Overview
NURS 324 Concepts and Theories in Nursing Practice is an introduction to theory and reasoning in nursing. You will be introduced to several different ethical and theoretical frameworks used in nursing and will review the contributions of nurse theorists. You will also be exposed to different perspectives regarding patterns of knowing in nursing, the art and science of nursing, and the ethical principles that guide nursing practice. As you work through the various units, you will begin to articulate and refine your own philosophy of nursing and to evaluate its impact on your own practice.
Learning outcomes
Upon completion of this course, you will be able to perform the following:
- Describe the relationship between values, ethics, scholarship, academic conduct, and professional integrity.
- Analyze the relationship between nursing philosophy, nursing theory, and nursing practice.
- Articulate your nursing practice philosophy including: knowledge, values, beliefs, standards, theory, and ethical principles.
Outline
Nursing 324 Concepts and Theories in Nursing Practice includes nine units:
- Unit 1: Academic Honesty
- Unit 2: Professional Integrity, Morals, and Ethics
- Unit 3: Values Clarification and Development
- Unit 4: Ethical Decision-Making in Nursing Practice
- Unit 5: Everyday Ethics in Nursing Practice
- Unit 6: Knowledge, Theory, and Reasoning
- Unit 7: Historical Nursing Knowledge and Theory Development
- Unit 8: Nursing Philosophy: Challenging My Ways of Thinking
- Unit 9: The Application of Nursing Knowledge
Evaluation
To receive credit for NURS 324 Concepts & Theories in Nursing Practice, students must complete all of the required assignments and achieve an overall composite grade of C (64 percent). All papers submitted must follow the guidelines of the current APA Publication Manual.
The assignments and weighting of the composite grade are as follows:
| Activity | Weight |
| Assignment 1: Foundations and Feedback Units 1–5 | 15% |
| Assignment 2: Ethical Issue Scholarly Paper | 30% |
| Assignment 3: Foundations and Feedback Units 6–9 | 15% |
| Assignment 4: Philosophy of Nursing Scholarly Paper | 40% |
| Total | 100% |
To learn more about assignments and examinations, please refer to Athabasca University’s online Calendar.
Materials
This course either does not have a course package or the textbooks are open-source material and available to students at no cost. This course has a Course Administration and Technology Fee, but students are not charged the Course Materials Fee.
There are no required textbooks in NURS 324.
Course Resources
There are a number of readings included throughout the course. Clicking on the link of the reading or resource will allow you to access it directly via the Athabasca University online library or the Internet. Each unit has a Unit Resource List.
Students are encouraged to search for resources and to share those resources with other students enrolled in the course by posting the URL for the resource in the Conference Forums.
Computer Resources
This online course utilizes a number of courseware tools, including Course Mail and Conference Forums. Please read the Student Guide to familiarize yourself with these features and the computer requirements and software resources required to complete this course.