DEPARTMENT OF NURSING ASSESSMENT PLAN

DEPARTMENT OF NURSING ASSESSMENT PLAN

1. DEVELOP, REVIEW, OR REVISE THE DEPARTMENT MISSION STATEMENT.

A. Department Mission Statement

The Department of Nursing, as an integral part of St. Ambrose University , holds a philosophy that is consistent with the mission and beliefs of the University. The faculty assumes the responsibility to educate baccalaureate and graduate nurses within the framework of St. Ambrose University ’s Christian beliefs and values. The Department of Nursing is committed to program excellence, service to the community, and the development of a professional nurse with an appropriate balance of caring, ethical sensitivity, and critical thinking.

Philosophy Statement for Department of Nursing

The Department of Nursing supports the beliefs of St. Ambrose University . Our philosophy reflects value based education, freedom tempered by responsibility, professional and career education built on the liberal arts and sciences, and service to others based on achievement of the learner’s fullest potential.

People are holistic and live in dynamic environments. They are worthy of respect dignity, and justice. People function as individuals and within groups, families, organizations, and communities. They have a life-long capacity for growth. Health is a dynamic state of being. It incorporates all levels of wellness and illness, and is determined by internal and external environments. Individuals’, families’ and societies’ perceptions of health influence their behavior toward maintaining and optimizing the equilibrium of the environments.

Environment comprises the internal and external forces which impact health. The environment includes physical, psychological, spiritual, economic, cultural, geographic, technological, social, and political forces. The interaction between the nurse and the client occurs within the context of dynamic environments.

Nursing is a dynamic, autonomous profession. Nurses are concerned with people in interaction with their environments. The nursing process, incorporating intellectual, interpersonal, and technical competencies, frames the delivery of nursing care to individuals, families, and communities. The purpose of nursing is to achieve outcomes of health promotion, health maintenance, illness management, health restoration, or death with dignity. Outcomes are achieved using a caring, holistic approach. Nursing practice encompasses many roles including clinician, teacher, counselor, consultant, collaborator, nurturer, and manager. Within these roles, the nurse serves as a client advocate and change agent in providing care in a variety of settings.

The nursing profession advances through the input of its members. Nurses have the responsibility to support the profession through: membership in the professional organization, leadership, scholarly endeavors, and political activity.

Education for the practice of professional nursing is a continual process. Baccalaureate nursing education prepares graduates for entry-level professional practice in a wide variety of health care settings. This education is built on a foundation in the liberal arts, and the behavioral and biophysical sciences, and provides opportunities to increase the ability to think critically, to intervene responsibly, and to communicate effectively.

Graduate students are prepared at the advanced level to function in nursing management. These students are prepared to function in leadership roles in a variety of settings. Graduate education is built upon a foundation that is based on nursing, management and leadership theory, and research. This foundation will provide students the opportunity to manage ethically and effectively the evolving interdisciplinary healthcare environment. These programs serve as a basis for further graduate study and continued life long learning.

Educators and students comprise a community of learners. Educators facilitate learning and provide an environment that engenders freedom and respect for all participants, encourages the spirit of inquiry, fosters the development of self-direction and personal responsibility, and empowers students to be active participants in the learning process.

Table 1 illustrates the consistency of the mission and philosophy of the department and the college.

Table 1

Comparison of Mission/Philosophy with Parent Institution

Note: Marked boxes indicate points of congruence between SAU and Department of Nursing Mission/Philosophy

