Course Assignments
1. Participation in weekly Discussions: The exchange of ideas among colleagues engaged
in scholarly inquiry is a key aspect of learning and is a requisite activity in this course.
You are expected to participate each week by posting a response to a prompt or question
in the weekly Discussion area. In addition, you are expected to respond to your fellow
students’ postings. To count as participation, responses need to be thoughtful; that is, they
must refer to the week’s readings, relevant issues in the news, information obtained from

other sources, and/or ideas expressed in the postings of other class members. You may
ask questions or offer further information or links about the subject. Please pay attention
to grammar and spelling, as consistently poorly written posts will receive grade penalties.
In grading the required Discussion postings, your Instructor will be using the Discussion
Posting and Response Rubric, located in the Course Information area.Nursing Alignment of Learner Outcomes NURS 6512
Note: Unless otherwise noted, initial postings to Discussions are due on or before Day 3,
and response postings are due on or before Day 6. You are required to participate in the
Discussion on at least three different days (a different day for main post and each
response). It is important to adhere to the weekly time frame to allow others ample time
to respond to your posting. In addition, you are expected to respond to questions directed
toward your own initial posting in a timely manner.

2. Assignments: The Assignments provide you with the opportunity to apply the skills and
knowledge gained through the Learning Resources and the practicum experience. See the
Assignment area of specific weeks for detailed descriptions of the assignments. In
grading the required Assignments, your Instructor will be using rubrics located in the
Course Information area.
Note: The course Assignments will require that you completely and accurately
demonstrate critical thinking via assimilation and synthesis of ideas when using credible,
outside and course specific resources (i.e. video, required readings, textbook), when
comparing different points of view, highlighting similarities, differences, and
connections, and/or when lending support to your Assignment responses.

3. Portfolio Assignment: Each course in the Master of Science in Nursing (MSN) program
for the following specializations includes a Portfolio Assignment: Nursing Education,
Nurse Executive, Nursing Informatics, and Public Health Nursing. The Portfolio
Assignment is designed to measure specific professional knowledge and skills as outlined
in the American Association of Colleges of Nursing (AACN) Master’s Essentials.
Students submit the Portfolio Assignment in the online classroom and a criterion-based
scoring rubric is used to grade the assignment. The rubric is aligned with American
Association of Colleges of Nursing (AACN) Master’s Essentials and provides specific
and informative feedback on your performance. The Portfolio Assignment is evaluated by
the course Instructor.Nursing Alignment of Learner Outcomes NURS 6512
Exam Essentials/Strategies
In these courses, you have two exams: a midterm and a final exam. You are allowed 2 hours to
complete each exam. Exams are due no later than Day 7 at 1:59 a.m. EST. Please follow the
instructions below. As we begin the course, it is important to ensure that everyone is familiar
with exam-taking strategies on Blackboard.

1. If you have a PC, please contact IT to see which Internet browser (e.g., Google Chrome,
Firefox) will be best to ensure you do not encounter problems when you log in to begin
the exam. Please review the Student Responsibility for Technology Backup Plan policy:
https://catalog.waldenu.edu/content.php?catoid=170&navoid=58504. You can also
follow these testtaking tips: http://mym.cdn.laureate-
media.com/2dett4d/software/Walden/Training/Blackboard_TestTaking_Tips.pdf
2. Ensure you have DSL/broadband connectivity. A slow connectivity will interrupt your
exam and cause a lockout. Take note of the technology policy in the student handbook.
Students are required “to have a technology backup plan should circumstances dictate its
use. Except in very unusual situations, grade changes, late assignments, tuition refund
requests, and the like that are based on technology failure or on occurrences resulting in
technology failure will NOT be considered.”
3. Spend no more than the allotted time on each exam. When you are logged in for a long
period, the exam will idle or freeze and lock you out.
4. Do not use the return/back button to change your answer(s). This will lock you out of the
exam.
5. Save all your answers.
6. Do not refresh the page. This will cause the page to freeze and lock you out.
7. Do not have multiple browsers open when taking the exam. This will potentially freeze
your exam and lock you out.
8. Ensure you have set aside ample time to take the exam without any interruptions.
9. Do not take the exams on iPads, iPhones, or other portable devices as you may get locked
out of the exam.
10. Do not copy the questions to the exam. If you have a question, please e-mail me the
question number and I will review it. You will not be provided the answers directly after
your exam.
11. Review the following question-reading tips:
o Read each question carefully. Identify the root words in the question or scenario.
o Is the question asking “always,” “never,” “often,” “most likely,” or “least likely”?
o Do not read more into the scenario than what is stated. Do not inject your own
assumptions into the question. There may be more than one answer, but you must
choose the best

12. This exam is used to prepare you for passing your certification exam and to be a
competent practicing APRN. The Syllabus contains an outline of the exam content.
13. Exams are reset only under certain circumstances (e.g., medical emergencies).
14. You are expected to comply with Walden University’s Code of Conduct.
Grading Criteria and Total Components of a Grade
Course grades will be based on participation (postings) and completion of assignments listed
below.
Letter grades will be assigned as follows:
90%–100% = A
80%–89% = B

70%–79% = C
< 70% = F
Please see below for the policy on Incomplete (I) grades.

