Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) Courses

Course Descriptions

NUR 5010. Advanced Pathophysiology (3). The course is designed to provide the post-baccalaureate nurse with the opportunity to utilize undergraduate science background and clinical experiences in the examination of pathophysiologic mechanisms of certain disease processes. Selected client case studies will be utilized.

NUR 5020. Theoretical Foundations of Graduate Nursing Practice (3). This course focuses on the analysis and utilization of nursing, family and other related theories and conceptual models and their relationship to research and practice as a graduate-prepared nurse.

NUR 5040. Advanced Nursing Research (3). Prerequisite: NUR 5050. Methodology including design, sampling, data collection, and data analysis is explored in depth. Quantitative and qualitative methods are studied. Application of knowledge is evidenced by synthesis of the current nursing and health-related literature into a written state-of-the-science review.

NUR 5050. Statistics in Health Care Research (3). This course provides an overview of descriptive and inferential statistics used in health care research. Emphasis is placed on how and when to use statistical techniques as well as interpretation of statistics. Computer applications also are explored.

NUR 5100. Transition to Graduate Nursing Practice (2). This course will provide a common knowledge base for all students pursuing graduate study in nursing. Emphasis will be placed on the roles of advanced practice nurses, nurse educators, and nurse administrators. Areas such as role development, scope of practice, credentialing, and scholarly activities will be examined.

NUR 5140. Pharmacology for Advanced Nursing Practice (3). Pharmacokinetics, dynamics and therapeutics of major drug classifications in current therapeutic use are discussed. Principles and prescribing practices for advanced practice nurses are emphasized.

NUR 5300. Advanced Health Assessment (3). This course provides an opportunity for students to learn and practice advanced health assessment techniques utilized by nurse practitioners. Students participate in class and laboratory activities to enhance assessment skills, with an emphasis on pattern recognition and development of differential diagnoses. Students will also enroll in NUR 5301, Advanced Health Assessment Lab.   

NUR 5301. Advanced Health Assessment Lab (0). The laboratory component provides the opportunity for hands-on practice and demonstration of advanced health assessment techniques.

NUR 5530. Healthcare Informatics for Nursing Administrators (3). This course focuses on information system concepts and technologies used in the processing of nursing information to arrive at clinical decision-making. Analysis of healthcare information systems in clinical management, nursing administration, education, and research will be explored.

NUR 5610. Primary Health Care I (3). Prerequisites: NUR 5140, NUR 5300. Co-requisite with NUR 5612. This course encompasses both didactic and clinical content. Health promotion and disease prevention throughout the life span are discussed. Students explore the management of acute and chronic illnesses throughout the life span. Emphasis is on diagnosis and management of clinical problems. Clinical situations are provided for students to begin integration and synthesis of the didactic component of the course.

NUR 5612 Primary Health Care I Clinical (1). Co-requisite with NUR 5610. Clinical experiences with seasonal preceptors provide opportunities for role development and application of content learned in NUR 5610. Students participate in 100-150 clinical hours.

NUR 5630. Primary Health Care II (2). Prerequisites: NUR 5300, NUR 5140, NUR 5610 and NUR 5612. Co-requisite with NUR 5632. This course is a continuation of the concepts of health promotion, disease prevention, and disease management begun in NUR 5610 (PHCI). In addition to didactic content and clinical experiences, students will participate in a clinical conference designed to encourage peer feedback. Emphasis is placed on continuing synthesis and integration of content in the classroom and in the clinical setting.

NUR 5632. Primary Health Care II Clinical (2).  Co-requisite with NUR 5630. Clinical experiences with seasoned preceptors provide opportunities for continued role development and application of content learned in NUR 5630. Students participate in 220-260 clinical hours.

NUR 5680. Family Nurse Practitioner Intensive Practicum (1). Prerequisite: NUR 5630 and NUR 5632. Co-requisite with NUR 5682. This course integrates the knowledge and skills acquired in previous clinical courses in an intensive clinical semester. Students are expected to demonstrate significant synthesis of diagnostic, management, and evaluation skills in the clinical setting, as well as in clinical conferences.

NUR 5682. Family Nurse Practitioner Intensive Practicum Clinical (3). Co-requisite with NUR 5680.  Students concentrate on clinical experiences in this course, participating in 300-360 clinical hours with seasoned preceptors that offer concentrated focus on role development and application of content.

