Family Nurse Practitioner II – NURS 744
CG • Section 8WK • 07/01/2018 to 12/31/2199 • Modified 09/21/2022
Course Description
This practicum course continues to build on the skills obtained in NURS 743. The student will continue to develop the role of nurse practitioner in the primary care setting focusing on assessment and management of chronic and more complex acute care health problems across the lifespan. The student should manage episodic and follow up visits for chronic health and complex acute care issues. The student should demonstrate evidence based practice behaviors and adhere to standards of care to order and interpret diagnostic tests, prescribe therapeutics, and develop a plan of care to manage disease states or conditions under the guidance of the preceptor. The student should provide physical, psychosocial, and spiritual care to the individuals, and families through the integration of ethnicity, culture, and community.
For information regarding prerequisites for this course, please refer to the Academic Course Catalog.
Rationale
The FNP practicum courses provide the context and framework through which, upon completion of the post-BSN to DNP/FNP program, the nursing student will be prepared to enter the professional role of the Family Nurse Practitioner. This course helps to meet the required minimum of 1000 post-BSN clinical hours that include a minimum of 500 population-focused direct patient care hours in order to be eligible to sit for at least one nationally recognized certification (ANCC, 2006; NTF, 2016) and the Liberty University School of Nursing, minimum of 616 Family Nurse Practitioner practicum hours.
Course Assignment
Textbook Readings and Lecture Presentations
Course Requirements Checklist
After reading the Course Syllabus and Student Expectations, the student will complete the related checklist found in the Course Overview.
Discussion
Discussions are collaborative learning experiences. Therefore, there is one discussion case that affords the student the opportunity to analyze and apply ethically sound solutions to issues in FNP professional practice. The student will post one thread and then post 2
replies. For the thread, the student must support their assertions with at least 2 scholarly citations in APA current edition format. Each reply must incorporate at least 2 scholarly citation(s) in APA current edition format. Any sources cited must have been published within the last five years. Acceptable sources include the course textbook, scholarly, peer-reviewed articles, and the Bible.
School of Nursing Handbook Acknowledgement Assignment
The School of Nursing handbook provides essential information for the successful completion of the student's program requirements. This quiz will take the student to the link for your program handbook, and he/she will be asked to agree to the School of Nursing Handbook Acknowledgement.
Practicum Hours, Schedule, and Verification Assignments (3)
Practicum Hours: During NURS 744 FNP Practicum I, the student is required to complete 112 hours providing direct patient care under the supervision of the practicum preceptor. NURS 744 FNP Practicum adheres to the practicum guidelines and requirements set forth in the current Liberty University Doctor of Nursing Practice Student Handbook. The student will submit the Practicum Hours, Tracking, Record, and Verification Form completed to the Quiz: Practicum Hours, Tracking, Record, and Verification at the conclusion of the course.
Practicum Schedule: The student is required to enter his/her practicum schedule into the InPlace Student Scheduling System the first week of practicum. The student must maintain an up-to-date schedule.
Practicum Hour Verification: The student is required to maintain a preceptor-verified, log documenting practicum hours for each Practicum Course that will become a part of the student’s permanent academic record (DNP Practicum Tracking Record). Failure to maintain signed Practicum Tracking Record verifying practicum hours will result in an Incomplete for the Practicum Course and the student will not be permitted to progress to the subsequent Practicum Course. The signed Practicum Tracking Record is submitted to the Canvas Assignment Submission Link.
Practicum Objective Assignments (3)
The Practicum Objectives Assignments afford the student the opportunity to develop measurable practicum learning objectives that are consistent with the practicum focus, evaluate progress toward meeting practicum objectives, and identify opportunities for clinical improvement and subsequently develop a plan to improve clinical skills.
Practicum Objective Assignments include:
- Practicum Objectives: SMART Objectives for Practicum Assignment
- Practicum Objectives: Midterm Assignment
- Practicum Objectives: End-of-Term Assignment
Case Log Requirements & Attestation Assignments (2)
Submission of a practicum log for each patient encounter into the InPlace system is a mandatory requirement of the practicum course. Each student is responsible for maintaining his or her own practicum logs. All patient encounters, whether seen independently, in collaboration with preceptor, or as observation, require an entry into InPlace. Every entry will include demographic information for each patient, level of student participation, and level of care. The student is required to select three patient encounters on each practicum day to write an abbreviated SOAP note. The remaining patient encounters will be entered as clinical summaries. Practicum Faculty will review practicum logs on a weekly basis and offer feedback. The student is expected to respond to feedback and make corrections as recommended.
Faculty will review practicum logs at the midterm and at the end of the semester looking for completeness and revision of logs and award points for completed logs. Please see the Practicum/Clinical Log Grading Rubric.
SOAP notes must be entered within one week of the clinical experience or practicum suspension may result. Late submissions may not be accepted and Practicum days without associated InPlace logs will not count toward the Practicum hours required for the course.
Center for Disease Control Module Assignments (8)
The CDC has published a guideline for prescribing opioids for chronic pain and provides training and continuing education for primary care prescribers. The student will register for a free CDC Training and Continuing Education (TCE) Online account and complete required CDC Modules. Once complete, the student will submit their individual Certificates of Completion to the corresponding submission link for credit.
Practicum Reflection Presentation Assignments (2)
The student will prepare a Practicum Reflection Presentation according to the assignment rubric to present during the scheduled Practicum Reflection Presentation Meeting during the assigned module: weeks. Practicum Reflection Presentations will be submitted to the assignment submission link. Student will develop a 4-slide PowerPoint presentation prepared in current APA format using excellent grammar, spelling, and syntax.
Practicum Reflection Presentation: Midterm Assignment: Submit Practicum Reflection Presentation to assignment submission link after participating in the Practicum Reflection Presentation MS Teams meeting of the same module: week.
Practicum Reflection Presentation: End-of-Term Assignment: Submit Practicum Reflection Presentation to assignment submission link after participating in the Practicum Reflection Presentation MS Teams meeting of the same module: week.
The student will complete one (1) Case Analysis Exercises. This assignment affords the student the opportunity to analyze a patient encounter from his/her practicum experience. The student will select one (1) patient presenting for a chronic health visit from his/her practicum experience to complete this assignment. Please see Case Analysis Exercise Grading Rubric.
The Portfolio will serve to demonstrate the FNP student’s ongoing professional development. The Portfolio provides the FNP student an avenue to present his/her knowledge, expertise and experience when seeking employment or professional opportunities, providing evidence for regulatory bodies and for identification of areas for personal or professional growth. Portfolios may present information through text, video, electronic files, hyperlinks, images and other online resources. Each student will develop a professional portfolio as part of the professional development. For the Post-BSN to FNP/DNP student, the first part of portfolio development will take place this course. Please see the Portfolio Assignment Instructions & Rubric.
Student Performance Evaluation Assignment
NURS 744 FNP Practicum student performance evaluation adheres to the student performance and evaluation requirements set forth in the current Liberty University Doctor of Nursing Practice Student Handbook. This objective is completed outside the Canvas workload between the student and the evaluating professor.
Shadow Health: Advanced Primary Care - Adult Assignments (5)
Shadow Health provides a virtual clinical simulation designed to improve student assessment skills in a safe learning environment. The student will examine digital patients throughout the course that are accessible online 24/7. The Shadow Health Digital Clinical Experience (DCE) is free of many of the constraints and interruptions that may present in a clinical setting. This unique simulation experience allows the student to conduct in-depth patient exams and interviews at his/her own pace.
Because the exams are in-depth, these assignments will often take over an hour to complete, so it is important to plan enough time to complete assignments. The assignment options allow the student to choose which attempt to turn in or to reopen an assignment attempt. Completion Passes need to be downloaded from Shadow Health and file uploaded the corresponding module quiz for credit.
