Associate in Applied Science in Nursing

The future: the only constant is change. The only certainty is uncertainty. So how do you prepare today for what might come tomorrow? In this introductory, interdisciplinary course unique to Excelsior University, you will learn through questions, not answers. You will challenge your prior assumptions, open your mind, and consider society s future dilemmas, progress, and crises. You will plan and question your own future your educational path, career trajectories, personal interests, ambitions, and mindsets. And you will build the foundational skills and flexibility of mind research and writing, critical thinking, argumentative reasoning, metacognition, and self-regulation to help you navigate the uncertainty and change of our future societies, workplaces, and selves. Note: This course must be completed with a grade of C or higher. Registration in this course is restricted to incoming students with fewer than 60 transfer credits. This course duplicates IND301 and CCS120. Credit for only one of these courses will be applied toward graduation. The Cornerstone cannot be completed in the same term as a Capstone course.

Information literacy is the ability to find, evaluate, interpret, and use information legally, ethically, and effectively. This course provides a broad overview of information literacy concepts, including the differences between academic and popular research methods, finding and evaluating sources, reading sources critically, writing with sources, and safely navigating information networks such as the internet. Students must complete information literacy within their first 13 credits at Excelsior.

This course offers an introduction to the major concepts, theoretical perspectives, research methods, and scholarship in sociology. Sociology is the scientific study of human social behavior, and this course examines several important sociological topics, including: culture; socialization; deviance; social inequality; social institutions; and social change. This course also explores various socio-historical and socio-cultural frameworks across the world, promoting an appreciation for unique cultural identities and institutions. Students will improve their analysis, understanding and interpretation of contemporary social issues in this rapidly changing world. This course encourages the practice of "doing" sociology through exploration of students' everyday social world, and the often invisible and taken-for-granted social forces that shape it.

The goal of this course is to help students develop mathematical reasoning and problem solving skills that will serve them well in their lives both in and out of school. Topics will include the important real-world applications of measurement units, managing money, statistics in the media, the mathematics of voting, and mathematics in the arts and nature. Providing correct solutions to routine problems is not the goal; more important is the ability to communicate effectively about mathematical reasoning and to solve realistic, practical problems both collaboratively with other students and individually. This is a survey course introducing the student to a variety of mathematical topics. It does not prepare a student for future courses that require a knowledge of algebra (e.g. PreCalculus or Statistics).

This class provides students with foundational knowledge and skills to prepare them for academic and professional writing. By analyzing the work of other writers, students will learn to approach writing from a rhetorical and genre-based perspective. They will practice sentence- and paragraph-level writing, learning to revise and correct their own work. They will also work on finding, documenting, and effectively integrating sources into a research-based essay. Both traditional (textual) and multimodal (textual and visual) composition will be addressed.

This course focuses on the structure and function of the human body. Topics and body systems that will be studied include: the chemistry of life, histology and the integumentary system, skeletal and articulation system, muscular system, nervous system, sensory system and the endocrine system.

This course introduces the science of lifespan development and the concept of human growth as being a product of the interaction among the biology, psychology, and environment of the individual. This course examines the physical, cognitive, psychosocial, and environment factors across the lifespan. Students will explore, analyze, and present theories and evidence associated with developmental science from conception through death. Concepts learned in this course can be applied to any career focusing on health or human services and can help learners raise healthier children and live in more functional families. 

This course focuses on the structure and function of the human body. Topics and body systems that will be studied include: blood, the cardiovascular system, lymphatic and immune system, respiratory system, digestive system, nutrition and metabolism, urinary system and fluid balance, and reproductive systems.

This course helps students to develop their skill as public speakers and oral communicators. Designed to provide students with a supportive environment where they can  overcome the anxiety they may feel about public speaking, the class emphasizes techniques and practices for effective speech construction and delivery. Students will also develop critical thinking and listening skills. Students taking this course will need access to recording equipment for the purpose of creating podcasts, voiced-over PowerPoint presentations and videotaped speeches.

