Program Description
The baccalaureate program in nursing prepares students for entry-level professional practice positions in a variety of settings and is the prerequisite for advanced graduate study. Undergraduate professional education in nursing is both a liberal and a professional education designed to prepare students to provide nursing care based on scientific and humanistic principles.
Course requirements are designed to allow students to obtain knowledge needed for care of people of all ages and cultures. The study of professional nursing includes classroom and laboratory instruction in the art and science of nursing and supervised clinical instruction in a variety of hospital and community settings.
Each year of the curriculum builds upon content from the previous one as students are prepared to care for individuals, families, groups and communities with increasingly complex health care needs and problems. In addition, with increasing complexity, students are given opportunities to collaborate and cooperate within a multidisciplinary team approach to health care.
Although the emphasis may be different in each course, each course in the curriculum will include concepts of risk assessment and health promotion; primary, acute and chronic care; psychological and social aspects of care; broad-based cultural aspects of care; ethical issues; and informatics.
Outcomes for Graduates of the Baccalaureate Program
At graduation, BSN graduates are prepared to enter professional nursing practice as a generalist and have the foundation for graduate studies in nursing. They will be prepared to:
1. Integrate knowledge from a liberal education, the sciences, and nursing to address the health care of individuals, families, groups, communities, and populations across the life span in diverse and global health care systems and environments.
2. Apply a systematic process for application and evaluation of scientific evidence related to the principles of health promotion, risk reduction, disease prevention, and illness management across the continuum of dynamic healthcare environments.
3. Apply the knowledge and skills of information management and patient care technologies to deliver high quality nursing care that addresses legal, ethical, historical, and emerging issues.
4. Communicate effectively and work collaboratively with individuals, families, groups, communities, and populations within nursing and with other health disciplines to design, manage, and deliver high quality and safe patient-centered care.
5. Demonstrate a commitment to leadership and professionalism through the delivery of socially, ethically, and fiscally responsible care while embracing the concept of life-long learning.