nursing
Program overview
Semester Option:
Spend a life-changing semester in Dingle, while staying fully on track in Sacred Heart’s four-year nursing program. Designed specifically for sophomore nursing students, this immersive experience allows you to complete core nursing courses such as Pathophysiology (online) and Health Assessment, alongside additional courses that fulfill your plan of study. With small class and lab sizes and direct instruction from SHU nursing faculty, you’ll receive the same rigorous, high-quality education you would on campus, just with a breathtaking view.
As part of the program, you’ll also complete clinical requirements in an Irish hospital under the guidance of an Irish nurse preceptor, gaining international clinical experience that will enrich your education and expand your professional perspective.
Short-Term Option:
For rising seniors, the two-week summer course Nursing Leadership offers an unforgettable global learning opportunity. Dive into key professional issues and nursing trends, engage in clinical activities, collaborate with Irish nursing students, and experience Ireland’s unique healthcare setting and culture. This required senior-level course, taken early, also lightens your academic load in the fall of senior year.
Whether for a semester or a short-term immersion, SHU Dingle’s nursing programs offer a powerful blend of academic excellence, cultural exploration, and hands-on clinical experience in a global context.
NU 215/215L – Health Assessment, Lecture & Lab
4 Credits
Offered
Spring Semester
Faculty
Fiona Barton M.Sc
Description
Health Assessment introduces assessment components including interviewing, history taking, functional assessment, and physical examination of adults and geriatric patients with emphasis on health promotion and disease/injury prevention. This course begins with foundational concepts of professionalism, patient-centered care, and safety. Students will build upon learned assessment techniques to begin examining patients using a head-to-toe approach.
Course content focuses on the role of the nurse, inter- and intraprofessional communication, data collection, and patient teaching. Emphasis is placed on the assessment phase of the nursing process. Students are expected to develop critical thinking skills to begin identifying problems and deficits in an effort to guide the development of a plan of care. By the end of the semester students will formulate a holistic and comprehensive concept map diagramming actual and potential health issues to illustrate this learning.
NU 310 – Pathophysiology
3 Credits
Offered
Spring Semester – Online
Faculty
Mary Dietmann, Ed.D., APRN, ACNS-BC, CNE
Description
This course is designed to promote the understanding and application of fundamental disease processes and disabilities. General concepts of disease, including etiology, morphology and clinical significance are discussed. These concepts are applied in a systems oriented approach to disease processes, and concepts of human genetics will be covered.
NU 370 – Nursing Leadership in Ireland
3 Credits
Offered
Summer 1 Short Term
Faculty
Description
This course focuses on the nursing profession and leadership principles, which are integral to the provision of health care for individuals, families, communities, and global health. Students are given the opportunity to explore complex issues and trends in nursing related to the provision of cost-effective, safe, quality patient care, nurses as a profession, and global health.
The development of understanding and awareness of their need to become involved in the development of health care policies and changes in health care systems will be fostered by an analysis of current issues such as cross-cultural communication, the nursing shortage, inefficient health care systems, and international issues. Discussions and assignments will include implementation strategies and skills for successful transition into the workplace environment.
For the course being offered in Dingle, Ireland, the course uses comparative perspectives focusing on American and Irish contexts while exploring these complex topics.
