ASSOCIATE DEGREE NURSING PHILOSOPHY

 

The Jones County Junior College Associate Degree Nursing Department is committed to the mission of the college and its focus on meeting the educational needs of the community. The purpose of the Nursing Program is to facilitate student learning of the knowledge, skills, and attitudes needed to perform the functions of a registered nurse in a variety of health care settings. The program exists to meet the community need for registered nurses and the educational pursuits of the community. In accordance with this purpose the Associate Degree Nursing Program assists in meeting the community's health care needs and economic needs by educating responsible, competent, caring nurses who practice within the community in a variety of health care settings.  The college and the  Associate  Degree Nursing  Program  share   the  common  goal of providing  resources  that  enhance  the quality  of  education  and the economic growth  of individuals  within  this  community.  The Associate Degree Nursing faculty has identified values of integrity, commitment, and quality as a foundation for our educational process. The following statements are the beliefs of the Associate Degree Nursing Faculty regarding individuals, society, education, learning, teaching, nursing, nursing education, associate degree nursing and associate degree nursing education.  These beliefs delineate the concepts of an individual as a biopsychosocial being, communication, nursing process, stress/adaptation, growth & development, health-illness, and the associate degree nurse role upon  which the curriculum is built.   Individuals are unique beings made up of biological, psychological and sociological systems and subsystems who are open to the environment and subject to change.  Individuals progress from conception to death through a process of growth and development, and because they move through time and developmental stages simultaneously, change is a vital part of their lives.  These changes are directed toward goals or needs which arise within individuals as they interact with their environment.  Inherent in this interaction are the individuals' unique abilities to communicate verbally and non-verbally with their biological, psychological and sociological environment in an orderly and logical manner.  The individual's development progresses through identifiable stages. This progression may be impeded by blocks, or environmental stressors, which create discrepancy between potentiality and actuality of the developing system (individuals, family, groups or society).  During the life span individuals strive to maintain equilibrium or health by adapting to stressors in their environment. Health and illness form  a continuum  along  which the individual can  be located at any time. Illness results when adaptive mechanisms fail, thus requiring intervention to resolve or limit the effects of stressors in order to regain health.  Society is an interaction of systems that are in constant change. Society is built by people and reflects their culture, laws, mores, and lifestyles.  Societal groups are made up of individuals and reflect the thoughts, feelings, and attitudes of the people who are a part of the society. Education is a system of change through which learning is occurs.  Education is a structured and progressive process aimed toward expected outcomes and, as the learner participates in this process, knowledge is gained. Learning is a change in behavior which results from the acquisition of knowledge and may or may not be directly observable.  Acquisition of knowledge takes place within the learner and bears a direct relationship to one's own motivation and individual effort.  Learning progresses from general to specific and simple to complex and is a lifelong process.  Teaching includes the activities which enable one to learn.  Teaching is a creative, individual process by which the teacher arranges experiences and stimulates thought so that learners makes their own differentiations through organization of parts and wholes into new and meaningful patterns. Nursing is assisting the individual to prevent, modify, reduce or adapt to the effects of stressors that occur as a result of interaction with his environment.  The process of nursing is based upon scientific principles related to biopsychosocial functioning of individuals.  The role of the nurse is to assist the individual to identify their personal needs, and to accomplish those activities that promote maximum health potential or a peaceful death. Nursing education is a structured, integrated, dynamic process that occurs in an institution of higher learning and prepares the individual to function within the nursing role.  Nursing education prepares practitioners at the practical, associate degree, baccalaureate, masters, and doctoral levels to meet the ever-changing health needs of society.  Biopsychosocial sciences provide the origin of scientific principles upon which nursing knowledge is built and are an integral part of nursing education. Associate degree nursing is the delivery of  care to individuals with health care needs in a variety of settings.   Associate degree nurses function within the following roles:  provider of care, manager of care and member within the discipline of nursing. Associate degree nurses are expected to function within the registered nurse legal requirements established by the nurse practice act.  In the role as provider of care, the nurse collaborates with the patient, family and other members of the health care team to assist the patient to reach goals aimed toward promoting and restoring optimal health, preventing illness,  providing rehabilitation, or providing comfort to the dying.   The nurse focuses upon health care needs resulting from stressors and changes in growth and development that interfere with the patient's comfort and safety resulting in biopsychosocial disequilibrium or decline.  The delivery of care requires the use of the nursing process for assessing, identifying nursing diagnoses, planning nursing interventions, implementing interventions and evaluating nursing care.  The nurse must have the knowledge and ability to utilize a wide range of psychomotor skills and biopsychosocial principles to provide competent care.  Communication is a vital part of the nursing process by which stressors are identified.  The individual's unique biopsychosocial responses to stressors and cultural background are considered in providing nursing care.  Caring and personal accountability are characteristics which assist the associate degree nurse in providing quality nursing care. In the role as manager of care, the associate degree nurse works in a cooperative relationship with other members of the health care team in order to provide high quality health care.  In fulfilling this role, the nurse must have the ability to apply theory and to know when to act independently or to seek more expert guidance.  The nurse functions as an interdependent member of a health care  team that may consist of several educational and experiential levels of  providers.  The nurse must also be able to access and utilize information technology for the improvement of care. In the role as member within the discipline of nursing, the associate degree nurse fosters quality nursing practice through adherence to high ethical and legal standards.  Nursing organization membership and continued learning provide a way through which the nurse participates in professional growth and enhances health care.  Associate degree nursing education is a structured, integrated process that occurs in an institution of higher learning and prepares the graduate to assume the role of associate degree nurse at a beginning level.  The most common institution utilized for associate degree nursing education is the community/junior college, whose purpose is to meet the needs of the community in which it is located.  The associate degree nursing curriculum consists of both nursing and general education courses that enhance personal and professional nursing growth.  The emphasis is upon acquisition of knowledge, skills and attitudes needed to perform nursing care.  Carefully selected learning experiences rather than repetition serve to facilitate student learning.  College nursing faculty are responsible for the selection of student learning experiences as well as the supervision of student performances.  The educational process fosters critical thinking skills, enhances perceptions, and promotes competent nursing judgments. **This philosophy was developed by the entire faculty & is reviewed annually.

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