Part-Time Nursing Program Plan at UPMC Shadyside School of Nursing

This course introduces you to the role of the professional nurse.

Concepts you'll explore include:

• Communication and professionalism.
• Judgment and decision-making using Tanner’s clinical judgment model as a framework.
• Patient education.

We'll also cover the holistic aspects of patient care, such as:

• Culture
• Spirituality
• Legal and ethical issues

Credits: 3

Pre-requisites: None

This course introduces you to the basic concepts of nursing practice across the lifespan.

You'll explore care and comfort through the concepts of:

• Nutrition
• Elimination
• Safety
• Mobility
• Sensory perception

Physical assessment is a major part of this course. An underlying theme throughout is to promote health and wellness.

You’ll also learn basic skills of nursing practice, including dispensing medicine, through both clinical inpatient medical-surgical units and lab settings.

Credits: 4.4

Pre-requisites: None

This course builds on N102-A, teaching you more foundational concepts of nursing practice across the lifespan.

Physical assessment from the prior course will help you further explore basic care and comfort through the concepts of:

• Nutrition
• Elimination
• Safety
• Mobility
• Sensory perception

You’ll continue to:

• Promote the course’s theme of health and wellness.
• Practice and refine basic skills of nursing practice, including dispensing meds.
• Engage in learning through both the inpatient medical-surgical units and lab settings.

Credits: 4.6

Pre-requisites:

• N101 — Professional Concepts of Nursing
• N102-A — Foundational Concepts of Nursing I

This course introduces you to the physical concepts of nursing practice across the lifespan.

You'll explore basic aspects of:

• Oxygenation
• Perfusion
• Acid-based balance
• Fluid and electrolytes infection
• Immunity
• Inflammation
• Digestion and metabolism

Combining foundational nursing concepts and Tanner’s clinical judgment model, you'll start to understand and respond to patient problems in the medical-surgical units.

Credits: 5.8

Pre-requisites:

• N101
• N102-A
• N102-B
• Anatomy and Physiology I

This course builds on what you learned in N201-A.

You'll further explore physical concepts of nursing practice and aspects of:

• Perfusion
• Infection
• Immunity
• Inflammation
• Metabolism

Using basic nursing concepts and Tanner’s clinical judgment model, you'll continue to respond to patient problems in the acute medical-surgical units.

Credits: 5.2
Pre-requisites:

• N101
• N102-A
• N102-B
• N201-A
• A&P I
• A&P II

This course teaches you about complex family concepts of nursing practice.

Major course topics include:

• Family dynamics
• Reproduction
• Growth and development changes

Applying nursing concepts and Tanner’s clinical judgment model, you'll help the patient and family adjust to health changes across the lifespan.

You'll engage in various clinical experiences in the areas of pediatric, obstetric, and geriatric nursing.

Credits: 5.5

Pre-requisites:

• N101
• N102-A
• N102-B
• N201-A
• N201-B
• A&P I
• A&P II
• Growth and Development

This course builds on N301-A with a focus on complex mental health concepts of nursing practice.

You'll explore concepts of mental health nursing as they relate to the patient and their impact on both the patient and family.

Through basic nursing concepts and Tanner’s clinical judgment model, you'll help patients and families adjust to mental health changes across the lifespan.

Clinical engagement is in the area of behavioral health.

Credits: 5.5

Pre-requisites:

• N101
• N102-A
• N102-B
• N201-A
• N201-B
• N301-A
• A&P I
• A&P II
• Growth and Development
• Microbiology

This course teaches you advanced concepts of nursing practice.

It builds and expands on the concepts from courses N201-A and -B of:

• Oxygenation
• Perfusion
• Infection
• Metabolism

You'll also explore advanced concepts of:

• Cellular regulation
• Intracranial regulation
• Changes in tissue integrity

Applying basic nursing concepts and Tanner’s clinical judgment model, you'll engage in advanced clinical decision-making to support acutely ill adults in:

• Stepdown units
• Critical care units
• Emergency rooms

Credits: 7.5

Pre-requisites:

• N101
• N102-A
• N102-B
• N201-A
• N201-B
• N301-A
• N301-B
• A&P I
• A&P II
• Growth and Development
• Microbiology
• College Writing

This course serves as your transition into the role of professional nursing practice.

You'll apply leadership and management concepts with an emphasis on safety and quality nursing care.

Working with a preceptor, you’ll have the chance to manage, delegate, and prioritize care for multiple patients.

Credits: 5.5

Pre-requisites:

• N101
• N102-A
• N102-B
• N201-A
• N201-B
• N301-A
• N301-B
• N320
• A&P I
• A&P II
• Growth and Development
• Microbiology
• College Writing

This course helps you get ready for the NCLEX through content reviews and test-taking methods.

Credits: 2

Pre-requisites:

• N101
• N102-A
• N102-B
• N201-A
• N201-B
• N301-A
• N301-B
• N320
• A&P I
• A&P II
• Growth and Development
• Microbiology
• College Writing

As part of the part-time nursing program curriculum at UPMC Shadyside School of Nursing, you'll need to take the following support courses:

• Anatomy and Physiology I — Credits: 4
• A&P II — Credits: 4
• Microbiology — Credits: 4
• Human Growth and Development — Credits: 3
• College Writing — Credits: 3
• Biomedical Ethics — Credits: 3​

You can transfer these courses from an accredited college or university if:

• You completed the course in the past 5 years.
• The total course credits are an exact match exactly.
• Your final grade was a C or better.

Please refer to your school's website for detailed course descriptions.