Northern Star University

1. Northern Star University Undergraduate Nursing Curriculum 2012-2013 Tracey Sebastianelli Ise Kannebecker

2. Our Philosophy Our Fundamental Nursing Beliefs: Nursing is a caring profession that serves to support wellness of the human being as they evolve across a lifetime. The responsibility of a nurse is to be aware of the growth/ evolutionary process of the human being and to offer support during difficult transitions. This awareness includes a holistic understanding of how the human being influences and is influenced by their environment. Nursing care strives to nurture the human being during transitions in order to promote the highest attainable state of well-being for the human being as they grow/evolve. This nursing care intentionally honors the human being with respect, dignity, and compassion.

3. Our Academic Beliefs: • Academically committed faculty and evidenced-based areas of study form the foundation from which the nursing student develops specific skills and knowledge that enhance their ability to provide care as human beings grow and transition. • This skill and knowledge base embraces the concept of holism and includes: • Application of the nursing process • Astute critical thinking • Engaging therapeutic communication • A strong commitment to patient safety • A willingness to accommodate a changing environmental/cultural landscape • A commitment to life-long learning and introspective awareness of the impact that the evolving nurse has on those within their care

4. Our Academic Beliefs Continued: Scholarship must be ongoing and students must be encouraged to investigate areas of interest through research. Faculty strongly advocate creativity, innovation, and forward-thinking and willingly collaborate with students to advance their exploration of new horizons in healthcare. Students are guided to grow outwardly in their ability to serve others and to move inward to assess personal growth and change.

5. It is our belief that the cumulative effect of these nursing and academic ideals is the creation of a nurse who is prepared for caring based service and leadership amidst a changing world.

6. The Conceptual Framework • The structure of the framework is built upon ideas that state that the human being is in a constantly interactive and evolving relationship with their environment, and that nursing actions strive to support the well-being of the human being as they transition and transform within that relationship. • This structure is a merging of ideas supported by: • the theory of human becoming created by Rosemarie Rizzo Parse • the philosophy of the nursing department

7. Beliefs that emerge from these combined ideas and provide strength within the structure are: • The human is constantly interacting with and co-creating their experiences with the environment/universe (Parse). • The human intentionally co-creates experiences with the environment/universe in order to transcend and grow (Parse). • Growth, also recognized as “becoming” is an open process by which humans intentionally create their life experience with the environment/universe (Parse). • Human growth and becoming are synonymous with human evolving (Parse).

8. Beliefs continued: • Well-being is a quality describing a life-experience that is medically safe and stable, emotionally positive, and individualistic in nature. • Well-being is the optimum state for human becoming/evolution. • Nursing performs specialized skills with the intention to respect, support, and promote human well-being and evolution.

9. The process components within the framework consist of: 1. The Human Being 2. the Environment/ Universe 3. Human Growth/ Evolution 4. Well-Being 5. Nursing ~In alignment with Parse’s theory, the nursing department recognizes these concepts as existing in an indivisible web and believes that nursing skills function to facilitate and support well-being and growth within this web.~

10. Within this framework, the nursing curriculum consists of five primary areas of undergraduate study with sub-specialties that adhere to the stated beliefs: Psychomotor Nursing Skills ~with sensitivity to technological advancement 2. Cognitive Nursing Skills ~nursing process; critical thinking; informatics training 3. Patient Advocacy: ~therapeutic communication; safety with practices guided by the Quality and Safety Education in Nursing initiative 4. Understanding Global Growth: ~cultural considerations; global changes and their impact on health 5. Quantum Field Awareness: ~physics for nurses; intention studies; therapeutic modalities; ongoing systems integration

11. A Spiral of Learning… Basic concepts are introduced in the lower level courses and are followed by psychomotor and cognitive integration in mid-level courses. Courses in the junior and senior years revisit and solidify these concepts through intensive clinical experiences that require synthesis and reflection. It is expected that the nursing student’s ability to internalize and utilize these skills will deepen and develop as they progress through each successive course.

12. …resulting in a nursing graduate infused with sincerity, expert care, and a progressive regard for human growth and well-being.

