A course designed to enhance knowledge of the relationship between health care policy and professional nursing. This course will explore the broader context of health care including how patient care services are organized and financed, and how reimbursement is structured. Regulatory agencies define boundaries of nursing practice and students need to understand the scope and role of these agencies. There will be discussion of how health care issues are identified, how health care policy is both developed and changed, and how that process can be influenced through the efforts of nurses, other health care professionals, and lay and special advocacy groups. Students are introduced to theories of nursing with an emphasis on developing an understanding of how they are used in evidence-based practice.

Grade Basis: L
Credit hours: 3.0
Lecture hours: 3.0