SCHOOL OF NURSING

Bachelor of Science in Nursing

Nursing 3710.06 Nursing and Episodic Illness: Preventative Care and Interventions (6CR)
May 9- July 29, 2022
Section: 01 Term: Spring Year: 2021/2022
Co-Course Shauna Houk MN RN Nadine Ezzeddine MN RN
Professors (902)-494-3498 (902) 494-2390
shauna.houk@dal.ca Nadine.ezzeddine@dal.ca

**To ensure consistent communication please email all correspondence to both Course Professors Shauna Houk
& Nadine Ezzeddine in addition to the assigned tutorial leader or teaching assistant if applicable.**

Teaching Team
Teaching Assistant Jesse Clattenburg js379144@dal.ca

Tutorial Leaders T01 Karen Curry kr695324@dal.ca

T 02 Amanda Osbourne am942084@dal.ca
T 03 Christopher White christopherwhite@dal.ca
T 04 Claire Parmiter cl560097@dal.ca
T 05 Lynn Hann ly316140@dal.ca
T 06 Laura Funicelli lr992761@dal.ca
T 07 Amanda Forsyth am814533@dal.ca
T 08 Stephanie Smith st315587@dal.ca
T 09 Amanda Bateman am254526@dal.ca

Mode of Delivery: In- person class lecture format

Tuesday 0935-1125 Tupper Theatre B
Thursday 0935-1125 CHEB 170
Friday 0935-1125 Tupper Theatre B

Tutorial Dates
▪ May 12 1235-1325 (Tutorial orientation+ practice case study)
▪ May 19 1235-1425 (Case study analysis)
▪ June 2 1235-1425 (Case development –Graded assignment)
▪ June 16 1235-1425 (Case study analysis)

1
Office Hours:
By Appointment

Course Description:
Collaborating with clients across the life course during the acute phase of physical or mental
illness requires a focus on preventative and curative care strategies. Utilization of evidence and
application of nursing and inter-professional collaborative care and informed decision-making is
examined within the context of person, family and society.

Pre-Requisite: NURS 2725: Clinical Integration 2

Student Learning Objectives:
1. Examine the determinants of health and the principles of primary health care as they relate
to the acute and episodic management of clients across the life course.
2. Define safe health care practices based on recent evidence and articulate the professional
role of nursing.
3. Demonstrate use of evidence, the nursing process and culturally competent practices in
health care decision making with clients experiencing short term illness
4. Demonstrate understanding of conditions and therapeutic interventions necessary during
acute illness regardless of the client’s age or stage of development.
5. Explain the conditions necessary to engage clients in health care decision making within a
variety of settings
6. Define processes necessary to ensure safe, continuous care is in place for all clients.
7. Link the roles of health care professionals to essential elements of collaborative care for
clients with short-term alterations in health status.

Required/ Suggested Textbook(s), readings, materials including electronic resources:

Canadian Nurse Association. (2017). Code of ethics for registered nurses. Ottawa, ON: Author.
Halter, M. (2019). Varcarolis’s Canadian psychiatric mental health nursing: A critical approach.
(2nd Canadian Ed.). Toronto, ON: Elsevier, Inc.
Hartrick Doane, G., & Varcoe, C. (2015). How to nurse: Relational inquiry with individuals and
families in changing health and health care contexts. Philadelphia: Wolters Kluwer.
Lewis, S., Bucher, L., Heitkemper, M., Harding, M., Barry, M., Lok, J., Tyerman, J. & Goldsworthy,
A. (2019). Medical-surgical nursing in Canada: Assessment and management of clinical
problems. (4th ed.). Toronto, ON: Elsevier.
Nova Scotia College of Nursing. (2020) Entry Level Competencies for Registered Nurses in Nova
Scotia, Halifax, NS: Author.
Nova Scotia College of Nursing. (2017). Standards of practice for Registered Nurses. Halifax, NS:
Author.
Perry, E.P., Hockenberry, M.J., Lowdermilk, D.L., Wilson, D., Keenan-Lindsay, L., & Sams, C.
(2017). Maternal child nursing in Canada. (2nd ed). Toronto, ON: Elsevier, Inc.
Potter, P., Perry, A., Stockert, P., Hall, A., Astle, B. & Duggleby, W. (2019). Canadian
fundamentals of nursing (6th ed.). Toronto, ON: Elsevier, Inc.

