University of Massachusetts - Boston (College of Nursing and Health Sciences)

The College of Nursing and Health Sciences (CNHS) offers undergraduate programs leading to a bachelor of science degree in nursing, and a bachelor of science degree in exercise and health sciences (EHS). The nursing program is accredited by the Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education (CCNE). The program admits both registered nurse students (RN) and students with no previous nursing education (PreLicensure), and accommodates full-time and part-time study.

The bachelor of science program in nursing offers qualified men and women an education in which nursing is viewed as a caring profession grounded in nursing theory, science and research, complemented by a sound humanities foundation.

Students in the College’s Exercise and Health Sciences Department receive an education combining the liberal arts with the technical aspects of professional disciplines. Graduates are equipped with a strong scientific background and the professional skills necessary to pursue careers in exercise and health sciences.
Student representatives are welcome voting members on all College of Nursing and Health Sciences committees. A very active Student Nurses Association (SNA) runs a successful mentoring program. The collegiality and professionalism that develops in our students makes them respected and knowledgeable professionals prepared for the challenges of a career and graduate education.

MISSION AND GOALS

The mission of the College of Nursing and Health Sciences is to educate professionals who are prepared to meet the nursing and exercise and health science needs of the citizens of Boston, the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, and the global community. We acknowledge a particular responsibility to address the needs of urban populations. The College develops and disseminates knowledge, and contributes service related to the disciplines of nursing and exercise and health sciences. The faculty, administration, staff and students of the College contribute to the realization of the mission by assuring the following:
1. Provide access to education in nursing and exercise and health sciences for students from diverse backgrounds.
2. Promote excellence and innovation in teaching, service and scholarship.
3. Provide public service related to nursing and exercise and health sciences.
4. Contribute to the economic development of the Commonwealth by helping to meet the health care industry’s need for well-educated and highly skilled nurses and exercise and health science professionals.
5. Improve the quality of life of individuals, families and communities by fostering good health and fitness, and by influencing health care policy.
6. Prepare graduates for participation in society as educated, socially responsible individuals.
7. Prepare graduates of the Bachelor of Science Program in Nursing for:
* entry into professional nursing practice
* master’s level study in nursing
8. Prepare graduates of the Bachelor of Science Program in Exercise and Health Sciences for:
* entry into the professions of exercise physiology, fitness management and healthcare
* master’s level study in the discipline of exercise and health sciences
9. Prepare graduates of the Master of Science Program in Nursing for:
* leadership roles as clinical nurse specialists and nurse practitioners, with advanced clinical preparation in family, adult, and gerontological nursing
* doctoral level study in nursing

BACHELOR OF SCIENCE IN NURSING

The bachelor of science degree awarded to graduates of the program is recognized by professional nursing organizations as the degree for entry into professional practice. UMass Boston nursing graduates are prepared to work with individuals, families, and groups in homes and neighborhoods, as well as in a wide variety of community and hospital settings to foster, maintain, and restore health. They are also prepared for further study at the graduate level. Graduates of the College of Nursing and Health Sciences are prepared to take the national examination for state licensure (NCLEX) as a Registered Professional Nurse (RN).

At the College of Nursing and Health Sciences, students work with faculty members distinguished for their achievements as educators, scholars, and practitioners -- dedicated men and women involved in the continual development of their own and their students' professional and intellectual interests. Many are conducting research in such areas as quality of life, health policy, and health care issues addressing urban populations. Faculty also are actively involved in service projects at the local, state, regional, national and international levels.

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College of Nursing and Health Sciences Nursing School Location

College of Nursing and Health Sciences Courses

STREETS MANAGEMENT
This course is designed to provide information and experience to help students better manage their own stress and, for those entering the helping professions, develop skill in sharing stress-management skills with others. The main focus will be on understanding how our thinking creates our experience, and on practicing use of the three steps to change: (1) being aware of our thinking; (2) making choices about our thinking; and (3) following the choices we make. ln addition, each student, in teams of two, will make a presentation on a stress-relieving activity.

