APNA Course Descriptions

APNA 500 Philosophy and Theory for the Role of the Advanced Practice Nurse (APN)

1 credit hour

This course focuses on the transition to advanced nursing practice and doctoral roles through examining philosophical and theoretical foundations of nursing knowledge. An understanding of middle-range theories relevant to practice knowledge and inquiry will provide the skills required for learners to become change agents in diverse healthcare settings. These skills will enable the APN to refine their own conceptual frameworks for doctoral inquiry. The identification of strategies and challenges in applying nursing knowledge in research and advanced practice will provide APNs with the necessary tools to enhance patient-centered care and program outcomes through quality improvement projects.

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APNA 501 Advanced Anatomy

3 credit hours

This course provides a thorough review of human anatomical structures and associated terminology. Nomenclature, location, and function of the main body systems will be discussed at the cellular, organ, and system levels. This course is the foundation for understanding the advanced practice nurse role in physical examinations of patients and the structural changes associated with illness and injury.

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APNA 510 Ethics for the Advanced Practice Nurse

2 credit hours

This course examines ethical, political and legal principles in healthcare through an advanced practice nursing lens. Learners will develop an understanding of how these principles influence accessible, equitable, and affordable care. Learners will analyze complex challenges confronting APN practice within the United States' healthcare system using an ethical framework. Guided by George Fox University (GFU) and the College of Nursing’s (CoN) values, this course will emphasize the leadership role of the APN in health policy development. Effective interprofessional collaboration, nursing scholarship's influence on advocacy, and the regulatory, social and ethical environments affecting DNP practice will be addressed. Learners will explore concepts supporting advocacy for social justice, reducing healthcare disparities, enhancing access to care, improving quality of care, promoting ethical care, and containing costs within a professional practice environment.

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APNA 520 Advanced Health Assessment

3 credit hours

This course focuses upon advanced knowledge and techniques for health assessment of patients across the lifespan, within the context of the advanced practice nursing role. Critical thinking, diagnostic reasoning, and communication skills will be developed through obtaining complete health histories and performing systematic physical examinations on simulated patients. Students will complete a head-to-toe physical assessment from memory utilizing current evidence-based practices.

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APNA 530 Advanced Physiology and Pathophysiology

3 credit hours

This course focuses on normal human physiology and potential pathophysiological processes in the human body throughout the lifespan. Students will develop interventions and treatment plans for patients with alterations in their health status, within the scope of advanced practice nursing. Course content is organized by body system and will build upon the foundation of human anatomy understanding.

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APNA 531 Chemistry & Physics (Bioscience) for Nurse Anesthesia

3 credit hours

This course is designed to apply advanced principles of bioscience math, chemistry, and physics as they pertain to nurse anesthesia. This course builds on foundational knowledge previously acquired in these subjects. Emphasis is placed on the application of these concepts.

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APNA 540 Advanced Pharmacology

4 credit hours

This course applies the principles of pharmacology, including pharmacokinetics, pharmacodynamics, and pharmacotherapeutics, in the exploration of common drug classes prescribed and utilized by advanced practice nurses. Molecular and cellular mechanisms of drug action will be reviewed with emphasis upon drug receptor activity, drug interactions, adverse reactions, and patient education.

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APNA 550 Informatics and Technology for the Advanced Practice Nurse (APN)

2 credit hours

This course examines health information systems and patient care technology to optimize health care delivery. Learners will analyze and evaluate health informatics and technology used to manage and improve health outcomes. Learners will demonstrate competency on the use and implementation of biomedical information.

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APNA 551 Principles of Anesthesia I

3 credit hours

This course is the first of two principles of anesthesia courses that provide an overview of nurse anesthesia foundational principles related to practice. Emphasis is placed on learning and applying introductory foundational skills, principles, and theories to the perioperative anesthetic management of patients across the lifespan.

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APNA 560 Evidence Based Practice for the Advanced Practice Nurse (APN)

3 credit hours

This course provides learners with a comprehensive understanding of evidence-based practice (EBP) principles, methodologies, focusing on both qualitative and quantitative research traditions. The learner will demonstrate skills and knowledge needed to critically analyze, synthesize, and apply scholarly evidence for promoting high-quality evidence-based practice. Learners will formulate answerable questions essential for addressing quality and safety improvement across various advanced practice roles. Through systematic searches for research evidence, students will learn to translate and apply theoretical concepts into practical solutions for optimizing healthcare outcomes and solving practice problems. Learners will gain experience with applying principles of statistical inference and their application to the analysis and interpretation for answering advanced nursing practice questions.

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APNA 570 Quality and Safety for the Advanced Practice Nurse (APN)

3 credit hours

This course is designed to prepare learners with essential skills to lead interprofessional teams focused on continuously improving the quality of healthcare and ensuring patient safety. Learners will gain an understanding of assessing and measuring safety and quality in healthcare settings, with a focus on developing, implementing and evaluating continuous quality improvement processes and programs. Strategies for implementing and managing change initiatives, resolving conflicts, and managing ethical dilemmas in healthcare will be discussed. This course covers methods for assessing the impact, efficacy and efficiency of interventions, including cost-benefit and cost-efficiency analyses. Specialized communication methods such as scorecards and benchmark reports are included.

