AUGSBURG UNIVERSITY

Department of Nursing
NUR 306: PARADIGMS IN NURSING
Online
Spring 2021

FACULTY: Dr. Susan Loushin DNP, RN

(C) 612-616-0962, text or call
Email: [email protected]

CLASS TIMES: Weekly, asynchronous online learning activities and assignments

CLASS DATES: January 11 – April 30, 2021

COURSE CREDITS: 4 semester credits taught over 15 weeks. This course includes 50 hours of
online coursework.

COURSE OVERVIEW:
An introduction to theory-based nursing practice and research. Nursing theory and conceptual
models for nursing practice are studied and applied to practice and research.

This introductory course is designed to explore theory-based professional nursing practice and
research. Concepts are examined as expressions of the structure of theory. Nursing scholarship is
introduced in relationship to theory, research, and practice and is applied across care settings.
Paradigms (worldviews) and the assumptive premises supporting both qualitative and
quantitative research methods are explored in the context of nursing science and knowledge
development within the discipline. Major concepts highlighted include: ways of knowing, caring,
community, culture, health, illness, humanity, justice, health disparities, and scholarship for
evidence-based practice. Background knowledge from the natural, social, behavioral, and
nursing sciences to promote the understanding of self and others is woven into the course.
Paradigms in Nursing provides a foundation for all 400 level nursing courses.

AACN NURSING ACCREDITATION ESSENTIALS:

This course integrates content for the following AACN Essentials of Baccalaureate Education for
Professional Nursing Practice:

 Essential II - Basic Organizational and Systems Leadership for Quality Care and Patient
Safety.
 Essential III - Scholarship for Evidence-Based Practice.
 Essential VIII - Professionalism and Professional Values.
EXPECTED STUDENT OUTCOMES:

1. Recognize and respect diverse patterns of caring and integrate this knowledge into
nursing practice.

2. Utilize research to identify and implement evidenced based practice with patients,
families, and in the community.

3. Recognize ethical dilemmas in nursing practice and identify cultural contexts and
implications for patients and families.

4. Apply nursing theory with knowledge from the liberal arts to form a conceptual
foundation for nursing practice with individuals and families.

5. As an informed citizen, able to engage in various communities and demonstrate a sense

of agency to create change in an ethically informed way. (iSLO: Informed Citizen)

COURSE OBJECTIVES:

a) Study the evolution of the science and the art of nursing in relationship to practice and
knowledge development in the discipline.
b) Discuss the development of selected nursing theories within an historical context.
c) Identify the paradigms (worldviews) that have given rise to the major nursing theories
and research methods.
d) Compare the interrelationships between/among nursing theory and theories and concepts
from related disciplines (psychology, anthropology, physics, biology, etc.) and the liberal
arts.
e) Explain the significance of nursing research and its relationship to nursing practice and
nursing theory development.
f) Compare and contrast qualitative and quantitative research methods and findings.
g) Demonstrate an understanding of the basic elements of the research process and models
for applying evidence to clinical practice.
h) Apply a basic understanding of the research process, concepts, and terminology, to
evaluating published nursing research and its relevance for nursing practice.
i) Identify researchable clinical questions in PICO format, conduct searches for current
evidence to formulate evidence-based solutions.
j) Engage in reflection about one’s own beliefs and personal values relative to the art and
science of nursing.
k) Identify a professional ethos embedded in nursing theory and the major concepts in the
discipline: caring, culture, health, illness, professional practice, health disparities, and
justice.
l) Recognize the impact of values on professional practice and research, such as which
questions to ask and/or which issues and health concerns to explore.
m) Explain the interrelationship of nursing theory, research, and practice.
n) Discuss philosophical and theoretical assumptions for the quantitative and qualitative
research paradigms and their influence on nursing practice.
REQUIRED TEXTS:

American Psychological Association. (2020). Publication Manual of the American

Psychological Association (7th Ed.). Washington, DC
ISBN-13: 978-1433832161

Boswell, C. & Cannon, S. (2018). Introduction to Nursing Research: Incorporating Evidence-

Based Practice (5th ed). Jones and Bartlett.
ISBN: 978-1284149791

Nightingale, F. (1992). Notes on Nursing: Commemorative Edition. Philadelphia:

J.B. Lippincott. ISBN: 0-397-55007-3.
*Available online at the time of printing this syllabus:
www.digital.library.upenn.edu/women/nightingale/nursing/nursing.html

Smith, M. (2020). Nursing Theories and Nursing Practice. (5th ed.). F.A. Davis. ISBN: 978-
0803679917

These books are available through the Augsburg Bookstore

REQUIRED ARTICLES & PUBLICATIONS

The following articles or chapters will be posted to Moodle:

Chinn, P. & Kramer, M. (2008). Integrated Theory Knowledge Development in Nursing

(7th edition). St Louis, MO; Mosby.
ISBN 13: 978-0-3230-5270-2

Coughlan, M., Cronin, P., & Ryan, F. (2007). Step-by-step guide to critiquing research. Part 1:
quantitative research. British Journal of Nursing 16(11): 658-663.

Endo, E. Nitta, N., Inayoshi, M., Saito, R., Takemura, K., Minegishi, H., Kubo, S., Kondo, M.
(2000). Pattern recognition as a caring partnership in families with cancer. Journal of
Advanced Nursing 32(3): 603-610.

Pattinson, H. & Robertson C. (1996). The effect of ward design on the well-being of post-
operative patients. Journal of Advanced Nursing 23: 820-826.

