and research. In addition, nursing practice derives knowledge from a wide array of other fields and professions, adapting and applying this knowledge as appropriate to professional practice (AACN, 2008, p. 7). The curriculum is sequenced to ensure a foundation of liberal education to support the nursing core courses and learning outcomes. Research was conducted to include current national and organizational guidelines and best practices. The nursing program incorporates national and organizational guidelines, quality improvement concepts, theory, research, and best practices in nursing and education to provide a high-quality and comprehensive program. As members of the healthcare team the baccalaureate prepared nurse utilizes concepts of organizational and systems leadership, quality improvement and safety to assess for risk and advocate for improvements in quality and safety. Leadership is a process of influence in which nurse leaders guide others toward goal achievement skills to enhance patient safety and improve quality of patient outcomes. Concepts are included in the curriculum to provide knowledge of healthcare policy, finance, delivery systems and regulatory environments needed in decision making and demonstrate professional standards of moral, ethical, and legal nursing practice (AACN, 2008). Based on Florence Nightingale’s philosophy of nursing the nursing program has developed the OMEGA-7, which is an acronym for a nurse assessment and caring of person’s health and environment: Orientation, Medication, Emergency, Gait, Allergies—the 7 are: air, food, water, safety, hygiene, pain, and sleep. The OMEGA-7 elements provide the conceptual framework for critical thinking in approaching healthcare and the nursing process. The World Health Organization (2014) recommended that educational institutions should consider using educational pathways that are streamlined for the advancement of practicing health professionals. As discussed in the Institute of Medicine report (2011), the program serves as an educational pathway to the attainment of graduate degrees in nursing. Continued education and professional development are encouraged and expected of students and nursing faculty. The students are introduced to a wide range of concepts and theories including community and global health, leadership, and quality improvement. Leadership and management concepts are included throughout the curriculum as described in Recommendation-7 that calls upon nursing education programs to “integrate leadership theory and business practices across the curriculum” (IOM, 2011, p. 5). The curriculum includes the assumptions of the American Association of Colleges of Nursing (2008) assumptions. The baccalaureate generalist graduate is prepared to: • Practice from a holistic, caring framework • Practice from an evidence base • Promote safe, quality patient care • Use clinical/critical reasoning to address simple to complex situations • Assume accountability for one’s own and delegated nursing care
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