Course Proposals

Course Name: Healthcare Policy and Decision Making
Course Prefix: NRSG
Course Number: 4300
Submitted by (Name & E-Mail): Tamara Chase, taird@weber.edu

Current Date: 8/5/2011
College: Health Professions
Department: Nursing
From Term: Fall 2012

Substantive

new	Current Course Subject N/A Current Course Number

New/Revised Course Information:

Course Title: Healthcare Policy and Decision Making

Abbreviated Course Title: Policy and Decision Making

Course Type:

LEC

Credit Hours: 3 or if variable hours: to

Contact Hours: Lecture 3 Lab Other

Repeat Information: Limit 0 Max Hrs 0

Grading Mode: standard

This course is/will be:

a required course in a major program
a required course in a minor program
a required course in a 1- or 2- year program
elective

Prerequisites/Co-requisites:

None

Course description (exactly as it will appear in the catalog, including prerequisites):

This course will explore healthcare policies, including financial and regulatory policies, which directly and indirectly influence nursing practice. These policies shape responses to organizational, local, national, and global issues of equity, access, affordability, and social justice. Students will learn to identify, analyze and problem-solve variables affecting nursing decisions and healthcare policy encountered in nursing practice. Topics will be presented that provide an overview of legal and ethical principles and theories, emphasizing the role of ethics and healthcare policy in nursing.

Justification for the new course or for changes to an existing course. (Note: Justification should emphasize academic rationale for the change or new course. This is particularly important for courses requesting upper-division status.)

This course will be concept based. It will align with the SON program outcomes. This course supports the National League of Nursing Standards and Criteria for Baccalaureate Degree Programs in Nursing. It also meets the requirements for the American Association of Colleges of Nursing Essentials of Baccalaureate Education for Professional Nursing Practice.

INFORMATION PAGE
for substantive proposals only

1. Did this course receive unanimous approval within the Department?

true

If not, what are the major concerns raised by the opponents?

2. If this is a new course proposal, could you achieve the desired results by revising an existing course within your department or by requiring an existing course in another department?

A portion of the content for this course is not currently taught. This course is concept based and is developed using the new SON competencies.No department on campus teaches this content with a nursing focus.

3. How will the proposed course differ from similar offerings by other departments? Comment on any subject overlap between this course and topics generally taught by other departments, even if no similar courses are currently offered by the other departments. Explain any effects that this proposal will have on program requirements or enrollments in other department. Please forward letters (email communication is sufficient) from all departments that you have identified above stating their support or opposition to the proposed course.

No department on campus teaches this content with a nursing focus.

4. Is this course required for certification/accreditation of a program?

yes

If so, a statement to that effect should appear in the justification and supporting documents should accompany this form.

5. For course proposals, e-mail a syllabus to Faculty Senate which should be sufficiently detailed that the committees can determine that the course is at the appropriate level and matches the description. There should be an indication of the amount and type of outside activity required in the course (projects, research papers, homework, etc.).

REVISED 7/28/11

SEQ CHAPTER \h \r 1WEBER STATE UNIVERSITY

SCHOOL OF NURSING

COURSE INFORMATION

A. COURSE NUMBER AND NAME:

Nursing 4300 – Healthcare Policy and Decision Making

B. CREDIT AND CONTACT HOURS:

3 credits / 3 contact hours

C. COURSE DESCRIPTION:

D. COURSE OUTCOMES:

Upon completion of this course, the student will be able to:

1. Discuss and encourage individual expression of values and morals, and thus be able to provide patient-centered care; integrating sensitivity and respect for the diversity of human experience.

2. Identify strategies of healthcare policy including collaboration, decision making, teamwork, and empowerment, in order to impact policy making in healthcare.

3. Describe how the strength and relevance of available evidence influences decisions nurses make in practice, and appreciate the importance of evidence in healthcare policy.

4. Recognize that nurses are an integral part of systems of care and care processes who influence quality outcomes for patients and families. Articulate how participation in policy and decision making impacts these outcomes.

5. Integrate effective decision making strategies in order to reduce risk of harm to self or others.

6. Discuss information technologies that support clinical decision-making, error prevention, care coordination, and healthcare policy implementation.

E. TEACHING STRATEGIES:

· Individual and Group Focused Discussion

· Group Presentation

· Selected readings

· Structure discussion & critical thinking exercises (face-to-face & online-asynchronous)

· Scholarly assignments designed to support development of an evidence-based innovation and application

F. METHODS OF EVALUATION:

· Content Expert Group Presentation –10%

· Course participation/preparation & responses to structured discussion & critical thinking exercises (face-to-face /online asynchronous discussions)—40%

· Case studies and/or scholarly writing—30%

· Essay exam questions—10%

· Quizzes—10%

Grading Scale

100-95% = A

94 90% = A-

89-87% = B+

86-83% = B

82-80% = B-

79-77% = C+

76-73% = C

*Note: To receive a grade, all course requirements must be met.

Students must have an 80% average in this course to pass the course and continue in the nursing program. (Refer to Nursing Department Student Handbook)

G. REQUIRED TEXTS:

H. RECOMMENDED TEXT:

I. COURSE FORMAT:

Unit A: A Heritage of Professionalism (1 week)

Unit B: Policy and Nursing (3 weeks)

Unit C: Ethics (2 weeks)

Unit D: Politics and Law (3 weeks)

Unit E: Decision Making in Nursing (3 weeks)

Unit F: Power and Influence (2 weeks)

J. PROFESSIONAL CONDUCT:

Students are expected to abide by the WSU student code and the Nurse Practice Act of the State of Utah. Plagiarism or any other form of cheating will result in failure of the

course and probable dismissal from the BSN program. WSU subscribes to Turnitin.com, an electronic service that verifies the originality of student work. Enrollment in this course may require you to submit some or all of your assignments to it this semester, and documents submitted to TurnItIn.com are retained anonymously, in their databases. Continued enrollment in this course constitutes an understanding of an agreement with this policy.

K. SYLLABUS DISCLOSURE STATEMENT:

The syllabus is the governing document for this course. Your decision to take this course amounts to your tacit consent to the conditions of this syllabus. The professor, as well, is bound by the terms of this syllabus and may not make any significant changes unless they are approved by the class as a whole.

L. SERVICES FOR STUDENTS WITH DISABILITIES:

Services for Students with Disabilities: Any student requiring accommodations or services due to a disability must contact Services for Students with Disabilities (SSD) in room 181 of the Student Service Center. SSD can also arrange to provide course materials (including this syllabus) in alternative format if necessary. Disabled individuals requesting accommodations should be referred to SSD so that disability documentation can be acquired and appropriate accommodations arranged. Please phone: 801-626-6413.