Course Descriptions - MSN

EDCC 521 Peacebuilding and Conflict Resolution (3 SH)
This course is an introduction to the theories and processes of conflict transformation and peacebuilding within educational and/or counseling contexts. Creating a culture of peace in education goes beyond solving problems. The goal is to nurture peaceful, just and caring relationships within communities. As such, educators, nurses and counselors will examine educational systems and relational literacy approaches, as well as their own personal beliefs, conflict resolution style(s), relationships, communication skills, curriculum and instructional strategies, discipline systems and classroom organization processes. Participants will learn restorative teaching approaches and conflict resolution strategies and develop culturally sensitive peace curricula (modeling integrated, infused, or direct instruction) for specific classroom, clinical or community settings.

EDCC 531 Social and Ethical Issues in Education (3 SH)
This course examines historical, sociological, philosophical, ethical, legal, and multicultural issues in education. The course is designed to further equip you as a decision maker and leader in educational settings. Special attention is given to discussion of how public policy in education is shaped by the community’s social and ethical concerns.

EDDA 571 Trauma Restoration and Resilience in Educational Environment (3 SH)
Most children experience traumatic events, and those events can profoundly influence their cognitive, physical, emotional, and social development.  School staff may be unaware of the specific traumatic events impacting each child, and school environments may inadvertently exacerbate the impacts of trauma.  Traumatic events may cause a child to have academic difficulty, behavior that interferes with learning or violates codes of student conduct, and troubled relationships with peers and school staff.  Conversely, trauma-informed, resilience-fostering school environments can mitigate the impact of trauma and enhance the protective factors that provide the foundation for health, academic success, and positive peer and staff interactions.  This course will introduce school personnel to the core concepts of adverse experiences, toxic stress, trauma, restoration, self-care, and resilience in the school environment, and provides a research-based, strength-based approach to creating a trauma-informed, resilience-fostering school environment.

EDDS 601 Advocacy Issues Within Special Education (3 SH)
This course is designed to assist the teacher/nurse practitioner in recognizing the impact and importance of decision-making and the dynamics of advocacy. This course includes, but is not limited to, current topics in special education, self-determination by and for students, development of the essential professional advocacy competencies, advocating for students with special needs, the rights of children, and the inclusive setting. Students will participate in an exploration of advocacy websites, develop an online product such as a wiki, blog, Facebook page, etc. or a brochure to use in their professional practice when working with families and colleagues. In addition, students will develop a personal position on advocacy.

NURS 503 Practice Skills for Conflict Transformation (3 SH)
This course focuses on understanding conflict, and on the roles, skills, strategies, processes and personal awareness needed for reflective leaders/practitioners facilitating conflict transformation in interpersonal and small group settings. Participants will be asked to consider their personal responses to conflict and their professional roles and responsibilities in relation to conflict. The course will include an overview of basic processes of conflict transformation including negotiation, mediation, group facilitation, and circle processes among others. Students will practice/evaluate the skills of listening, issue identification, appreciative inquiry, nonviolent communication, methods for structuring conversation in group settings, and awareness of the impact of self on others. The course is delivered through online discussions, reading, case studies, and an on-campus component with interactive activities and role plays. 

NURS 504 School Nursing: Legal Mandates (3 SH)
This course examines the roles and responsibilities of school nurses and the laws governing the practice of school nursing. The importance of the school nurse’s responsibility to promote the health of students, enhance their ability to learn, and promote health among school personnel will be emphasized in this course. Current legal issues in school health as well as emerging roles and responsibilities of School Nurses will also be explored.

NURS 505 School Nursing: Theory and Diverse Learners (3 SH)
This course examines the roles and responsibilities of the school nurse in relation to promotion, restoration, and maintenance of health of school children. Management and evaluation of coordinated school health programs are discussed with an understanding for the need for outcome criteria. Principles of community health are applied. Significant emphasis will be placed on accommodations and adaptations for diverse learners. 

