RNRS 210: Nursing Health and Illness Concepts III - Multisystem and Emergent Health Problems

Citrus College Course Outline of Record

Citrus College Course Outline of Record
Heading Value
Effective Term: Fall 2025
Credits: 4.5
Total Contact Hours: 153
Lecture Hours : 45
Lab Hours: 108
Hours Arranged: 0
Outside of Class Hours: 90
Total Student Learning Hours: 243
Prerequisite: RNRS 202, RNRS 205 and RNRS 206.
Corequisite: RNRS 215.
Transferable to CSU: Yes
Transferable to UC: No
Grading Method: Standard Letter

Catalog Course Description

This course focuses on health and illness concepts for care of individuals with multisystem and emergent health conditions across the lifespan. Concepts include homeostasis and regulation, protection and movement, and maladaptive behavior. Curricular concepts are applied in theory, lab and clinical settings. Upon completion, students will provide safe nursing care incorporating the concepts identified. 45 lecture hours, 108 lab hours.

Course Objectives

  • Integrate the nursing process and clinical judgment in the care of patients with alterations in acid base balance, tissue integrity, infection, glucose regulation, perfusion, intracranial regulation, and clotting.
  • Apply teaching and learning principles as they relate to the care of patients with alterations in acid base balance, tissue integrity, infection, glucose regulation, perfusion, intracranial regulation, and clotting.
  • Incorporate therapeutic communication and documentation techniques applied to patient care situations.
  • Analyze the patients’ cultural, ethnic, or spiritual needs and the impact on the patient’s health and delivery of care.
  • Apply concepts to caring interventions: \\nPerfusion: Central venous access devices, IV insertion IVP medications.\\n\\n

Major Course Content

NCLEX Client Needs Categories

Physiological Integrity/Physiological Adaptation

Health and Illness Concepts and Exemplars

  • Acid Base Balance - Metabolic acidosis, respiratory acidosis, acidosis compensation
  • Intracranial Regulation - Advanced strokes, thrombectomy, Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI)
  • Infection - Sepsis
  • Clotting - DIC
  • Perfusion - Acute Coronary Syndrome (ACS), cardiac dysrhythmias, shock, ARDS
  • Tissue Integrity - Burns
Module Learning Outcomes

Intracranial Regulation

  1. Analyze the concept of intracranial regulation.
  2. Differentiate alterations in intracranial regulation.
  3. Outline the relationship between intracranial regulation and other concepts.
  4. Evaluate common assessment procedures and tests for intracranial regulation.
  5. Formulate nursing interventions for patients with alterations in intracranial regulation.
  6. Initiate collaborative therapies used by interprofessional teams for patients with alterations in intracranial regulation.
  7. Integrate lifespan considerations in the care of patients with alterations in intracranial regulation.

Acid-Base Balance

  1. Analyze the concept of normal acid-base balance.
  2. Differentiate alterations in acid-base balance
  3. Outline the relationship between acid-base balance and other concepts.
  4. Develop a plan of care for patients with alterations in acid base balance.

Tissue Integrity

  1.  Analyze the concept of tissue integrity 

  2. Differentiate alterations in tissue integrity.
  3. Formulate appropriate and collaborative nursing interventions to optimize tissue integrity
  4. Outline the relationship between tissue integrity and other concepts.
  5. Evaluate common assessment procedures and tests used to examine tissue integrity.
  6. Formulate independent interventions nurses can implement for patients with alterations in tissue integrity.
  7. Initiate collaborative therapies used by interprofessional teams for patients with alterations in tissue integrity.

Infection

  1. Analyze the concept of infection.
  2. Evaluate individuals most at risk for infectious processes.
  3. Design appropriate nursing and collaborative interventions for patients with infection.
  4. Differentiate alterations that occur as a result of infection.
  5. Outline the relationship between infection and other concepts.
  6. Differentiate common assessment procedures and tests used to evaluate individuals with infection.
  7. Formulate nursing interventions for patients with infection.
  8. Summarize collaborative therapies used by interprofessional teams for patients with infections.
  9. Integrate lifespan considerations for the care of patients with infections.

Glucose Regulation

  1. Analyze the concept of glucose regulation. (Ticket to class)
  2. Determine when an individual has an alteration in acid-base balance (glucose regulation).
  3. Formulate independent and collaborative nursing interventions to maintain acid-base balance.
  4. Evaluate alterations in glucose regulation.
  5. Distinguish the relationship between glucose regulation and other concepts.
  6. Evaluate common assessment procedures and tests used to examine glucose regulation.
  7. Integrate collaborative therapies used by interprofessional teams for patients with alterations in glucose regulation.
 

