NURS 440 is Liberty's RN to BSN community health course. It is assignment-heavy: a three-part community assessment of your own community, a health education program you deliver in person, a cultural assessment group PowerPoint, an epidemiology case study, a family assessment, a disaster response PowerPoint, a patient education readability assessment and two forums.
Liberty's catalog lists the course as NURS 440 Post-licensure Strategies for Community Health Care, 4-5 credit hours; Canvas and the course guide file print it as NURS440.
What NURS 440 covers
The catalog description: This course focuses on the application of the nursing process to a population or community group. Emphasis is placed on community assessment process and the development of nursing strategies to assist multi-problem families, considering health on a continuum, throughout the lifespan. Family systems theory, theories of adaptation and educational needs of various populations will be addressed. The clinical focus is on the development of a broader perspective of the nurse's role in a variety of clinical and environmental settings. In addition, the nurse's role on the community health team and an understanding of health care needs of different cultural groups will be studied.
The course applies the nursing process to a population or community group: community assessment, nursing strategies for multi-problem families, family systems theory, adaptation and the education needs of populations, and the nurse's role on the community health team and with different cultural groups. The textbook is Maurer and Smith, Community/Public Health Nursing Practice.
There is a clinical component: two eight-hour shifts at an approved community location or with a community preceptor, documented in a clinical log. The guide notes that the course assignments also contribute to the clinical requirement, so all of them must be completed to pass the clinical component. The clinical location submission and the log have no guides here.
Textbook named in the published guide: Maurer & Smith, Community/Public Health Nursing Practice (2013). Check the current edition in your Canvas section.
NURS 440 assignments, week by week
Every graded written assignment in the published guide has its own how-to guide below. Quizzes, exams, checklists and class introductions are left out because there is nothing to write.
| Week | Assignment | Points | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Discussion Board Forum 1 | 50 | Thread at least 300 words |
| 2 | Cultural Assessment Group Project Part 1 | 15 | Team contract and outline (no length set in the guide) |
| 2 | Health Education Program Part 1 | 15 | 100 to 250 words |
| 2 | Community Assessment Part 1 | 50 | Windshield survey (no length set in the guide) |
| 3 | Cultural Assessment Group Project Part 2 | 50 | 4 to 6 slides with completed notes |
| 3 | Epidemiology Case Study | 75 | Two-part case study (no length set in the guide) |
| 4 | Cultural Assessment Group Project Part 3 | 35 | 15 to 20 slides (title and reference slides not counted); 50 to 100-word reflection per member |
| 4 | Community Assessment Part 2 | 50 | Data table or paragraphs, a 200 to 250-word essay and interview summaries |
| 5 | Family Assessment | 150 | Genogram (3 generations), ecomap and a narrative of at least 300 words |
| 6 | Health Education Program Part 2 | 100 | Community health plan, lesson plan and a synopsis of at least 500 words |
| 6 | Community Assessment Part 3 | 100 | ADPIE section of 300 to 450 words; full assessment 11 to 15 pages |
| 7 | Discussion Board Forum 2 | 50 | Thread at least 300 words |
| 7 | Disaster Response PowerPoint | 75 | 10 to 15 slides (title and reference slides not counted) |
| 8 | Patient Education Assessment | 60 | Narrative of at least 500 words |
Week 1: Discussion Board Forum 1
A 300-word thread with 2 citations and a biblical reference, and two 200-word replies with a citation and a biblical reference. How to write NURS 440 Week 1 Discussion Board Forum 1.
Week 2: Cultural Assessment Group Project Part 1
Join a culture group, choose a leader, complete the team contract, select topics and outline the community health nurse's role with a Christian worldview. How to write NURS 440 Week 2 Cultural Assessment Group Project Part 1.
Week 2: Health Education Program Part 1
A 100 to 250-word rationale for a social issue affecting your community's health and where you will present. How to write NURS 440 Week 2 Health Education Program Part 1.
Week 2: Community Assessment Part 1
A windshield survey of your own community. How to write NURS 440 Week 2 Community Assessment Part 1.
Week 3: Cultural Assessment Group Project Part 2
Your 4 to 6 individual slides for the group's cultural assessment, with completed notes and 2 scholarly sources. How to write NURS 440 Week 3 Cultural Assessment Group Project Part 2.
