NURS 8114 Theoretical and Scientific Foundations of Nursing Syllabus (Walden University)

Theoretical and Scientific Foundations of Nursing

Syllabus

Student Support and Calendar Information

So you have all key information available to you off-line, it is highly recommended that you print the following items for your reference:

This Syllabus

Support Resources

Credit Hours

5 credit in 11 weeks

Walden University assigns credit hours based on the number and type of assignments that enable students to achieve the course learning objectives. In general, each semester credit equals about 42 hours of total student work and each quarter credit equals about 28 hours of total student work. This time requirement represents an approximate average for undergraduate work and the minimum expectations for graduate work. The number and kind of activities estimated to fulfill time requirements will vary by degree level and student learning style, and by student familiarity with the delivery method and course content.

Course Description

In this course, students focus on the integration of scientific, philosophical, and theoretical concepts as the basis for the highest level of nursing practice. They examine the scientific underpinnings for nursing practice, including middle range nursing and interdisciplinary theories, and they explore the interrelationship among knowledge, research, and practice. Students also explore clinical inquiry, models of evidence-based practice, implementation science, and translation of evidence for practice change and quality improvement. Students explore their role as a DNP-prepared nurse in the translation of evidence to promote social change and address Social Determinants of Health (SDOH). Students utilize Johns Hopkins Translation of Evidence Tools to address a gap in practice and to appraise and synthesize evidence. Students also develop their own personal philosophy of nursing practice.

Course Prerequisites

• NURS 8002/8006 can be co-requisite.

Course Outcomes

By the end of this course, you should be able to:

Integrate the scientific principles and philosophical underpinnings of nursing practice in the clinical setting.

Evaluate the application of nursing theory to promote positive nursing practice.

Apply concepts, models, and theories to current issues in health and nursing practice.

Appraise clinical scholarship for the translation and application of evidence to improve nursing practice and healthcare delivery.

Develop translation of evidence tools to address a gap in practice.

Evaluate the role of the DNP-prepared nurse in the translation of evidence to promote social change and address Social Determinants of Health (SDOH).

To access the Outcomes and Alignment Chart that applies to your course of study:

Document: NURS 8114 Outcomes and Alignment Chart (PDF) Download NURS 8114 Outcomes and Alignment Chart (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 Texts

Bissett, K., Ascenzi, J., & Whalen, M. (2025). Johns Hopkins evidence-based practice for nurses and healthcare professionals: Model and guidelines (5th ed.). Sigma Theta Tau International.

Note: You previously purchased this text for NURS 8002 or NURS8006 and it will be used throughout the program.

McEwen, M., & Wills, E. M. (2022).  Theoretical basis for nursing  (6th ed.). Wolters Kluwer.

White, K. M., Dudley-Brown, S., & Terhaar, M. F. (Eds.). (2024).  Translation of evidence into nursing and healthcare  (4th ed.). Springer.

Note: You will use these texts in this course and throughout your DNP program. You only need to purchase them once.

Also Note: If the print edition of these book 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.

Media

Assigned course media elements may be found in one or more weeks of the course and are available via a streaming media player or a hyperlink to the individual item.

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.

Course Assignments

1. 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 by posting a response to a prompt or question in the 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.

2. Blogs: The Blogs in this course follow a similar format to the Discussions, explained above. The difference is that Blogs aim to be more open-ended and informal in terms of sharing perspectives, thoughts, and experiences on a given prompt.

Note: Unless otherwise noted, initial postings to Blogs and 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.

3. Assignments:  The Assignments provide you with the opportunity to apply the skills and knowledge gained through the Learning Resources. See the Assignment area of specific weeks for detailed descriptions of the assignments. In grading the required Assignments, your Instructor will be using rubrics.

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.

Academic Integrity Originality Policy

Walden encourages students to use critical thinking to produce original thoughts in Discussion posts, Assignments, and other scholarly work. This “…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 responses.” Using too many direct quotes or ineffective paraphrasing does not demonstrate originality.

