NURS 107 Nursing Assistant Theory

5 credits

This course will introduce students to the role, responsibilities, and skills required of a nursing assistant. The students will be introduced to health care concepts including scientific principles of nursing, basic therapeutic communication techniques, infection and infection control, vital sign measurement, safety and mobility issues, basic patient care, patient comfort, and nutrition.

Prerequisites: Instructor permission required

Corequisites: NURS 108 and NURS 109

Course Outcomes
Upon successful completion of this course students will be able to:

Identify the role of the nursing assistant in healthcare
Identify consumer rights and responsibilities
Describe ethical and legal issues specific to the Nursing Assistant role in health care
Distinguish appropriate therapeutic communication vs informal conversation
Demonstrate appropriate observation, reporting and documentation skills
Identify and select appropriate infection control procedures
Recognize concepts and rationales, then assess results of proper measurement of vital signs, height and weight
Identify and examine the concepts of safe care in the long-term care setting
Describe concepts of safe positioning, transferring and ambulation of patient
Describe proper body mechanics
Identify nutritional considerations
Describe death and dying issues
Identify employment opportunities, and career growth and continuing education
Describe basic first aid procedures, and respond appropriately in emergency situations
Describe care surrounding an emotionally stressed patient
Write a reflection paper explaining and justifying responses to identified problems with accompanying solutions at three different levels

Total Hours: 50 Theory (Lecture) Hours: 50