MVU_NURS601_Syllabus.

Course Overview Evidence-based practice is the deliberate use of current best practice in making informed decisions about the implementation of nursing knowledge. This course emphasizes evidence-based practice as it relates to changing and improving the discipline of nursing. Students systematically explore and evaluate current nursing knowledge for scientific and clinical merit. Learning Objectives Upon successful completion of this course, you will be able to do the following:  Critically analyze existing nursing research (Essentials II, III, IV, VII, VIII, IX).  Synthesize a review of literature on a specific topic (Essentials I, IV, IV, VII, VIII, IX). MSN Essentials The following represent the core content for all master's programs in nursing and "provide curricular elements and framework, regardless of focus, major, or intended practice setting" (AACN, 2011, p.3). The reference and the link for these essentials are provided for you at the end of the document. These essentials "delineate the knowledge and skills that all nurses prepared in a master's nursing program acquire" (AACN, 2011, p.4), and you should see evidence of these essentials in each of the courses in the MSN-NP curriculum. Below are brief descriptions of each essential and can be found on pages 4 and 5 of the Essentials document. In the document, you will find a deeper discussion of each of them, as well as expected student outcomes and sample content. Essential I: Background for Practice from Sciences and Humanities MSN NURS601: Evidence Based Practice in Nursing Recognizes that the master's prepared nurse integrates scientific findings from nursing, biopsychosocial fields, genetics, public health, quality improvement, and organizational sciences for the continual improvement of nursing care across diverse settings. Essential II: Organizational and Systems Leadership Recognizes that organizational and systems leadership are critical to the promotion of high quality and safe patient care. Leadership skills are needed that emphasize ethical and critical decision making, effective working relationships, and a systems-perspective. Essential III: Quality Improvement and Safety Recognizes that a master's-prepared nurse must be articulate in the methods, tools, performance measures, and standards related to quality, as well as prepared to apply quality principles within an organization. Essential IV: Translating and Integrating Scholarship into Practice Recognizes that the master's-prepared nurse applies research outcomes within the practice setting, resolves practice problems, works as a change agent, and disseminates results. Essential V: Informatics and Healthcare Technologies Recognizes that the master's-prepared nurse uses patient-care technologies to deliver and enhance care and uses communication technologies to integrate and coordinate care. Essential VI: Health Policy and Advocacy Recognizes that the master's-prepared nurse is able to intervene at the system level though the policy development process and to employ advocacy strategies to influence health and health care. Essential VII: Interprofessional Collaboration for Improving Patient and Population Health Outcomes MSN NURS601: Evidence Based Practice in Nursing Recognizes that the master's prepared nurse, as a member and leader of interprofessional teams, communicates, collaborates, and consults with other health professionals to manage and coordinate care. Essential VIII: Clinical Prevention and Population Health for Improving Health Recognizes that the master's-prepared nurse applies and integrates broad, organizational, client-centered, and culturally appropriate concepts in the planning, delivery, management, and evaluation of evidence-based clinical prevention and population care and services to individuals, families, and aggregates/identified populations.