Adult Gerontology Primary Care Nurse Practitioner: Theory I

Catalog description

This course is the first of three-course series designed to develop sophisticated knowledge and skills relevant to the delivery of primary care to adolescents, young adults, middle-aged and older adults including age-changes across the adult lifespan. Students engage in guided clinical decision-making for the role of the nurse practitioner in management of common health problems across a variety of settings. Discussion of health problems includes assessment in the form of history and physical examination skills, determination of a differential diagnosis, formation of a management plan in collaboration with physicians and other health care providers, evaluation of the management plan, determination of the need for appropriate follow-up, revision of the management plan as necessary, and identification of referrals to other health care providers and community services. Guest lectures, readings, and assignments emphasize the critical nature of interdisciplinary practice necessary for interprofessional collaboration in primary care. Students are expected to have prior and concurrent knowledge of anatomy, physiology, history and physical assessment skills, pharmacology, and basic principles of primary care as well as evidence-based practice and scientific inquiry for critique and discussion.