NURS 506 School Nursing Practicum (3 SH)
This course follows the School Nursing: Theory and Diverse Learners course. In addition to the online learning activities, students will complete a 120 hour clinical practicum in various school settings. The dissemination of hours is as follows: 30 hours in the elementary setting, 30 hours in the middle school setting, 30 hours in the high school setting, and 30 hours with the diverse learner population. Clinical practicum assignments are individually planned with the approval of the course instructor. (Prerequisites: NURS 504 and NURS 505)

NURS 510 Historical, Philosophical and Theoretical Foundations of Nursing (3 SH)
This course focuses on establishing emotionally intelligent nursing professionalism as a basis for fostering leadership within both the nursing profession and society. In considering aims for personal growth, students will engage with the Sacred Covenant model that underpins Eastern Mennonite University’s approach and evaluate the ways in which nurse theorists and other historical leaders have role-modeled professionalism and intelligent interpersonal and inter-professional relationships. Specific attention will be paid to nursing professionalism and the means through which nurses can advance the profession of nursing individually and collectively. 

NURS 610 Translational Scholarship for Evidence-Based Practice (3 SH)
This course is designed to allow the learner to critically appraise research in order to translate current evidence into practice. Attention will be given to issues of research ethics, practice concerns, diverse populations and identifying gaps in evidence. The learners will investigate the role of the nurse leader in making the case for evidence-based practice. Learners will examine barriers to EBP, assess and work toward change as necessary to implement EBP, learn how to prepare staff for EBP, develop a structure for EPB, determine resources needed for EBP, use technology for EBP and complete a review of literature related to a quality improvement project. (NOTE: This course is a prerequisite to NURS 620)

NURS 512 Knowledge Development: Informatics, Epidemiology and Outcomes (3 SH)
This course combines concepts from Epidemiology and Informatics in a manner that allows the student to simultaneously apply content from both areas in an ongoing case study. Students will develop competence in the application of epidemiological tools and processes such as surveillance, incidence and prevalence, mapping and risk to chronic or infectious disease conditions. An ecosocial approach to causality is explored. Students will demonstrate competence in use of data tools, databases, and interdisciplinary communication systems. The application of informatics technology to enhance outcomes on individual, group and population levels within an ethical framework is a major focus. Students will comprehend how knowledge is acquired, processed, generated, and disseminated. 

NURS 515 Health Care Delivery System (3 SH)
This course provides a conceptual model of the American health care system and the governmental system of developing and implementing health policy. This includes a theoretical framework as well as a delineation of the functions and roles of the major sectors of the U.S. healthcare system.

NURS 516 Applications of Legal and Ethical Principles to Health Care Leadership (3 SH)
This course examines the legal and ethical issues nursing and other health care leaders negotiate as they manage the delivery of health care services. Themes throughout the course include the manager as the steward of ethics and the importance of ethical awareness for all staff and staff inclusion in ethical decision making. The use of an organizational ethics committee will be practiced utilizing an ethical decision-making model which focuses on the importance of organizational values/mission, personal ethics, professional standards, and evidence- based decision-making. The influence of faith-based values on ethical decision-making will be outlined with students expected to identify and reflect how their own personal values shape their ethical positions. The context of the ethical response of management to medical errors and malpractice claims also will be examined. Multiple case studies that reflect these issues will be used to engage the students in decision-making regarding an appropriate managerial response.

NURS 620 Safety, Risk Reduction and Quality Care (4 SH)
This course examines issues of safety, risk reduction and quality of care at all levels of the health care system, and the role of nurse leaders in this area. The Institute for Medicine [IOM] states that health care should be safe, effective, equitable, patient-centered, efficient, and timely. This course is structured to cover each of these criteria and is broken into two sections. The first seven weeks examine the science and application of science for quality improvement as a preventive process. In the second section, the principles and methods for quality and safety as well as how organizations respond to safety issues will be reviewed. A variety of other issues related to quality and safety will be integrated throughout the course including the role of nursing and nurse leaders in the establishment of a quality and safety culture; the interchange between quality, cost, and value; as well as how quality is impacted by and impacts global and cultural aspects of health care.