NUR 5710. Clinical Information Systems (3). This course focuses on the application of informatics technologies that support information management within the health care setting, including the dissemination of health care data, health care decision support, clinical systems and guidelines, and emerging patterns and trends.

NUR 6100. Population Health and Epidemiology (3). This course provides the students with knowledge and skills to define and describe population health. Students will examine the implications of various health related states and aggregate data.

NUR 6110. Biostatistics (3). This course provides students with broad foundational knowledge and skills to apply biostatistical concepts to the evaluation of health outcomes.                                                                                                      

NUR 6120. Foundations of Clinical Scholarship (3). Students will identify a discrete body of literature, and then immerse themselves in the identified literature in order to analyze its strengths and weaknesses, to identify conceptual gaps, and to evaluate proposed strategies.  Through literature immersion, the student will also develop a philosophical basis for resolution of a defined population health problem.                                                     

NUR 6130. Scholarly Project 1 (2). Prerequisite: NUR 6120. This course will assist the student to select a health care problem, and to explore the problem from multiple perspectives. Based on the selection and exploration, the student will identify, adapt or create, and adopt a model that is appropriate for the identified problem. The student will develop a research utilization project with system-wide impact.

NUR 6132. Scholarly Project 1 Clinical (1). Prerequisite: NUR 6120. This course will assist the student to select a health care problem and to explore the problem from multiple perspectives in the clinical setting. The clinical course experiences will inform the student's adoption of an appropriate model, as well as the development of a scholarly project. Students will also enroll in NUR 6130, Scholarly Project 1 concurrently.

NUR 6140. Health Care Finance (3). This course provides students with an overview of health care finance principles such as economic theory, reimbursement issues, and cost/benefit analysis, with application of these principles in various health care financial settings.

NUR 6150. Evaluation of Health Care Outcomes 1 (4). This course will provide students with the knowledge and tools to support, promote, and implement evidence-based practice, to conduct strategic problem analyses, and to develop evaluation components for student scholarly projects. Students will evaluate models and analyze the implications of model implementation, utilizing various change theories.

NUR 6200. Evaluation of Health Care Outcomes 2 (3). The course will provide students with the tools to evaluate and improve programs, to develop feasible and reliable program evaluation designs, and to analyze variations in patterns and outcomes.  The course will emphasize program evaluation for improvement including outcomes, efficiency, resource allocation, and economic viability.

NUR 6210. Leadership & Management of Organizations & Systems (3). This course provides an opportunity for the students to explore evidence-based concepts and leadership and organizational theories and frameworks to be effective leaders at the population, organizational, and system levels.  Students will analyze spheres of influence important to the practice environment in the delivery of health care and the role of inter-professional collaboration to achieve optimal health outcomes in complex health care systems.

NUR 6220. Health Policy (3). This course provides students with an in-depth analysis of health policy formation including the socio-political underpinnings and contemporary issues of the US health care system. The course will also focus on the impact of various regulatory systems and the emerging role of the DNP as a leader in health policy design and implementation.

NUR 6230. Scholarly Project 2 (2). Prerequisites: NUR 6130 and 6132. This course will facilitate the student’s implementation of a scholarly project. Students must enroll in NUR 6232 concurrently with NUR 6230.

NUR 6232. Scholarly Project 2 Clinical (4). Prerequisites: NUR 6130 and 6132. This course will facilitate the student's implementation of a scholarly project through work done in the clinical setting. Students will also enroll in NUR 6230, Scholarly Project 2.

NUR 6240. Education of Diverse Populations (3). This course provides an overview and application of various teaching/learning strategies to populations in diverse settings.

NUR 6252. Scholarly Project 3 Clinical (3). Prerequisites: NUR 6230 and 6232. This course will assist the student in evaluation of the implemented scholarly project. The student will disseminate the project outcomes through written and oral presentations as a part of the translation of evidence process.                                                                           

The courses below are not a part of the required curriculum.  The courses offer alternatives for particular student needs or circumstances and would be developed in conjunction with program faculty.

NUR 6950. Study Away / Study Abroad (1-3). Study topics related to current health care issues can be undertaken away from Belmont University.

NUR 6990. Independent Study (1-3). This course provides opportunity to pursue study to meet individual student needs. Permission of program director is required. Not to exceed three (3) credit hours.