2
Core Curriculum Themes:
I. People Centeredness
a. Diversity: age, experiences, culture, beliefs
b. Inter-professional: roles, teams
c. Health Literacy
d. Nursing Practice (Psychomotor skills, lifespan, promotive, restorative, preventative,
rehabilitative, and palliative): health assessment; complex interventions: cardiac
monitor and lab interpretation, ventilation and chest tubes management; person and
family centered care; disease/crisis management and prevention; nursing process
e. Communication: therapeutic, inter-professional
f. Relational practice: critical inquiry
g. Theory
h. Evidence: evidence-informed practice

II. Health Systems and Social Care

a. Primary health care (Across a variety of settings): community, institution, home;
Principles (Access, health promotion & disease prevention, public participation,
intersectoral collaboration, appropriate technology) and Practices (promotion, primary,
secondary and tertiary prevention, protection, rehabilitation, support/palliation)
b. Determinants of Health: Individual lifestyle factors, social and community networks, and
general socioeconomic, cultural and environmental conditions; impact on choice and
adherence
c. Activism: system challenges and solutions
d. Safety: Competencies to recognize and promote a culture of safety; reporting f adverse
events; quality improvement role; risk management
e. Advocacy: advocate for implementation of evidence-informed practices
III. Professional Formation
a. Accountability: independent learning
b. Collaboration
c. Imagination
d. Confidence and competence

3
Weekly Topics

Dates Module Topics Tutorial Focus

Week 1 Class 1 Course Introduction: Episodic Care, May 12 1235-1325 (1 hr)
Hospitalization and Health Promotion Applying the Nursing Process:
Theoretical Concepts Developing a Care Plan
Acute Pain
Class 2: Peri-Operative care concepts & HEENT
Class 3: Fluid/Electrolytes & Renal Function

Week 2 Class 1: Digestive and Gastrointestinal Function May 19 1235-1425 (2 hr)

Class 2: Liver, Biliary, Pancreas Function Case Studies
Class 3: Metabolic & Endocrine Function
Week 3 Class 1: Neurological Function I
Class 2: Neurological Function II No Tutorial
Class 3: Respiratory Function
Week 4 Class 1: Reproductive & Genitourinary Disorders June 2 1235-1425 (2 hr)
Class 2: Perinatal Function I Case Study Development
Class 3: Perinatal Function II Due: June 3, 2022
Graded 10%

Week 5 Class 1: Hematological & Immunologic Disorders

Class 2: Mental Health I No Tutorial
Class 3: Mental Health II

Week 6 Class 1: Cardiovascular Function I June 16 1235-1425 (2 hr)

Class 2: Cardiovascular Function II Case Study Analysis
Class 3: Vascular Disorders
Week 7 Class 1: Integumentary Function (Burns)
Class 2: Musculoskeletal Function, Injury & Repair No tutorial
Class 3: Emergency & Trauma Care

Tutorials:

• Students are required to work collaboratively and prepare the tutorial assignments
prior to tutorial session through Microsoft office-TEAMS platform.
• Students are required to attend in person, present their tutorial work, and engage in
discussions on the assigned tutorial dates.
• Students are required to submit tutorial assignments for grading as specified below.