Lab Content

Concepts applied to nursing skills

Physiological Integrity: Basic Care and Comfort

Health and Illness Concepts and Exemplars

  • Perfusion - EKG, central venous access, devices, IV insertion, IVP medications

Laboratory Module Objectives:

Perfusion

  1. Analyze the concept of perfusion. 
  2. Formulate appropriate nursing and collaborative interventions to optimize perfusion.
  3. Differentiate alterations in perfusion.
  4. Outline the relationship between perfusion and other concepts.
  5. Evaluate common assessment procedures and tests used to examine perfusion.
  6. Analyze nursing interventions for patients with alterations in perfusion.
  7. Summarize collaborative therapies used by interprofessional teams for patients with alterations in perfusion.
  8. Integrate lifespan considerations for patients with alterations in perfusion.

Clotting

  1. Analyze the concept of the clotting. 
  2. Differentiate alterations in clotting.
  3. Outline the relationship between clotting and other concepts.
  4. Examine common assessment procedures and tests used to evaluate clotting.
  5. Prioritize nursing interventions for patients with alterations in clotting.
  6. Summarize collaborative therapies used by interprofessional teams for patients with alterations in clotting.

Clinical Course Learning Outcomes (Adopted from NOF Toolkit, 2016) 

Patient-Centered Care:

Provide holistic care that recognizes an individual’s preferences, values, and needs and respects the patient or designee as a full partner in providing compassionate, coordinated, age and culturally appropriate, safe and effective care.

Knowledge

  • Understands multiple dimensions of patient-centered care including:
    • Patient/family/community preferences, values. 
    • Coordination and integration of care. 
    • Information, communication, and education. 
    • Physical comfort and emotional support. 
    • Involvement of family and significant other. 
    • Care transition and continuity. 

Attitudes/Behaviors

  1. Values and respects assessing health care situation from the patient's perspective and belief systems. 
  2. Respects and encourages the patient's participation in decisions about health care and services. 

Skills

  1. Assesses patient values, preferences, decisional capacity, and expressed needs as part of ongoing assessment, clinical interview, implementation of care plan, and evaluation of care. 
  2. Communicates patient values, preferences, and expressed needs to other members of the healthcare team. 

Professionalism:

Demonstrate accountability for the delivery of standard-based nursing care that is consistent with moral, altruistic, legal, ethical, regulatory, and humanistic principles.

Knowledge

  • Understands the professional standards of practice, the evaluation of that practice, and the responsibility and accountability for the outcome of practice. 

Attitudes/Behaviors

  1. Accepts responsibility for own behavior. 
  2. Respects others during clinical activities (i.e., no talking while others are talking, cell phones are silenced, and no inappropriate use of computers).

Skills

  1. Implements plan of care withing the legal, ethical, and regulatory framework of nursing practice. 
  2. Demonstrates ability for reflection in action, reflection for action, and reflection on action. 
  3. Serves as a patient advocate. 
  4. Utilizes an ethical decision-making framework in clinical situations. 
  5. Complies with the Standards of Practice, policies, and procedures of nursing program and/or clinical agency. 
  6. Completes assignments as required and scheduled. 
  7. Provides prior notification to appropriate faculty when they are unable to meet commitments or requirements. 
  8. Participates in clinical activities as scheduled, arriving on time and prepared for the daily assignment throughout the length of the nursing program. 
  9. Demonstrates professional appearance and professional presentation in clinical settings. 
  10. Demonstrates respect and politeness to all individuals regardless of culture, ethnicity, religion, work experience, gender, age, and sexual orientation. 
  11. Maintains confidentiality of all patient information in conversation, electronic and written means. 
  12. Provides and receives constructive feedback to/from peers and instructor(s). 

Leadership:

Influence the behavior of individuals or groups of individuals within their environment in a way that will facilitate the establishment and acquisition/achievement of shared goals.

Knowledge

  • Identifies leadership skills essential to the practice of nursing. 

Attitudes/Behaviors

  1. Recognizes the role of the nurse as a leader. 

  2. Accepts accountability for nursing care delegated to others. 

  3. Recognizes the value of leadership to empower others and enhance collaboration and shared decision making. 

Skills

  • Integrates leadership skills of systems thinking, communication, and facilitating change in meeting patient care needs. 

System-Based Practice:

Demonstrate an awareness of and responsiveness to the larger context of the healthcare system and will demonstrate the ability to effectively call on work unit resources to provide care that is of optimal quality and value (Adapted from ACGME, n.d.).

Knowledge

  • Understands role and responsibilities as a member of the health care team in planning and using work unit resources to achieve quality patient outcomes. 

Attitudes/Behaviors

  1. Recognizes the complexity of individual and team practice on a work unit. 
  2. Appreciates role in identifying work unit inefficiencies and operational failures. 

Skills

  1. Plans, organizes, and delivers patient care in the context of the work unit. 
  2. Participates in solving work unit inefficiencies and operational failures that impact patient care, such as those involving supplies, medications, equipment, and information. 
  3. Considers resources available on the work unit when contributing to the plan of care for a patient or group of patients. 
  4. Collaborates with members of the healthcare team to prioritize resources, including one's own work time and activities delegated to others, for the purposes of achieving quality patient outcomes. 
  5. Evaluates outcomes of one's own nursing care. 
  6. Uses education and referral to assist the patient and family through care transitions. 

