NURS 504 is Liberty's advanced pharmacology course for the MSN nurse educator track. Most of its points sit in six disease case studies (asthma, diabetes, hypertension, acute coronary syndrome, osteoarthritis and ADHD), worked in alternating groups, plus a disease state presentation and a one-page ethics essay.
Liberty's catalog lists the course as NURS 504 Advanced Pharmacology for the Nurse Educator, 3 credit hours; Canvas and the course guide file print it as NURS504.
What NURS 504 covers
The catalog description: The course will expand the student's knowledge of pharmacotherapeutics, which includes the cellular response level, for the management of individuals in the acute care and primary care setting. Broad categories of pharmacologic agents are examined. Skills to assess, diagnose, and manage a client's common health problems in a safe, high quality, cost-effective manner are emphasized.
The case studies are the course. The class is split into Group A and Group B; each week one group posts an individual analysis of the case in the designated forum and the other group critiques those analyses, and the groups swap roles weekly. The disease for each week matches the reading in Burchum and Rosenthal, Lehne's Pharmacology for Nursing Care, and Wells et al., Pharmacotherapy Handbook.
Each week from 2 to 8 also has a Health/Nursing Topic Question: a response of at least 150 words in current APA to a provided current health or nursing topic, worth 25 points. They are short posts answered from the prompt, so this site covers them here rather than with separate guides: answer the question in the first sentence, cite one current source, and connect it to advanced practice.
Textbook named in the published guide: Burchum & Rosenthal, Lehne's Pharmacology for Nursing Care (2019). Wells et al., Pharmacotherapy Handbook (2018). Check the current edition in your Canvas section.
NURS 504 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 | Ethics Essay Question | 50 | 1 page |
| 2 | Asthma Case Study Analysis and Critique | 100 | Individual analysis or critique posted in the forum (no length set in the guide) |
| 3 | Diabetes Case Study Analysis and Critique | 100 | Individual analysis or critique posted in the forum (no length set in the guide) |
| 4 | Hypertension Case Study Analysis and Critique | 100 | Individual analysis or critique posted in the forum (no length set in the guide) |
| 5 | Disease State PowerPoint Presentation | 200 | Not set in the guide; plan for a complete teaching presentation |
| 6 | ACS Case Study Analysis and Critique | 100 | Individual analysis or critique posted in the forum (no length set in the guide) |
| 7 | Osteoarthritis Case Study Analysis and Critique | 100 | Individual analysis or critique posted in the forum (no length set in the guide) |
| 8 | ADHD Case Study Analysis and Critique | 100 | Individual analysis or critique posted in the forum (no length set in the guide) |
Week 1: Ethics Essay Question
A one-page APA response to a current ethical issue, citing two biblical and ethical principles and the Christian advanced practice nurse's proper conduct. How to write NURS 504 Week 1 Ethics Essay Question.
Week 2: Asthma Case Study Analysis and Critique
The asthma case: analysis or critique (by group) of pharmacotherapy for a patient with asthma. How to write NURS 504 Week 2 Asthma Case Study Analysis and Critique.
Week 3: Diabetes Case Study Analysis and Critique
The diabetes case: analysis or critique of pharmacotherapy for a patient with diabetes. How to write NURS 504 Week 3 Diabetes Case Study Analysis and Critique.
Week 4: Hypertension Case Study Analysis and Critique
The hypertension case: analysis or critique of antihypertensive therapy for the patient in the case. How to write NURS 504 Week 4 Hypertension Case Study Analysis and Critique.
Week 5: Disease State PowerPoint Presentation
A 200-point PowerPoint that teaches colleagues about one disease state not covered in the course. How to write NURS 504 Week 5 Disease State PowerPoint Presentation.
Week 6: ACS Case Study Analysis and Critique
The acute coronary syndrome case: analysis or critique of acute and secondary-prevention drug therapy. How to write NURS 504 Week 6 ACS Case Study Analysis and Critique.
Week 7: Osteoarthritis Case Study Analysis and Critique
The osteoarthritis case: analysis or critique of pain management for an older adult with osteoarthritis. How to write NURS 504 Week 7 Osteoarthritis Case Study Analysis and Critique.
Week 8: ADHD Case Study Analysis and Critique
The ADHD case: analysis or critique of stimulant and non-stimulant therapy for the patient in the case. How to write NURS 504 Week 8 ADHD Case Study Analysis and Critique.
How NURS 504 is graded
The published guide totals 1,010 points. The case studies carry 600 of them (three analyses and three critiques at 100 points each, as the groups alternate). The disease state presentation is 200, the six topic questions 25 each (150), the ethics essay 50 and the checklist 10. There are no quizzes or exams.
| Graded item | Points |
|---|---|
| Case Study Analyses (3) | 300 |
| Case Study Critiques (3) | 300 |
| Disease State PowerPoint Presentation | 200 |
| Health/Nursing Topic Questions (6) | 150 |
| Ethics Essay Question | 50 |
| Course Requirements Checklist | 10 |
The published scale puts an A at 940 to 1010 points.
Week timing in the published guide: Each course module/week begins on Monday morning at 12:00 a.m. (ET) and ends on Sunday night at 11:59 p.m. (ET). The final module/week ends at 11:59 p.m. (ET) on Friday.
How to approach NURS 504
Learn which group you are in during Week 1, because it decides whether you analyze or critique in each case week. Analysis weeks need the full pharmacotherapy workup; critique weeks need a careful reading of classmates' analyses against the same guidelines.
For every case, work from current guidelines as well as the textbooks: GINA for asthma, the ADA Standards of Care for diabetes, the ACC/AHA guideline for hypertension and for acute coronary syndromes, and the ACR guideline for osteoarthritis. Graders reward drug choices that are defended with a guideline and the patient's specifics.
Questions students ask
How do NURS 504 case studies work?
The class is split into Group A and Group B. In each case week one group posts individual analyses in the forum and the other group critiques them as replies; the groups alternate weekly, so each student completes three analyses and three critiques at 100 points each.
What are the NURS 504 topic questions?
Six short responses, one a week from Week 2 to Week 8, each at least 150 words in current APA on a provided health or nursing topic relevant to advanced practice, worth 25 points each.
Working through NURS 504 now?
Tell us the week and the assignment. A tutor who knows the course replies with a plan for the draft.