Nursing Honors Program I

Catalog description

Nursing Honors I: Exposure: This is the first of three honors courses in the Decker School of Nursing (DSON) Honors Program. The DSON Honors Program is designed to enrich the educational experience for highly motivated undergraduate nursing students and prepare them for future roles as leaders and scholars in nursing. The emphasis of this course is exposure to the nursing profession, which will be followed by deeper exploration in Nursing Honors II, and an immersion experience in Nursing Honors III. Honors I exposes learners to the vast possibilities in nursing and encourages them to pursue their particular interests and aspirations. Using a socio-ecological approach, this course will guide the learner to examine factors that influence both professional nursing practice and the health outcomes of populations served. Honors students will consider the core values of the profession including social justice, cultural competency, ethical behavior, and scholarly inquiry; and the importance of bringing these values to bear in caring for individuals, families, and communities. Students will explore the multiple roles that encompass professional nursing practice as well as the numerous clinical practice sites available to the professional nurse. Opportunities will be provided for the student to interact with nurse scholars and leaders in higher education, healthcare organizations, and community settings to acquire a deeper understanding of the scope of nursing practice. Honors students will also examine the structure of the healthcare system and the delivery of health services from a local to global perspective. Students will have the opportunity to visit a variety of community agencies to broaden their views about how professional nursing contributes to the entire spectrum of healthcare. As a key learning component in this course, students will engage in a myriad of professional and interdisciplinary activities both on- and off-campus and will share these experiences in discussion seminars. Prerequisites: Admission process, NURS 320, 321, 322, 351.