Health Science/Pre-Nursing

An introductory course focusing on microbes (bacteria, fungi, yeast, protozoa, algae, and viruses) and multicellular animal parasites. Lecture topics include cellular morphology and physiology, metabolism and growth, relationships with host and environment, and genetics. Laboratory studies provide experience with microscopy and culture techniques necessary to study bacterial in a research setting.

An introduction to the structure and function of the human body, this course is designed for students pursuing health-related fields or majoring in Life Sciences. Course topics begin with discussions of organic chemicals and cells before progressing to tissues, organs, and body systems, including the integumentary, skeletal, articular, muscular, and nervous systems.  Discussions will include the significance of system homeostasis upon organismal function and will also encourage students to integrate an increased understanding of the body into a Christian worldview. The course includes lecture and integrated laboratory applications each week. 

A continued introduction to the structure and function of the human body with respect to the blood, circulatory, immune, respiratory, digestive, excretory, endocrine, and reproductive systems. This course is designed for students pursuing health-related fields or majoring in Life Sciences. Discussions will consider the contributions of multiple body systems to overall homeostasis.  The course emphasizes the interdependence of body systems and encourages students to use the course material to deepen Christian faith. The course includes lecture and integrated laboratory applications each week.

Chemistry for Health Sciences is an introductory course designed exclusively for Pre-Nursing majors. The course is designed to first examine fundamental chemical concepts including measurement and unit conversion, atomic and molecular structure of matter, chemical bonding and intermolecular forces, solutions, acid/base chemistry, and organic chemistry. The goal of the course is to then develop an understanding of how these concepts relate to biomolecules, including carbohydrates, lipids, and proteins, and their application to physiological functions. The laboratory portion of the course provides firsthand experiences that inform, illustrate, expand, and reinforce major concepts discussed in lecture.

This course introduces students to human development across the lifespan.  The course will discuss the major theories that explain our biophysical, cognitive, emotional, and social development through the various life stages—prenatal, infancy, toddlerhood, early childhood, middle childhood, adolescence, early, middle and late adulthood. The class format will include pre-learning, lectures, videos, and application of the material through student presentations.

Introduction to calculating medication dosages for the professional nurse. Course includes reviewing basic math concepts involved in ratio/proportion equations, identifying current medication abbreviations and notation rules, understanding common equivalency and metric conversions, reading medication labels, measuring amounts in syringes, and solving basic dosage calculations for a one-time dose when given a drug order and drug label.

Students pursue a scientific study of the principles of nutrition, essential nutrients and functions, and their application in meeting nutritional needs throughout the life cycle. The course emphasizes nutrients and their relationship to optimal health and selected disease states, diet application, nutritional misinformation, controversial diets, obesity, food supplements, consumer fallacies, and exercise. An exploration of holistic approaches to health is used in order to attain optimal health toward the end of honoring and glorifying God through our bodies.

This course promotes the provision of nursing care within a cultural and spiritual framework. Emphasis will be placed on the importance of understanding human behavior and of promoting, maintaining, and restoring the holistic health of individuals, families, and communities within their socioeconomic and religious contexts. Focus will also be placed on how cultural and spiritual beliefs influence a person’s health care practices. Also, this course will introduce students to spiritual formation practices.

The Certified Nursing Assistant course is designed to prepare students to pursue careers in the field of nursing. Upon completion of this course, a proficient student will be able to implement communication and interpersonal skills, maintain residents’ rights and independence, provide care safely, prevent emergency situations, prevent infection through infection control, and perform the skills required of a nursing assistant. At the conclusion of this course, if students have logged 40 hours of classroom instruction and 20 hours of clinical instruction, and if they have completed 40 hours of site-based clinical with at least 24 of those hours spent in a long-term care facility (LTCF), they are eligible to take the certification as a Certified Nursing Assistant (CNA).