NURS 6501: Advanced Pathophysiology

NURS 6501: Advanced Pathophysiology

Welcome to NURS 6501: Advanced Pathophysiology

What are the underlying causes of Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD)? What underlying patient characteristics might impact effective treatment protocols for diabetes? What pathological processes impact the occurrence of GI disorders among certain segments of the population?

These types of considerations and questions all impact the healthcare professional today. As advanced practice nurses, your understanding of advanced pathophysiology will have a direct impact on the type of patient care you will provide. You will gain experience in examining the underlying pathophysiological processes that contribute to a myriad of body system disorders. You will engage with interactive exercises and course assessments that will assist you in applying this knowledge into the diagnosis and treatment protocols for your patients. You will also consider how individual patient behaviors, culture, and needs impact the presentation and management of body system disorders.

Course Description

Advanced practice nurses must be equipped with an in-depth understanding of pathophysiological disease processes across the lifespan. In this course, students focus on understanding the bio-physiological processes, the deviations from these processes, and an in-depth examination of the scientific concepts related to the biology of disease processes. Advanced practice nursing students build on their knowledge of normal organ systems functioning to help organ systems return to optimal homeostasis. Through knowledge of pathophysiological disease processes, students synthesize the information needed to develop appropriate treatment plans for patients across the life span. Students explore a variety of topics regarding organ system diseases.

Course Prerequisites

NURS 6002/3 (can be taken concurrently)

Course Outcomes

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

1. Analyze the processes related to pathophysiology of disorders across the lifespan
2. Analyze compensatory responses to altered physiology
3. Analyze racial/ethnic variables that may impact physiological functioning across the lifespan
4. Analyze relationships between body systems and related disorders
5. Evaluate the impact of patient characteristics on disorders and altered physiology across the lifespan
6. Analyze the pathology of various physiological disorders across the lifespan
7. Analyze concepts and principles of pathophysiology across the lifespan

To access the Outcomes and Alignment Chart that applies to your course of study:

• Document: NURS 6501 Outcomes and Alignment Chart (PDF)

TARA HARRIS: Hello.

I’m Dr. Tara Harris.

I’m the MSN NP core coordinator.

I coordinate NURS 6501–

Advanced Pathophysiology, NURS 6512–

Advanced Health Assessment, and NURS 6521–

Advanced Pathophysiology.

So I want to welcome you to Advanced Pathophysiology.

Please know that this is a new course.

Structure-wise, the course is now in a modular format.

I’ve listed here a few general guidelines to help you

be successful in the course.

Most importantly, please communicate early

if you’re having any trouble within the course.

That’s the only way that we’ll know.

We’ll try to work with you or your faculty dilligently

to make sure that you are successful.

Be sure that you’re checking your Walden email daily, as

well as your announcements.

Many times the announcements are run through the email.

Please use care when you’re on social media sites.

It’s easier to be negative than it is to be positive.

And things are misconstrued via social media.

On the first day of class, it’s important for you

to review your course syllabus.

This will provide you with guidance and details

regarding your work, Walden University policy, faculty

policies, and so forth.

Make sure that you have the required course materials

and readings.

By the first day of class, we’d like for you to introduce

yourself in the Class Caf .

You can also find your instructor’s information

and introduction in the Contact Instructor link.

At this point, once you reviewed your course syllabus,

I recommend that you work out some kind of layout

for reading and a study schedule.

And try to stick to that.

The coursework in this course will include discussion board.

Knowledge checks, which are new.

Case study analysis, which are also new.

A midterm and a final exam.

I will go over these in detail.

So the discussion board this quarter–

there is only one.

And that is included in week one.

So week one and week two–

they are considered module 1.

I know when you look at the course resources for that week,

it looks like there is so much going on.

But remember, you have two weeks within the week one and two

to work on all of this.

So as far as discussion board, remember

that you must submit your initial discussion before you

can see your classmates.

Do not use your text as a resource.

You would need to use scholarly journals.

If your classmates ask a question or your instructor

asks a question, please respond to them.

This is included in your grading rubric.

The discussion boards are worth 10% of your final grade.

Knowledge checks are new this quarter.

There are seven knowledge checks throughout.

These are here to help you check what

you’ve learned from the material that

was taught during the week.

You will answer questions, between 10 and 20 questions.

And then you will be provided the correct answer

to compare what you received or what you had already written.

You are required to complete all of them.

And these are worth 20% of your final grade.

The case studies are also a new addition to this course.

There are four case studies that will

be assigned by your instructor.

Please use critical thinking skills

when you’re working through the case studies.