Informatics and Technology:

Use advanced technology to analyze as well as synthesize information and collaborate in order to make critical decisions that optimize patient outcomes. (National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2015).

Knowledge

  • Understands the use of electronic communication strategies among healthcare providers in the healthcare system. 

Attitudes/Behaviors

  • Values and protects confidentiality of protected health information. 

Skills

  1. Uses electronic health record system to access relevant patient information, including accessing and interpreting patient history, diagnostic and laboratory findings. 
  2. Utilizes technology fully and accurately document patient assessment, plan of care, referrals, and care provided. 

Communication:

Interact effectively with patients, families, and colleagues, fostering mutual respect and shared decision making, to enhance patient satisfaction and health outcomes.

Therapeutic Communication

Knowledge

  1. Understands the principles of effective communication through various means. 
  2. Knows grammar, spelling, and health care terminology. 

Attitudes/Behaviors

  • Values individual cultural and personal diversity. 

Skills

  1. Uses clear, concise, and effective written, electronic, and verbal communications. 
  2. Documents interventions and outcomes of care according to professional standards and work unit policy. 
  3. Demonstrates effective interviewing techniques and adapts communication as needed based on patient's response.

Collegial Communication

Skills

  • Uses standardized communication approaches (e.g. SBAR) in all communications and in care transitions. 

Teaching and Learning

Knowledge

  • Understands the principles of teaching and learning. 

Attitudes/Behaviors

  • Values different means of communication used by patients and families. 

Skills

  • Assesses factors that influence the patient's and family's ability to learn, including readiness to learn, preferences for learning style, and levels of health literacy. 

Teamwork and Collaboration:

Function effectively within nursing and interdisciplinary teams, fostering open communication, mutual respect, shared decision making, team learning, and development (Adapted from QSEN, 2007).

Knowledge

  1. Identifies own strengths, limitations, and values in functioning as a member of a team. 
  2. Understands the impact of the effective collegial communication on patient outcomes. 
  3. Discusses how authority and hierarchy influence teamwork and patient safety. 

Attitudes/Behaviors

  • Appreciates the importance of collaboration. 

Skills

  1. Acts with honesty and integrity when working with patients, families, and team members. 
  2. Functions competently within own scope of practice as a member of the health care team. 
  3. Follows communication practices to minimize risks associated with transfers between providers during care transitions. 
  4. Contributes to effective team functioning. 

Safety:

Minimize risk of harm to patients and providers through both system effectiveness and individual performance (QSEN, 2007).

Knowledge

  1. Identifies human factors and basic safety design principles that affect safety. 
  2. Describes the benefits and limitations of commonly used safety technology. 

Attitudes/Behaviors

  • Recognizes that both individuals and systems are accountable for a safe culture. 

Skills

  1. Demonstrates effective use of technology and standardized practices that support safe practice. 
  2. Communicates observations or concerns related to hazards and errors involving patients, families, and/or healthcare team. 
  3. Sufficiently prepares for and completes clinical assignments to implement safe and effective care, including identifying key nursing assessment data, analyzing data, developing priority-nursing diagnoses, plans of care, interventions, and evaluation criteria. 
  4. Incorporates clinical judgment in the performance of care, skills, and education. 

Quality Improvement:

Use data to monitor the outcomes of care processes, and use improvement methods to design and test changes to continuously improve the quality and safety of health care systems (QSEN, 2007).

Knowledge

  • Comprehends that nursing contributes to systems of care and processes that affect outcomes. 

Attitudes/Behaviors

  • Recognizes that quality improvement is an essential part of nursing. 

Skills

  • Actively seeks information about quality initiatives in their own care settings and organization. 

Evidence-Based Practice:

Identify, evaluate, and use the best current evidence coupled with clinical expertise and consideration of patients’ preferences, experience and values to make practice decisions (Adapted from QSEN, 2007).

Knowledge

  • Identifies evidence-based rationale when developing and/or modifying clinical practices. 

Attitudes/Behaviors

  • Values the concept of evidence-based practice (EBP) as integral to determining best clinical practice. 

Skills

  • Bases individualized care on best current evidence, patient values, and clinical expertise. 

Suggested Reading Other Than Required Textbook

Ackley, B.J., Ladwig, G.B., Nursing diagnosis handbook: An evidence-based guide to planning care, 13th Ed., Elsevier, 2022.

Examples of Required Writing Assignments

Graded care plan(s), concept map(s), clinical judgment patient assessment form(s). Reflective paper post simulation experience.

Examples of Outside Assignments

Integrated computer program practice tests. Nursing care plans, concept maps, and clinical judgment patient assessment forms. Reflective paper post simulation experience.

Instruction Type(s)

Lab, Lecture