Week 3: Epidemiology Case Study
A two-part epidemiology case study with at least 2 recent citations. How to write NURS 440 Week 3 Epidemiology Case Study.
Week 4: Cultural Assessment Group Project Part 3
The leader's combined 15 to 20-slide final PowerPoint with 10 scholarly sources, plus each member's 50 to 100-word reflection. How to write NURS 440 Week 4 Cultural Assessment Group Project Part 3.
Week 4: Community Assessment Part 2
Objective community data in a table or paragraphs, a 200 to 250-word environmental health essay and three community member interviews. How to write NURS 440 Week 4 Community Assessment Part 2.
Week 5: Family Assessment
A three-generation genogram, an ecomap and a narrative of at least 300 words assessing a multi-problem family, with nursing diagnoses. How to write NURS 440 Week 5 Family Assessment.
Week 6: Health Education Program Part 2
A PRECEDE-based community health plan and lesson plan, a 30-minute presentation in your community, an audience survey and a 500-word synopsis. How to write NURS 440 Week 6 Health Education Program Part 2.
Week 6: Community Assessment Part 3
Two community health nursing diagnoses and a 300 to 450-word ADPIE plan for one, completing the 11 to 15-page assessment. How to write NURS 440 Week 6 Community Assessment Part 3.
Week 7: Discussion Board Forum 2
The second forum: a 300-word thread with 2 citations and a biblical reference, and two 200-word replies. How to write NURS 440 Week 7 Discussion Board Forum 2.
Week 7: Disaster Response PowerPoint
A 10 to 15-slide PowerPoint on the phases of a disaster and the community nurse's roles, with the textbook and 4 scholarly sources. How to write NURS 440 Week 7 Disaster Response PowerPoint.
Week 8: Patient Education Assessment
A SMOG readability analysis of a piece of patient education literature, with community literacy data, in a narrative of at least 500 words. How to write NURS 440 Week 8 Patient Education Assessment.
How NURS 440 is graded
The published guide totals 1,010 points. The family assessment is 150; the community assessment 200 across three parts (50, 50, 100); the health education program 115 (topic 15, presentation 100); the cultural assessment group project 100 (15, 50, 35); the epidemiology case study and disaster PowerPoint 75 each; the patient education assessment 60; the two forums 50 each; the clinical experience and log 125; the checklist 10.
| Graded item | Points |
|---|---|
| Family Assessment | 150 |
| Community Assessment (3 parts) | 200 |
| Health Education Program (2 parts) | 115 |
| Cultural Assessment Group Project (3 parts) | 100 |
| Epidemiology Case Study | 75 |
| Disaster Response PowerPoint | 75 |
| Patient Education Assessment | 60 |
| Discussion Board Forums (2) | 100 |
| Community Clinical Experience and Log | 125 |
| Course Requirements Checklist | 10 |
The published scale puts an A at 900 to 1010 points.
Week timing in the published guide: Each course module/week (except Module/Week 1) begins on Tuesday morning at 12:00 a.m. (ET) and ends on Monday night at 11:59 p.m. (ET). The final module/week ends at 11:59 p.m. (ET) on Friday.
How to approach NURS 440
Week 2 starts three projects at once: the cultural group (choose a culture and a leader), the health education program topic and site, and the windshield survey of your community. Drive your community in Week 1 and note what you see; it feeds the community assessment and suggests a health education topic.
The family assessment in Week 5 requires a multi-problem family that is not a friend or relative, so start looking early, for example through your clinical site or a community agency.
Questions students ask
What is the NURS 440 community assessment?
A three-part assessment of your own community: a windshield survey (Week 2), objective data, an environmental health essay and three community member interviews (Week 4), and two community nursing diagnoses with an ADPIE plan for one (Week 6). The final product is 11 to 15 pages in current APA.
Does NURS 440 have clinical hours?
Yes. Two eight-hour shifts at an approved community location or with a community preceptor, documented in a clinical log worth 125 points.
Working through NURS 440 now?
Tell us the week and the assignment. A tutor who knows the course replies with a plan for the draft.