.
a) Community based nursing
i) a. advocating for clients
ii) b. Conducting routine checkups
iii) c. Caring for the sick or dying
iv) d. Providing client education
v) e. Managing chronic client conditions at outpatient, community, or government health care
facilities.
b) Home Health Care Nursing
i) a. Home care considerations
ii) b. Reimbursement for health care services
iii) c. Case management
iv) d. Hospice and palliative care
c) Health literacy
i)
a. Knowledge of basics of disease prevention, and being proficient in knowledge about the
disease present.
9) Describe the three levels of prevention
a) Primary Prevention- Promotes Healthy lifestyle/ Community Awareness.
b) Secondary Prevention- Screening for individual at higher risk than general population.
c) Tertiary Prevention- Disease management, working to prevent complications of disease.
Module 6B: Objectives
1) Define and describe the concept of Health Care Organizations.
a) Health care organizations are purposefully designed, structured social systems developed and
managed by people for the delivery of health care services by specialized workforces within
defined communities, populations, or markets.
2) Compare and contrast the categories of health care organizations.
a) Mission: the vision and values of the organization
b) Financial structure: for-profit vs. not-for-profit
c) Ownership: public vs. private
3) Discuss the major and minor attributes of health care organizations.
a) The major attributes include the public's trust, the organization's unique purpose, and the
specialized workforce. Minor attributes include structure and organizational environment.
4) List leadership and management skills in a variety of health care settings.
a) Flexibility, Moral judgement, problem-solving, etc.
5) Define and describe the concept of Health Care Economics.
a) Economics is a social science that studies how valuable and scarce resources are managed in
human social systems. In the United States, demand for health care exceeds supply.
6) Discuss health care financing.
a) Most people in the U.S. pay for health care with insurance, either provided by the government,
employers, military programs, or independent insurance companies.
7) Apply the main attributes associated with health care economics.
a) Markets, price and cost, supply and demand, and efficiency versus equity.
8) Discuss the application of health care economics in nursing practice.
a) Nurses learn of the economic issues directly affect patient health and collaborate to help reduce
cost of care.
9) Define and describe the concept of Health Promotion.
a) A focus on improvement and prevention of disease. It requires change and the development of
healthy living behaviors to be successful.
10) Demonstrate the application of health policy in relation to the context of nursing.
a) Nurses and nurse practitioners play a direct role in shaping, implementing and assessing the
health policies in their communities. This requires a robust set of skills and a foundational
understanding of population health, health financing, and more.
11) Define and describe the concept of Health Care quality.
a) Health care quality is the degree to which health services for individuals and populations
increase the likelihood of desired health outcomes and are consistent with current professional
knowledge.
12) Identify the context of health care quality in nursing and health care practice.
a) Many laws and regulations are put in place to ensure quality healthcare is being provided.
Nurses are the front-line defense against risky healthcare and nurses must be lifelong learners
and willing to keep up with current available knowledge related to their patients.