Online Nursing Concentrations | Duquesne University

NLN Center of Excellence in Nursing Education

The baccalaureate degree program in nursing, master’s degree program in nursing, Doctor of Nursing Practice program and the post-graduate APRN certificate program at Duquesne University are accredited by the Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education (http://www.ccneaccreditation.org).

You’re advancing your degree. Now enhance it.

As a student of our online MSN or DNP programs, you have the unique opportunity to take your degree a step further and focus on what you’re most passionate about by adding one of three concentrations: nursing education, forensic nursing, or transcultural nursing. Each concentration is designed to expand and complement your current nursing practice so you can personalize your approach to patient care.

Why should you consider a concentration?

When you choose a concentration, you’re making a conscious choice to position yourself as a thought leader in the evolving field of nursing — whether it’s expanding your understanding of patient treatment needs or forming deeper connections with the students you teach, you’re making a significant impact. And while a general degree can help you develop your career, your concentration can drive it.

Before choosing your concentration, take a close look at industry trends and ask yourself a few questions:

What are my strengths?
What is my ideal work environment?
What are my future career goals?

Use what you’ve discovered about your field and yourself to make a decision. Then you can compete for highly sought after jobs in education, leadership and global healthcare.

Nursing Education & Faculty Role Concentration

You won’t just teach aspiring nurses, you’ll inspire them to lead their generation and generations of nurses who follow them. We’ll teach you how to design a curriculum that’s innovative and engaging because it will incorporate trends from today’s evolving healthcare landscape.

Along with that, you’ll conduct research that can help shape clinical standards in the nursing profession and be eligible for the Certified Nurse Educator designation sponsored by the National League for Nursing.

Nursing Education & Faculty Role Concentration Coursework

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GNED 507	Foundations in Education Theory for Professional Practice Disciplines	3 Credits
This course examines contemporary challenges and issues in teaching within a practice discipline and guides participants in an exploration of nursing education. The application of traditional educational theory to practice disciplines will be explored in conjunction with current philosophical and pedagogical perspectives. Innovative methods in applying emerging empirically informed education theory will support student formulation of an informed working personal philosophy of education as a foundation for practice as a nursing faculty member.

GNED 522	Innovative Curriculum Design and Evaluation	3 Credits
The examination of curriculum models in nursing education will provide the framework for the analysis and evaluation of approaches to organizing learning experiences into a total program of study. Attention will be directed at the processes used to create an innovative curriculum which reflects professional priorities, societal trends, and institutional philosophies. The limited evidence base for curriculum will be explored, as well as approaches to program evaluation, including accreditation.

GNED 532	Emerging Trends and Innovations in the Teaching of Nursing	3 Credits
This course is designed to engage the student in understanding the essentials for success as nurse educators in the development, implementation, and evaluation of innovative educational programming to enhance student success in the acquisition of knowledge, application in practice, and development in professional nursing roles. Students will acquire a knowledge base supported by theoretical principles in their learning of a variety of teaching strategies with practical application in the teaching of nursing. Learning experiences will be designed for classroom and clinical settings as well as for the virtual environments of college lab, simulation, and online learning. Special emphasis will be paid to engaging students in the use of innovations in the teaching of nursing.

Forensic Nursing Concentration

It’s one thing to collect evidence, it’s another to know how to communicate what the evidence means. With this concentration, you’ll learn how to do exactly that with the potential to become a trusted expert when evaluating crimes like sexual abuse, physical assault, and accidental or intentional death.

From detail-oriented analysis to court depositions that lead to prosecutions, this concentration will prepare you to assert your role in the criminal justice system and be eligible to sit for the Sexual Assault Nurse Examiner (SANE) certification exam.

Forensic Nursing Concentration Coursework

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GNFO 518	Criminal Law and the Courts	3 Credits
This course introduces the student to the critical processes involved in the collaboration between advanced forensic nursing practice and the legal system. It addresses the theoretical underpinnings of law as well as the interface of forensic science with law and nursing. Students are introduced to the trial process and to the application of the theories of forensic science and evidence collection in the courtroom. Students are exposed to an intensive examination of criminal law and forensic science using crime scene investigation procedures. The roles of the advanced practice forensic nurse within the legal system are examined. Methods of evidence collection in a variety of settings are delineated and the implications for forensic nurses in crime scene reconstruction, death investigation, toxicology, hair and fiber analysis, DNA, ballistics, arson, cyber-crime, psychiatry and psychology, bioterrorism, odontology and anthropology, linguistics, and entomology. The role of the forensic nurse examiner is studied through a 40 hour SANE-A training which prepares students to be precepted and then to sit for national certification.

GNFO 519	Advanced Forensic Nursing I: Theory and Practice	3 Credits
This course is a critical, comprehensive introduction to advanced forensic nursing practice that addresses the knowledge related to care of the forensic patient based on theoretical and scientific principles. It describes the principles and philosophy of forensic nursing in acute care and community settings and the roles of the forensic science professional and advanced practice forensic nurse domestically and internationally are explored. Students will examine theoretical models from a holistic perspective: theory from nursing, related sciences and law to develop theoretical frameworks for guiding forensic nursing practice. Clinical therapeutics focused on the individual's mental and physical health, and ways of maximizing function for victims and the perpetrators, and their families through interventions will be studied. The class also explores assessment tools, diagnosis and treatment, and management of forensic populations using the best available evidence.

GNFO 520	Advanced Forensic Nursing II: Program Development, Leadership & Policy	3 Credits
This course focuses on roles and responsibilities of the advanced practice forensic nurse in the healthcare system, specific to program development, leadership and policy. A multidisciplinary approach is used to explore the interactions between nursing and the criminal justice system, and the role of the forensic nurse leader in program administration and policy. The course also analyzes ethical challenges faced by the advanced practice forensic nurse.

Transcultural Nursing Concentration

A patient’s cultural preferences should consistently be reflected in all patient care standards — but that is not always the case. That’s what makes this concentration so important. You can bridge the gap between culture and healthcare.

Transcultural care focuses on more than the physical care of patients. It emphasizes and embraces the emotional and spiritual connections that impact their healthcare decisions. You’ll learn how to view patient preferences through a new lens that significantly impacts patient care outcomes. This advanced perspective can help you make a difference to vulnerable populations where you live and work, as well as around the world.

If you’re an MSN student, this coursework will give you a head start on earning your DNP.
If you’re a future MSN student, you can transfer two courses (GPNG 917 & 928) and apply them toward earning your DNP.

Transcultural Nursing Concentration Coursework

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GPNG 908	Advanced Population Health	3 Credits
The course will provide a foundation for practice and/or research focused on population health and the complex interactions between health and the social determinant of health. Content will include critical evaluation of current issues in race, and income in health care. The course will also address the definition and measurement of population health, as well as an introduction to the theories and principles of health economics.

GPNG 917	Transcultural Care and Global Health Perspectives	3 Credits
This course explores the impact of globalization on health care and health care planning, and the need to design health care systems that are responsive to diverse cultural needs. The focus is on select global health problems assessed in a multidisciplinary manner to assure attention to the underserved and their complex cultural needs and requirements. Attention is directed at increasing the capacity of health care professionals to develop culturally sensitive health care systems.

GPNG 928	Social Justice and Vulnerable Populations	3 Credits
Vulnerability is examined through the lens of social justice theory, the Catholic social justice tradition and determinants of health. Responses to vulnerability are framed by: characteristics and determinants of vulnerability, direct and indirect actions to limit or reduce vulnerability, and structural and policy level work to address the variables that create and perpetuate vulnerability within persons, across generations and in local and global communities.

*Curriculum is subject to change