Concurrent with this content, students will be creating and finalizing the methodology for their MSN capstone evidence-based quality improvement project with the end-result being the completion of an official proposal to a designated Capstone Project Faculty Advisor. Once approved, this project will be implemented in the subsequent NURS 630 course during the following summer. In essence, the spring semester is the Plan phase of your QI project. (NOTE: Prerequisite to this course is NURS 511 and NURS 630) 

NURS 623 Managerial and Financial Leadership in Nursing (3 SH)

This course will focus around two major but integrated concepts regarding nursing leadership: a) the unique challenges faced when leading healthcare organizations or groups; and b) the basic financial knowledge to function as a nurse leader in these organizations. Through an integrated approach, students will examine managerial and leadership topics in healthcare including working with interdisciplinary & diverse teams of professionals and non-professionals, creating healthy work environments in stressful environments that fosters the voice of professionals, recruiting and retaining healthcare professionals, and meeting the needs of community members. As students examine each of these topics, students will also learn the basic financial concepts needed when addressing the management topics. Financial content will focus on equipping the students in order to be successful in their day-to-day leadership roles and will require only basic math functions (multiply, divide, addition, and subtraction). Combining the basic financial skills with a questioning approach to problem solving healthcare unique leadership issues, students will gain the foundational knowledge needed to consider both “margin and mission”.

NURS 628 Organizational Behavior (3 SH)
All organizations are organic, interconnected systems that take on a life of their own regardless of the individuals that occupy various roles in the system. Leaders need to understand their organizational systems and the behavior of those systems if they hope to effectively lead or change them. This course will explore organizational behavior and organizational development through metaphors and from a systems perspective, including concepts of change and conflict. It will rely heavily on student participation. Learning topics include motivation theory, group behavior, leadership, decision-making, organizational structure and culture, emotional intelligence and communication. The content is applicable to students in for-profit, not-for profit, church, and educational organizations. During the course you will read, respond to forum questions, meet with an organizational leader, discuss content with classmates, analyze a meeting and write three papers.

NURS 621 Person-Centered Instructional Design for Nurses
This course equips nurse leaders with the knowledge and skills to employ instructional design principles for person-centered education delivery to diverse audiences. The practical demands of diverse audiences, health literacy and inter-professional communication will be considered. Learners will explore principles of teaching and learning, including theories of adult learning. Information and communication technologies as a means to deliver education and improve consumer health literacy will be explored. Participants will explore adult learning theories and cultural considerations for educational delivery while designing a workplace-based teaching
project.

NURS 630 Leadership Project (4 SH)
This course integrates master’s prepared executive skills with the challenge of implementing a change process in a new role or setting. In addition to participating in discussion forums, the course involves literature review and reading, reflective and scholarly writing, and leading and evaluating a quality improvement project. The student will partner with a nurse-leader preceptor to implement a change project at either a higher level within the organization than the student’s current practice level, in a different setting than their current role or setting, or in a multidisciplinary setting. Working with the faculty and preceptor to apply content and approaches studied during the MSN program, all projects must include a system change with analysis of the system and ethical challenges, consideration of primary, secondary, and tertiary strategies to accomplish projected outcomes, interpretation of the financial impact of the project, evaluation of potential social, distributive and interactional justice issues, and integration of the nurse’s voice throughout the progression of the project. (Prerequisite: NURS 511 and NURS 620)

PAX 540 STAR Level 1 (2-3 SH)
Whether working in advocacy, healthcare, education, government, care-giving, activism, or in any kind of leadership or community building capacity, stressors add up - particularly in the midst (and aftermath?) of pandemic. Research and experience demonstrate that unaddressed trauma often leads to conflict and violence against self or with others, as trauma-affected people act out against others or become self-destructive. STAR combines theory with experiential learning to increase awareness of the impacts of trauma on the body, brain, beliefs and behaviors. The course offers tools for addressing trauma and breaking cycles of violence.

STAR’s multi-disciplinary framework draws on several fields of theory and practice to support healthy, resilient individuals and communities: trauma and resilience studies (including neurobiology), restorative justice, conflict transformation, human security, and spirituality. STAR centers participants’ experience and insights, while offering activities, resources, and a theoretical model to support a journey toward understanding and interrupting cycles of violence at the individual, communal and societal levels.