Apply what you’ve learned from your readings

and other outside resources to gather

the appropriate components to answer

the questions with the case study you’re assigned.

The case studies are worth 20% of your final grade.

There is a midterm exam as well.

The midterm exam covers weeks one through six.

We do provide you with the study guide for specifics

regarding the exam.

The exam is a timed test.

It is 100 questions and 200 minutes.

Please be sure that you are completing

the exam in one sitting.

If you move from the exam, and the screen

is idle for a certain period of time,

then the exam will automatically lock you out.

And instructors may or may not reset your exam.

It’s specifically up to them.

So we’re giving you a heads up now.

Just complete your exam in one sitting.

We will not revisit your test questions.

We know that they are keyed correctly

because we’ve gone through them several times.

Please remember that it is against Walden’s

academic integrity policy to screenshot or copy

any test questions.

The midterm exam is worth 25% of your final grade.

The final exam.

Please note that you will need to review

the study guide for weeks one through six

and your study guide for weeks seven through 11, as the exam

will be comprehensive.

Use the same study techniques that you did for the midterm.

You will have 100 questions to complete in 200 minutes.

You must complete them all in one

sitting, as mentioned earlier.

Again, it is against Walden’s academic integrity policy

to screenshot or copy any test questions.

The final exam is worth 25% of your final grade.

So the proper chain of command.

If you have an issue with your instructor,

please set up a conference call with them.

If leadership needs to be on the call,

we can arrange that as well.

If you have an issue with a specific grade,

only your instructor that graded it can change those grades.

We do not regrade or evaluate individual grades.

Lastly, if you’re unhappy with your final grade,

you can appeal with your academic advisor

at the end of the quarter.

So grading should be completed within 10 days of the due date.

If you’re having an issue with this with your instructor,

please notify me.

Our goal is to prepare you for the boards,

not to get 100% on every assignment, video, or test.

We know that you are students, and you are here to learn.

So it’s not like you already know what you

need to know to become an APRN.

So therefore please just be mindful

that you may not receive a 100% on every assignment.

Your faculty will be on your discussion board every week

you have one.

So for this course, it will be during week one.

Please make sure you’re reading your grading rubrics.

They will provide you with the comments.

Please review any track changes and feedback.

Remember that our grades are weighted grading.

This is not an easy way to calculate.

So what is in Blackboard has been reviewed.

We review it every quarter to make sure

that the calculations are correct.

So you trying to calculate yourself

by adding up the points and dividing by total

is the incorrect calculation.

Just take a moment to look at the scholarly resources

that we recommend.

Your textbooks are outdated the day they print.

So they are used as a great secondary resource.

We expect for you to use APA format.

We expect for you to reference the author of the journal

or research that you’re referencing.

Resources such as WebMD, mayoclinic.org,

clevelandclinic.org, kidsmart.org

are public websites.

And they’re not considered scholarly UpToDate

and Epocrates–

they’re great resources for clinical practice

but not to use for a paper.

We expect for you to think at the master’s level.

So we expect for you to do your own research.

As you’re writing, please make sure

that you are aware of our plagiarism policies.

We will run your work through SafeAssign.

And you should also run your work through SafeAssign

as well.

We know that some percentages may be high

depending on reference pages, headers, questions,

things like that.

But we evaluate each percentage and each student’s

SafeAssign scores individually.

Please do not share your homework, discussion board

information, and test questions on Facebook

or other online cheating websites, such as Course Hero.

Walden will take action if this information is shared.

Student expectations.

We do expect for you to communicate

in a professional manner.

We expect for you to respect your instructor’s time.

Remember that they are practicing practitioners.

And they have 48 hours to respond to you.

When you call or email, they may not

be at their computer or their phone,

where they’re able to just pick it up and answer you.

Please address your professor by their earned title–

Doctor, whatever their last name is.

If you communicate early when you have a problem,

then we can rectify that problem earlier.

Please follow the proper chain of command.

The instructor expectations are to grade your assignments

within 10 days of the due date, to answer their emails or phone

calls within 48 hours, to be professional

when speaking with you, to encourage you to critically

think, discuss any feedback that needs clarification,

and also be respectful of your time.

Things to remember.

We do want you to be successful.

We know that the quarter passes by very, very fast.

So I encourage you to take some time for yourself.

Get plenty of sleep.

Rest and eat healthy.

Thank your families for putting up

with what’s going on as you go through school.

Graduate school is not an easy task.

Try to find some work, school, family life balance.

It’s important to do that.

Just try to enjoy the process.

This is a learning experience, but it’s

very rewarding at the end.

Course Summary: