NURS 8114: Theoretical and Scientific Foundations of Nursing 

NURS 8114: Theoretical and Scientific Foundations of Nursing 

For the next 11 weeks you will examine the theoretical, scientific, and philosophical underpinnings for nursing practice. Although this description may sound dry and esoteric, your work in this course will prepare you for the most human of enterprises—nursing care and practice at the advanced level of a Doctor of Nursing Practice. The foundational knowledge of nursing you gain will be the means to improving your own practice of health care and to embracing a leadership role as a DNP within your organization and more broadly, your own community and beyond.

The five modules that comprise the course are organized to support the process of planning and implementing an evidence-based practice quality improvement initiative, which is the focus of the DNP Project in your program of study. You will not begin this milestone project in this course. However, your three course Assignments will provide the resources, practice, and insights to prepare for—and inspire—your DNP Project to come.

Through weekly Discussions with your class colleagues, fellow registered nurses or APRNs, you will benefit from their experiences and thinking, their questions and challenges. Together, you will explore how to achieve the Walden mission to be an agent of positive social change. Good luck in the weeks ahead as you launch your journey toward becoming a DNP!

COURSE DESCRIPTION

In this course, students focus on the integration of scientific, philosophical, and theoretical concepts as the basis for the highest level of nursing practice. They examine the scientific underpinnings for nursing practice, including middle range nursing and interdisciplinary theories, and they explore the interrelationship among knowledge, research, and practice. Students also explore clinical inquiry, models of evidence-based practice, implementation science, and translation of evidence for practice change and quality improvement. Students develop their own philosophy of nursing practice.

COURSE LEARNING OUTCOMES

By the conclusion of this course, you should be able to:

1. Integrate the scientific principles and philosophical underpinnings of nursing practice in the clinical setting.
2. Evaluate the application of nursing theory to promote positive nursing practice.
3. Apply concepts, models, and theories to current issues in health and nursing practice.
4. Appraise clinical scholarship for the translation and application of evidence to improve nursing practice and health care delivery.
5. Justify the relationship between evidence-based practice and quality improvement/change initiatives in nursing.

Course Summary: