Basic Pharmacology Review and Update 

Do you remember the specifics of the angiotensin-renin system?  How about why grapefruit interacts with so many medications?  Refresh yourself with the basics of pharmacology in no time.  A Pharm.D who understands the learning needs of nurses will help you review medications by system. Register Now!

NOTE: Combine this course with our Skills Update and Review course, the Medical Surgical Update course and the Physical Assessment of the Geriatric Patient course to receive an RN Refresher Certificate.

Dysrhythmias:  Start to Finish

Update your understanding of the measurement, identification, and interpretation of dysrhythmias as well as pacemaker patterns.  Review the physiology of cardiac conduction.  Evaluate normal sinus rhythm, junctional, atrial, and ventricular rhythms, and A-V blocks.  Increase your knowledge of etiologies and management of rhythm disorders.  Worksheets, case studies and the analysis of practice strips will help to reinforce concepts.  Improve your nursing skills for the care of patients with dysrhythmias.  Register Now!

Basic Cardiac Life Support

BLS certification or recertification made easy at Villanova!  You take the American Heart Association's (AHA) online modules at your convenience; then bring your printed test certificate to Villanova where you have the option to practice your skills or go straight to competency validation.  That's all it takes to be certified!  We can save you the time you would invest in taking either an all-day or a half-day course. The choice is yours, come in for a quick performance review or spend more time practicing with our assistance. Space is limited.  To register with the AHA go to www.onlineaha.org.  Their cost is $17.00 - choose BLS for the healthcare provider.  Register Now!

LPN Geriatric Physical Assessment

Here is an opportunity to hone basic physical assessment knowledge and skills.  Learn how to perform a holistic assessment of the adult geriatric client.  Review clinical manifestations of normal ageing changes as well as findings indicative of disease.  Assessment techniques used for common clinical conditions will be described and demonstrated.  Emphasis will be on the identification of findings that are significant in elderly populations.  You will have an opportunity for "hands-on" practice using diagnostic equipment in a state-of-the-art simulation lab. Register Now!

Peripheral IV Insertion Workshop

This workshop has been designed to help RN's gain didactic and "hands-on" experience with the theory and skills needed to insert a peripheral IV. Whether you are a beginner or a seasoned veteran needing a review, the program will enhance your dexterity. Content includes criteria for vein selection, vein location and identification, selection of supplies and equipment, and potential complications of IV therapy. Information on legal aspects, malpractice insurance, and proper documentation will be included. Supplies will be provided for practicing the insertion of peripheral IV catheters using anatomical models and a computer simulation device - in full compliance with OSHA standards. The program will incorporate the Infusion Nurses Society (INS) 2006 Standards of Practice. Individual competency validation will be provided by the instructor at the end of the program. Enrollment is limited to maximize learning. Choose one from the dates listed below. Register Now!

Suture Workshop

This hands-on workshop is designed for advanced practice nurses.  It provides a unique opportunity to obtain wound assessment and management skills useful in everyday practice.  You will learn techniques such as wound anesthesia, suture selection, wound glue and digital blocks.  Working with porcine tissue mannequins, you will practice three different suturing techniques:  simple interrupted, running and mattress stitches.  All supplies will be provided including disposable suture kits that can be taken home for additional practice.  Acquiring these skills can enhance the NP's job performance as well as marketability.  Enrollment is limited in order to optimize the learning experience. Register Now!

Interpreting Chest and Abdominal X-Rays

An introductory course for nurse practitioners - but Critical Care and other RN's may also be interested.  This course will enhance your understanding of normal and abnormal x-rays.  Common radiologic signs will be included.  There will be ample opportunity to review films and discuss the findings related to pneumothorax, infiltrates, pleural effusion, masses, increased interstitial markings, CHF, atelectasis, pneumonia, increased vascularity, obstructions, landmarks, and the presence of air and/or fluid.  Attend this program to boost your confidence in the management of your patients.  Register Now!

Pharmacology for Nurse Practitioners

A PharmD can help you make better sense of two complicated topics - anticoagulant management and mediations for autoimmune disorders. Review the pathophysiology of conditions that commonly require anticoagulant therapy. Find out how specialists decipher the intricacies of prescribing anticoagulants. Better understand the potential causes and medications used to treat patients with autoimmune disorders. find out what's on the horizon in terms of treatment options for these patients Register Now!

Teaching Nursing Research to the Twitter Generation

Explore unique and creative ways to teach nurses to be critical consumers of research and to incorporate it into evidence-based practice.  Be able to engage your students in the scientific arena with new techniques for presenting research to today's students.  Practical teaching tips and approaches, 60 second strategies, and undergraduate mentoring will be addressed.  Suggestions for weaving research into the nursing curricula will be offered.  This program precedes the College of Nursing's Annual Research Day....so plan to attend this session and then stay for the program.  A separate registration is required. Register Now!