PATHOPHYSIOLOGY
This course deals with alterations in the normal physiology of body structures. Discussion of the normal state is followed by the description of physiological changes that result in the symptoms of disease. Topics include the various body systems, such as cardiovascular, renal, respiratory, and endocrine.

HEALTH PROMOTION AND TEACHING
This general education course introduces students to the principles and practices of health promotion and health education. Students analyze environmental, sociocultural, economic, legal and interpersonal variables affecting individual health behaviors and outcomes. The influence of relation- ships among individuals, health care providers, and the health care system on health outcomes is evaluated. The course considers dominant models, theories, and perspectives used to explain health behavior in relation to evidence-based health promotion and health education strategies.

HEALTH ASSESSMENT
This course focuses on the complete health assessment, the first phase of the nursing process, and its relationship to the prevention and early detection of disease in clients across the life span. This course introduces the basic processes of health assessment: interviewing, history-taking, and physical assessment. Physical examination techniques are described as extensions of the observation process. The course emphasizes the importance of communication and collaboration across culturally diverse urban populations, and the concept of interdisciplinary assessment will also be stressed. Students develop critical thinking in the creation of nursing diagnoses, which form the basis for the planning of nursing care. The course includes a laboratory component complemented by self-directed computer- assisted instruction. Students perform actual physical examinations on healthy individuals in a laboratory setting, as well as on residents in designated health care facilities.

INTRODUCTION TO NURSING PRACTICE
This is the first clinical nursing course. ln it the learner acquires basic skills in critical thinking, as well as an understanding of the psychosocial and scientific basis of nursing care. ln a sub-acute clinical setting the student utilizes the nursing process while caring for adult clients' basic and special needs. There is an emphasis on professional standards and the uniqueness of the individual, especially recognizing the importance of cultural differences. Students acquire a beginning understanding of the health care system and the role of the nurse. Emphasis is placed on developing good written and oral communication skills and an understanding of the principles of client education.

LIFE SPAN GROWTH AND DEVELOPMENT
This course is designed to examine theories and concepts of normal growth and development. Ranges in human growth, development and behavior for each stage through- out the life cycle, birth through death, are emphasized. The course explores the influence of family, society and culture on health maintenance behaviors and perceived health needs for each developmental stage.

COMMUNICATION IN THE HEALTH PROFESSIONS
This course helps students develop critical and analytical skills through reading and writing. The readings, discussions, and writing assignments focus on health-related issues. The course offers practice in developing and expressing individual ideas with a firm sense of organization and style. Class meetings include both discussions and workshops. Please note: This course may count either as a humanities elective or as a free elective; it has no prerequisites.

TRANSITION TO BACCALAUREATE NURSING
This course focuses on the transition of registered nurses entering a baccalaureate nursing program. lssues include an introduction to health beliefs and values; research; nursing theories; problem solving techniques; and professional role development. RNs develop the skills necessary for success in a baccalaureate nursing program. The course structure is designed to promote student interaction and collaboration. This course is open only to RN nursing students. This course is to be taken by RNs before any other nursing course.

ADULT HEALTH I
This is the first of two courses centering on adult health nursing in the acute care setting. Adult Health Nursing I is the study of comprehensive complex nursing care aimed at promotion, restoration and maintenance of health in adults. The lecture portion of the course emphasizes the impact of health problems and the interaction of the environment and access on diverse urban adult populations. Students refine and expand their knowledge through the application of the nursing process and the integration of knowledge, concepts and theories from nursing, sciences, and general education courses. The focus is on nursing interventions for selected adult patients whose quality of life is affected by deviations from health. The clinical practicum occurs within acute care settings and provides the student with experience in content application, collaboration and critical thinking. In addition, students enhance their communication and teaching/learning skills by assuming a leadership role in the seminar portion of the course.

HEALTH CARE INFORMATICS
This course provides students with an introduction to the concepts of data acquisition, information management, and the processing of information as it generates knowledge for the application to health care delivery, education, and research in a global community. Students have the opportunity to access data, to interpret data, to plan and evaluate appropriate interventions based upon knowledge acquired electronically, and to communicate information electronically. Emphasis is given to the ethical and critical assessment of urban populations served by the University of Massachusetts Boston and the application of current and future electronic networks in multidisciplinary health care delivery.

PHARMACOLOGY
The professional, political, legal, and interdisciplinary aspects of drug administration within the context of comprehensive nursing interventions form the basis of this course. Emphasis is given to the nurse’s role in assessing, administering, educating, and monitoring patients receiving therapeutic agents; and also to the principles of pharmacodynamics and pharmacokinetics across the life span. Consideration is given to the effect of evidence-based cultural, race, religion, gender, lifestyle, age, and economic variables as related to pharmacological principles.

RESEARCH
This course provides an overview of the scientific research process and the place of the nurse in that process. The course focuses on basic research concepts and methods. The student is prepared to evaluate nursing research and analyze it for its applicability to nursing practice.

LEGAL, ETHICAL AND HEALTH POLICY ISSUES IN NURSING
This course provides a legal, ethical, and political approach to guide health professionals in socially responsible practice and collaboration within the changing health care environment. In addition, the course emphasizes critical analyses of contemporary urban health and policy issues affecting individuals across the life span. The course explores the impact of complex sociopolitical environments on the evolution and continuing reform of the health care system. Health issues and policies including communication, advocacy, and ethical concerns of access, quality, and cost are also examined.

MATERNITY AND WOMEN’S HEALTH NURSING
The focus of this clinical nursing course is on the normal pregnancy, labor, birth, recovery and quality of life in the childbearing phase of the lifecycle. Emphasis is given to the role of the nurse in providing comprehensive nursing interventions in family centered maternity care in urban settings. The course provides basic knowledge in maternal newborn nursing and women’s health with particular attention to psychosocial and multicultural factors. Communication, collaboration, and critical thinking are emphasized throughout the course.

MENTAL HEALTH NURSING
This course presents theoretical concepts of psychiatric mental health nursing to assist students in using the nursing process to improve quality of life by meeting the mental health care needs of diverse urban client systems. Complex nursing interventions, with special emphasis on communication, collaboration, and critical thinking are directed toward the prevention of mental illness and the promotion, maintenance, restoration and rehabilitation of mental health across the life span. The course also addresses the impact of larger social systems issues (cultural, legal-ethical, political, access, economic, and urban health policies) on psychiatric nursing practice.

PROFESSIONAL ISSUES IN NURSING
As the first nursing course in the RN-to-BS program, this course is designed to assist registered nurses to develop the skills necessary for university-level study and to explore issues that significantly influence the professional nursing practice. The course is also an intermediate seminar in the university’s General Education curriculum. As such, it places special emphasis on critical reading, writing, and thinking skills.

HEALTH ASSESSMENT AND PROMOTION
This course focuses on the complete health assessment, the nursing process, and its relationship to the prevention and early detection of disease in clients across the life span. This course introduces processes of health assessment: interviewing, historytaking, and physical assessment. Dominant models, theories, and perspectives are used to explain health behaviors and are considered in relation to evidence-based health promotion and health education strategies. Students are also expected to identify and apply pathophysiological principles to selected health issues across the lifespan. The course includes a laboratory component complemented by self-directed computer- assisted instruction. Incorporated throughout the course is the importance of communication and collaboration across culturally diverse urban populations.

NURSING RESEARCH & INFORMATICS
This course provides an overview of scientific research and nursing informatics. The course focuses on the interface of theory, research, and electronic technologies used in data acquisition, information management, and knowledge development. Emphasis is placed on ethical, theoretical, and methodological issues raised when studying and documenting the health-related quality of life of urban populations and on the application of electronic networks in multidisciplinary healthcare delivery.

INDEPENDENT STUDY
Students participate in ongoing research on clinical projects or expand and reinforce clinical knowledge and skills through specifically arranged experiences. This course may be taken by arrangement with individual Nursing Program faculty and approval of the department chair.

ADULT HEALTH NURSING II
This is the second of two courses centering on adult health nursing in the acute care setting. As in Adult Health Nursing I, the course emphasizes the impact of acute health problems on adult clients and families; the interaction of the environment and access on diverse and vulnerable urban populations is also considered. Students continue to perform comprehensive, complex nursing interventions to promote health and quality of life for the adult acutely ill patient; and to use the nursing process with adults with acute health problems. Critical thinking is encouraged as content is analyzed, synthesized, and evaluated. With the goal of delivering quality, cost-effective care to adults with acute health problems, empirical and theoretical knowledge bases for decisionmaking and information technology are employed. Students also focus on nursing’s collaborative role and the use of multiple strategies. Professional considerations relevant to the acute care setting include those reflecting legal-ethical issues and holistic care management.

NURSING CARE OF CHILDREN
This course is an introduction to pediatric nursing with emphasis on the common health problems of infants, children, and adolescents. While the course explores health promotion, restoration, maintenance, and disease prevention, it also elaborates on developmental, familial, and environmental factors which affect the health of children. In a clinical practicum, understanding of the role of a professional nurse evolves, as content is applied, and nursing process is utilized in providing care to children of diverse age groups.

NURSING LEADERSHIP AND MANAGEMENT
This course focuses on various leadership roles and management theories as they influence nursing practice. Conflict management, negotiation and planned change are studied. The leadership role of the nurse practicing in a collaborative managed care environment within a diverse urban community is examined. Case studies are used to promote problem solving and critical thinking requiring the application of theory to practice. Emphasis is also given to the creation of an environment in which comprehensive nursing interventions are utilized to optimize quality of life.

COMMUNITY HEALTH NURSING AND CAPSTONE
Community health nursing is a required course for both generic and registered nursing students. The course enables students to perform complex, comprehensive interventions designed to improve public and community health care in an evolving health care system. Nursing practice is directed toward effectively communicating and collaborating with diverse urban communities and health care infrastructures to deliver quality, cost-effective and accessible health care across the life span. Students utilize information technology to generate empirical and theoretical knowledge bases for decision-making, critical thinking, designing, and evaluating health care programs and outcomes. Emphasis is placed upon developing and advocating for programs to promote the health of vulnerable and diverse urban populations. Student determination and demonstration of accountability for self-directed learning is expected. Completion of the senior level pass/fail Capstone experience occurs during this course.

PREPARATION FOR PROFESSIONAL LICENSURE AND PRACTICE
This course prepares students who are in the final semester of the BS nursing curriculum to prepare for licensure as a registered nurse, to evaluate professional employment opportunities, and to self-assess their readiness for professional practice.

EVIDENCE-BASED NURSING PRACTICE
Evidence-based practice (EBP) refers to the use of the best available scientific findings to guide clinical decision-making. EBP optimizes the delivery of high-quality nursing care; ameliorates or eliminates adverse patient outcomes; and promotes the achievement of desired health outcomes. In this course, evidence will comprise single research studies, state-of-the-science summaries (including integrative research reviews and research-based clinical guidelines), as well as professional consensus statements. Students will assess websites as sources of evidence and as sources of action plans to promote EBP. Students will evaluate evidence for clinical practice and apply scientific findings to treat specific patient problems.

COMMUNITY HEALTH NURSING AND CAPSTONE FOR RNS
This course serves as the capstone course for registered nurses. The course enables students to perform complex, comprehensive interventions designed to improve public and community health care in the evolving health care system. Nursing practice is directed toward communicating effectively and working collaboratively with diverse urban communities and healthcare infrastructures to deliver quality, cost-effective, and accessible health across the life span. Students will utilize information technology to generate empirical and theoretical knowledge bases for decision-making, critical thinking, designing, and evaluation of health care programs and outcomes. Students will assess and demonstrate accountability for self-learning needs when engaged in developing and advocating for programs designed to promote the health of vulnerable and other diverse urban populations. Students will complete their senior year pass/fail capstone experience during this course.

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