*Mission* *and Beliefs of St. Ambrose University*	Mission and Philosophy of the Department of Nursing The Department of Nursing, as an integral part of St. Ambrose University , holds a philosophy that is consistent with the mission and beliefs of the university. The faculty assumes the responsibility to educate baccalaureate and graduate nurses within the framework of St. Ambrose University ’s Christian beliefs and values. The Department of Nursing is committed to program excellence, service to the community, and development of a professional nurse with an appropriate balance of caring, ethical sensitivity, and critical thinking. The Department of Nursing supports the beliefs of SAU. Our philosophy reflects value based education, freedom tempered by responsibility, professional and career education built on the liberal arts and sciences, and service to others based on achievement of the learner’s fullest potential.	People are holistic and live in dynamic environments. They are worthy of respect, dignity, and justice. People function as individuals and within groups, families, organizations, and communities. They have a life-long capacity for growth.	Health is a dynamic state of being. It incorporates all levels of wellness and illness, and is determined by internal and external environments. Individuals', families', and societies' perceptions of health influence their behavior toward maintaining and optimizing the equilibrium of the environments.	Environment comprises the internal and external forces which impact health. The environment includes physical, psychological, spiritual, economic, cultural, geographic, technological, social, and political forces. The interaction between the nurse and the client occurs within the context of dynamic environments.	Nursing is a dynamic, autonomous profession. Nurses are concerned with people in interaction with their environments. The nursing process incorporating intellectual, interpersonal, and technical competencies, frames the delivery of nursing care to individuals, families, and communities. The purpose of nursing is to achieve outcomes of health promotion, health maintenance, illness management, health restoration, or death with dignity. Outcomes are achieved using a caring, holistic approach. Nursing practice encompasses many roles including clinician, teacher, counselor, consultant, collaborator, nurturer, and manager. Within these roles, the nurse serves as client advocate and change agent in providing care in a variety of settings.	The nursing profession advances through the input of its members. Nurses have the responsibility to support the profession through: membership in the professional organization, leadership, scholarly endeavors, and political activity.	Education for the practice of professional nursing is a continual process. Baccalaureate nursing education is built on a foundation in the liberal arts, and the behavioral and biophysical sciences, and provides opportunities to increase the ability to think critically, to intervene responsibly, and to communicate effectively. Educators and students comprise a community of learners. Educators facilitate learning and provide an environment that engenders freedom and respect for all participants, encourages the spirit of inquiry, fosters the development of self-direction and personal responsibility, and empowers students to be active participants in the learning process. Graduate students are prepared at the advanced level to function in nursing management. These students are prepared to function in leadership roles in a variety of settings. Graduate education is built upon a foundation that is based on nursing, management and leadership theory, and research. This foundation will provide students the opportunity to manage ethically and effectively the evolving interdisciplinary healthcare environment. These programs serve as a basis for further graduate study and continued life long learning. Educators and students comprise a community of learners. Educators facilitate learning and provide an environment that engenders freedom and respect for all participants, encourages the spirit of inquiry, fosters the development of self-direction and personal responsibility, and empowers students to be active participants in the learning process.
A. The mission of St. Ambrose University – an independent, diocesan, Catholic institution of higher learning – is to enable all its students to develop intellectually, spiritually, ethically, socially, artistically and physically to enrich their own lives and the lives of others.	X	X	X
St. Ambrose University grants baccalaureate degrees and graduate degrees in professional curricula through the doctoral level, as well as non-degree offerings at the undergraduate and graduate levels. The University offers programs and courses using a variety of delivery systems at its main campus in Davenport , at other locations in the State of Iowa and through collaborative agreements with other organizations around the world.							X
St. Ambrose University facilitates learning, scholarship and service through quality instruction grounded in the liberal arts along with pre-professional, professional and career preparations.					X	X
The University offers developmental, enrichment and life-long learning programs to meet the individual needs of its diverse student body.						X	X
The mission is lived in an atmosphere that fosters mutual respect and stresses excellence in student-centered teaching and learning.				X

(Table SI-A)

2. UNDERGRADUATE PROGRAM GOALS

1. Develop beginning level professional nurses who use caring, ethics, and standards of care to guide their practice.

2. Foster the development of individuals who are prepared for today’s and tomorrow’s challenges and assume responsibility for the advancement of humanity and nursing.

The program objectives flow from the mission and philosophy. The program objectives are:

Undergraduate Program Objectives

1. Synthesize knowledge from the liberal arts and the sciences in utilizing the nursing process to deliver compassionate, safe, holistic nursing care.

2. Demonstrate use of critical thinking in making informed judgments in various environmental contexts.

3. Demonstrate written, oral, and electronic communication competence and interpersonal relationship skills in a variety of clinical environments.

5. Validate existing practice and improve nursing care through research utilization.

6. Apply professional standards of practice incorporating legal, ethical, and financial accountability.

7. Participate with multidisciplinary colleagues to design, implement, and evaluate consumer-driven health care.

9. Demonstrate leadership through participation in educational, political, community, or organizational activities.

The faculty identified six outcomes to demonstrate achievement of program objectives. The membership of the Educational Policies Committee approved the plan when submitted in Spring 2000. The six outcome areas were: critical thinking; communication, nursing interventions, service to the community, NCLEX scores, and employment rates.

The outcome data identifies that the curriculum supports the achievement of the program objectives. NCLEX results for the 2003 SAU graduates are the highest in the state for graduates from BSN programs. However, each year some candidates pass the test on the second attempt because they become so anxious on the first try. The Department of Nursing wishes to explore opportunities to identify ways to assist these individuals to seek appropriate assistance for their anxiety prior to the first testing date.

During the past four years, the faculty tracked the students who withdrew from the nursing program. The data demonstrated that many of these students had lower academic credentials than those students who were successful in the pre-nursing and science support courses. For this reason nursing received approval from the Educational Policies Committee to raise the admission standards for applicants who wish to enter the nursing major. These changes will be reflected in the new catalog.

Based on the outcome results the Department of Nursing believes it has identified requirements appropriately and that sequencing of courses and prerequisites require no changes at this time.

All program graduates participate in the spring semester in the following measurements for:

Data from each individual assessment and aggregate data are tracked to maintain voluntary accreditation status.

Faculty discuss data at regularly scheduled faculty meeting during each academic year and assess need for program changes if indicated. Voluntary accreditation process requires Department faculty to track data and identify program changes as a result of outcomes outside limits of clinical achievement.

One potential area for improvement for the department would be to improve the first time pass rates for NCLEX scores for students who are anxious about taking the examination.

