Nursing Programs
Mission Statement
The Associate Degree Nursing Department is committed to providing cost effective quality education to a culturally, diverse student population. This goal is accomplished by promoting opportunity for students to experience;
- A motivating learning environment which encourages enthusiasm and pride in the profession of nursing
- The opportunity to obtain knowledge and develop understanding of nursing practice
- The opportunity to increase knowledge of self and others, thereby encouraging personal and professional growth
- An atmosphere which encourages students to actively participate in learning experiences needed for beginning level Associate Degree Nursing practice.
Philosophy: Department of Nursing
The faculty of this program holds the following beliefs:
Nursing is a caring, scientific, artistic, and socially necessary discipline. The practice of nursing is based on concepts from the bio-psycho- social sciences. It is also based on the developmental and spiritual needs of people; the goal of the nurse is to “help individuals, sick or well, to perform those activities contributing to health or its recovery (or to a peaceful death) that they would perform unaided if they had the necessary strength, will or knowledge………….” (Henderson, 1996)
Nursing education is a lifelong process. The basic assumption of nursing education is that there is a body of knowledge, skills, and behaviors that can be learned. Learning occurs as the student incorporates the concepts and skills afforded by diverse learning situations, applies them, and evaluates the outcomes. Identifying opportunities for further learning is an essential component of nursing education. Becoming a nurse is an experiential, maturational, developmental process, which proceeds from the simple to the complex in knowledge, behavior, and skill attainment.
The faculty believes that teaching and learning are interactive processes and expects the student to assume an active role. A variety of instructional strategies are used to facilitate critical thinking and problem solving, thereby enabling the learner to transfer knowledge and skills from the didactic to the clinical settings. These skills enable the associate degree nurse to make decisions and take actions that are consistent with standards for nursing practice and licensing laws.
This program prepares graduates for beginning RN positions in a variety of settings. Essential to this preparation are the following core components and competencies: professional behaviors, communication, assessment, clinical decision making, caring interventions, teaching and learning, collaboration, and managing care. (NLN, 1996).
