ABOUT NURSING
In response to area needs, the Associate Degree Nursing Program was developed in 1972 and has since graduated more than 1200 nurses. Full approval by the Georgia Board of Nursing (GBN: 237 Coliseum Drive, Macon, GA 311217, 478. 207. 1640) has been maintained since the program began. Full accreditation by the National League for Nursing Accrediting Commission (NLNAC: 61 Broadway, 3rd Floor, NY, NY 10006, 212. 363. 5555) has been maintained since it was first sought in 1974.
The nursing faculty of Gordon College's Division of Nursing and Health Sciences has developed a philosophy and program outcomes that are consistent with the Mission of Gordon College. The faculty supports this mission by facilitating students' growth throughout their educational journey into professional nursing and beyond by preparing them to make decisions that enhance professional growth.
Mission
The mission of the Nursing Program is to facilitate the acquisition of knowledge and skills required by entry-level professional nurses to give direct care to clients across the lifespan in a variety of health care settings.
Philosophy
The practice of nursing is the "...performance for compensation of any act in the care and counsel of the ill, injured, or infirm, and in the promotion and maintenance of health with individuals, groups, or both throughout the lifespan" (Georgia Registered Professional Nurse Practice Act, 2007, p. 2). Nurses are accountable for their actions and are required to provide nursing care within the legal boundaries established by their practice jurisdiction, using the ethical guidelines established by the American Nurses Association. Nursing "requires substantial specialized knowledge of the humanities, natural sciences, social sciences, and nursing theory as a basis for assessment, nursing diagnosis, planning, intervention and evaluation" (Georgia Registered Professional Nurse Act, 2007, p.2).
Nursing is a helping profession concerned with the lived health experiences of individuals, families, communities, and the society at large. The goal of nursing is to facilitate health promotion and maintenance. Each person is seen as a unique being inseparable from and in constant interaction with the environment. Each person has the potential to achieve an optimal level of health. Health promotion requires attention to physiological, psychological, social, and spiritual aspects of the individual. Relationship-centered care enables the nurse to interact with individuals in various settings to promote safe, effective, and caring health and healing.
Nursing Education
The central metaphor of education is growth. Education is a dynamic, interactive process best accomplished in a caring environment that facilitates growth by nurturing, stimulating, and challenging the student and faculty. Learning activities are created in which students can learn basic knowledge, skills, and competencies, and grow from novice learners to beginning professional nurses. These activities foster critical thought, inquiry, self-awareness, communication, advocacy, and empowerment. They are incorporated into the nursing curriculum by use of classroom interactions, computer and skill laboratories, clinical facilities, and professional relationships, which assist students to achieve educational outcomes.
The teaching-learning process operates within the cognitive, affective, and psychomotor domains. Learning is viewed as the integration of knowledge and experience, which results in growth. The faculty believes that both study and practice of the nursing role in a variety of community and institutional settings are essential for the synthesis of nursing theory and practice. Fundamental to an effective learning process is the recognition that each individual approaches learning with a unique background of formal and experiential knowledge. Students represent a diverse range of ages, cultures, socioeconomic and ethnic characteristics that are reflective of the larger community. The faculty is committed to creating an environment in which diversity is embraced as a source of strength, critical thinking is fostered, and life experience is valued. Various ways of knowing are acknowledged and participants are supported in realizing their potential.
The faculty also acknowledges the already acquired skills and knowledge of LPN's through providing them a means to bridge into the nursing program. This program allows the LPN's to complete the program in a year. The faculty knows that LPN's are highly skilled practitioners who already assume care for a team of clients; therefore, simulated clinical experiences are provided to help them improve their critical thinking and management skills in a safe learning environment.
The Practice of the Associate Degree Graduate
The practice of graduates of associate degree nursing programs centers on the health care needs of individuals, families, and groups in many diverse settings. The faculty believes the focus of nursing practice is in community settings such as the homes, clinics, acute care hospitals, long-term care and rehabilitation facilities, schools, and community outreach programs. An increase in the aging population necessitates a firm knowledge base in gerontological nursing theory and practice. The Gordon College nursing student prepares for practice through learning activities in acute care institutions, long-term care facilities, home health agencies, rehabilitation facilities, and community settings, which enhance the student's understanding of continuity of care in meeting an individual's needs.
The faculty subscribe to the National League of Nursing's educational outcomes concerning roles and competencies of the associate degree nursing graduate. The areas of professional behaviors, communication, assessment, clinical decision making, caring interventions, teaching and learning, collaboration, and managing care are focused on in all clinical experiences. The faculty further recognizes that these competencies develop and expand as the nursing student progresses through the program, but all competencies should be evident by the time the student graduates.
Program Outcomes
Upon completion of the associate degree nursing program, the associate degree nurse:
- Integrates principles and theories from the humanities, natural and social sciences, and evidence based nursing practice into culturally competent nursing care across the lifespan.
- Communicates, collaborates, delegates, supervises, and evaluates effectively in the therapeutic nurse-client relationship as well as in other professional relationships.
- Utilizes the nursing process as a basis for determining client outcomes, recognizing limitations, and practicing accountability with the goal of facilitating optimal health for the individual, family or group.
- Practices within the legal and ethical framework of the profession.
- Incorporates political, economical, and societal forces into the practice of nursing.
- Coordinates the holistic management of client outcomes with a commitment to caring and advocacy for the client.
- Utilizes critical thought in situations of ambiguity and risk to provide quality nursing care.
- Implements educational plans that incorporate the learning needs and educational barriers of clients and other members of the healthcare system.