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Online MSN FNP Program Requirements

Curriculum Details

49 TOTAL CREDITS REQUIRED

The 24 FNP classes required for the MSN Family (Individual Across the Lifespan) Nurse Practitioner program prepares you to be a clinical expert who is ready to guide and motivate patients to make healthier life choices. Carlow’s comprehensive FNP program curriculum ensures you’ll be ready to provide preventative healthcare and restore wellness in non-acute settings for individuals and groups.

The coursework uses an evidence-based, scholar-practitioner model, which fosters teamwork and collaboration, and includes 600 hours of clinical experience and a brief, hands-on residency on Carlow’s campus. Through the MSN FNP program, you’ll be qualified to sit for the AANP or ANCC national board certification in a shorter amount of time than you would in a Doctor of Nursing Practice program while still gaining meaningful education for the later pursuit of an advanced degree. Once you complete the FNP program requirements, you’ll be a confident and competent family health provider.

Core Courses

Credits

This course is an advanced level course in pathophysiological functioning in human organisms. The focus will be on the central concepts of pathophysiology at the cellular, tissue, and program levels. Elements of related supportive and therapeutic management across the lifespan will also be discussed.

This graduate level writing course will help the student refine writing skills from the fundamentals of writing through argumentation. Through a series of small writing assignments, this course will prepare the student for scholarly writing and research.

This course will focus on the advanced practice role as it relates to practice in a primary care setting, or women’s health setting. Topics will include the multifaceted aspects of legal and financial issues related to advanced practice; nurse to nurse practitioner to physician role differentiation; how advanced practice nurses manage care provision to individuals and families; and special issues in the community.

Theory and techniques in the measurement of human health, development, and level of functioning will be presented. Clinical practice in obtaining health histories, conducting physical examinations, making physical measurements, and testing functioning in individuals across the lifespan will be included. Common diagnostic tests will be used to identify pathologic variations and to initiate intervention(s). Clinical experiences will take place in clinics located in rural and medically underserved areas.

Prerequisite NU 741; Co-requisite: NU 7451.

The student will apply techniques in the measurement of human health, development, and level of functioning in the clinical setting. The student will gain clinical practice in obtaining health histories, conducting physical examinations, making physical measurements, and testing functioning in individuals across the lifespan.

Co-requisite: NU 745.

Students will be introduced to the diagnostic testing modalities including but not limited to: Radiographs, Laboratory Values, Suturing, Extremity Splinting/Casting, Joint injections. Students will participate in learning modules and simulation module activities in order to achieve course objectives. Diagnostic techniques, procedures, and results will be used to formulate Differential Diagnosis for plan of care development and implementation.

Prerequisites: NU741, NU742; Co-requisites: NU745, NU7451

Using a problem-­based approach to symptoms, students will be introduced to the diagnostic framework, algorithms, and terminology that will allow them to move from symptom to diagnosis. Evidence-­‐based diagnosis will focus on the accuracy of the health history and sensitivity of the physical exam, laboratory studies and tests to “rule in” or “rule out” specific diseases. Students will learn the importance of formulating clinical impressions that lead to hypothesis testing in the care of patients across the lifespan.

Prerequisites: NU741, NU742; Co-­requisites: NU745, NU7451

This course examines the ethical, moral, and legal accountability and professional responsibility for nurse leaders, nurse educators and advanced practice nurses (APN). Ethical leadership and the roles of the leaders, nurse educators and APN as it relates to social justice, technology and business, research, and advanced practice specialty areas will be explored. The regulatory and legal framework for leaders, nurse educators, and APNs scope of practice will be addressed. Ethical reasoning, decision making, and action will be applied.

This course will study the interaction of chemicals with living systems across the lifespan. It explores decision-­‐making processes that identify concepts, and principles that illuminate the importance, meaning, and rationale for using one drug over another. Builds on knowledge of drugs, pathophysiology, and disease states across the lifespan.

Prerequisite or co-requisite: NU 741.

This course focuses on theoretical foundations and conceptual principles of leadership, professional collaboration, communications, and the skills necessary to practice leadership competently in healthcare environments, recognizing that organizational and systems leadership are critical to the promotion of high quality and safe patient care. Key concepts including ethical and critical decision making, motivation and individual behavior, interpersonal and group behavior, job satisfaction, work stress and culture, and influences of micro-, meso-, and macro-organizational behaviors are explored. The course is designed to enhance leadership self-awareness and to encourage students to fashion personal perspectives on how to lead professionally. Analyzing trends and issues in the current health care system that have implications for exercising leadership will help students determine the way they can make a difference.

This course, the first in two sequential clinical courses in primary care, addresses the health care needs of adults across the lifespan from early adulthood through senescence. It introduces the student to acute and chronic common health concerns. Emphasis is placed on the collaborative management of patients to achieve desired outcomes. Students use scholarly inquiry to further develop their practice. Evidenced­‐based research as related to normal and high-­risk populations.

Prerequisites: NU 741, NU 742, NU 745, NU 7451; Co-requisite: NU 7461

The focus of each of these courses is the management of acute and chronic health problems and the planning and management of both nursing and medical care by the advanced practice nurse. Particular emphasis will be placed on high‐risk groups and individuals living in medically underserved populations. Students will complete four clinical credits in primary care (NU 7461, NU 7471) prior to completing one clinical credit in pediatrics (NU 7511), women’s health (NU 7521), and community (NU7151) settings. Each credit will require 75 hours of clinical practice. Clinical practice courses must be completed either in the same semester with the corresponding theory course or within the next term. 1 credit (75 clinical hours) with the exception of community (NU7151) which will be completed prior to the pediatric and women’s health specialty clinicals.

