NURS 241 Medical/Surgical Nursing - Acute Illnesses I (5 credits)

1. Apply multiple dimensions of patient-centered care for the individuals with acute illnesses across the lifespan including disease pathophysiology and pharmacology.
2. Evaluate the contributions of others on the healthcare team in helping patient/family achieve health goals.
3. Analyze the role of evidence in determining best clinical practice for patients with acute deviations in all body systems.
4. Use data to monitor the quality of patient care processes.  
5. Describe the impact of national patient safety resources, initiatives and regulations on positive patient outcomes.  
6. Utilize information and technological skills that are essential for safe patient care.

1. Patient-centered care:  Recognize the patient or designee as the source of control and full partner in providing compassionate and coordinated care based on respect for patient’s preferences, values, and needs.
2. Teamwork and collaboration:  Function effectively within nursing and inter-professional teams, fostering open communication, mutual respect, and shared decision-making to achieve quality patient care.
3. Evidence-based practice:  Integrate best current evidence with clinical expertise and patient/family preferences and values for delivery of optimal health care.
4. Quality improvement:  Use data to monitor the outcomes of care processes and use improvement methods to design and test changes to continuously improve the quality and safety of health care systems.
5. Safety:  Minimizes risk of harm to patients and providers through both system effectiveness and individual performance.
6. Informatics:  Use information and technology to communicate, manage knowledge, mitigate error, and support decision-making.

Core Abilities

• Information Competency: Graduates will be able to seek, find, evaluate and use information, and employ information technology to engage in lifelong learning.