Bachelors of Science in Nursing (BSN)
Overview
The nursing major offers a 99-semester-hour course of study that is designed to prepare students to function in increasingly complicated health care environments. Students are required to obtain a minimum grade of C in all courses taken for the major.
Degree Outcomes
Graduates with a BSN will:
- Integrate concepts from liberal arts and sciences in promoting health and delivering individualized care.
- Utilize standards of nursing practice and current science to deliver safe, competent, patient-centered care to patients across the lifespan in a variety of settings.
- Integrate evidence, clinical judgment, and patient preferences throughout the nursing process.
- Apply information management and technology across the health continuum to facilitate high-quality nursing care.
- Demonstrate advocacy utilizing health care policy and health systems knowledge.
- Use communication, collaboration, and organizational skills to work in partnerships with clients, families, communities, and the interprofessional healthcare team to promote health.
- Employ leadership principles to support quality improvement, safety, equity, and cost effective care initiatives in a variety of settings.
- Demonstrate professional values that integrate lifelong learning, service, and reflective practice.
- Provide evidence-based nursing care that incorporates diversity and inclusion, human dignity, and cultural humility.
- Provide holistic, empathetic nursing care that reflects the character and compassion of Christ.
Major Requirements
Complete the following:
Structure and function of the human body. Fall semester topics include basic chemistry, body organization, integument, skeleton, muscles, and the nervous system, including special senses. The course is designed for nonscience majors. Three lectures and one laboratory per week. Additional course fee is required.
Structure and function of the human body. Spring semester topics include cardiovascular, reproductive, endocrine, respiratory, urinary, and digestive systems. The course is designed for nonscience majors. Three lectures and one laboratory per week. Prerequisite: BIOL 221 Human Anatomy and Physiology I, or permission from instructor. Additional course fee is required.
A course in the structure, metabolism, classification and health aspects of microorganisms. Special emphasis will be given to human-microbe interactions and clinical aspects of infection. Methods of microbiological investigation are emphasized and include current techniques and experiences within the field of Microbiology. Course designed for students not majoring in biology.
Pre-requisites: BIOL 221 Human Anatomy and Physiology I; BIOL 222 Human Anatomy and Physiology II and CHEM 150 Foundations of General, Organic, and Biochemistry; or permission of the instructor. Additional course fee required.
This course covers intermediate principles of chemistry. Special emphasis is placed on those aspects of general and organic chemistry that are pertinent to biochemistry. This course provides a background for students with interests in prenursing, nutrition, and related allied health areas. (This course does not meet the requirements for science majors.) Three lectures and one two-hour laboratory per week. Additional course fee is required. Prerequisite: Successful completion of MATH 180 College Algebra (or equivalent).
This course introduces students to the professional, personal, and spiritual dimensions of communication. By identifying how to live out one’s faith in interpersonal relationships, through public presentations, and by engaging in mediated communication, students will be encouraged to pursue clarity in communication motivated by the question: how do we better understand others and help them to understand us?
This course covers properties, graphs, and applications of polynomial, rational, exponential, and logarithmic functions, including solving related equations and inequalities. This course does not serve as a prerequisite for the calculus sequence. Prerequisite: Sufficient score on Math Placement Exam (See Mathematics Department).
This introductory course provides an overview of the fundamental concepts of human nutrition. Subject matter includes descriptions, functions, and sources of nutrients, digestion and absorption, and effects of deficiencies and toxicities. Wellness-based concepts such as dietary guidelines, energy balance and weight control, and the role of nutrition in health and disease are also explored. Prerequisite: BIOL 221 Human Anatomy and Physiology I.
An introduction to the scientific study of human behavior. Major topics include the biological bases of behavior, sensation, perception, thinking, learning, memory, development, emotion, motivation, personality, social interaction, and abnormal behavior. Prerequisite to most other psychology courses.
A study of physical, intellectual, personality, social, and moral development from infancy to old age. Will not count as part of the psychology major. Students who take PSYC 310 are not eligible to also take PSYC 311, PSYC 314 or PSYC 312 for credit Prerequisite: PSYC 150 General Psychology.
What are we here for? How should we live? What does a good life look like today? Answering those questions begins with the commandments to love God and neighbor, and this class aims to help students properly order their loves in light of contemporary challenges and vocational goals. The class equips students to reason well about ethics and to think critically about a variety of ethical systems and positions. Students taking the course in person may select from any focus area offered (e.g., Health and Wellness, Technology and Media, or The Good Life).
How can the way we write form us morally? How can we, by caring for words, steward the truth in a "post-truth" society? This course concentrates on the writing, arguing, and critical thinking skills necessary to succeed in an academic and professional environment, including research strategies relevant for contemporary writing contexts. By practicing the habits and strategies of successful writing, students learn to listen humbly, draft patiently, and argue lovingly. Enrollment is capped at 20 students per section, and students must enroll in the course by their third semester at George Fox.
Choose one of the following:
Statistical procedures with applications in management and economics. Emphasis on the development of a basic knowledge of the statistical tools available for analysis of problems and decision making. Prerequisite: MATH 180 College Algebra or higher math course.
An introduction to probability and statistics with content and application directed toward the natural and physical sciences. Topics to be covered include methods of describing data, probability, random variables and their distributions, estimation, hypothesis testing, linearregression, and correlation. Prerequisite: MATH 180 College Algebra or equivalent.
Applied statistics for the social and behavioral sciences. Emphasis is placed on statistical logic and decision making. Prerequisite: High school algebra or equivalent.
