Nursing Administration I: The Role of the Nurse Administrator – NURS 623

Course Description

The practicum course will provide the student an opportunity to explore the role of the nurse administrator within today’s health care organizations. Students will examine organizational structure, management theory, professional ethics, and policy, legal and ethical and regulatory issues as a foundation to create a culture of excellence, quality and safety. Students will examine decision making and the role of the nurse administrator within the context of political and power structures, the practice, institutional and physical environments of the organization and external factors.

An educational site affiliation agreement with a student selected approved facility is secured and a practicum contract is developed and established with an approved nurse leader preceptor prior to enrollment in this course; nursing administration/leadership practicum hours are initiated in NURS 623. Students must meet all pre-practicum requirements prior to enrollment in NURS 623; refer to Graduate Nursing Handbook for pre-practicum requirements.

For information regarding prerequisites for this course, please refer to the Academic Course Catalog.

Rationale

This course provides the student an opportunity to obtain an understanding of the role of the nurse administration in health care organizations. The student will have the opportunity to participate in practicum hours in a health care setting with an approved preceptor and apply management theory and professional, legal, ethical, and regulatory guidelines to managing nursing services. The course helps meet standards of graduate-level nursing education as articulated by the American Association of Colleges of Nursing (AACN) and the American Nurses Association’s (ANA) Scope and Standards for Nursing Administration.

Course Assignment

After reading the Course Syllabus and Student Expectations, the student will complete the related checklist found in the Course Overview.

Discussion boards are collaborative learning experiences. Therefore, the student is required to create a thread in response to the provided topic for each discussion. Each thread must be at least 500 words and demonstrate course-related knowledge. In addition to the thread, the student is required to reply to 2 other classmates’ threads. Each reply must be at least 250 words. For each thread, the student must support his/her assertions with at least 2 scholarly citations in current APA format. Each reply must cite at least 1 scholarly reference in current APA format. Acceptable sources include the textbooks, the Bible, and peer-reviewed journals published within the last 5 years.

The student must create 6 – 8 goals and objectives during this course to support the 200 hours of practicum using the American Nurses Association Scope and Standards of Practice for Nursing Administration text. This project is broken into 2 assignments: a draft and a final.

The Practicum/Clinical Log serves as documentation of the 200-hour practicum experience, 75 hours of which will be completed in this course. The documentation must be completed in Typhon. Instructions for setting up Typhon are found in the MSN handbook. The log must be comprehensive in details related to the experiences in the field and reflective of the American Nurses Association (ANA) Scope and Standards of Practice for Nurse Administrator’s competencies. The log entries must be analytical with examples of how the student has applied the ANA competencies and readings from the texts and professional literature in the practicum setting. The student is expected to work on practicum hours every week upon final approval of the Practicum Goals and Objectives.

Note: In addition to accruing the required number of practicum hours, there must be a passing grade for the practicum experience which includes progression with the student’s established goals and objectives, an in-depth documentation of the practicum experiences as evidenced in the clinical log, and satisfactory preceptor evaluations. Failure to pass the practicum requirements will result in failure of the course; see the MSN Handbook for practicum expectations related to performance and professionalism.

The student must write a 6 – 10-page, research-oriented paper in current APA format that focuses on a professional practice model. The paper must include at least 5 references published within the last 5 years in addition to the course textbooks and the Bible. The paper must be submitted through Turnitin.

The student must write a 6 – 10-page research-oriented paper in current APA format that focuses on the role of emotional intelligence in nursing leadership. The paper must include at least 5 references published within the last 5 years in addition to the course textbooks and the Bible. The paper must be submitted through Turnitin.

This presentation must focus on the Scope and Standards of Nursing Administration as set forth by the American Nurses Association (ANA). You must discuss the function of each practice standard as it relates to creating a culture of quality and safety for patients, staff, and others; a supportive professional practice environment; and a culture that supports legal, ethical, and regulatory considerations.

The student will choose either a video or narrated presentation as their medium. The length of the presentation will be 20-25 minutes. All written portions will be in APA format.

Professional Portfolio

The ability to effectively and concisely represent your work experience, education, skillset, and leadership in a Curriculum Vitae (CV) will serve you both in the creation of your Professional Portfolio and as a growing professional seeking new employment or advancement.

The preceptor will complete an evaluation of the student at the end of the practicum experience. The evaluation will be sent electronically over a secured server through Typhon to the preceptor. The instructor will retain the preceptor evaluation and may review with the student upon request. Refer to the MSN Student Handbook for important detailed information.

The student will complete a self-evaluation, an evaluation of the practicum site, and an evaluation of the preceptor.

All evaluations must be completed and submitted as directed. Failure to submit any of the end-of-course evaluations will result in a final course grade of an “incomplete.” The student will be unable to progress to the next practicum course until the grade of “incomplete” is resolved.

Quiz: Self-Evaluation

The student will complete a self-evaluation of his/her practicum experiences using the provided form.

Quiz: Site and Preceptor Evaluation

The student will complete an evaluation of the site and preceptor for his/her practicum experience using the form provided. This document must be shared with the preceptor.

Preceptor Evaluation

The preceptor will complete an evaluation of the student at the end of the practicum experience. The instructor will electronically send the evaluation to the preceptor via a secured server through Typhon.