Student Outcomes
A graduate of the BSN program is expected to be:
- Critical Thinker: Someone who is able to demonstrate intellectual curiosity, rational inquiry, problem-solving skills, and creativity in framing problems.
- Culturally Competent Person: Someone who can provide holistic nursing care to a variety of individuals, families and communities.
- Knowledgeable Coordinator: A coordinator of community resources who facilitates individual, family, and community access to resources necessary to meet health care needs.
- Politically Aware Person: Someone who participates in the profession of practice of nursing with a global perspective.
- Conscientious Practitioner: An individual who practices within an ethical and legal framework of the nursing profession.
- Effective Communicator: An effective communicator who is able to share accurate information.
- Therapeutic Nursing Intervention / Competent Provider of Care: A competent provider of health care who assumes the multiple role dimensions in structured and semi-structured health care settings.
- Professional Role Model: A person who promotes a positive public image of nursing.
- Responsible Manager: A responsible manager who balances human, fiscal, and material resources to achieve quality health care outcomes.
Bachelor of Science in Nursing (B.S.N.)
Philosophy Statement
Baccalaureate nursing education provides a broad foundation in the sciences and liberal arts, which is necessary for preparing professional nurses who are capable of practicing in a competent and responsible fashion as informed citizens in a dynamic and diverse society. Graduates of the baccalaureate nursing program are expected to demonstrate competency in being a critical thinker; a culturally competent person; a knowledgeable coordinator of community resources; a politically aware professional; a beginning practitioner whose actions are consistent with professional legal and ethical standards; an effective communicator; a competent provider of health care; and a person who exemplifies a positive public image. These competencies are consistent with the 1998 “Essentials of Baccalaureate Education for Professional Nursing Practice,” established by the American Association of Colleges of Nursing, the 2004 “Standards of Nursing Practice,” established by the American Nurses’ Association (ANA), along with the ANA 2001 Code of Ethics.
Baccalaureate graduates assist individuals, families, and communities in attaining mutually established health goals and in facilitating the highest level of functioning for individuals, families, and communities toward the maximization of their health potential. Baccalaureate education must prepare graduates to be knowledgeable workers and processors of information, and to navigate complex health care systems using available technologies as they design and develop, independently or in conjunction with others, more efficient and effective approaches to the delivery of health care services.
Purpose
The baccalaureate program offers a creative curriculum for the education of professional nurses competent in meeting the current and future health needs of society. The curriculum prepares raduates to function as practitioners in acute and long-semester care, community settings, home care, and other nontraditional settings, and also provides a foundation for leadership positions and graduate study.
The graduate of the B.S.N. program possesses a broad knowledge of the humanities, the biological and social sciences, and nursing. As a beginning practitioner, the graduate applies well-developed problem-solving skills in caring for individuals, families, and communities.
