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CERTIFICATE NEUROSCIENCE NURSING
Version 1
1. Introduction
Congress and lectures agreed the 2000s to be "The Decade of the Brain." With this single
act the field of neurosciences has been recognized as an area that potentially can
contribute much to our future well being. Not only will research in the neurosciences be
directed toward control, prevention and eventual eradication of those neurological
disorders that produce the most severe forms of debilitation in the Western population
(e.g., dementia, Alzheimer's disease…), it also will provide means to understand the
secrets of nature's most superb evolutionary product, the human brain. A testimonial to the
popularity and interests in research in the neurosciences is the explosive growth of the
interest in Neuroscience. The field of neuroscience is a multidisciplinary area increasing
significantly on an international level.
Hospital’s Neuroscience Services represents a comprehensive continuum of services and
care for neurology and neurosurgery patients. The Neuroscience nursing units work
together to support patient processes and care throughout every level of need. The
licensed staff attends the Neuroscience nursing program that includes detailed review of
brain anatomy and function, neurological assessment, and review of care of this
specialized patient population.
A Neuroscience Center provides an intensive, comprehensive, interdisciplinary approach
to the care of individuals who have undergone neurosurgery, have suffered a neurological
injury or a neurological disease.
The Neuroscience Center in the hospital consists of:
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Neurology s.s.
Neuro Operative Services.
Neuro Intensive Care/Advanced Care Unit.
Rehabilitation Services.
2. Objectives
The neurosciences offer a huge new frontier for treatment discoveries of illnesses that
were once not well understood or treatable. Today patients have many treatment options
and can achieve improved functional abilities. Patients recover quickly with shorter
hospital stays since the introduction of the gamma knife, incredible interventional
neuroradiological techniques, and new methods for monitoring and treating increased
intracranial pressure.
The Neuroscience Department offers a blending of neurosurgery and medical neurology
specialties integrated throughout the hospital. Neuro-nurses are taking the lead in the care
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of patients who have come to the hospital for therapies and innovative technologies to
treat diseases of the nervous system.
Even within the Neuroscience specialty, nurses become well versed in many disease
processes that affect the nervous system: seizure disorders, cerebro-vascular and spine
disorders, tumours, developmental, degenerative and infectious diseases are just a few
examples of these processes.
3. Competence
Nurses who join the Neuroscience Department will develop into specialty nurses who are
also competent in medical and surgical nursing practice. Whether the path takes the nurse
into Neuro-critical care or the acute care settings, he/she has an opportunity to work in
special units that focus on special patient populations. In the Epilepsy Monitoring Unit
i.e., nurses care for patients across the lifespan, monitoring infants, children and adults
with life-altering seizure problems. The acute Stroke Unit and the hydrocephalus service
will fine-tune the skills in neurological problems common to many acute care settings.
The nurse will team up with fellow nurses in developing the competence and even aiming
for specialty certification
The Neuroscience Nurse Program is intended to orient registered nurses with present
clinical experience to the specialized profession of neuroscience nursing. The topical areas
for a variety of nervous system disorders that will be approached include:
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Neuroanatomy,
Neuropathophysiology,
Epidemiology,
Diagnostic evaluation,
Medical and nursing management,
Investigational therapies
Patient education.
The clinical experience element of the program is supervised by preceptors. Participants
have contact with patients in the neuroscience outpatient and inpatient units and attend
interdisciplinary neuroscience rounds and conferences. Participants also have the
opportunity to gain further experience through extramural observation at local
rehabilitation and neurotrauma health care facilities. The program consists of classroom
lectures, group seminars and hands - on clinical experience.
Neuroscience nurses pride themselves on compassionate and patient focused care. Nurses
practice with autonomy and are responsible for the care of patients with diagnoses such as
brain tumors, aneurysms, degenerative spine disease, epilepsy, cerebrovascular disease…
Neuroscience Critical Care Unit (NCCU) nurses specialize in the management of patients
with brain and spinal cord related diagnoses such as brain tumours, CVA, Guillian-Barre
syndrome, myasthenia gravis, brain or spinal trauma and seizure, intra-cerebral
haemorrhages…. These nurses practice also a range of interventions such as management
of cerebral oedema, increased intracranial pressure and cerebral resuscitation.
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4. Study Program
The primary goal of the Neuroscience Program is to develop and train neuroscientists with
expertise in all aspects of modern neurobiology.
The Neuroscience Program is designed to be a modular program that meets the students'
needs for basic and advanced instruction in most areas of the neurosciences. The main
purpose of the program is to provide instruction in several areas of neuroscience ranging
from molecular and cellular neurosciences to behavioural biology including neural
network models. In addition, there is an expanding emphasis on clinical neurosciences as
a framework to provide a biomedical background and foster interests in prevention and
treatment of neurological disease.
Major research efforts are focused on the key areas of neurobiology of aging,
development of the nervous system, neurobiology of memory and learning, programmed
cell death, neuro-degeneratieve disease, neurobiology of alcohol and substance abuse,
sensory neurobiology, regeneration and repair of the injured nervous system, cognitive
neurobiology, and molecular neurobiology
All neuroscience students participate in a unified core curriculum composed of the
following courses:
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Introduction to Neuroscience,
Behavioural Neuroscience,
Neuropharmacology,
Clinical Neuroscience, and Molecular Neuroscience.
