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University of Pennsylvania School of Nursing

Accelerated Program Prerequisites
YOU ARE ADVISED TO READ THIS FORM IN ITS ENTIRETY

To be eligible for OPTION I: Summer Clinical Sequence: Applicants MUST complete ALL prerequisite courses by May 31, 2009.  The BSN length for OPTION I: Summer Clinical Sequence: is 1 ˝ years.  It is possible to participate in Option I without the Ethics course (it can be added to the Option I plan of study).

To be eligible for Option II: Fall Clinical Sequence:  Applicants MUST complete the equivalent of N040, N041, & Bio175, OR N040 and N042 (which encompasses N041 and Bio175) by August 31, 2009 (please see course description below). The BSN length for OPTION II: Fall Clinical Sequence is 2 ˝ years. 

Below are course descriptions for our Accelerated Program Prerequisites, along with guidelines for completing this coursework elsewhere.

Hours based on 14-15 week semesters. L/L = Lecture and Lab. (A) = Course offered only in Fall term.

(B) = offered only in Spring term.

L/L N040. Principles of General and Organic Chemistry (with lab). (A) May be offered Summer I. Concepts of General Chemistry basic to the understanding of the health-related sciences. Principles of atomic structure, chemical bonding, chemical and nuclear reactions, acids, bases, and chemical equilibria will be included. Fundamentals of Organic nomenclature and a survey of the physical, chemical, and biological properties of the main organic functional groups will be included. 

L/L NO41. An Introduction to Organic Chemistry, Biological Chemistry and Molecular Genetics (with lab). Concepts of organic chemistry and biochemistry basic to the understanding of health-related sciences.  Fundamentals of nomenclature and the physical, chemical and biological activities of functional organic groups, structural and functional relationships of the major biomolecules, interrelationships of the various of the various metabolic pathways and basics of molecular biology will be included.

L/L BIO175. Principles of Microbiology (with lab). Basic microbiology, including cell physiology and anatomy of microorganism and host-pathogen relationships
L/L N042. An Introduction to Microbiology and Human Biochemistry (with lab). (B)
            (The N042 course encompasses both N041 and BIO 175, listed above)

Prerequisite(s): NURS 040, or CHEM 001 and 002. This course is designed to provide a foundation in Microbiology and Biochemistry for study in the health-related sciences. The focus is on understanding the normal world of microorganisms, prokaryotic and eukaryotic cell metabolism and genetics, and the application of this knowledge to understanding disease processes and approaches to prevention.

N051. Human Development. (B) This course provides an overview of human development across the lifespan. Levels of development to be examined include infancy, early childhood, late childhood, school age, adolescence, young adulthood, middle adulthood, and late adulthood. Development will be examined from a variety of theoretical perspectives including maturational, psychoanalytic, behavioral, and systems. Contemporary issues and research in lifespan development will be emphasized.

N054. Principles of Human Nutrition. (A)  Prerequisite: NURS 40. Essentials of normal nutrition and their relationship to the health of individuals and families. These concepts serve as a basis for the development of an understanding of therapeutic application of dietary principles and the nurse’s role and responsibility in this facet of patient care. Current issues (weight control, exercise, disease prevention) are discussed and changing nutritional needs throughout the life cycle are highlighted. Participants will analyze their own dietary intake and develop plans for future actions.

L/L N131. Human Anatomy and Physiology - Part A. (A) Prerequisite(s): NURS 040, 041/042. Corequisite(s): NURS 104. The structural and functional organization of the human organism is presented, along with the fundamentals of developmental anatomy and embryology. Histologic and gross anatomical features of selected organ systems are related to the physiologic and biochemical mechanisms which enable the human body to maintain homeostasis in an ever-changing environment.

L/L N132. Human Anatomy and Physiology - Part B. (B) Prerequisite(s): NURS 040, 041/042, 131. Corequisite(s): NURS 106. Embryonic, histologic, and gross anatomical features of each organ system are related to the physiologic and biochemical mechanisms which enable the human body to maintain homeostasis in an ever-changing environment. Basic concepts of pathophysiology are introduced and applied to certain clinical disorders.                 

N230. Introduction to Statistics. (A) Application of statistical methods to health care data.  Descriptive statistics, including correlation and simple linear regression.  Models that underlie inference will be examined, including laws of probability and probability distributions for dichotomous and continuous data.  Confidence intervals for percentages and means and testing hypotheses using normal and chi square distributions.  Practice using menu-driven statistical software included.

N330. Theoretical Foundations of Health Care Ethics. (A) The theoretical foundations of health care ethics including definitions of ethics, history of bioethics and nursing ethics, and the influence of religion, psychology of moral development and philosophy in the development of ethical theory. Nursing code of ethics, changing ideas in ethics, and discussion of the developing profession of nursing are included.

Updated 05/08