Assignment Total Points Percentage
(Weighted)

Discussions
Participation in Discussions*
(4 @ 100 pts. each)

400 25%

Assignments
 Week 1 Assignment (100 pts.)
 Week 2 Assignment (100 pts.)
 Week 3 Assignment (100 pts.)
 Week 5 Assignment (100 pts.)
 Week 8 Assignment (100 pts.)
 Week 9 Assignment (100 pts.)

600 25%

Exams
 Midterm Exam (100 pts.)
 Final Exam (100 pts.)

200 50%
Total 1,200 100%
* Each Discussion requires that you make one initial posting and at least two response postings
to colleagues. See the Discussion Posting and Response Rubric for posting details.
Incomplete Grade Policy
Per university policy, Incomplete grades can be granted only to students who have already met
the minimum criteria for active weekly participation in a course (including weekly postings in
online courses) and have completed at least 80% of other coursework. Incompletes can be
awarded when, because of extenuating circumstances, a student has not met additional course
requirements, including but not limited to written assignments, group projects, and research
papers, as applicable. All Incomplete grades are awarded at the discretion of the Course Faculty.
Students who are eligible for an Incomplete must contact the Course Faculty to request the grade
as soon as possible. Students who do not meet the criteria listed above will not be allowed to
earn an Incomplete. If the Incomplete is approved, the Faculty Member will work with the
student to outline the due date(s) for remaining work. Under no circumstances will the new due
dates extend beyond 50 days from the last day of the term. Faculty will then have 10 days to
assess the work and post the permanent grade before the university-allotted Incomplete time
limit of 60 days expires. All Incomplete grades not resolved within the time allotted will convert
to permanent grades of F.

If an Incomplete is granted for students registered for clinical courses the following quarter, you
will only have 5 days to complete and pass your outstanding assignments, as this course must be
passed prior to starting your practicum.
Instructor Feedback Schedule
The Instructor will log in to the course during the week to monitor the weekly Discussion area.
Feedback will be provided via the My Grades area, the Discussion area, and/or the
Announcements page.
You can expect your weekly assignment grades to be posted within 10 calendar days of a due
date. Instructor feedback and explanation is provided whenever full credit is not achieved.
Depending on the nature of the feedback, Instructor responses may be posted to the Discussion
area or included in the My Grades area. The goal of your Instructor is to act as a discussion and
learning facilitator rather than a lecturer. The Instructor will not respond to every posting by
every individual, so please feel free to ask your Instructor if you would like some personal
feedback on a particular assignment posting or any time you have any questions regarding your
assignments or your grade.
Course Procedures
 All class Discussions take place in the weekly Discussion areas.
 You are encouraged to post course-related questions to the Contact the Instructor area as
they may be of interest to all; however, if your question is urgent, it is often best to email
the Instructor. If your emailed question is thought to be of benefit to all, it may be
responded to by the Instructor via email to all or posted as an announcement.
 Instructor feedback on content and writing issues that is thought to be of benefit to the
entire class may be posted to the Contact the Instructor area; however, most personal
critique will be done privately in the Grade Center. Be sure to check the Grade Center for
comments every week even if you received full credit.
 Please feel free to use the Class Café to initiate and participate in conversations not
directly related to the course. This is an excellent opportunity to get to know other
students better. The Instructor will browse the Class Café occasionally but generally will
not respond to conversations posted there unless students have specific questions for him
or her.
 Check the email account you use for official Walden University business on a regular
basis. The expectation is that you are checking this email account daily during the week.
If you experience difficulty sending or receiving Walden email, please contact
the Customer Care Team right away. Contact information for the Customer Care Team is
located in the Student Support area.
 Review all materials in the Course Information area, as well as the materials contained
under each of the weekly buttons.
Note: There are Optional Readings located within the Learning Resources section of each week
in the course. You are encouraged to explore these readings, as needed, in order to enhance
your understanding of the course content.

