The faculty of the Associate in Applied Science in Nursing program at Carl Albert State College offer the following set of beliefs as the basis for the selection of concepts for the nursing program. The philosophy, developed by the nursing faculty, describes beliefs about man, learning-teaching, and nursing
Man
is a bio-psycho-social-spiritual being who is motivated by HUMAN NEEDS throughout the life cycle.
Man as a holistic being is worthy of dignity and respect.
He meets his needs in relationship to his position on the health-illness
continuum. The faculty believes
that the life cycle is a sequence of levels of achievement as defined by Erikson.
Learning
is a life-long process of requiring the acquisition of ever changing knowledge,
skills, attitudes, and values. Learning
occurs at different rates and by different methods; therefore, multi-media and
multi-method approaches are necessary to meet the students' unique learning
needs. Man learns best when there
is guidance through a planned program progressing beyond the known to the
unknown. Progression is facilitated
through well-defined objectives and criteria for evaluation.
Teaching responsibilities include the development of objectives and
selection of learning experiences that give learners the opportunity to practice
behaviors specified by the objectives.
As
a component of the learning-teaching process the faculty believe nursing
education should be centered in institutions of higher learning, and that the
associate degree nursing program provide skills necessary to function in a
beginning staff position in diverse health care settings.
In such a position, the associate degree nurse is prepared to administer
direct health care to clients and to function as a member of a health care team.
Within this team, the nurse provides direction and supervision to
lesser-prepared health care providers, and seeks guidance from more highly
prepared team members. Nursing education should prepare graduates for future upward
mobility in nursing.
Nursing is a humanitarian science directed toward the care of man.
The nurse facilitates the attainment and maintenance of health through a
dynamic problem-solving process that utilizes scientific principles and
empirical knowledge. Nursing seeks
to assist man to meet his basic needs and facilitate his growth toward the
highest level of health or "to a peaceful death". As man,
functioning under cultural influences, develops through the stages of the life
cycle, the ability to adapt to his environment may limit what man can do for
himself.
Through the use of the nursing process, nurses develop, implement, and evaluate
a plan of care for man. Essential
to this process is the utilization of therapeutic communication skills and sound
principles of client teaching.
Nursing practice expands
its perimeters and increases in depth in response to changing demands of
society. Hence, nursing education
cannot be static, but must keep pace with rapid expansion and depth of knowledge
and incorporate scientific technology into the nursing curriculum.