4
Assessment Components:

Test # 1 20% May 30 @ 10:00 –11:30 am

Test # 2 20% June 20 @ 10:00-11:30 am
Health Promotion and Prevention Paper 20% June 24 @ 1600
Case Development Assignment 10% June 3 @ 1600
Final Exam 30% TBA Exam period

Detailed Assessment Components:

1. Test # 1 (20%)
Date: May 30 @ 10:00 am –11:30 in CHEB 170
This test will be written in-person via Brightspace. Students will complete 50 questions
randomly selected from a question bank and include multiple choice, matching, select all that
apply &/or ordered response. Content will be drawn from Week 1, Week 2 & Week 3 modules,
required readings, videos and other assigned learning resources.

2. Test # 2 (20%)
Date: June 20 @ 10:00-11:30 am in CHEB 170
This test will be written in-person via Brightspace. Students will complete 50 questions
randomly selected from a question bank that include multiple choice, matching, select all that
apply &/or ordered response. Content will be drawn from Week 4, 5 & 6 modules, lectures,
required readings, videos and other assigned learning resources.

3. Health Promotion and Prevention Paper (20%)

Graded by Teaching Assistant &Tutorial Leaders
Date: June 24 @ 1600
Students will select and review an episodic acute illness and briefly describe the clinical
significance. Through a health equity lens explore the care management using an inter-
professional collaborative approach including the continuum of care between institutional
health care settings and community care. Identify and critique evidence informed preventative
and health promotion strategies with consideration to the social determinants of health and
diverse populations.
Refer to the Assignment Guidelines and Grading Rubric in the Assessment Component
Folder in brightspace.

4. Case Development, Analysis and Care Plan Development Assignment (10%)

Graded by Tutorial Leaders
Date: June 3 @ 1600
To allow students to work collaboratively as they develop and analyze a clinical case of an
episodic illness to develop a corresponding nursing care plan. Through this exercise, students
will be able to identify and analyze all relevant data sources and data elements that inform the
development of the nursing care plan. Students will be provided brief case information to

5
guide the case development. Then using the template provided students will be able to
develop a nursing plan of care, grounded by the relevant assessment findings and supported
by evidence-informed references. In this assignment, students are prompted to identify and
incorporate the social determinants of health and elements of diversity.
Refer to the Assignment Guidelines and Grading Rubric in the Assessment Component
Folder in brightspace.

5. Final Exam (30%)

Date: Date and time to be announced (Exam period July 25- 29)
The final exam will be written in-person via Brightspace during the exam period. The final exam
will consist of 100 questions randomly selected from a course developed question bank and
may include multiple choice, select all that apply, matching, fill in the blank &/or ordered
response questions. Content from Week 7 will comprise 15% of the final exam and content
from Weeks 1-6 will comprise 85% of the exam.

Grading:
Students will be assigned letter grades which correspond with the following grading scale:
A+ 90-100
A 85-89
A- 80-84
B+ 77-79
B 73-76
B- 70-72
C+ 65-69
F <65

There is no supplemental examination in this course.

Students are not to share course materials with others not registered in the course.

Late Assignment Practice:

All assignments must be submitted to the appropriate drop box on Brightspace by the due
date/time. Ten percent (10%) will be deducted each calendar day for five days when the
assignment is late without a negotiated extension as outlined below. After 5 days, an
“incomplete” grade will be recorded on the student’s record until the assignment is submitted.
Saturdays, Sundays, holidays, and weekdays are included in this time frame. To remove an
“incomplete” grade from their record, students must submit the assignment, the quality of
which must indicate that the objectives of the assignment have been met. The student will
receive no value for the assignment. An “incomplete” grade automatically becomes a “fail”
grade for the course if the assignment is not received within four weeks of submitting course
grades to the Registrar’s Office. Thus, all assignments must be submitted to meet the course
requirements, regardless of the value received after the application of a late penalty.

Late submissions without penalty are considered when students:

6
 a) Have a serious illness or crisis that prevent them from completing the assignment on
time. The onus is on the student to provide sufficient evidence by completing and
submitting the Student Declaration of Absence form on Brightspace under “Course
Information”. Once able to return to class, a new ‘due date’ must be arranged by the
student with the co-course professors. If the student’s absence interferes with the
completion of the final exam, an alternate individual project may be assigned.
OR
b) Prior to the due date, the student has consulted the co-course professors and has
obtained an extension of the date. This request must be made at least 48 hours prior to
the due date and time.