Preferred Methods for Delivering Assignments
1. Be sure that you post to the correct Discussion area each week. Do not e-mail postings to
the Instructor. For all initial Discussion postings, make sure that the first sentence of your
posting reads Main Question Post. For your responses to others’ response postings, make
sure that the first sentence of your response reads Response. These actions will ensure
easily identifiable subject lines for your postings and responses.
2. Application Assignments are submitted to the SafeAssign link and named according to
the week in which the Assignment is submitted. Directions for naming each Application
Assignment are included in each week’s Assignment area. Please be sure that all written
Application Assignments are saved and submitted as a “.doc” file.
3. All e-mail correspondence must contain in the subject line “ABCD 1234-XX-NAME”
(ABCD = course prefix, 1234 = course number, XX = section number) followed by a
brief description of the subject. This subject line convention ensures that your e-mail will
be easily identified and responded to in a timely manner. It is required that the e-mail
contain a signature that matches the official name used in the course.
Late Assignment Policy
Students are expected to submit assignments by the due dates noted in the course. In extenuating
circumstances, such as illness, the student must contact the Instructor as soon as possible to
discuss the situation. In those circumstances, Faculty will determine the appropriate course of
action for the student. Depending on the situation, these actions may include recommendations to
drop the course (if within the university drop/withdrawal period), acceptance of some or all of
the overdue assignments with or without penalties, or failure to accept assignments.
Assignments submitted late without prior agreement of the Instructor, outside of an emergency
absence, or in violation of agreements for late submission, will receive a grade reduction for the
assignment amounting up to 20%. After 5 days, the assignment will not be graded. Students
should be aware that late assignments may not receive the same level of written feedback as do
assignments submitted on time.
Keeping Your Coursework
You will have access to the course and your coursework from the course start date until 60 days
after the course ends. After this time, you will no longer be able to access the course or related
materials. For this reason, we strongly recommend that you retain copies of your completed
assignments and any documents you wish to keep. The university is not responsible for lost or
missing coursework.
Course Evaluation
At or near the end of the course, you will receive an email inviting you to submit an online
evaluation of the course and instruction. All submitted course evaluations are confidential, and
only aggregate data and comments will be shared with the Instructor and Program Director. Your

feedback is vitally important to Walden University in its efforts to continuously improve
programs.
Classroom Participation
In accordance with U.S. Department of Education guidance regarding class participation,
Walden University requires that all students submit at least one of their required Week 1
assignments (which includes posting to the Discussion Board) within each course(s) during the
first 7 calendar days of class. For courses with two-week units, posting to the Discussion Board
by Day 7 meets this requirement. The first calendar day of class is the official start date of the
course as posted on your myWalden academic page.
Assignments submitted prior to the official start date will not count toward your
participation.
Financial Aid cannot be released without class participation as defined above.
Students who are taking their first class with Walden and do not submit at least one of their
required Week 1 assignments (or at least one Discussion post) by the end of the 7th day will be
administratively withdrawn from the university.
Students who have already taken and successfully completed at least one or more class(es) with
Walden, and who do not participate within the first 7 days, will be dropped from that class.
If you have any questions about your assignments, or you are unable to complete your
assignments, please contact your Faculty Member.

Checklist

The module course checklist below outlines the assignments due for the course.
For full assignment details and directions, refer to each module of the course. All assignments
are due by 11:59 p.m. Mountain Time (MT) on the day assigned (which is 1:59 a.m. Eastern
Time (ET) the next day). The time stamp in the classroom will reflect Eastern Time (ET),
regardless of your time zone. As long as your submission time stamp is no later than 1:59 a.m.
Eastern Time (ET), you have submitted on time.
To View the Calendar

To view the Course Calendar:
Course Calendar

To View a Printable Course Schedule
For full assignment details and directions, refer to each Module of the course.
Click on the NURS 6521 Course Schedule (PDF) link to access the Course Schedule.

