Graduate Program

The Nursing Leadership graduate program at Idaho State University prepares the nurse for leadership positions, both within health care organizations and community settings. The nurse is prepared to apply leadership theory in health care systems and collaborate with partners across varied environments. The program is grounded in leadership theory and coursework includes practicum experiences for application of leadership principles to practice.
During the course of my studies, the Nursing Leadership option consists of 9 required courses, 2 additional electives with a total of 39-40 credits and 288 total practicum hours.

Below, under selected course descriptions, I have offered a breif reflection of the course and you will find examples of my work that will be posted in BOLD.

Program of Study for Nursing Leadership 
(Required)
NURS 6600 Theoretical Foundations for Nursing Practice 3 credits. Critical examination of the development of nursing knowledge; critique, evaluate and apply a variety of theories from nursing, family and related disciplines as a base for advanced nursing practice. 

Throughout this course I revisited many nursing theories in which I was somewhat familiar and also learned of new theories, both nursing and other disciplines. I found that theories based in sociology and psychology applied to my daily activities in delivering nursing care at the bedside, and I found these very interesting to study.

NURS 6602 Health Care Policy and Finance 3 credits. Analysis of policy research relevant to health care, finance and integrated care systems. Evaluate effects of local, regional, national, and international health policy and trends on delivery systems and advanced nursing practice.

During this course, I chose to learn more about for-profit vs not-for-profit healthcare organizations and the implications associated with both. See future post... I found this course interesting and applicable to the healthcare environment that I work in. I offered me a better picture of what decisions and discussions are happening at an administrative level.

NURS 6610 Advanced Evidence Application 4 credits. Application of evidence to advance nursing practice. Includes issue identification, research process, statistical principles, and outcomes evaluation.
NURS 6612 Health Care of Rural Communities 3 credits. Utilize appropriate epidemiological, social, and environmental data sources to conduct rural community assessment. Emphasis on developing culturally relevant care systems at the community level.

This course provided me with an opportunity to evaluate an area in rural Southwest Idaho and health care issues in that area. The focus was on childhood obesity and how it is not only a nationwide concern, but tends to have high occurance rates in rural areas.
NURS 6621 Advanced Nursing Roles 3 credits. Integration of theory and research related to role development, transition and ambiguity in advanced nursing practice. Emphasis on evaluation of health care delivery, ethical decision-making, partnership development, collaborative practice and accountability for quality.

This course offered me an opportunity to explore more about what is going on with the current healthcare reform. There are many implication to the laws that have been and are being put in place that are shaping the healthcare delivery in our country. I will post a paper on one area of the healthcare reform, Health Insurance Exchange.
NURS 6652 Administrative Approaches to Nursing Leadership 3 credits. Synthesis and evaluation of organizational theory in leadership and management of health care organizations. Emphasis on system-wide structures, processes, and outcomes.
I took Nurs 6652 in Fall 2007, my first semester in my nursing leadership studies. This course began my understanding and began to build my philosophy on leadership. I will post two papers from this course; one on the topic of leadership Ethics and the other on Change. I feel that these short papers reflect my initial understanding and belief of what a good leader is responsible for and the role they play. I also feel that these basics have stayed with me through my studies, as my future leadership papers reflect!


NURS 6653 Organizational Behavior in a Changing Health Care System 3 credits. Examination of administration and organizational behavior in relation to population-based needs. Includes examination of organization and management theory in relation to strategic planning, management of the changing health care delivery system, program planning and evaluation, decision-making, and change.

NURS 6654 Financial Management 3 credits. Application of basic strategies for evaluating financial resources for health care systems; models of forecasting, prediction, and politics of budgeting and health care finances.
This class offered a basic persective of how budgeting works.

NURS 6655 Advanced Leadership 3 credits. Examination of nursing leadership in health care delivery systems. Theoretical knowledge required for program management and interprofessional collaboration. Examination of quality and risk management, legal and ethical implications, shared governance, and conflict management.
I took this leadership course during my last year of study. I have found that Quantum Leadership Theory (Porter-O'Grady and Mallach) has been the grounding leadership theory throughout my studies and interactions. I have a breif over-view of it and qualities that I find important in the leader-See post of Quantum Leadership.
I will also post my self-reflection from this course. I feel that it is a good example of how important communication and clear expectations are when pursuing education on-line. It is also a good example of my view of teamwork and what I value when working with others.

NURS 6655L Advanced Leadership Lab 2 credits. Application of knowledge and practice of skills required for program management and interprofessional collaboration. Application of quality and risk management, legal and ethical implications, shared governance, and conflict management.
See post-Practicum Work was done with the home care department in looking at patients that were hospitalized while on home care services.

NURS 6656 Advanced Leadership Practicum 4 credits. Critical examination and application of leadership in health care delivery systems with an emphasis on individualized leadership experiences.

(Electives)
NURS 6636 Special Problems 1-3 credits. Independent study under faculty guidance.

For this elective, I took the opportunity to be a part of a research project with a peer at my place of employment. We chose to focus on shared governance and nurses perspective of involvment in decision making. See post-Research
HCA 5573 Marketing for Health Care Organizations 3 credits. Current marketing trends in the health care marketplace. Consumer orientation; health care marketing plans and strategy development.
This course focused on online marketing and various marketing strategies. It offered a persective of how marketing used to be and where it is now, as well as how it relates to the health care organizational environment.


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