Complete the following:
This course focuses on conceptual understanding of pathophysiology and associated clinical manifestations of disease, with an emphasis on effective and ineffective adaptation to internal and external environments. This course will explore alterations to the human body at cellular, organ, and systemic levels within the framework of concepts of health and illness. Discussions and applied materials will be directed primarily toward nursing students but may also be useful to others wishing to explore healthcare-related fields. Prerequisites: Semester I standing in the Nursing Program or instructor permission for non-nursing students.
This course provides an overview of the therapeutic use of drugs on humans. Principles of pharmacokinetics, pharmacodynamics, and pharmacotherapeutics are examined from a conceptual perspective. The molecular and cellular mechanisms of drug action will be explored, as well as specific drug adverse reactions along with appropriate nursing interventions related to medication administration and relevant patient education. Application of nursing pharmacology knowledge is made to clients with selected health and illness problems. Prerequisite: Semester I standing in the Nursing Program or instructor permission for non-nursing students.
This course presents concepts of professional nursing practice emphasizing the role of the nurse as a provider of Christ-centered patient care, member of the health care team, patient safety advocate, coordinator of quality patient care, and critical thinker. Ethical and legal standards of nursing practice across complex and emerging health care settings are explored. Additional course fee is required. Prerequisite: Semester I standing in the Nursing Program.
This course provides the beginning concepts and principles for the professional nurse across the healthcare continuum. Students will apply health assessment and fundamental skills utilizing the nursing process and clinical judgment model. Students learn foundational nursing knowledge, skills, attitudes and values to promote physical, biopsychosocial, cultural and spiritual health and wellness across the lifespan. Students integrate and apply clinical judgment principles in delivering basic nursing care. Additional course fee is required. Prerequisite: Semester I standing in the Nursing Program.
This course focuses on nursing care of people experiencing health alterations across the health care continuum. Students will integrate knowledge of clinical data, pharmacologic concepts, and assessment findings to plan, prioritize, implement, and evaluate nursing care. Students will advance their professional role; incorporating clinical judgment with evidence-based practice to ensure quality and safety in patient-centered care. Additional course fee is required. Prerequisite: Semester II standing in the Nursing Program.
Focuses on the nursing care of clients with acute and chronic mental illnesses. Promotion, maintenance and restoration of mental health are addressed. Professional, legal and ethical issues in mental health nursing are examined. Additional course fee is required. Prerequisite: Semester II standing in the Nursing Program.
This course is designed to teach evidence-based practice (EBP) skills facilitating continuous quality improvement in nursing practice. Focus is placed on the cyclical process of identifying clinical questions, critically analyzing and synthesizing evidence for potential solutions/innovations, planning and implementing practice changes, evaluating the outcomes, and identifying additional gaps in nursing knowledge. Integration of existing evidence with clinical judgment, patient preferences, interprofessional perspectives, and other resources forms the basis for the clinical decision-making process that is inherent in improving patient, population, and organizational outcomes. Prerequisite: Semester II standing in the Nursing Program.
Previous knowledge, skills and professional values are integrated into specialized maternal-child nursing practice. Normal physiological as well as disease processes affecting childbearing women and child-rearing families are examined with an emphasis on health promotion, health maintenance, and whole-person care. Additional course fee is required. Prerequisite: Semester III standing in the Nursing Program.
This course explores contemporary trends and issues influencing current nursing practice. Major foci include the evolution of nursing within changing health care environments, cultural humility with an emphasis on nursing care among diverse and vulnerable populations, and the nurse's role in responding to and creating healthy workplace environments. Prerequisite: Semester III standing in the Nursing Program.
This course prepares students to apply concepts and processes of population health nursing, with an emphasis on vulnerable populations. In the clinical component of this course, students will work with community partners to assess and meet population needs. Additional course fee is required. Prerequisite: Semester IV standing in the Nursing Program.
This course continues with the focus on nursing care of people experiencing health alterations across the health care continuum. Students will integrate knowledge of clinical data, pharmacologic concepts, and assessment findings to plan, prioritize, implement, and evaluate increasingly complex nursing care. Students will expand their professional role and leadership capabilities, incorporating clinical judgment with evidence-based practice to ensure quality and safety in patient-centered care. Additional course fee is required. Prerequisite: Semester III standing in the Nursing Program.
This course focuses on nursing leadership in the delivery of healthcare and development of the nursing profession within complex healthcare environments. Theoretical principles are applied to effectively manage patient care through coordinating, delegating communicating, utilizing resources, and promoting quality and safety. The influence of legal, ethical, economic, sociologic, cultural, and regulatory factors on nursing practice will be examined. Prerequisite: Semester IV standing in the Nursing Program.
This course focuses on specific strategies for preparation for the National Council Licensing Exam for Registered Nurses (NCLEX-RN). Students will examine their performance on diagnostic and predictor tests/quizzes and develop a clear plan for study after graduation. Additional course fee is required. Prerequisite: Semester IV standing in the Nursing Program. Corequisite: NURS 490: Nursing Capstone.
Students in this course will demonstrate successful completion of all College of Nursing program outcomes while working with multiple clients or populations. Students synthesize didactic and clinical learning, fully integrating the clinical judgment model, Baccalaureate Essentials, Scope and Standards of Practice, Nursing Code of Ethics, and Quality and Safety in Nursing Education Competencies into nursing practice across the healthcare continuum. This course prepares the student for successful transition into the professional nurse role. Additional course fee is required. Prerequisite: Semester IV standing in the Nursing Program.