PAX 571 Restorative Justice: Principles, Theories & Applications (3 SH) 
This course provides a critical examination of the values, principles, and practices of restorative justice. It provides a unique opportunity to explore the philosophy of restorative justice from various perspectives, and as it is applied in various contexts. Our primary starting point is the U.S. criminal legal system and the problems posed by its dominant responses to harm and violence. We examine how restorative justice presents a contrasting philosophy of justice that addresses the needs of multiple stakeholders, draws from faith-based and indigenous approaches, and challenges interpersonal and structural forms of harm. We also explore intersections and applications of restorative justice with multiple fields and movements including racial justice, trauma healing, education, youth development, and transitional justice.

This course is offered every fall and in the Summer Peacebuilding Institute. 

PAX 640 STAR Level 2 (2-3 SH)
Strategies for Trauma Awareness and Resilience (STAR) Level 2 invites people who have started to bring trauma awareness into their life and work for greater resilience to deepen their knowledge and skills. In Level 2, participants have a chance to:

• review and deepen learning around trauma awareness and resilience

• grapple with the complex realities and implications of structural and historical harms

• practice and deepen capacity for trauma-informed facilitation, and

• share plans and questions, while connecting with others who are applying STAR learning in their lives and work.

STAR Level 1 provides foundational content for this course. In Level 2, we continue to focus on trauma’s impacts on body, brain, beliefs and behavior; how those impacts often lead to cycles of violence; and possibilities for breaking free from cycles of violence and building resilience. Participants in STAR Level 2 will also have the opportunity to join the STAR Practitioner learning community for ongoing connection and exchange as well as conceptual and practical resources.

Participants must have applied STAR concepts personally or professionally since completion of STAR Level 1 training (normally for a period of about 3-6 months). STAR 2 is also offered in the Summer Peacebuilding Institute.

Learn more about STAR on the STAR website!

TRHS 541 Trauma, Restoration and Resilience in Healthcare Settings (3 SH)
This course will introduce the core concepts of adverse experiences, toxic stress, trauma, restoration, self-care, and resilience in the healthcare setting and provide a research-based, strength-based approach to creating a trauma-informed, resilience-fostering healthcare setting. (Prerequisite: a bachelor’s degree)

TRHS 561 Neurobiology of Trauma (3 SH)
This course will provide a foundational understanding of the neurobiology of the human stress response. Exploration of neuroscience as it applies to psychosocial stress, resilience, and the cultivation of well-being. Various heuristics of the brain and central nervous system will be presented. The course will present the frame of Interpersonal Neurobiology as an integrative method of applying neurobiological principles in the field.

TRHS 571 Self-care and Resilience for Healthcare Providers (3 SH)
This course provides information and strategies for the development of self-care practices to address burnout, compassion fatigue, and promote resiliency. Strategies to serve students, meet professional goals, and maintain health and well-being will be developed. 

TRHS 621 Trauma-Informed Strategies for Healthcare Providers (3 SH)
Many clients in the clinical setting, in all genres of care may have, or may be, experiencing traumatic events. This can profoundly influence their client's health and well-being and response to care. The nurse may be unaware of the specific traumatic events impacting each client in the clinical setting and may, without knowledge and discernment, exacerbate the impacts of trauma. Traumatic events may cause a client to respond to therapy and care in ways that are more destructive than healing. When the nurse is well trained to identify signs of trauma, the nurse can initiate a care plan that provides with tools for resilience. This course will provide strategies to intervene in trauma-informed and restorative ways for healthcare providers, co-workers, and clients. Organizational environments that offer healing and restoration will be explored. 

TRHS 631 Research in Risk and Resilience (3 SH)
This course will examine current evidence-based research on trauma, risk and resiliency and protective factors for the healthcare provider and potential clients. Participants will research and review literature regarding the needs of the multiple populations and strategies to build resiliency in healthcare settings, for healthcare providers, co-workers, and clients.