NURS 740 - Ethics and Genetics in Advanced Practice

3 Credit(s)

This course provides students with foundational knowledge and skills in responsible professional behavior that will enable them to competently reflect upon, address, and resolve the ethical and sociocultural issues presented in the clinical area. This ethics course uses a lecture and case analysis format to introduce a broad range of clinical ethical issues and to present the theoretical and practical knowledge that enables practitioners to provide leadership in responding to the ethical challenges confronting the health care system today. This course facilitates interdisciplinary collaboration and explores the strengths different health care professions bring to ethical dialogue. In addition, this course is designed to promote an understanding of human molecular genetics and its implications for health. Heredity in terms of molecular structures is explained. The role of genetic alterations in human disorders and cancers is examined. Analysis of selected clinical disorders illustrates the promise of applied genetic technology, the role of the advanced practice nurse in the field of genetics, as well as ethical, legal, and social challenges.