Another improvement made was instituting an admission policy for the Department of Nursing.

The curriculum of the SAU Nursing Program builds upon a foundation of the arts, sciences and humanities. First-year students and students transferring to the SAU Nursing Program must complete prerequisite general education and support courses. These prerequisite courses provide the foundation for professional nursing and include selected courses in the natural sciences, social sciences, and the humanities.

Tables 3 and 4 illustrate the correlation of required general education and the required support courses to the nursing curriculum at St. Ambrose University , respectively.

Required General Education Courses	Correlation to the Nursing Curriculum
Biol 101 Principles of Biology or Biol 103 General Biology	Knowledge of basic principles of biology, including molecular and cellular processes, is required in order to understand anatomy, physiology, and pathophysiology.
Chem 103 Principles of Chemistry	A foundation is established for understanding physiology, pathophysiology, and pharmacology. This foundation includes concepts such as alterations, interactions, bonding, synergism, acids, bases, fluid, and electrolyte balance/imbalance.
English Composition (three credits)	A foundation in university level writing is established, and skills required for professional writing are provided.
Speech (two credits)	Oral communication skills used in interpersonal communication and presentations are provided.
Remaining Required General Education Courses: IL 101 Information Literacy; Math 151 College Algebra (or a course above Math 151); Philosophy and Theology courses (totaling nine semester credits); Fine Arts courses (totaling six semester credits); History (three semester credits); Foreign Languages and Literature (totaling six semester credits beyond the skills requirements listed in the SAU College Catalog); PED 149 Wellness; Physical Education Activity course or Samaritan Skills course	These courses provide a broad base of knowledge and skills that enable students "to develop intellectually, spiritually, ethically, socially, artistically, and physically in order to enrich their own lives and the lives of others" (St. Ambrose University Catalog, 2001-2003, p. 7).

Critical Thinking	Graduates achieve a passing grade (74% or higher) on Nursing Process Paper, Research Utilization Project, and Community Assessment Paper.
Communication	Graduates achieve a passing grade (74% or higher) in computerized technology presentation.
Nursing Interventions	One hundred percent of graduates complete skills checklist from Nursing I, II, III, and IV.
Service to Community	75% of students and graduates will participate in service activities.
N-CLEX Scores	Graduates will achieve a passing rate comparable to 95% of the national passing rate.
Employment	At nine months post graduation, 80% of nursing program graduates are employed.

Outcome	Who	When	Where	How
Critical Thinking	Faculty N410 Faculty N460	Fall Semester Spring Semester	N410 course N460 course	Evaluation data from Research Utilization Project and Evaluation of Community Assessment Data
Communication	Faculty N470	Fall Semester	N470 course	Evaluation of Computerized Technology Presentation
Nursing Interventions	Faculty N160 Faculty N260 Faculty N352 Faculty N354	Spring Semester Spring Semester Fall Semester Spring Semester	N160 course N260 course N352 course N354 course	Completion of Skills Checklist
Service to the Community	Faculty N150 Faculty N160 Faculty N310 Faculty N390 Faculty N450	Spring Semester	N150 course N160 course N310 course N390 course N450 course	Service Inventory
Employment	Assigned Faculty	Spring Semester	Mails Survey	Alumni Questionnaire
NCLEX Scores	Administrative Assistant	Summer	Report from Iowa Board of Nursing	Computerized Adaptive Test

Critical Thinking	Passing grades on Community Assessment Project Passing grades on Research Utilization project
Communication	Passing grade on Computerized Technology Presentation
Nursing Interventions	Completion of Skills Assessment for Nursing Lab 160, 260, 352, 353 and 354.
Service to the Community	Service Inventory
Employment	Alumni Questionnaire
NCLEX Scores	Licensure Exam (Computer Adaptive Test)

Required Support Courses	Correlation to the Nursing Curriculum
Biol 202 Human Anatomy and Physiology	Study of both normal structure and functioning of human organ systems provides a knowledge base for understanding abnormal structure and functioning of human organ systems.
Biol 211 Microbiology	Knowledge about the role of bacteria in infection and immunity provides the basis for recognizing and relating microorganisms, hygiene, infection, laboratory tests, and pathogenesis of diseases.
Biol 106 Human Genetics	An introduction to genetic principles and the application of these principles to human biology provides a basic understanding of genetic factors that influence the health of individuals.
Psychology 105 Introductory Psychology	A foundation in the concepts and theories related to human behavior is essential for understanding individuals, families, and communities.
Psychology 305 Life-Span Developmental Psychology	Knowledge of biological, behavioral, cognitive and social processes and development from conception through death and dying creates the basis for understanding and recognizing predictable stages in the life span.
Soc 101 Introduction to Sociology	A foundation is established for understanding the characteristics of life in society, including family functioning, culture, and subcultures.
Ped 340 Human Nutrition

Philosophy Statement for Department of Nursing

2. UNDERGRADUATE PROGRAM GOALS

Undergraduate Program Objectives

Critical Thinking