GEORGIA COLLEGE & STATE UNIVERSITY
COLLEGE OF HEALTH SCIENCES
School of Nursing
Summer 2014
Course Prefix & Number: NRSG 4550
Prerequisites: Acceptance to the RN-BSN program
Course Title: Family Systems
Lecture Hours: 3
Lab Hours: 0
Contact Hours: 45 hrs of ASYNCHRONOUS
Credit Hours: 3
Faculty: Carol J. Sapp RN, PhD, CNE Associate Professor of Nursing
Office: Parks Memorial Room 209 Milledgeville, GA.
Office Phone: (478) 445-3927
Cell Phone: (478) 955-9053
Administrative Assistant: (478) 445-5122 or (478) 445-1076
Faculty Office Hours: Virtual Hours by Appointment; Face to Face by Appointment
Required Text: Friedman, M; Bowden, V. & Jones, E. (2003) Family Nursing
Research, Theory, & Practice. 5th edition Prentice-Hall.
DVD: “On Golden Pond”
Catalog Description: Focuses on theories and concepts that guide nursing practice
with the family as a unit of analysis. Selected health care issues that impact family
roles are examined.
Recommended Text(s): American Psychological Association (2009). The American
Manual of the American Psychological Association (6th ed). American Psychological
Association: Washington, DC.
Program Outcomes:
1. Use effective situational communication.
2. Incorporate best current evidence with clinical expertise and client preferences
and values.
3. Apply principles of leadership, quality improvement, and client safety to monitor
and improve outcomes of nursing care.
4. Demonstrate professional nursing values of altruism, autonomy, human dignity,
integrity, and social justice.
5. Provide culturally and spiritually sensitive care.
6. Apply principles of health promotion, and disease prevention to maximize health
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outcomes.
7. Recognize the need for advocacy in regulatory, legislative, and public policy that
influences the health care system.
8. Collaborate with the client and health care team in providing compassionate and
coordinated care.
9. Demonstrate competent use of informatics to support decision-making, mitigate
error, and improve outcomes.
10. Synthesize concepts from liberal arts and sciences, clinical reasoning, and
nursing to form the basis for professional practice.
Course Objectives: Upon completion of this course, the student will be able to:
Program
Objectives
1,2,3,4,5,6,7, 8,
9,
10
2, 5, 8, 9
Course Objectives
1. Apply concepts from the liberal arts, sciences, and nursing
when providing care to families.
2. Use a systematic process to provide holistic culturally sensitive
care to families.
3, 4, 5, 7, 8
3. Demonstrate caring behaviors that reflect an appreciation of
the worth and dignity of families from diverse backgrounds.
1, 2, 3, 4, 6, 7, 8, 4. Employ critical thinking to provide outcome based plans of care
that maximize the health of the family.
1, 3, 7, 8, 9
5. Demonstrate competencies used to support families during
periods of transition.
1, 3, 7, 8, 10,
6. Demonstrate concern for individuals and society by serving as
an advocate for families.
Topic Outline
1. Introduction to the Family
2. Theoretical Foundations of Family Nursing
3. Family Nursing Practice
4. Cultural Diversity Among Families
5. Nursing Practice in the Community: Roles and Functions
Teaching/Learning Methods: Assigned Readings, Discussions, Family Vignettes;
Critical Thinking Questions; Family Assessment; Synthesis of Professional Peer
Reviewed Journal Articles; other written assignments, and Podcasts.
Evaluation Methods:
Online Discussions – 20 %
Critical Thinking Questions – 20 %
Synthesis of Professional Peer Reviewed Research Journal Articles – 20 %
Family Assessment after viewing ‘On Golden Pond” – 40 %
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A = 91-100
B = 83-90
C = 75-82
D = 66-74
F = = or < than 65
Online Discussions – Each online discussion has been created to engage and
challenge you as an active learner to demonstrate your ability to connect your
existing knowledge with the newly acquired knowledge introduced in the course.
Specificity, making your point, is essential in your discussion posting. Organization
is expected. Make certain the submission is logically organized and the thoughts you
present are coherent. Think about word choices—are you selecting the appropriate
words to convey the concept/information you wish to convey. Avoid complex
sentence structure. Avoid spelling and other mechanical mistakes. The Discussion
Rubric will be used to assess each Online Discussion Submission. Participation is
expected, and submission deadlines are to be adhered too. If the discussion topic
requires 3 responses to peers, the assignment is incomplete until you have made
your own submission, AND ALSO responded to the 3 peers. No partial credit is
given when only one portion of the discussion has been completed. A grade of zero
will be entered for online discussions that are incomplete or not submitted. Content
of the discussion posting, demonstration of critical thinking, and the mechanics of
the posting are all criteria used to assess submitted work. The Online Discussion
assignments comprise 20 % of the course grade.