Ryan, F., Coughlan, M. & Cronin, P. (2007). Step-by-step guide to critiquing research.
Part 2: qualitative research. British Journal of Nursing 16(12): 738-744.
Tourville, C. & Ingalls, K. (2003). The living tree of nursing theories. Nursing Forum
38(3): 21-36.

Valente, S. (May/June 2003). Critical analysis of research papers. Journal for Nurses in
Staff Development 19(3): 130-142.
NUR306 – COURSE ASSIGNMENTS

ASSIGNMENT PERCENT DUE DATES

See Moodle for due
dates
Quizzes: 10/5 point quizzes throughout semester 5%
Quizzes will close at the
end of the due dates
See Moodle for due
5 Voice thread assignments throughout semester 20%
dates

See Moodle for due

15%
3 Q & A forum assignments throughout semester dates

Complementary/Integrative therapy reflection

10%
paper

Concept paper 10%

5%
My Theorist paper
5%
Ethics reflection paper

Annotated Bibliography of 4 articles 5%

PICO/PS paper 25%

Total Points 100%

All assignments are described and outlined in the course Assignment Packet and in Moodle.
Grading criteria including grading guides / rubrics and due dates are posted in Moodle.
GRADING SCALE:
Percent: Grade Points Grade
93-100% 4.0 A
90-92% 3.67 A-
87-89% 3.33 B+
83-86% 3.0 B
80-82% 2.67 B-
77-79% 2.33 C+
73-76% 2.0 C
70-72% 1.67 C- (Unacceptable)
67-69% 1.33 D+ (Unacceptable)
63-66% 1.0 D (Unacceptable)
60-62% 0.67 D- (Unacceptable)
59% or below 0.0 F (Unacceptable)

TEACHING - LEARNING METHODS:

Readings from texts and scholarly articles, quizzes, electronic-lecture, Voice thread
presentations, Q & A discussion forums, audiovisuals, small group activities, data base
searching, writing assignments, computer assisted instruction, presentations, and guest speakers.

TEACHING - LEARNING RESPONSIBILITIES:

Teaching and learning requires a mutual commitment between students and faculty. Students are
responsible for their own learning and are responsible for meeting the requirements of the class.
These expectations include, but are not limited to, appropriate preparation, attendance and
participation in class, on-time submission of written work (based on APA format), on-going self-
assessment of learning needs, and professional growth. The instructor is responsible for teaching
by creating an environment conducive to student learning, acting as a learning resource/support,
guiding the students to appropriate sources of information, identifying relevant learning
activities, and being available to help the student achieve the stated course objectives. Thus, a
continuous and mutual process of teaching/learning personal/professional growth occurs for all.

ACCOMMODATION AND ADAPTATION:

Augsburg University is committed to providing an environment where all students have the
opportunity to equally participate in the academic experience, including students with
disabilities. Students with disabilities have rights as determined by federal and state laws which
require institutions to provide reasonable accommodations for the student’s disability in order to
afford an equal opportunity to participate in the university’s programs, courses, and activities.
Contact the Center for Learning and Adaptive Student Services (CLASS), Augsburg University,
2211 Riverside Avenue CB#57, Minneapolis, MN, (612)330-1053, [email protected] or
https://www.augsburg.edu/class/ for more information. If you qualify under the criteria for any
disability, special accommodations will be made to assist you in every way possible.
Please notify your instructor if you need assistance or have a plan in place for special
accommodations.

WRITING Center:
Located on the Minneapolis campus, students are encouraged to use the Augsburg Library
online writing center. Hours etc. can be found on the Lindell Library page.
http://inside.augsburg.edu/writingcenter

WRITING TUTOR:
For assistance with writing, you can work with the writing tutor, Jane Burgstaler. You can make
arrangements with Jane by sending an e-mail to [email protected] Separate fees apply.

ATTENDANCE and TIMELY SUBMISSION POLICY:

Attendance in this class is noted through the timely submission of assignments and learning
activities. Students who anticipate missing the deadline for submitting their online work, for any
reason, must notify the faculty member by email prior to the due date. The faculty member and
the student will determine the plan to alter or modify the due date. Two points per day will be
deducted from late submissions if no prior arrangements have been made with faculty.

ACADEMIC INTEGRITY

It is assumed that all students at Augsburg University will conduct themselves ethically and
professionally. The following is an excerpt from the Augsburg University Academic Honesty
Policy. Please review the policy in its entirety online.

"A college is a community of learners whose relationship relies on trust. Honesty is necessary for
the functioning of the Augsburg University community and dishonesty is, therefore, abhorred
and prohibited.

One example of how trust is destroyed by a particular form of dishonesty is found in plagiarism
and its effects. In its 1990 'Statement of Plagiarism,' the American Association of University
Professors (AAUP) Committee B on Professional Ethics notes that one form of academic
dishonesty, plagiarism, 'is theft of a special kind [in which] a fraud is committed upon the
audience that believes those ideas and words originated with the deceiver. Plagiarism is not
limited to the academic community but has, perhaps, its most pernicious effect in that setting. It
is the antithesis of the honest labor that characterizes true scholarship and without which mutual
trust and respect among scholars is impossible.'

...Penalties imposed by the professor may include a 'zero' or failing grade on the assignment or
examination which involved the dishonesty, other academic penalties as outlined in the syllabus
for the course or other statement of policies distributed by the professor, forced withdrawal from
the course, or failure in the course."
Failure to document citations is considered plagiarism. It is the policy of the Department of
Nursing that papers or tests containing plagiarized material will be given a grade of zero and
there will be no opportunity for re-writes. Please review the Student handbook and APA text.