NURS 284: Practicum in Nursing Foundations

Course Description

This nursing practicum provides the clinical opportunity for students to apply the theory, concepts and principles of nursing care presented in N255, N283 and N285 and prerequisite courses. Emphasis is on the application of the nursing process in the care of older adults in skilled nursing facilities and the acute care setting.

The course is required in the Bachelors of Science in Nursing-Clinical Nursing Practicum

Course Modality

Course is taught Face-to-Face.


The course is taught via a flipped classroom approach. Students are provided with videos, readings, case studies etc. to complete prior to class. Many of these videos and readings are about skill, which they come to class to practice in a hands on way. Peer to peer learning is used throughout the course. This is a very active and engaging course that meets for 12 hours per week in numerous settings.

Elements of Course Design

  • Content is organized in blackboard by each week and broken down by modules

  • Students are provided with detailed schedule on blackboard and a separate Word Document


Attendance is required for the course. As a clinical course in the nursing program, students are allowed to only miss a pre-determined % of hours defined by the board of nursing in order to receive credit for their clinical hours.

Student Engagement & Feedback

Elements of student engagement include:

  1. Videos, quizzes, readings through ATI nursing modules

Videos demonstrate skills they learn

  1. Interaction student-instructor

1-10 faculty to student ratio. Instructor demonstrates skills, walks around to facilitate learning in skills lab

  1. Interaction student-student

Group work, peer-to-peer learning. Peer competencies of skills such as PO medication pass, Foley Catheter Insertion

  1. Welcome/introduction activities

YouTube video introduction as an assignment. Allowing students to introduce themselves, correctly pronounce their names, hobbies etc

Grading Policy, Grade Breakdown

Assessment of Student Learning

Course Student Learning Outcomes

Sample Assignment Description

Technology & Tools

DocuCare (An electronic charting system that mimics those used in healthcare)

This charting systems allows nursing students to chart all the things they would in the hospital setting such as vital signs, activities of daily living, intake and output, physical assessment, nursing notes, and many more.

Software allows instructors to develop realistic patient profiles of unlimited patients that creates a real-life experience for students. This is utilized in skills lab, simulation, and for assignments.

Teaching students the correct and safe way to pass medication is one of the most important aspects of this course. Missed steps or a deviation from protocol can have severe consequences. This technology allows students to practice this process with a wireless scanner that “talks” to the software allowing the student to scan the medication and patient barcode. Scanning both the medication for correct dosage, and patient barcode are instrumental safety checks for students. This mimics the exact process utilized in the hospital setting. This results in a smooth transition when students pass medications for “real” on patients in the hospital setting.

PowerPoints are done through Google slides allowing for PollEverywhere to be directly embedded.

Assessment Technology Institute (ATI) software is used in the curriculum. Provides students with interactive quizzes, readings, vocabulary, video and skill demonstrations, content mastery exam and more.

YouTube videos are used to enhance learning for the video learners.

Opportunities for Active Learning

Active Learning: Simulation

Students attend nursing patient simulation scenarios at the rural simulation center located in Chico. Five simulation days are incorporated into the course, consisting of 14 scenarios covering a variety of topics as the student’s progress through the course. This is often the students favorite part of the class as the learning is unmatched, fun, and engaging.


Elements of Experiential Learning

Experiential Learning

It is imperative for nursing students to provide care to real patients in the hospital setting. This course has 6-8 days in which 1st semester nursing students are immersed in a local hospital setting practicing the skills they have learned in skills lab and simulation. Students enjoy the hands on clinical experiential learning, after all they chose nursing to care for people. As a nursing program we are thrilled to have great community partnerships at local facilities to allow are students to learn and grow into excellent nurses.

Elements of Equity, Diversity & Inclusion

  • Course materials that promotes diversity and comes from authors that are people of color

  • Elements of course design that promote equity and inclusion

  • Assignments/activities focused on equity and diversity

Elements of Climate Change and Resilience & Environmental Justice

  • Course materials that promote education around climate change and resilience

  • Elements of civic/community engagement about climate change and resilience

  • Assignments/activities focused on climate change education


Accessibility & Universal Design Learning

In this course, the following elements are utilized to ensure easier access:

  • Use of technology that facilitates access

  • Elements of course design that include an attention to accessibility issues

  • Evidence of options given to students to express themselves in different formats (writing, video, audio)

  • Evidence of compliance with Blackboard Ally

Training in Course Design (QLT, GO Virtual, Digital Pedagogy FLC, AEL Institute, etc.)

Quality Learning and Technology (QLT).

Revised course organization and course materials on Blackboard.

Organized by weeks. Assignments, readings, prep material all located within each week. Due dates are also listed.

Institute for Active and Experiential Learning

New Podcasting assignment replacing traditional writing assignments. Students will create 4 podcasts on heart failure, diabetes, COPD, and pneumonia. Working in pairs students will explain the pathophysiology of the disease process, discuss signs and symptoms, relevant labs and diagnostics, treatment options, and common nursing interventions.

Allows students to enhance their knowledge about the disease and concurrently work on educating the public about the disease. Education as a large part of nursing and this introduces them to learn about a disease from a professional level and then relate that information so that anyone can understand.

ATI Real Life Case study with embedded PollEverywhere questions. This is an in-class activity in which students are given prep materials such as readings, medications and diagnosis to review prior to class. Flipped classroom approach is used. In class the interactive case study is done as a group of 10 students. The case study shows a video, and gives students access to a chart on that patient. After the video clip, a question is asked. Depending on how the question is answered, it sends the class down a different pathway. Sometimes if a wrong answer is chosen, the case must be restarted. As the instructor I facilitate this case study, and prepare the PollEverywhere questions that mimic the ones included in the case study. Whatever consensus of the class choses is the answer we will go with as a class. It also gives me an opportunity to reinforce content if items are missed.