Introduction to Critical Care Nursing NSCC 7100

Upon successful completion of this course, the student will be able to:

• Integrate theory about health, capacities, and illness into their understanding of the individual’s experience of critical illness.
• Define the components of professionalism (e.g., competence, confidence, compassion, commitment, conscience) within the context of critical care nursing.
• Articulate some of the contextual variables that influence the nurse-patient relationship (e.g., noise, communication barriers, patient’s physiological status, members of the health care team, family members).
• Integrate theory about oxygen supply and demand into a framework that outlines the determinants of supply and demand, their interrelationships, and significance to end-organ cellular perfusion.
• Perform a comprehensive assessment which includes the following elements:
• apply theory of oxygen supply and demand
• apply theory of hemodynamic assessment
• apply theory of oxygenation and ventilation assessment
• perform physical assessment
• engage in primary, secondary, and ongoing surveys.
• Articulate the significance of evidence-based practice to developing competence as a critical care nurse.
• Engage in communication strategies that enable them to articulate relevant information with or on behalf of the critically ill patient.

Effective as of Winter 2012