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APNA 600 Healthcare Policy Influence - Population Health, Culture, and Diversity

3 credit hours

This course examines current healthcare policy trends with the perspective of cultural humility, equity, and diversity in an ever changing healthcare environment. Learners will evaluate aspects of healthcare policy and their effect on population health. Current and potential roles of the nursing advocate and political activist to improve healthcare across the lifespan will be examined. Learners will engage in the process of developing and implementing health policy in the current political system.

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APNA 610 Research Methods

3 credit hours

This is the first in a two-course series on research for advanced practice nurses (APNs). This course equips the learner with the skills necessary to engage in quantitative and qualitative research methodologies. Learners will identify key philosophies, concepts, and techniques essential to both methodologies. Researchable clinical questions for APN will be explored and corresponding research methods selected. This course will introduce qualitative research designs, data collection techniques such as interviewing and observation, and qualitative data analysis procedures. This course builds upon the content from APNA 560 Evidence Based Practice

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APNA 611 Nurse Anesthesia Pharmacology

3 credit hours

This course provides the scientific underpinnings of the pharmacology and physiology required to plan and perform an anesthetic, to include the pharmacological management of patients across the lifespan during the perioperative period.

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APNA 620 Research Design and Statistics for Data Analysis

3 credit hours

This is the second in a two-course series on research for advanced practice nurses (APNs). Learners will demonstrate knowledge in selection of quantitative research design and in data analysis techniques suitable for acquiring and assessing evidence to address clinical issues. It covers a wide range of topics, starting from identifying research questions to examining and recognizing advanced research designs. This course delves into statistical principles such as descriptive statistics, probability distributions, sampling distributions, inference, hypothesis testing, Analysis of Variance (ANOVA), as well as basic linear regression and multiple regression analysis. The emphasis throughout the course is on applying statistical concepts to analyze research in order to obtain the most credible evidence to uphold high-quality nursing practices. This course builds upon the content from APNA 560 Evidence Based Practice and APNA 610 Research Methods.

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APNA 621 Principles of Anesthesia II

3 credit hours

This course is the second of two principles of anesthesia courses that provide an overview of nurse anesthesia foundational principles related to practice. Emphasis is placed on learning and applying advanced foundational skills, principles, and theories to the perioperative anesthetic management of patients across the lifespan.

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APNA 631 Coexisting Diseases and Anesthetic Implications

3 credit hours

This course is designed to expand theoretical and clinical competencies in the anesthetic management of patients with coexisting and complex disease states across the lifespan. This course builds on the knowledge gained in the advanced anesthetic principles course and broadens pathophysiological disease concepts discussed in prerequisite coursework to determine evidence-based anesthetic management methodologies.

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APNA 641 Advanced Principles of Anesthesia I Across the Lifespan

3 credit hours

This course is designed to develop critical thinking processes and theoretical and clinical competencies in the anesthetic management of patients across the lifespan undergoing complex surgical procedures. This course builds on the basic concepts and theory gained from prerequisite coursework.

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APNA 651 Advanced Principles of Anesthesia II & Pain Management

3 credit hours

This course further develops advanced to complex foundational skills, principles, and theories to the perioperative anesthetic management of patients across the lifespan.This course includes the principles of anesthesia pain management related to practice. Emphasis is placed on learning and applying pain management techniques of patients across the lifespan.

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APNA 680 Nurse Anesthesia Residency I

3 credit hours

This clinical course is devised to develop nurse anesthesia clinical competencies by applying evidence-based didactic knowledge and acquired simulation skills in a supervised residency. The nurse anesthesia students will learn to plan, implement, and manage a basic anesthetic through the continuum of care- from preoperative assessment to post-operative evaluation. During this clinical residency, students will care for actual patients across the lifespan. This course includes an expected minimum total of 375 clinical and simulation laboratory hours. Students are expected to complete these hours through a combination of simulated learning and healthcare facility partners clinical immersion.

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APNA 690 Nurse Anesthesia Residency II

3 credit hours

This clinical course is devised to develop nurse anesthesia clinical competencies by applying evidence-based didactic knowledge and acquired simulation skills in a supervised clinical residency. The nurse anesthesia students will learn to plan, implement, and manage a basic to intermediate level anesthetic through the continuum of care- from preoperative assessment to post-operative evaluation. During this clinical residency, students will care for actual patients across the lifespan. This course includes an expected minimum total of 375 clinical and simulation laboratory hours. Students are expected to complete these hours through a combination of simulated learning and healthcare facility partners clinical immersion.

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APNA 700 Professional Issues, Economics & Interprofessional Collaboration

3 credit hours

This course focuses on the professional aspects of advanced nursing practice, economics and interprofessional collaboration. Emphasis is placed on applying historical, political, economic, healthcare, and organizational principles to formulate solutions to real-world practice issues and interprofessional collaboration.