This content focuses on the use of nursing process to provide and manage patient-centered care for persons across the lifespan. Patient teaching is discussed. Documenting and reporting nursing care and the use of informatics in health care are presented. The concepts of health promotion, maintenance, obtaining a health history, and the techniques of physical assessment are presented. Attention to safe and effective care with respect to environmental safety needs, emergency preparedness, use of restraints, infection control, and the prevention and management of pressure injury is explored. Pharmacology, safe medication administration and related nursing care are also addressed. Safe use of the nursing process is fundamental in this course. All the skills labs in this course must be successfully completed with a satisfactory grade of Complete to pass this course, regardless of the course numeric grade. Skills labs are graded as Satisfactory (Complete) or Unsatisfactory (Incomplete). Students must purchase one skills kit (available in the bookstore) for use in the NUR 104 and NUR 105 course. Items within them are necessary for students to use during their application of nursing clinical skills assignments for evaluation and feedback by the course instructor.

This content focuses on the application of the nursing process to support nursing judgment for the provision of evidence-based, patient-centered care. Patient-centered care addressing the promotion of health and achievement of optimal outcomes for patients experiencing common health problems related to nutrition, elimination, oxygenation, fluid, and electrolyte balance, mobility, activity, sleep, and rest is presented in this content. Knowledge of anatomy and physiology and the nursing process is used to support nursing judgment. Ethical and legal implications along with evidence-based standards of nursing practice are presented in relation to safe, quality nursing care for patients and families across the lifespan. All the skills labs in this course must be successfully completed with a satisfactory grade of Complete to pass this course, regardless of the course numeric grade. Skills labs are graded as Satisfactory (Complete) or Unsatisfactory (Incomplete). Students must purchase one skills kit (available in the bookstore) for use in the NUR 104 and NUR 105 course. Items within them are necessary for students to use during their application of nursing clinical skills assignments for evaluation and feedback by the course instructor.

This introductory course focuses on the competencies and core values inherent in the role of the Registered Professional Nurse. Collaboration with interprofessional healthcare team members is presented. Assignment, delegation, and supervision responsibilities of the Registered Professional Nurse, as well as legal influences, ethics, and scope of practice are explored. 

This content focuses on the application of the nursing process to support nursing judgment for the provision of patient-centered care. The foundations of nursing practice include the care of culturally diverse patients experiencing health problems related to discomfort, pain, and sensory impairment. Growth and development and its relationship to health, injury prevention, illness, and continuity of care in a variety of settings are studied. Chronic illness, disability, and end of life needs, as well as pertinent ethical, legal, and regulatory requirements and the standards of professional nursing practice are addressed. Concepts and theories from the natural and social sciences are applied while caring for patients and families across the lifespan. 

This content focuses on the application of the nursing process to support nursing clinical judgment and patient-centered care in reproductive health across the lifespan. A variety of reproductive health conditions and problems are presented including current topics in reproductive health, male and female reproductive disorders, childbearing, congenital anomalies, genetic disorders, and an introduction to newborn and pediatric health. Evidence-based, culturally sensitive nursing care, standards of professional nursing practice, as well as ethical, legal, and regulatory requirements are addressed. Principles, concepts, and theories from the natural and social sciences in relation to safe, quality nursing care are applied to patients and their families across the lifespan. The laboratory component is a practice experience using virtual simulation patients included in the required resource for the course. All the laboratory requirements in this course must be successfully completed with a satisfactory grade of Complete to pass this course, regardless of the course numeric grade. Skills labs are graded as Satisfactory (Complete) or Unsatisfactory (Incomplete).

This requirement focuses on the application of the nursing process to support nursing judgment and the provision of patient-centered care for patients with acute and chronic cardiovascular and respiratory health problems, impaired blood cell formation, and abnormal cell growth. Evidence-based, culturally sensitive nursing care, standards of professional nursing practice, as well as ethical, legal, and regulatory requirements are addressed. The natural and social sciences are applied to the delivery of quality nursing care for patients and families across the life span. The laboratory component is a practice experience using virtual simulation patients included in the required resource for the course. All the laboratory requirements in this course must be successfully completed with a satisfactory grade of Complete to pass this course, regardless of the course numeric grade. Skills labs are graded as Satisfactory (Complete) or Unsatisfactory (Incomplete).

