Vision
The Nursing Department will have a significant impact on health, especially in the rural environment, through education, scholarship, service and partnerships. The department will sustain high-quality programs and will serve as a catalyst for healthcare careers and professional development.
Mission Statement
The Department of Nursing is strongly committed to quality undergraduate and graduate education in the health professions.
- We strive to meet the diverse needs of students.
- Partnerships and teamwork are key elements in our education, scholarship and service.
- We prepare students for leadership in the health professions.
Goal Areas, Goals and Strategies
- Academic Excellence
- Student Development and Success
- Enrollment Management
- Partnerships
- Resource Development
- Continuous Improvement
- Civic Engagement (Service)
Philosophy of Nursing Programs
The philosophy of the programs of nursing is consistent with the mission of ºÚÁϳԹÏÍø and the College of Health Services. The Nursing faculty believe in preparing future graduates to practice within a complex healthcare system and assume the roles of provider of care, designer/manager/coordinator of care, and member of a profession. The nursing faculty make a dynamic contribution to the discipline of nursing, the university, college, department, and community at large. Faculty also aid student development and success through active learning, discovery, and civic engagement. The faculty believes in preparing nurse generalists at the baccalaureate level, nurse educators and administrators at the master's level, and researchers, educators, and leaders at the doctoral level.The baccalaureate degree program in nursing at ºÚÁϳԹÏÍø is accredited by the ). The nursing faculty embraces an eclectic approach to our philosophical framework incorporating nursing education, systems, and care theories. We believe our philosophical framework incorporates the following concepts of person, environment, health, nursing, education, and caring.
The person is a synergistic blend of body, mind, and spirit with unique beliefs, ideas, and expectations. Persons are individuals with diverse ethnicity, age, gender, religion, lifestyle, genetic heritage, culture, and socioeconomic status. The person has the right and responsibility to participate in decisions which affect his/her health. Nurses, as persons, provide care for such populations across the health-illness continuum in a variety of settings, and we believe that, as care providers, nurses need care for self in order to provide holistic care for other persons.
Environment is a system of individuals, families, groups, communities, and populations where the person is in a constant interaction with internal and external environments. Through system interactions the person influences and is influenced by the environment.
Health is a state of complete physical, mental, spiritual, and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity. Health is determined by the ability to adapt to internal and external environmental changes and maintain a dynamic equilibrium.
Nursing is a caring profession which promotes health by assisting the person to adapt to internal and external environmental changes. Nursing practice is based on holistic, caring, ethical, and legal frameworks. Nurses provide safe and high-quality care that incorporates therapeutic relationships established with the person in the global health system. Nursing incorporates the use of scientific nursing practice, research, critical thinking, clinical reasoning, and judgment to address simple to complex situations. The nurse utilizes evidenced-based practice guidelines to provide high-quality, cost-effective care for patients in and across all environments.
Education is a dynamic, developmental, and collaborative process that fosters life-long and self-directed learning while helping to develop critical thinking and personal and professional growth. We believe nurses must engage in continuous professional development and assume accountability and responsibility for one's own and delegated nursing care.
Caring is a value that perceives the needs of others and responds to those needs in a way beneficial to the patient as well as the nurse. It is both active and emotive. Caring is evident through respect of persons, understanding, compassion, and competence and is essential to the practice of nursing. The nurse and the patient cultivate sensitivity to one another in order to optimize caring and well being.
Watson, J. (2008). Nursing: The Philosophy and Science of Caring. Boulder, Colorado: University Press of Colorado.