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APNA 710 Leadership and Professional Roles for the Advanced Practice Nurse (APN)

2 credit hours

This course prepares the learner with leadership theories and change management principles for roles in health policy analysis, organizational leadership, and interdisciplinary practice. Learners will examine strategic planning and management in healthcare. Learners are prepared for nursing leadership and management roles, utilizing skills of communication, conflict resolution, collaboration, and team dynamics in complex healthcare settings. Learners will identify methods to promote personal and organizational health and well-being.

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APNA 720 Nurse Anesthesia Residency III

6 credit hours

This clinical course is devised to develop nurse anesthesia clinical competencies by applying evidence-based didactic knowledge and acquired simulation skills in a supervised clinical residency. The nurse anesthesia students will learn to plan, implement, and manage an advanced to complex anesthetic through the continuum of care- from preoperative assessment to post-operative evaluation. During this clinical residency, students will care for actual patients across the lifespan. This course includes an expected minimum total of 500 clinical and simulation laboratory hours. Students are expected to complete these hours through a combination of simulated learning and healthcare facility partners clinical immersion.

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APNA 730 Nurse Anesthesia Residency IV

6 credit hours

This clinical course is devised to develop nurse anesthesia clinical competencies by applying evidence-based didactic knowledge and acquired simulation skills in a supervised residency. The nurse anesthesia students will learn to plan, implement, and manage an advanced to complex anesthetic through the continuum of care- from preoperative assessment to post-operative evaluation. During this clinical residency, students will care for actual patients across the lifespan. This course includes an expected minimum total of 500 clinical and simulation laboratory hours. Students are expected to complete these hours through a combination of simulated learning and healthcare facility partners clinical immersion.

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APNA 740 Nurse Anesthesia Residency V

6 credit hours

This clinical course is devised to develop nurse anesthesia clinical competencies by applying evidence-based didactic knowledge and acquired simulation skills in a supervised residency. The nurse anesthesia students will learn to plan, implement, and manage an advanced to complex anesthetic through the continuum of care- from preoperative assessment to post-operative evaluation. During this clinical residency, students will care for actual patients across the lifespan. This course includes an expected minimum total of 500 clinical and simulation laboratory hours. Students are expected to complete these hours through a combination of simulated learning and healthcare facility partners clinical immersion.

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APNA 750 DNP Project Design/Development

2 credit hours

This is the first in a three-course series that ends with the implementation, evaluation and dissemination of scholarly work that demonstrates the student’s synthesis of the Essentials of Doctoral Education for Advanced Practice Nursing (i.e., the DNP Essentials). The primary objectives of this course are two-fold: (1) to introduce the student to the essentials of scholarly writing and the logical presentation of ideas, and (2) to apply these essential skills to the development of a comprehensive proposal for the DNP project. Upon completing this course, students will demonstrate clinical scholarship by identifying a pertinent healthcare issue, conducting a thorough examination of existing evidence, selecting an appropriate project context, and developing a preliminary proposal for a project that synthesizes DNP coursework. Learners will design a plan for implementation and evaluation of the proposed project and submit an Institutional Review Board (IRB) application for approval. This course builds upon the content of previous courses, including: APNA 560 EBP, APNA 570 Quality and Safety for the APNA, APNA 610 Research Methods, and APNA 620 Research Design and Statistics for Data Analysis.

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APNA 751 DNP Project Implementation

2 credit hours

This is the second in a three-course series: Upon obtaining IRB approval, the learner will start the implementation phase of the approved scholarly project plan. This course provides the integrative practice experience necessary for improvement for advanced nursing practice and health outcomes. Learners will demonstrate their competency in resource management, time allocation, assessment, conflict resolution, and mitigation of implementation challenges; particularly through employment of communication and collaboration strategies. By the end of this semester, learners will exhibit their proficiency in executing the proposed project plan.

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APNA 752 DNP Project Dissemination

2 credit hours

In this final DNP Project course, the learner actively engages in monitoring and analyzing the progress of the change project, evaluating key variables, making necessary adjustments, and discerning implications for future endeavors. Comprehensive scholarly reports, delivered both in written and oral formats, serve as platforms for disseminating and integrating newfound knowledge. These reports describe the chosen topic, tracing the project development and implementation journey. Learners will assess the project’s effectiveness in meeting the needs of the targeted population and evaluate project outcomes. The final project deliverables represent the learner’s proficiency in employing effective communication and collaboration skills. Successful completion and dissemination of the project validates the learner’s ability to assume leadership to effectively influence healthcare quality and safety.

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APNA 760 NCE Review and Clinical Topic Synthesis

1 credit hour

This course focuses on the critical analysis and appraisal of clinical topics in preparation for the national certification exam (NCE). A review of nurse anesthesia material, application of theories and principles to various scenarios, and testing will comprise the content of this course. The student is required to take and pass the self-evaluation exam (SEE) offered by the NBCRNA.

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