Introduction to the role of the professional nurse as a provider of care, coordinator of care, and a member of the profession. Topics include but are not limited to the fundamental concepts of nursing practice, history of professional nursing, a systematic framework for decision-making, mechanisms of disease, the needs and problems that nurses help patients manage, and basic psychomotor skills. Emphasis on knowledge, judgment, skills and professional values within a legal/ethical framework. The concepts of communication, caring, community, and critical thinking are included throughout the course.