14. Northern Star University BSN Program Freshman Year Fall Semester Course No. Description Credits BIO 110 Anatomy & Physiology 3 BIO 110L Anatomy & Physiology Lab 1 CHEM 110 Introduction to General Chemistry 3 CHEM 110L General Chemistry Lab 1 WRTG 105 Composition & Public Speaking 3 PHILO 100 Introduction to Philosophy 3 PHYS ED Physical Education Elective 1 TOTAL CREDITS FALL SEMESTER 15 Freshman Year Spring Semester BIO 110 Anatomy & Physiology 3 BIO 110L Anatomy & Physiology Lab 1 CHEM 120 Introductory Organic and Biochemistry 3 NURS 130 Introduction to Nursing Concepts 3 PSYCH 120 Fundamentals of Psychology 3 WRTG Composition & Public Speaking 3 TOTAL CREDITS SPRING SEMESTER 16

15. Sophmore Year Fall Semester Course No. Description Credits BIO 210 Microbiology 3 NURS 250 Physical Assessment 3 NUTR 220 Nutrition for Healthcare 3 SOCIO 210 Introduction to Sociology 3 ELECT/HUM Humanities Elective 3 TOTAL CREDITS FALL SEMESTER 15 Sophmore Year Spring Semester NURS 251 Fundamentals of Nursing 4 NURS 261 Introduction to Pharmacology 2 ELECT/GEN General Elective 3 PSYCH 210 Healthcare Statistics 3 PHILO 200 Medical Ethics 3 NURS 260 Concepts in Physics for Nurses 2 PHYS ED Physical Education Elective 1 TOTAL CREDITS SPRING SEMESTER 18

16. Junior Year Fall Semester Course No. Description Credits NURS 351 Nursing Care of the Adult Client I 5 NURS 361 Pharmacology I 2 NURS 370 Nursing Care of the Childbearing Years 5 NURS 310 Informatics in Nursing 3 ELECT/GEN General Elective 3 TOTAL CREDITS FALL SEMESTER 18 Junior Year Spring Semester NURS 351 Nursing Care of the Adult Client II 5 NURS 361 Pharmacology II 2 NURS 371 Nursing Care of Children & Adults 6 PHILO 300 Global Philosophies of Healthcare 3 PHYS ED Physical Education Elective 1 TOTAL CREDITS SPRING SEMESTER 17

17. Senior Year Fall Semester Course No. Description Credits NURS 451 Nursing Care of the Adult Client III 6 NURS 470 Mental Health Nursing Care 5 NURS 495 Nursing Research 3 NURS 100 Spanish for the Healthcare Worker 2 NURS 350 Therapeutic Energy Modalities 2 TOTAL CREDITS FALL SEMESTER 18 Senior Year Spring Semester NURS 460 Nursing Leadership & Communication 4 NURS 475 Critical Care Nursing Applications 6 NURS 471 Community Health Nursing 3 ELEC/HUM Humanities Elective 3 OPTIONAL ELEC Emergency or Operating Room Rotation 2 TOTAL CREDITS SPRING SEMESTER 16 - 18

18. Program Outcomes Upon completion of the program the student will: Be prepared as an entry-level nurse at the baccalaureate level to work competently with the skills and knowledge necessary to practice in a professional manner. Apply the nursing process through assessing, planning, implementing, and evaluating the health of the client in various settings. Select nursing actions that holistically support the well-being of individuals within their environment as they grow, transition, and evolve through life changes. Maintain the dignity of others in all aspects of care. 5. Demonstrate ethically based skill performance and decision- making.

19. Program Outcomes Continued 6. Provide safe professional nursing care with compassion and respect to individuals, families, groups, and communities. 7. Act as a patient advocate at all times. 8. Identify systems that impact the well-being of the individual, including those at the quantum energy level. 9. Integrate multicultural and global issues into their nursing practice as they care for populations with differing healthcare needs and dynamics. 10. Integrate current information technology skills into their patient care regimen. 11. Generate further personal educational goals and areas of research. 12. Reflect consistently on personal grow and foster self-awareness.

20. References Sitzman, K.L. & Eichelberger, L.W., (2011). Understanding the Work of Nurse Theorists. Sudbury, MA: Jones and Bartlett Publishers.