This course provides students preparing for advanced practice roles with the knowledge and skills to plan, implement, manage, and evaluate programs or interventions within nursing and health care contexts. Building on evidence and theory, students will learn to systematically assess health problems and community needs, develop clear program objectives informed by data and theory, design and implement programs or interventions that address identified needs, manage program resources including funding and budgeting, and evaluate program processes and outcomes to guide quality improvement. Students will draw heavily from and build on what they learned in their research utilization courses regarding evidence informed practice and the interpretation of data collected using different types of research designs.

Emphasis is placed on integrating theoretical frameworks and logic models to direct program development, implementation, and evaluation. Students will also explore strategies for knowledge translation and exchange (KTE) to effectively communicate findings and support program sustainability. Through this course, they will enhance their capacity as a nurse practitioner and health leader to design evidence-informed, culturally safe, and sustainable programs that improve patient and community outcomes.

This course contributes to their development as an advanced practice nurse and nurse leader. The Canadian Nurses Association (CNA) has identified competencies required of advanced practice nurses in the document Advanced Nursing Practice: A Pan-Canadian Framework (2019). Specifically, this course is intended to develop students' knowledge, skills, and judgment related to the CNA advanced practice competencies of optimizing health systems, education, research, leadership, and consultation/collaboration. In addition, the Entry-Level Competencies for Nurse Practitioners, outlined by the College of Nurses of Ontario ([CNO], 2024), describes the centrality of NP led leadership to advance continuous improvement of health outcomes and health systems, including program design, implementation, and evaluation.