To demonstrate originality requires the use of paraphrasing. According to the Walden Writing Center (n.d.), “Paraphrasing in academic writing is an effective way to restate, condense, or clarify another author’s ideas while also providing credibility to your own argument or analysis” (“Introduction to Paraphrasing”). “As you discuss those sources, paraphrasing allows you to use your own words and sentence structure to talk about the information you gleaned from those sources.” (Walden Writing Center, n.d., “Introduction to Paraphrasing”).

“Ineffective paraphrasing occurs when authors paraphrase a source but do not use their own sentence structure or vocabulary to effectively reword that source. The issue here is often that the student’s paraphrase simply uses synonyms for the source’s original wording and is not different enough from the original source’s wording. Ineffective paraphrasing can occur when an author does not use his or her own wording or voice to paraphrase entire paragraphs or individual sentences.” (Walden Writing Center, n.d., “Examples of Paraphrasing,” slide 10).

For more information, refer to the Writing Center’s Introduction to Plagiarism & Intellectual Property Links to an external site. .

Assignments, Discussion, Blog posts, or other scholarly work that does not demonstrate originality will receive a grade reduction of up to 20%.

grading criteria and total components of a grade

Course grades will be based on participation (postings) and completion of assignments listed below.

Assignment
Total Points
Percent of Grade

Blog*

(4 @ 50 points)
200
20%

Discussion*

(6 @ 60 points)
360
36%

Assignment

(1 @ 130 points)

(1 @ 150 points)

(1 @ 160 points)
440
44%

Total
1000
100%

* Each Blog and Discussion requires that you make one initial posting and at least two response postings to colleagues. See the Blog and Discussion rubrics for details.

At the end of the course, you will earn a grade based on the following scale:

Grading Scale for Final Grade

A = 89.5% or better

B = 79.5%–89.4%

C = 69.5%–79.4%

F = 69.4% or below

Please see below for the policy on Incomplete (I) grades.

Incomplete Grades

Walden strongly discourages grades of “I” (Incomplete). However, Walden understands that there are certain circumstances under which a grade of “I” (Incomplete) is appropriate.

Grades of “I” (Incomplete) are given at the discretion of the instructor, but normally are granted only if students have acceptably completed the majority of the coursework, including discussions and assignments, prior to the last day of the class. Students must request a grade of “I” (Incomplete) prior to the last day of the course. Such a request should include a list of missing assignments and a date and plan for submission of missing assignments no later than 80 calendar days from the last date of the course. Discussion assignments may not be made up after the last date of class. Coursework submitted within the allowed time period, not to exceed 80 calendar days from the last day of classes, will be graded and included in the computation of an overall course grade that will replace the “I” grade. Failure to complete the specified coursework within the allowed time will cause the grade of “I” to default to an “F” (Fail) or “U” (Unsatisfactory), depending on the course grading scheme.

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 Grades area, the Discussion area, Assignment 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 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

Here are the steps to follow to begin this course successfully:

All class Discussions take place in the weekly Discussion areas.

You are encouraged to post course-related questions to the Class Café 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 Class Café area; however, most personal critique will be done privately in the Grade Center. Be sure to check the Grades area 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 Guidelines and Policies area of the course home page.

Review all course materials.

Note on NURS-8114 Theoretical and Scientific Foundations of Nursing Syllabus Assignment Attempts: Students are expected to review their work and submissions of work carefully prior to due dates. Unless otherwise approved by the faculty, students are allowed one submission of graded work per assignment. While the classroom allows for multiple submissions, once an assignment is graded, submissions will no longer be accepted unless approved by the faculty. If an assignment is submitted prior to the assignment deadline and has not yet been graded, then students may submit a revised assignment prior to the assignment deadline. However, once the deadline has passed or the assignment has been graded, resubmission is not permitted unless approved by the faculty member.

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

Be sure that you post to the correct Discussion area each week. Do not email 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.

Assignments are submitted to the Turnitin link and named according to the week in which the Assignment is submitted. Directions for naming each Assignment are included in each week’s Assignment area. Please be sure that all written Assignments are saved and submitted as a “.doc” file.