This course focuses on quality, informatics, and the role of statistics in quality improvement. Concepts, models, and strategies of quality improvement and informatics are examined. Students will apply principles of quality and regulatory management with an emphasis on defining, measuring, and evaluating outcomes within and across organizational systems. The student will apply informatics and statistical concepts to identify, gather, process, and manage information/data. At the end of the course, the student will be able to create and implement innovative solutions to improve patient care and safety.

This course, the second in two sequential clinical courses in primary care, addresses the health care needs of adults across the lifespan from early adulthood through senescence. It introduces the student to acute and chronic common health concerns. Emphasis is placed on the collaborative management of patients to achieve desired outcomes. Students use scholarly inquiry to further develop their practice. Evidenced-­based research as related to normal and high-­risk populations.

Prerequisites: NU 741, NU 742, NU 745, NU 745, NU 7451, NU 746, NU 7461; Co-requisite: NU 7471

The focus of each of these courses is the management of acute and chronic health problems and the planning and management of both nursing and medical care by the advanced practice nurse. Particular emphasis will be placed on high-­risk groups and individuals living in medically underserved populations. Students will complete four clinical credits in primary care (NU 7461, NU 7471) prior to completing one clinical credit in pediatrics (NU 7511), women’s health (NU 7521), and community (NU 7151) settings. Each credit will require 75 hours of clinical practice. Clinical practice courses must be completed either in the same semester with the corresponding theory course or within the next term. 1 credit (75 clinical hours) with the exception of community (NU7151) which will be completed prior to the pediatric and women’s health specialty clinicals.

This FNP focused research course provides a review of elementary research concepts and the introduction of moderate to advanced research concepts. Students will identify pertinent clinical problems, review the literature regarding those problems, and formulate a plan to address clinical problems using evidenced-­‐based sources and appropriate statistical methods. Students will compose a rudimentary clinically-­‐based research proposal for continuation in subsequent graduate level courses. This course fulfills the graduate assessment requirement for writing.

This course introduces economic concepts and current policy issues facing the United States health care system. Issues of cost, quality, access, disparities, and finance will be examined from the view of payers, providers, and regulators, and the interactions of these stakeholders both within the United States and in comparison with global markets. Topics will include various health care markets, the role of government in financing of health care, the structure and functions of public and private health insurance, economic components of the delivery system, and understanding the challenges of health care reform.

This graduate level course addresses health risks and trends in communities and in families. High-risk populations, aggregates, and communities comprise the focus for investigation. Developmental, psychodynamic, social-political, and cultural theories and concepts are synthesized and applied to analysis of health behaviors in community settings and in families across the life cycle. Risk appraisal methods and evidence-based strategies to identify and prevent health risks in individuals, families, and communities are examined. This course highlights local, state, and federal resources for families, particularly those individuals in medically underserved areas.

The purpose of this course is to prioritize management strategies and apply selected practice models for delivery of care to families across the lifespan, in a variety of community specialties. The focus of this course is to provide the student with opportunities to integrate in depth diagnostic and management skills to provide care for families. The emphasis of this course is on the formulation and management of individualized treatment plans based on diagnostic findings and current practice models.

Prerequisite: NU741, NU742, NU745, NU7451, NU746, NU7461

The focus of this course is the management of acute and chronic health problems in women’s and reproductive health. It will incorporate planning and management of both nursing and medical care by the advanced practice nurse. Particular emphasis will be placed on high-­‐risk groups and individuals living in medically underserved populations.

The focus of each of these one-credit courses is the management of acute and chronic health problems and the planning and management of both nursing and medical care by the advanced practice nurse. Particular emphasis will be placed on high-risk groups and individuals living in medically underserved populations. Students will complete two clinical credits in primary care (NU 7501, NU 7502) prior to completing one clinical credit in pediatrics (NU 7511), women’s health (NU 7521), geriatrics (NU 7531) and urgent care (NU 7541) settings. Each credit will require 75 hours of clinical practice. Clinical practice courses must be completed either in the same semester with the corresponding theory course or within the next term. 1 credit (75 clinical hours) for each of the six courses

Pre- or co-requisites: NU 750 FOR NU 7501 and NU 7502; students must take NU 751 with or prior to taking NU 7511; students must take NU 752 with or prior to taking NU 7521; students must take NU 753 with or prior to taking NU 7531; students must take NU 754 with or prior to taking NU 7541

The focus of this course is the management of acute and chronic health problems in the pediatric population. It will incorporate planning and management of both nursing and medical care by the advanced practice nurse. Particular emphasis will be placed on high-­‐risk groups and individuals living in medically underserved populations.

Prerequisites: NU 746, NU 7461, NU 747, NU7471.

The focus of each of these courses is the management of acute and chronic health problems and the planning and management of both nursing and medical care by the advanced practice nurse. Particular emphasis will be placed on high-‐risk groups and individuals living in medically underserved populations. Students will complete four clinical credits in primary care (NU 7461, NU 7471) prior to completing one clinical credit in pediatrics (NU 7511), women’s health (NU 7521), and community (NU 7151) settings. Each credit will require 75 hours of clinical practice. Clinical practice courses must be completed either in the same semester with the corresponding theory course or within the next term. 1 credit (75 clinical hours) with the exception of community (NU7151) which will be completed prior to the pediatric and women’s health specialty clinicals.

Course description coming soon.

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