Critical Thinking Questions – The critical thinking questions for each assigned
chapter are to be answered independently, and submitted to faculty in the drop box
after you read each chapter. Submission must be received no later than the due date
identified on the course calendar. Late submissions will not be accepted, and a grade
of zero will be entered for assignments with no submission. Each question is
weighed as 1 point. The grades for each of the assigned chapters will be compiled,
and averaged. Then the averaged number will be used to calculate the Critical
Analysis Questions grade. The Critical Thinking Questions grades comprise 20 % of
the course grade.
Synthesis of Peer Reviewed Professional Research Journal Articles –Identify a
peer reviewed professional research journal article related to the following groups
of families (military; homeless; the ‘sandwich generation’ family; those with an
incarcerated member; refugee family; and one other of your choice). Again, the
focus of the article is to relate to the Family. There will be six articles total
reviewed.


Write a 500 word synthesis of the journal article selected.
Share what you learned from the article, and how you will incorporate it into
your practice.
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
Provide the link to the journal. Check the link to make sure faculty and peers
can access the article from the link you provide.
This assignment comprises 20 % of the course grade.
Family Nursing Assessment and Intervention Assignment- Nursing practice
requires the ability to use nursing knowledge and critical thinking to sift through
details to make skilled judgments while staying focused on the entire family picture
and desired outcomes of care. Use the short version of the Friedman Family
Assessment Model to complete an assessment of the Thayer Family while viewing
‘On Golden Pond’. This assignment is a culmination of the other assignments you
have completed through the semester.
 Appendix A The Friedman Family Assessment Model (long form)
provides you with in depth questions to consider as you view the movie.
 Appendix C Case Study of the O’Shea Family provides you with an example
with data.
 Then Appendix D Family Nursing Process Example: The O’Shea Family
provides you with an example of how the assessment is documented.
 For the assignment you submit, you will be using Appendix B The
Friedman Family Assessment Model (Short Form). This assignment
comprises 40% of the course grade.
Course Policies – All policies in the current GC Undergraduate Catalog and the
Undergraduate Nursing Student Handbook are applicable. All policies in the RN to
BSN Handbook are applicable. Please consult web site for handbook at the following
sites: http://www.gcsu.edu/registrar/catalog.htm and
http://infor.gcsu.edu/intranet/health_sciences/bsnhandbook/bsnhnbk.doc. In
addition to these University and School policies, students are expected to comply
with the following course policies:
All students must regularly check bobcats email to receive official communication
from university faculty and staff.
All students must check the course email site daily.
All students must have an activated Bobcats identification card. The Bobcat card is
required to use all library services, including the computer lab.
Rounding Policy: Rounding for this course will occur only with the final average
grade for the course. There will be no rounding of discussion grades, and other
written assignments during the semester. If the final course grade average to the
nearest tenth is .5 or more, the final course grade will be rounded up to the next
whole number (i.e. 88.5 would be rounded to 89) (i.e. 88.4 would not be rounded
up).
Request for Disability Modification – If you have a disability as described by the
Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, Section
504, you may be eligible to receive accommodations to assist in programmatic and
physical accessibility.
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Disability Services of the GC Office of Institutional Equity and Diversity can assist
you in formulating a reasonable accommodation plan and in providing support in
developing appropriate accommodations needed to ensure equal access to all GC
programs and facilities. Course requirements will not be waived but
accommodations may assist you in meeting the requirements. For documentation
requirements and for additional information, we recommend that you contact
Disability Services located in Maxwell Student Union at (478) 445-5931 or (478)
445-4233.
Any student requiring instructional modifications due to a documented disability
should make an appointment to meet with Carol J. Sapp RN, PhD within the first
week of classes. An official letter from GC documenting the disability is expected in
order to receive accommodations.
Interlibrary Loans – Students are encouraged to use the GC Library and the
interlibrary loan services http://www2.gcsu.edu/library/ill/ to obtain journal
articles relevant to this course.
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