This course focuses on the application of the nursing process to support judgement and the provision of patient-centered care. A wide variety of health problems are presented. These include mental health disorders, cognitive impairment, diabetes mellitus, and dysfunction of endocrine, hepatic, biliary, renal, and pancreatic systems. Evidence-based, culturally sensitive nursing care, standards of professional nursing practice, as well as ethical, legal, and regulatory requirements are addressed. The application of anatomy and physiology, microbiology, and social science concepts is essential for the provision of safe quality patient care. The laboratory component is a practice experience using virtual simulation patients included in the required resource for the course. All the laboratory requirements in this course must be successfully completed with a satisfactory grade of Complete to pass this course, regardless of the course numeric grade. Skills labs are graded as Satisfactory (Complete) or Unsatisfactory (Incomplete). 

This course focuses on the application of the nursing process to support nursing judgment for the provision of care for persons with health problems related to infectious and communicable diseases, tissue trauma, neurological dysfunction, and musculoskeletal disorders. Content areas include immune function, chain of infection, perioperative nursing, neuromuscular functional assessment, and musculoskeletal disorders. Health problems such as HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis, hepatitis, degenerative diseases, stroke, and trauma are highlighted. Evidence-based, culturally sensitive nursing care, standards of professional nursing practice, as well as ethical, legal, and regulatory requirements are addressed. Principles, concepts, and theories from the natural and social sciences in relation to safe quality nursing care are applied to clients and families across the lifespan. The laboratory component is a practice experience using virtual simulation patients included in the required resource for the course. All the laboratory requirements in this course must be successfully completed with a satisfactory grade of Complete to pass this course, regardless of the course numeric grade. Skills labs are graded as Satisfactory (Complete) or Unsatisfactory (Incomplete). 

In this clinical course, students focus on the application of contemporary competencies and practice guidelines for the delivery of safe, quality patient care. Laboratory experiences provide opportunities for further development of nursing judgment applicable to the clinical environment. Students provide direct care for patients across the lifespan who are experiencing non-critical medical-surgical conditions in the acute care setting. A satisfactory grade in the clinical experience is required to pass the course, regardless of the course numeric grade. The laboratory component is a practice experience using virtual simulation patients included in the required resource for the course. Other lab experiences include pre-post clinical briefings and synchronous lab(s). A satisfactory grade in the laboratory components of this course is required to pass the course, regardless of the course numeric grade.

In this interdisciplinary course, students will develop the analytical skills necessary to examine ethical issues in the workplace. Students explore conventional ethical theories and principles, develop ethical decision-making, and resolve common dilemmas. Students discuss the multiple challenges faced by professionals and identify ethical practices or codes that apply to each of their own professions.

The course is designed for students to apply competencies for contemporary nursing practice. Assessment Technologies Institute (ATI) products for NCLEX preparation are integrated throughout the course, including Comprehensive and Content Mastery Assessments that focus on nursing fundamentals, adult medical-surgical, pharmacology, pediatric, newborn and women's health, mental health, and leadership. Emphasis is placed on remediation to strengthen areas of weakness identified through practice assessments. Students will participate in four NCLEX Success Sessions, which emphasize content knowledge, clinical judgment, professional values, and comprehensive NCLEX preparation. The course includes a laboratory component for group collaboration, demonstrating teamwork, intraprofessional collaboration, and understanding medical emergencies. Additionally, students must complete a mandatory pediatric practice experience with a community partner addressing pediatric healthcare needs. Failure to complete and submit mandatory course components will result in failing the course.

In this clinical course, students will further develop their role as a member of the profession and continue to prepare for professional nursing practice. Emphasis is on advanced skills, knowledge, judgment, professional values, and NCLEX preparation. This course includes a laboratory and a dynamic clinical experience caring for multiple patients in a healthcare facility. Students are scheduled for clinical experiences and are required to travel to a clinical site during the course term. The course integrates the following products from Assessment Technologies Institute (ATI) for NCLEX preparation: the Virtual ATI series. These activities are mandatory. Satisfactory grades in all components of the course: didactics, lab, clinical experience, and Virtual-ATI are required to receive a grade in the course.