SPC Nursing Program



	SPC Home HEC Home Nursing Program Home Program Options About Our Program Grants Partnerships Student Resources Faculty Resources		Program Philosophy The Nature of Human Beings and The Society in Which They Live The nursing faculty believe that people are holistic beings whose minds, bodies, and spirits interact with, have effect on, and are affected by the physical and social environments in which they live. Contemporary societies are aggregates of culturally diverse persons who coexist in communities and evidence dynamic interpersonal and institutional relationships; these relationships are expressed through family, religion, education, and government. Among the factors that influence these relationships are thoughts, values, practices, and codes of living. People learn to nurture, to develop, and to relate to self and others to accomplish personal and social goals through relationships with individuals and groups. The Nature of Health and Health Care As holistic beings, people strive for homeodynamic balance to function as effective contributors to the dynamic contemporary environment in which they live. Health and the perception of wellness are valued in our society. The facilitation of wellness care requires consideration of not only the patient, but also the family and the surrounding community. Suffering is measured by the acuity of the diagnosed disease and the burden of perceived illness. The greater the suffering the more complex the issues associated with curing the physical body and healing the mind, body, and spirit. Social institutions strive to deal with complex issues in providing health care to all citizens. The nature of the health care delivery system has changed and continues to change dramatically, exacting new competencies and increased demands on the providers of health care. Practitioners of the 21st century must be prepared to meet the needs of individuals, families, and communities as well as the global community, all within an open and increasingly complex system of caring. The Nature of Nursing The practice of nursing is concerned with human responses to alterations in physical, mental, and spiritual health status; thus, nursing actions are directed toward enabling individuals, families, and groups throughout the life span to promote and maintain health and wellness, to prevent illness and disease, and, in the event of illness or disease, to recover or to face death with dignity. Nurses utilize a problem-solving approach, called Nursing Process, to determine client needs for support and/or intervention; the nurse gathers data that reflect client health status, uses analysis to diagnose client responses to actual and potential health problems, plans and implements goal-directed, diagnoses related nursing strategies, and evaluates the outcome of nursing actions. Nursing strategies include monitoring direct care and teaching in a variety of settings. Nurses demonstrate caring through empathy and compassion, and by providing evidence-based, clinically competent care in an ethical manner to all clients regardless of health problems, personal attributes, or socioeconomic status. Nurses accept responsibility and accountability for their practice; they demonstrate flexibility in adapting to the changing health care arena as it is influenced by governmental, third party payer, and public demands. Nurses demonstrate commitment to maintain competencies as defined by established standards of nursing practice. This commitment is demonstrated by engagement in life long learning. The Nature of Nursing Education, Teaching, and Learning The faculty believes that preparation for nursing practice is a creative, dynamic process that occurs within an educational system; the system provides opportunities for increasing knowledge in the theory and practice of nursing and utilizes a variety of teaching and learning modalities such as distance education, classroom activities, simulated laboratories, clinical laboratories, and preceptor-enhanced clinical experiences. Each learning activity is designed to prepare the graduate for the complexities of nursing practice. The knowledge base required for the practice of nursing includes essential concepts and principles derived from the natural, behavioral, and technological sciences that provide an educational foundation for critical thinking, problem solving, and ethical decision-making. Students relate and apply these fundamental concepts and principles to nursing theory and practice. Change is an outcome of learning. Learning is a creative process that progresses through levels of complexity. Learning occurs independently, as well as through interaction with individuals and groups be it in person or through distance communication processes. Learners are unique individuals who bring previously acquired knowledge, experience, beliefs, attitudes, and behaviors to the educational setting. Learners possess the potential for self-actualization and discover that potential through the learning process. Preparation for and socialization into a system of beliefs is facilitated when the learner's goals and objectives are consistent with the goals and objectives of the learning experience. The curriculum is supported and enriched by a learning environment enhanced by technology in which concepts and skills are offered concurrently in a dynamic process. The learning process presupposes that instructor and student will establish a collaborative, trusting, caring, ethical relationship that fosters growth and accountability and enables students to meet program objectives and individual educational goals. Faculty communicates expected standards of performance, requisite knowledge, skills, and attitudes. Faculty also establish a reasonable time frame for effecting learning outcomes, demonstrates validity and reliability of instruction, and evidence fairness in supervision and evaluation. Faculty serves as role models, instructors, evaluators, mentors, and co-learners in the growth process. By providing opportunities for students to identify and express their own learning needs, faculty assists students to meet objectives within a prescribed time frame. Students are expected to be self-directed and assume responsibility and accountability for active participation in their own learning as evidenced through study, practice, dialogue with faculty, and self-evaluation. Learning outcomes are measured by evidence of the student's ability to demonstrate expected outcomes. The faculty believes that the nursing program contributes to achievement of the college mission to prepare individuals for employment in areas of critical shortage, thus meeting the needs of the community that is served by the college. Further the nursing program contributes to the college mission by preparing students for: (1) responsible and ethical citizenship, (2) directed interaction in a diverse community, (3) effective involvement in life activities, (4) and the ability to think logically, critically, and creatively in the process of making informed decisions. The Nature of the Graduate with an Associate Degree in Nursing At the associate degree level, nursing education is directed toward enabling students to develop basic knowledge, skills, and attitudes necessary for the ethical practice of nursing in settings where policies and procedures are specified and guidance is available. Upon entry into practice, the associate degree graduate is prepared to function as a novice generalist in collaboration with an experienced registered nurse to provide nursing care to clients of various ages with acute or chronic common health problems. The role of the associate degree nurse includes provider of care, teacher, counselor, manager, and member of the discipline of nursing. As a member of the multidisciplinary health team, the graduate is involved in providing and managing care for a select number of clients; teaching and counseling are viewed as integral components of the goal-directed, collaborative nurse-client relationship. As a member of the discipline of nursing, the associate degree nurse actively participates with others in protecting and promoting health and wellness, and in meeting the health needs of the community. The Nature of the Graduate with a Baccalaureate Degree in Nursing At the baccalaureate level, nursing education is directed toward enabling students to develop in their roles as: (1) providers of care, (2) designers, managers, and coordinators of care, and (3) members of the profession of nursing. Professional nursing actions include the implementation of nursing strategies in direct care and teaching in a variety of settings, primary and secondary preventive strategies, health education, and health promotion are emphasized as the nurse facilitates wellness care. The additional educational development required to achieve the baccalaureate degree enhances the nurse's ability to engage in critical thinking and decision making in an increasingly complex health care arena. The BSN graduate promotes the health of the community and understands the community as a client. Primary care is emphasized as is case management and the provision for high quality, yet cost-effective integrated services. The baccalaureate nurse is able to develop and plan for outcome measures that promote comprehensive, quality, cost-effective health care and health promotion activities; such planning will provide continuity for the client and satisfaction for the family. Further, the baccalaureate graduate will serve as a client/family/community advocate; work toward promotion of the environmental health; work effectively with interdisciplinary teams; and will understand the importance of partnering with communities to plan strategically for health promotion and health care. The baccalaureate graduate in today's society must be able to manage information in an increasingly technological world. Data collection, storage, and analysis are critical to the delivery of complex services in a systematic manner. The beginning elements of participating in the collection of data for research, understanding research outcomes, and implementation of research-based practice are an integral part of the baccalaureate nurse's professional practice.