UNIVERSITY POLICIES, STATEMENT, GUIDELINES and RESOURCES for SUPPORT

This course is governed by the academic rules and regulations set forth in the University
Calendar and the Senate (https://academiccalendar.dal.ca/catalog/viewcatalog.aspx)

Academic Integrity: http://www.dal.ca/dept/university_secretariat/academic-integrity.html

At Dalhousie University, we are guided in all of our work by the values of academic integrity:
honesty, trust, fairness, responsibility and respect (The Center for Academic Integrity, Duke
University, 1999). As a student, you are required to demonstrate these values in all of the work
you do. The University provides policies and procedures that every member of the university
community is required to follow to ensure academic integrity.

Accessibility: The Advising and Access Services Centre is Dalhousie's centre of expertise for
student accessibility and accommodation. The advising team works with students who request
accommodation as a result of: a disability, religious obligation, or any barrier related to any
other characteristic protected under Human Rights legislation (NS, NB, PEI, NFLD). (read more:
https://www.dal.ca/campus_life/academic-support/accessibility.html

Student Code of Conduct: Everyone at Dalhousie is expected to treat others with dignity and
respect. The Code of Student Conduct allows Dalhousie to take disciplinary action if students
don’t follow this community expectation. When appropriate, violations of the code can be
resolved in a reasonable and informal manner—perhaps through a restorative justice process. If
an informal resolution can’t be reached, or would be inappropriate, procedures exist for formal
dispute resolution. (read more: https://www.dal.ca/campus_life/safety-respect/student-rights-
and-responsibilities/student-life-policies/code-of -student-conduct.html

Diversity and Inclusion – Culture of Respect: Every person at Dalhousie has a right to be
respected and safe. We believe inclusiveness is fundamental to education. We stand for
equality. Dalhousie is strengthened in our diversity. We are a respectful and inclusive
community. We are committed to being a place where everyone feels welcome and supported,
which is why our Strategic Direction prioritizes fostering a culture of diversity and inclusiveness
(Strategic Priority 5.2). (read more: http://www.dal.ca/cultureofrespect.html)

7
Recognition of Mi’kmaq Territory: Dalhousie University would like to acknowledge that the
University is on Traditional Mi’kmaq Territory. The Elders in Residence program provides
students with access to First Nations elders for guidance, counsel and support. Visit the office in
the McCain Building (room 3037) or contact the programs at elders@dal.ca or 902-494-6803
(leave a message).

Learning and Support Resources

• General Academic Support – Advising: https://www.dal.ca/campus_life/academic-
support/advising.html (Halifax)
• Fair Dealing Guidelines: https://libraries.dal.ca/services/copyright-office/guidelines/fair-
dealing-guidelines.html
• Dalhousie University Library http://libraries.dal.ca
• Student Declaration of Absence Form https://www.dal.ca/campus_life/safety-
respect/student-rights-and-responsibilities/academic-policies/student-absence/student-
absence---for-faculty.html

School of Nursing Policies:

https://www.dal.ca/faculty/health/nursing/current-students/student-handbooks-and-
policies.html

AS A STUDENT IN THE NURSING PROGRAM, YOU ARE RESPONSIBLE TO READ AND BE AWARE
OF DALHOUSIE UNIVERSITY AND SCHOOL OF NURSING POLICIES.

Dalhousie University is committed to a welcoming and respectful working and learning environment
that is free from harassment and discrimination. We encourage open dialogue however members of the
Module are expected to refrain from speaking or behaving in ways that are harmful to others, through
racism, homophobia, sexism, or other derogatory treatment based on characteristics protected under
the Nova Scotia Human Rights Act. Please do not hesitate to speak with the course professor if you have
questions or concerns or see www.dalrespect.dal.ca for further information on resources and supports.