Neuroanatomy,
Cellular/Molecular Neuroscience,
Developmental Neuroscience,
Sensory-Motor Systems
Behavioural-Cognitive Neuroscience.
Experimental Design and Statistics.
Each student is expected to prepare and orally defend a comprehensive written
research proposal
The Neuroscience Program also is a research oriented training program for students to
become skilled investigators in the complex and rapidly changing field of neurobiology.
To foster this goal, students are encouraged to begin to participate in independent research
projects during their study. Graduate students in neuroscience actively participate in
journal clubs, graduate tutorials, and regular seminars presented by outside speakers who
are sponsored by basic science and clinical departments.
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5. Course Descriptions
BACHELOR LEVEL
A. Introduction to Neuroscience
This course covers basic topics in the neurosciences with: Neuroanatomy (also
laboratory work in Neuroanatomy), Cellular and molecular neuroscience, developmental
neuroscience, sensory systems and motor systems.
B. Introduction to Clinical Neuroscience
A discussion of topics dealing with the pathophysiology of patients with neurological
problems. This is an introduction to major concepts of patient care with utilization of upto-date methodology in clinical neuroscience
C. Neuropharmacology
The course will discuss general principles of drug action, including receptor binding,
second messengers, and neurotransmitter metabolism. It also will survey neurotransmitter
function, including acetylcholine, biogenic amines, excitatory and other amino acids, and
neuropeptides. (General survey of neuropharmacology, emphasizing neurotransmitters,
receptors and their interactions.)
D. Seminars in Neuroscience
A series of research presentations by guest lecturers from that will discuss modern
concepts, methods, and approaches used in understanding nervous system structure,
function and pathology.
Course in Belgium: Certification program
Neuroanatomy and physiology of the Nervous System
The Adult Neurologic Neuroassessment
Neuro-obseservation and Neurodiagnostic
Neurotrauma: Head and Spine Injury (and Spine Injury s.s.)
Cranial Surgery
Central Nervous System Infections
Metabolic Disorders
Coma and Alterations in Consciousness
Brain Tumors
Neuroscience Critical Care and ICP Monitoring Rehabilitation of the Neuroscience
Patient (also paediatrics: study and writing disabilities)
Peripheral and Cranial Nerve Disorders Brain Attack/Stroke Management
Management of Movement & Degenerative Disorders Neuromuscular and Auto-immune
Disorders
Pain and Headache Management of Seizures and Epilepsy
Dementia and Alzheimer disease
(Eight-day program = eight hours, congress included )
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MASTER LEVEL
A. Behavioural Neurosciences
Behavioural neuroscience is a relatively new and rapidly expanding discipline
utilizing techniques of molecular biology, neurochemistry, neurophysiology and
psychology to investigate the neurobiological aspects of behaviour. The course will
provide a survey of the field from the cellular level to the complexity of molar aspects
of behaviour including learning and memory. An introduction to laboratory models of
human neurobiologic disorders will also be included.
B. Molecular Neuroscience
This course will introduce the students to the basic principles of neurobiology as
studies by cell and molecular biologists. Lectures will introduce invertebrate and
vertebrate model neuronal systems and the cellular and molecular methods to study
them.
C. Seminars in Neuroscience
A series of research presentations by guest lecturers from that will discuss modern
concepts, methods, and approaches used in understanding nervous system structure,
function and pathology.
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SAMPLE OF ELECTIVE COURSES NEUROSCIENCE PROGRAM
MASTER LEVEL
I.
II.
III.
IV.
V.
VI.
VII.
VIII.
IX.
X.
Biochemistry
Intracellular Signaling
Immunochemistry
Biology
Neurobiology
Development
Molecular Biology
Sensory Biology
Behavioural Ecology
Cell Physiology
Comparative Medicine
Animal Models in Biomedical Research
Microbiology and Immunology
Fundamentals of Immunology
Molecular and Cellular Pathobiology
Research Techniques in Electron Microscopy
Fundamentals of Pathophysiology
Molecular Genetics
Molecular Biology
Human Molecular Genetics
Molecular Medicine
Introduction to Molecular Medicine
Neurobiology and Anatomy
Cell Biology
Development and Anatomy of Sensory Systems
Sensory Neuroscience I: audition and Vision
Sensory Neuroscience II: Somatosensation, Taste and Olfaction
Sensory Neuroscience III: Higher Order Interactions and Integration
Developmental Neurobiology I: Molecular control of Neural Lineages and Differentiation
Developmental Neurobiology II: Progressive and Regressive Events in Neural
Development
Developmental Neurobiology III: Neural Plasticity and Regeneration
Career Development in Neurobiology
Physiology and Pharmacology
Perinatal Physiology I
Perinatal Physiology II
Neuroendocrinology
Nerve Cell Physiology and Plasticity
Behavioral Pharmacology
Neurobehavioral Pharmacology
Neurotoxicology
Biology of Alcohol Abuse - alcoholism
Psychology
Developmental Psychobiology
Psychopharmacology
Biological Psychology
Neuropsychology and Learning Disabilities
Neuroscience and Animal Behavior
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HHROESELARE - BELGIUM / A. HOUTMAN – 06/2006 VERSION 1