All email 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 email will be easily identified and responded to in a timely manner. It is required that the email 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 NURS-8114 Theoretical and Scientific Foundations of Nursing Syllabus.

Assignments submitted late without the 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%. Each day late with result in a 4%-point deduction up to day 5. After 5 days, the assignment will be graded a zero. Students should be aware that late assignments may not receive the same level of written feedback as do assignments submitted on time.

The late policy for discussion boards and blogs is different from that for course assignments and is as follows:

Students are expected to complete the discussion boards and blogs by the due dates noted in the course. If students do not complete the discussion boards by the due date, their grade will be a zero. In the event of an extenuating circumstance, students must notify the instructor.

Keeping Your Coursework

You will have access to the course and your coursework from the course start date until one year after the course’s end date. 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.

Student Evaluation of Learning and Teaching

Two weeks before the end of the course, you will receive an invitation to submit an online evaluation of the course and instruction. Each submitted Student Evaluation of Learning and Teaching is 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.

Office Of Student Disability Services (OSDS)

The OSDS are committed to providing equal access to educational opportunities for qualified students with disabilities in accordance with government, state, and local laws as applicable to the student’s program and location. All accommodations requested are reviewed on an individual basis to determine what is reasonable and appropriate. The student should understand the process is an interactive one that takes time.

If you are looking to receive services through the OSDS, we want to support you. To start the process, email disability@mail.waldenu.edu . You may also reach the office by phone to schedule an appointment at 855-229-0848 . International students may request a meeting through Teams. You may also fax your request to 630.596.1651 .

If you require other accessibility needs to experience the call, please indicate that in your email.

Accessibility Note: In this course, you may be asked to upload videos and your peers may be asked to review them. Our goal is to make those materials accessible to everyone regardless of disability. You may be asked to provide a transcript of your video for the use of your peers in the event that they cannot watch or hear the videos due to a disability.

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.

Time Zone

For complete details on discussions and assignments, please refer to each week of the course. Walden University has established 10:59pm Central Time (CT) as the official submission time for all courses. All assignments and discussions are due by 10:59pm CT on the day indicated in the assignment or discussion instructions.

The time stamp in Canvas will show Central Time as the default. You may choose to adjust the settings in Canvas to reflect your local time zone for submission time. For example, if you reside in Pacific Time (PT), you can adjust the settings in Canvas to show what time in your local area the assignment or discussion is due. If the discussion is due Wednesday at 10:59pm CT, then you can adjust your settings to show the discussion is due Wednesday at 8:59pm PT.

Course Summary:

Course Summary

Date
Details
Due

Wed Sep 2, 2026
Discussion Topic Week 1: Discussion
due by 10:59pm

Wed Sep 9, 2026
Discussion Topic Week 2: Discussion
due by 10:59pm

Wed Sep 16, 2026
Discussion Topic Week 3: Discussion
due by 10:59pm

Sun Sep 20, 2026
Assignment Week 3: Assignment
due by 10:59pm

Wed Sep 23, 2026
Discussion Topic Week 4: Blog
due by 10:59pm

Wed Sep 30, 2026
Discussion Topic Week 5: Discussion
due by 10:59pm

Sun Oct 11, 2026
Assignment Week 6: Assignment
due by 10:59pm

Wed Oct 14, 2026
Discussion Topic Week 7: Discussion
due by 10:59pm

Wed Oct 21, 2026
Discussion Topic Week 8: Discussion
due by 10:59pm

Wed Oct 28, 2026
Discussion Topic Week 9: Blog
due by 10:59pm

Wed Nov 4, 2026
Discussion Topic Week 10: Blog
due by 10:59pm

Sun Nov 8, 2026
Assignment Week 10: Assignment
due by 10:59pm

Wed Nov 11, 2026
Discussion Topic Week 11: Blog
due by 10:59pm

Assignment Turnitin Drafts

NURS-8114 Theoretical and Scientific Foundations of Nursing Syllabus