Document: NURS 6521 Course Schedule (PDF)

Checklist
Week Assignment Title
Module 1: Foundational Concepts of Advanced Pharmacology
Week 1 Basic Pharmacotherapeutic Concepts/Ethical and Legal Aspects of

Prescribing

Learning Resources Required Readings
Required Media

Discussion Pharmacokinetics and Pharmacodynamics
Assignment Ethical and Legal Implications of Prescribing

Drugs

Module 2: Cardiovascular and Respiratory Systems

Week 2 Cardiovascular System
Learning Resources Required Readings
Required Media

Assignment Pharmacotherapy for Cardiovascular Disorders
Week 3 Respiratory System
Learning Resources Required Readings
Required Media

Assignment Asthma and Stepwise Management
Module 3: Gastrointestinal and Hepatobiliary Systems
Week 4 Gastrointestinal and Hepatobiliary Disorders
Learning Resources Required Readings
Required Media

Assignment Pharmacotherapy for Gastrointestinal and

Hepatobiliary Disorders
Module 4: Endocrine System

Week 5 Endocrine System Disorders and the Treatment of Diabetes
Learning Resources Required Readings
Required Media

Discussion Diabetes and Drug Treatments
Module 5: Neurologic and Musculoskeletal Systems

Week 6 Neurologic and Musculoskeletal Disorders
Learning Resources Required Readings
Required Media

Assignment Decision Tree for Neurologic and
Musculoskeletal Disorders (start)

Week 7 Midterm Exam
Midterm Exam

Module 6: Psychological Disorders
Week 8 Pharmacology for Psychological Disorders
Learning Resources Required Readings
Required Media

Discussion Decision Making When Treating Psychological

Disorders

Assignment Decision Tree for Neurologic and
Musculoskeletal Disorders (submit)
Module 7: Women’s and Men’s Health, Infections, and Hematologic Systems
Week 9 Women’s and Men’s Health/Infections and Hematologic Systems, Part I
Learning Resources Required Readings
Required Media

Discussion Women’s and Men’s Health, Infectious
Disease, and Hematologic Disorders
Week 10 Women’s and Men’s Health/Infections and Hematologic Systems, Part

II

Learning Resources Required Readings
Required Media

Discussion Women’s and Men’s Health, Infectious
Disease, and Hematologic Disorders

Module 8: Pediatrics
Week 11 Pediatrics
Learning Resources Required Readings
Required Media

Assignment Off-Label Drug Use in Pediatrics
Final Exam

Bibliography
The bibliography contains the references for all learning materials in the course. For your
convenience, a link has been provided to download and save the bibliography.

To access the Bibliography:
Document: NURS 6521 Bibliography (PDF)

Course Materials
Please visit the University bookstore via your Walden student portal to ensure you are obtaining
the correct version of any course texts and/or materials noted in the following section. When you
receive your materials, make sure that all required items are included.
Course Text
Rosenthal, L. D., & Burchum, J. R. (2021). Lehne’s pharmacotherapeutics for advanced practice
nurses and physician assistants (2 nd ed.) St. Louis, MO: Elsevier.Nursing Alignment of Learner Outcomes NURS 6512
Note: If the print edition of these books are referenced here, electronic versions also may be
available and may be acceptable for use in this course. If an electronic version is listed, no print
version is available.
Other readings (journal articles, websites, book excerpts, etc.) are assigned throughout the course
and may be found within each Module.
Course Readings List
The Course Readings List contains all the required Walden Library resources for this course.
Please click on the following link to access the list:

Course Readings List

Media

Assigned course media elements may be found in one or more modules of the course and are
available via a streaming media player or a hyperlink to the individual item.
Dedicated Support for Course Media
You may use the following e-mail address and toll-free number for any questions or concerns
you have about media in the course.
Primary and Secondary Sources
Review the following information prior to selecting resources for assignments.
Primary: A primary source is an original document that is the first account of what happened. A
research report is primary, and you can tell because it includes materials and methods
demonstrating how the research was done. Some creative work is also primary, such as poetry,
novels, and interviews of people who experienced something firsthand. In nursing, which is an
evidence-based discipline, we strive to use primary research that is published in scholarly, peer-
reviewed journals.
Scholarly, peer-reviewed journal: Scholarly journals publish papers by professional authors and
experts in the field using a peer-review process to review the work and assure quality before
publishing. The focus of a scholarly journal is to provide accurate information for scholars and
other researchers. The focus is on content rather than advertising, a direct contrast to popular
media. Scholarly journals publish both primary and secondary papers, the former usually noted
as original research and the latter as reviews and commentaries. Letters to the editor may also be
published but should be recognized as opinion pieces.
Note: When selecting articles for course assignments, you are advised (unless you are
referencing seminal information) to focus on work published within the past five years.
Secondary: A secondary source is one step removed from the original source. This work
interprets and often compiles other work, and it includes review articles, textbooks, fact sheets,
and commentaries about a topic. It also includes news reports of original research. Secondary
work is more prone to error and bias than primary work because it is being filtered through an
additional person or persons. Review papers can be useful to glean information about a topic and
to find other sources from the reference list, but it is the original, primary research that should be
relied on most heavily in demonstrating scholarship, depth, and validation of factual information.