About the BSN Department

Purpose

The purpose of the Bachelor of Science in Nursing Program is to prepare a nurse generalist who is a leader in the promotion and maintenance of health and the improvement of health care outcomes across all settings at the local, state, national, and global levels. This purpose relates to the mission of the university by providing strong academic and leadership preparation to both women and men. Utilizing AACN’s The Essentials of Baccalaureate Education for Professional Nursing Practice, and ANA Standards as guiding standards, the graduate is able to function as a provider of care, designer/manager/coordinator of care and a member of the profession. Graduates from the baccalaureate nursing program are prepared with a liberal arts core which contributes to the acquisition of professional knowledge. In-depth preparation in the application of critical thinking skills, communication skills, knowledge acquisition, and standards of professional nursing practice enables the graduate to become a life-long learner.

Philosophy

The Bachelor of Science in Nursing faculty at Mississippi University for Women are committed to the learning process and to the professional development of students by providing programs of academic excellence. In accordance with the mission/purpose of MUW and the Department of Nursing, the faculty have developed a philosophy based on the concepts of person, environment, health, and nursing.

Person

Person constitutes a biopsychosocial, spiritual system constantly interacting with and adapting to the environment to achieve and maintain a homeodynamic state. Person is valuable, holistic and worthy of respect and concern. Person may be defined as an individual, family, community, or society and has varying capabilities for independently meeting universal needs. These capabilities are dynamically influenced by structures, gender, value systems, culture, and environments. Person is responsible for meeting health needs and has the right to make necessary decisions and to receive professional assistance in achieving health goals.

Environment

Environment includes all conditions, circumstances, and influences encountered by and affecting person. Environment may be intrapersonal, interpersonal, or extra-personal in nature. The intrapersonal environment is concerned with forces or interactive influences contained within the person. The interpersonal environment is concerned with forces or interactive influences between persons. The extra-personal environment is concerned with forces or interacting influences existing outside the person. Environment affects the continuous process of becoming, evolving, and changing. Person and environment are complementary systems so that the relationship between the two is reciprocal. Change in one system elicits response in the other.

Health

Health is defined by person in accordance with gender, culture, values, and capabilities. Health is a constantly changing state and exists on an illness to wellness continuum. Promotion and facilitation of optimal health is developed in collaboration with person, when possible, and is based on resources available to both the person and the nurse.

Nursing

Nursing, as a profession, combines concepts from the sciences and liberal arts into an applied science and a creative art which focuses on health needs. The science of nursing is an organized body of knowledge derived through scientific research and theory development and applied through critical thinking skills. The art of nursing is the creative and caring application of this knowledge. The scope of nursing practice deals with diverse populations and includes dependent, independent, and interdependent functioning of the nurse within primary, secondary, and tertiary settings. The faculty believes that the scope of nursing practice changes as health care continually evolves, thus the professional nurse must possess the core competencies and scientific knowledge to provide care across all health care settings. Ascribing to AACN’s The Essentials of Baccalaureate Education for Professional Nursing Practice and ANA Standards, the professional nurse utilizes core knowledge skills to provide quality and safe patient care.

Teaching/Learning

Learning is considered to be a complex lifelong developmental process involving the interaction of the person with the environment. The teacher and learner share in the challenge of creating an atmosphere which stimulates intellectual curiosity, critical thinking, and individual creativity. The teaching-learning process is augmented when the learner actively participates in defining outcomes and assumes responsibility for achieving these outcomes. The teacher serves as a facilitator, counselor, and resource person.

Expected Student/Curriculum/Program Outcomes

The Bachelor of Science in Nursing Program is designed to prepare a nurse generalist:

  1. Synthesize knowledge from the humanities, social and natural sciences as a basis for nursing decisions
  2. Utilize organizational and systems leadership, quality improvement, and safety principles to promote high quality and safe patient care
  3. Integrate nursing research and evidence-based practice into professional nursing practice.
  4. Utilize information management and patient care technology in professional nursing practice to improve patient care outcomes and create a safe care environment.
  5. Apply knowledge of healthcare policies to professional nursing practice.
  6. Collaborate with healthcare providers and consumers for the improvement of patient health outcomes.
  7. Provide professional nursing care across the lifespan to culturally diverse individuals, families, and communities in a variety of health care settings.
  8. Demonstrates responsibility and accountability for professional nursing values and role development.
  9. Utilize research and theory based knowledge in the roles of provider of care, designer/manager/coordinator of care and member of a profession.

BSN Department Goals

  1. Maintain a high quality, student centered academic program in a personalized learning environment that promotes the success of baccalaureate graduates.
  2. Ensure high quality academic and leadership preparation for all baccalaureate nursing students, with a special focus on women and gender related issues.
  3. Provide opportunities that promote professional and personal growth for baccalaureate nursing students.
  4. Maintain the maximum enrollment of high quality students in the Baccalaureate Department through effective recruitment and retention strategies.
  5. Promote effective organizational principles within the Baccalaureate Nursing Department.
  6. Provide an educational nursing program that produces graduates prepared to meet the healthcare needs in the state, region, and nation.
  7. Promote diversity among baccalaureate nursing students, faculty, and staff.
  8. Support research, scholarship, and creative endeavors that enhance instruction and professional development of baccalaureate faculty, staff, and students.
  9. Provide appropriate physical resources, infrastructure, and technology to ensure an environment that supports the learning needs of the Baccalaureate Department.
  10. Build partnerships and public awareness to support the University and College of Nursing & Health Sciences' mission and development.