Annual Research Symposium: The Many Dimensions of Nursing Research

This program is jointly provided by the Center for Nursing Research, and the Alpha Nu Chapter of Sigma Theta Tau, International. The Lived Experience of Military Nurses in Iraq and Afghanistan During the War Years 2003 - 2008 will be the keynote address. Research presentations selected from a call for abstracts will focus on clinical excellence, nursing education and healthcare leadership. Studies in any stage of development will be included in the poster presentations. An optional preconference on Teaching Research to the Twitter Generation is available for faculty teaching research in schools of nursing. Register Now!

Managing Change: New Models, Mindsets and Methods

Restructuring, reorganization, decentralizing, re-engineering... whatever you call it, change is here to stay. Add a nursing shortage and the old ways of dealing with change don't work in today's environment.  The uncertainty, instability and anxiety that are around today seem normal. This course will show you how to provide effective support to your staff and the organization as it lives through fast-paced, stressful transitions. New ideas/concepts and new ways of looking at change will provide tools for your role. As nursing leaders, others turn to you for assistance, so let us help you gain practical/proven strategies and methods so you can assist your staff and colleagues during all aspects of the change process. Register Now!

Money Management - Utilizing the Basic Budgeting Process

Discover how changes in health care affect your budget. Remove the mystery from the budget process while you improve your confidence and understanding.  Learn more about the costs of overtime, agency use, absenteeism, and in-service education. Find out how to plan, prepare, and present a budget for maximum effectiveness.  Hands on experience with budget calculations helps to reinforce concepts. Register Now!

Incorporating Evidenced-Based Practice into Nursing Practice

Learn more about how to fully integrate EBP into the multiple tiers of nursing practice and administration.  Content in this program will help you develop a practice environment based on solidly supported scientific evidence.  Discover how all levels of nursing personnel, from staff nurses to administrators, can make use of EBP.  Discuss strategies for training programs that will help nurses learn to question their practices, understand forms of evidence and implement effective practice changes.  Tailor information to your own setting through the use of illustrations, activities and tools.  This is an exceptional opportunity to assure your facility's compliance with current trends and standards. Register Now!

Harnessing the Power of Presence

Transform your staff by harnessing the energy of presence as a tool to reconnect to therapeutic patient and collegial interactions. In the midst of admitting patients, drawing labs, hanging blood, and passing meds, staff often get consumed by the tasks they must accomplish. They often dwell on and become discouraged by the things they are not able to get done in their workday. Frequently it is the little things nurses do, small acts of kindness and compassion that make a lasting impact on patients and their families.  Even when time is short, when patients have an "attitude", or when there are cultural differences, the power of presence has been shown to positively affect outcomes.  Learn techniques and skills that you can use to increase staffs' effectiveness in being present with patients, families, and each other. Register Now!

Crucial Competencies for Resolving Organizational Conflict

Expand your abilities with a repertoire of people skills in such areas as high level communications, countering intimidation, accountability tactics, delegation strategies, improving motivation, and surviving as the messenger. Explore strategies/tools/ resources that are useful when getting groups, teams and individuals to work together. It has never been more important to be skillful at preventing and managing contention, controversy or even horizontal violence.   Join us to identify practical ways to handle potentially explosive issues, conduct high tension meetings, manage angry emotions... your own and others. Register Now!

Preparing RN Volunteers to Teach Pre-Natal Classes in Catholic Pregnancy Crisis Centers

Volunteers are in high demand to work with clients in pregnancy centers.  If you would like to support and educate expectant mothers in a Catholic tradition, this program will prepare you for the role by reviewing information on: fetal growth and development, nutrition during pregnancy, breastfeeding vs. bottle feeding, routine newborn care and safety, and tips on teaching-learning strategies.  An opportunity for a clinical experience at A Baby's Breath will be available for those who complete this session.

To complement A Baby's Breath's mission of "helping a mother to see her child take his/her first breath", a second class will be presented by Father Charles Laferty, OSA, on the Gospel of Life.  Don't miss this unique opportunity to discuss conception/contraception, chastity, infertility same gender coupling and adoption with an Augustinian priest.

Continuing nursing education hours will be awarded for first session only.

Nursing Administration Certification Review and Update

Interested in obtaining Nurse Executive certification? Prepare to take either ANCC's Basic/advanced certification exams in nursing administration or AONE's new certified nurse manager and leader (CNML) or certified executive nursing practice (CENP) certified exams. This two-day advanced review course will follow the exam's test content outline covering essential information for the nurse manager's role. Topics will include: organization and structure including practice environments, delivery systems, program evaluation; economics such as budget, reimbursement, cost containment and marketing; and human resources as well as staffing, staff development and management issues. Ethical, legal and regulatory issues will also be addressed. Here is an opportunity to update your knowledge and review important subject areas for the certification exam. Register Now!

NLN Preparation course for Certification as a Nurse Educator (CNE) Exam

Certification in any field is a mark of professionalism. For academic nurse educators, it establishes nursing education as a specialty area of practice and creates a means for faculty to demonstrate their expertise in this role. This six hour workshop, is an intensive, comprehensive review of the major content areas of CNE test blueprint. It is designed to help potential candidates assess their level of readiness and identify practice domains where further study may be needed.

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