Nursing Department - Curriculum and Course Descriptions

The nursing program is organized into two (2) major components:

  • pre-requisites (which comprise general education courses, with a focus on biological and social science courses)
  • nursing courses

Students who have an unencumbered Washington State LPN license or have successfully completed the first year of an accredited comprable ADN program may go directly to the 4th quarter of the program.

The nursing courses are further organized into three (3) distinct areas: nursing theory, skills laboratory, and clinical rotations.

  • The theoretical portion of the nursing curriculum presents concepts and knowledge essential to the practice of nursing.
  • The skills laboratory portion of the curriculum allows the development of manual skills required for nursing practice.
  • The clinical rotation portion of the curriculum provides the opportunity to apply both theoretical knowledge and skills in the direct care of clients and includes a service-learning project.Simulations conducted in the nursing lab are considered a part of clinicals.

The six (6) quarter sequence of courses provides for progressive development of knowledge and skills.

During the first three quarters, students learn basic nursing science and practice basic technical and interpersonal skills in providing care to 1-3 clients whose health/illness problems are stable and predictable.

The last three quarters focus on the assessment and intervention processes for clients experiencing unstable and unpredictable illness states, with health care needs of increasing acuity. The emphasis is on problem solving and managing the care of groups of clients.

The curriculum is designed to provide the student with a theoretical framework on which to base nursing interventions and a way of processing information to arrive at competent decisions, as well as competence in manual skills basic to nursing practice.

Implementation of the nursing curriculum is based on the following principles:

  • Courses and topics of study are designed so that the student moves from the simple/basic aspects to the complex/more difficult aspects.
  • The sequence of topics among nursing courses and between nursing and related science courses is planned to correlate as much as possible.
  • Courses are structured to provide didactic instruction, skills laboratory and simulation, exercises, seminars, small group discussions, and direct clinical practice at the high level of correlation.
  • Learning expectations are structured by program design and consistent use of theory and laboratory objectives.

The Nursing Process

The nursing process is a problem-solving process that requires the use of decision-making, clinical judgment, and other critical thinking skills to assess, identify and prioritize client problems, to assign nursing diagnoses with measurable outcomes, to plan care systematically, and to implement and evaluate the results of the care given. The Pierce College Nursing Program has adapted the Nursing Process as defined by the Roy Adaptation Model (RAM). The steps of the nursing process include:

  1. Assessment:
    • Assessment of Behavior: The indicator of how a human adaptive system manages to cope with, or adapt to, changes in health status is behavior. Thus, the first step in the nursing process involves gathering data about the behavior of the human adaptive system and the current state of adaptation by continuously gathering objective and subjective information. This data is continuously updated, validated, and communicated.
    • Assessment of Stimuli: This is the second step of the nursing process which involves the identification of internal and external stimuli that are influencing the person?s adaptive behaviors. Stimuli are classified as: 1) Focal- those most immediately confronting the person; 2) Contextual-all other stimuli present that are affecting the situation and, 3) Residual- those stimuli whose effect on the situation are unclear.
  2. Nursing Diagnosis: This involves the formulation of statements that interpret data about the adaptation status of the person, including the behavior and most relevant stimuli. Data collected thus far in the nursing process take the form of statements about the behavior of the human adaptive system that have been observed, measured, or subjectively reported. The nursing diagnosis is an interpretive statement about the human adaptive system. The nursing diagnosis is defined by RAM as a judgment process resulting in statements conveying the adaptation status of the human adaptive system and is used to set patient goals of adaptation.
  3. Planning: The third step of the nursing process involves the establishment of clear statements of the behavioral outcomes for nursing care. The nurse establishes these client goals/outcomes and works with the client to promote adaptation.
  4. Implementation: The implementation of care best assists the person in attaining established outcomes.
  5. Evaluation: The final step in the nursing process involves evaluating the effectiveness of the nursing intervention by comparing the behavior after the nursing intervention and the established goal. Together, the nurse and client identify factors that either positively or negatively influenced goal/outcome achievement. Client response to the plan of care determines whether nursing care should be continued as is, modified, or terminated. If evaluation points to the need to modify the nursing care plan, then the accuracy, completeness, and relevance of the assessment data, as well as the appropriateness of client diagnoses, goals, and nursing interventions, should all be carefully reviewed and modified. During this step of the nursing process the nurse compares actual outcomes with expected outcomes of care and reprioritizes client goals as indicated.

Becky Piper, RN, MN
Interim Nursing Director
(253) 864-3111

Eustania Kasjan, M.A.
Allied Health Program Manager
(253) 840-8355

Cindy Porn
Nursing Office Assistant
(253) 864-3272

Glenine Collins, RN, MSN
Full-Time Nursing Faculty
(253) 840-3182

Ronda Durano, R.N.,M.N.
Nursing Faculty
(253) 840-8379

Elizabeth Webber RN, MSN
Nursing Faculty
(253) 846-8375

 

National Accreditation

This nursing program is accredited by:

National League for Nursing Accrediting Commission, Inc.
(NLNAC)
3343 Peachtree Rd. NE
Suite 850
Atlanta, GA 30326
(404) 975-5000
www.nlnac.org