Mission

The Division of Nursing is committed to providing quality undergraduate and graduate programs in nursing. Thus the Division of Nursing offers programs leading to a Bachelor of Science degree in Nursing, a School Nurse Health Services credential, and a Master's of Science in Nursing. Course offerings evolve from a philosophical belief that nurses function to assist health care consumers to achieve positive adaptive responses which lead to optimal wellness levels. The professional nurse thinks critically and uses the problem-solving process in identifying health needs or problems, planning and implementing nursing care, and evaluating the effects of nursing intervention.

The curriculum of the Division is organized around the concept of reciprocal adaptation and the theories which relate to the changing needs of the individual, family, group, and community. The faculty believes that each person is a unique, valued being who possesses intellectual, physiological, psychological, sociocultural, and spiritual needs. The individual and the environment are in a continuous reciprocal process of change and adaptation. The nurse uses caring behaviors and the science of nursing to facilitate positive adaptive responses in human beings by mobilizing human and environmental resources to promote healing, maintain well-being, prevent illness, and promote health.

The nurse views the health care consumer holistically, using nursing science, and knowledge from the arts and sciences in a uniquely dynamic, interpersonal manner to maximize the adaptation of health care recipients in a variety of settings. The professional nurse possesses the ability to address the changing health needs of society in a manner consistent with scientific advancement, trends in health care delivery systems, and emerging legislation.