79 COURSE DESCRIPTIONS
STATEMENT OF PURPOSE 1. To provid e a liberal and profess io n al educatio n in a Chri stian se tting as a fo undatio n fo r practice, advanced educa ti o n, and p rodu ctive li ving. 2. To develo p gradu ates who a re sen sitive to the total needs of all individuals and who recogni ze and respect the va lu e of each person as uniquely created in God 's image . 3. To p rovide a broad theory base as a foundat ion fo r dynami c nursing practi ce requi red to mee t current and future health care needs o f society. 4. To fos ter inte ll ectual inquiry and compe tency in criti cal and creati ve think ing essential fo r continued growth as a person, citizen, and profess ional . 5. To prepare the graduate for indepen dent practice, fo r collaborative activities, and for involvement in research required to fulfill the respo nsibiliti es o f the profess ion al nurse in a broad vari ety of settings . OBJECTIVES To demo nstra te the caring essential to the practi ce of profess io nal nursing th e grad uate is expected to : 1. Base nursing practi ce on a philo sophi cal fo undati o n consistent with Bio la Unive rsity and the department of nursing bel iefs about the nature of people. 2. Integra te knowledge from th e behavioral, bio logical, and phys ical sci ences toge th er with kn owledge from nurs ing science and utili ze thi s knowledge as a basis fo r nursing practi ce. 3. Base nursing prac ti ce on a fo r mulat io n o f theo retical knowledge incorporating communicatio n/ coll abora tio n, teaching/ learning, probl em-solving/ decisio n-making and leadershi p/ man agement principl es . 4. Utili ze research techniques to col lect relevant data sys temati cally from all pertinent interacti o nal sys tems, the envi ronment and th e knowledge base to fac ili tate effective use o f the nursing process and contribute to th e existing body of nu rs ing knowledge.
ety is best accomplished th rough the learn ing acqui red in baccalaureate education. As nurse educators it is our respo ns ibility to provide an environment whi ch facil itates thi s learning and prepares the graduate for advanced professio nal educati o n. Consistent with o ur be li ef abo ut the natu re of th e ind ivid ual, each student is viewed as a uni que person with a unique cultural, ethni c, and social background . It is the role o f the educato r to provi de a learning cl imate whi ch: (1) enhances stu dents' abili ti es to use their own unique learning styles, effectively; (2) promotes students' accompli shment o f personal goal s; and (3) fac ilitates students' utili za tion of resources and personal support sys tems to enhan ce the ir ab ili ty to mee t the ir individual learning needs . It is o ur bel ief that the goa l o f learning is behavioral change in the cognitive, affec tive, and psychomotor domain s. Learning is a purposefu l, dynami c process and invo lves a change in knowledge, skill s, atti tud es, values, and/ or beli efs. It occurs mo re efficientl y, is more pervas ive, and mo re enduring when the lea rne r active ly participates in all phases of the learning process. Previous expe ri ence provides the fo undati o n fo r current learning. Learning is fa cilitated when experiences move from the familiar to the unfamili ar and fro m the simple to the complex. Learning whi ch emphasizes di scovery of o rgani zing princi ples rather than specific content fac il itates the transfer o f learning to novel situati o ns. We believe criti cal and creative thinking are essential for the professional nurse. Development of these ski lls is foste red in a learning environment that: (1) provides opportuni ty fo r involvement in problem solving and decision-making early in the learning process; (2) creates tension as a stimulus to inquiry and discovery; (3) pro vides exposure to a variety of problems in a variety of se ttings; (4) encourages matura tion of the abili ty to utilize internal and exter nal evaluative feedback; and (5) promo tes increasing self-direction and independence. The educato r as a ro le model enhances the learning process by demo nstrating the skill o f inquiry and discovery. Acting as a fac ili tator and resource person, the educa to r guides the learner through the educa ti o nal experi ence. We beli eve that the edu cati o nal process is part of the continuing develo pment o f the learn er's po tenti alities fo r continu ed growth toa rd who leness as a person, citi zen, and profess io nal nurse.
achieve and maintain whol eness. T he family within the context of its culture is th e fundamental unit through whi ch the socializati o n process is advanced . We beli eve caring is the essence of nurs ing. The focus o f nursing activity is the three human interacti o nal sys tems. and th e dynamic in teracti o n between them withi n the context o f their environment. T hese three sys tems (intrapersonal , interperson al and commun ity) also are constantly interacting with internal and external stresso rs whi ch may affect the integri ty of the sys tems. It is o ur view that the pur pose of nu rs ing is to support and promo te adaptive processes that facilitate the sys tem's abili ty to achi eve and maintain adap tive equili brium . This is accompli shed th rough use of the nursing process which is ongoing and involves assess ing, di agnos ing, pl anning, implementing and evaluat ing. T his process enabl es the nurse to work with client sys tems at varying loca tio ns o n the health-illn ess continuum. N ursing is a dynamic profess io n based o n a growing body of scientifi c knowledge. Behavioral , bio logical, and phys ical sci ences have been fundamental to the deve l opment o f nu rs ing's own unique body of knowledge. N urs ing is bo th art and sci ence; its uniqueness does no t reside in any specifi c compo nent o f theory or acti on, but can be fo und only in the whole. As o ne o f the majo r health care profes sio ns, we beli eve nursing is accountabl e to society fo r provisio n o f quali ty health care services . N ursing end eavors to meet thi s respo nsibili ty through: 1. independent practice; 2. coll aborative activities with clients and other health care pro fess io nals; and 3 . involvement in research to improve clinical practice and furth er th e deve lop ment o f nu rs ing science. In a rap id ly changing world , adequate and equitable d eli ve ry o f health care is a criti cal p robl em. We believe that equ al access to health care services is the ri ght o f every individual in society. Th rough its unique contribution, nursing can and must be an effective social force in pro moting the quali ty and availabili ty of health care services . To effect pos itive changes nurses must be involved in all aspects of the heal th care delivery system, includ ing th e legislative process, manpow e r pl anning and community o rgani zati o ns. We beli eve initial preparati on of th e pro fessio nal nurse to mee t these needs of soci -
5 . Demonstrate application of synthes ized concepts related to
stress/ adaptati o n . deve lo pmental, inte r acti o nal and system th eories in the pur poseful and sys temati c use of the nu rs ing process to fac ilitate o ptimal adaptat io n th rough appropri ate use o f th e preven tio n, conservati o n and restoratio n modes within the three interacti o nal sys tems.
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