University of
Mary Hardin-Baylor
SCOTT AND WHITE COLLEGE OF NURSING
2011-2012
BSN STUDENT HANDBOOK
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Introduction 4
Mission 4
Philosophy 5
Program Goals 5
Student Learning Outcomes 6
Conceptual Framework 6
STUDENT PROGRAMS AND SERVICES
Nursing Organizations 12
Standing Committees for the College of Nursing 13
College of Nursing Faculty Academic Advisor 15
Honors Program 15
Libraries 15
Digital Media Services 16
Learning Laboratory 16
Computer Laboratory 16
Inclement Weather Notification 16
POLICIES
Essential Performance Standards for Admission and Progression College of Nursing 17
Criminal Background Clearance 17
Health Policies 18
Changes in Health Status 19
Affiliated Clinical Agency Requirements 20
Professional Appearance and Policies for Clinical Experiences 20
Attendance 23
Grading 24
Progression 25
Kaplan Exam Policy 26
Student Service Learning 27
Chapel Requirements 27
Honor Code 27
Criteria for Information System Literacy 28
RIGHTS AND RESPONSIBILITIES
Professional Behavior 28
Nursing Practice Implications 29
Expenses 30
Eligibility to Take NCLEX-RN® Licensure Exam 31
Rights and Responsibilities 32
Student Code of Conduct 33
Use of Electronic Devices in the Classroom 33
Student Grievance /Right of Appeal Process 33
Nursing Student Employment 34
Incident Reports 35
Exposure to Hazardous Materials/Substances 35
Policy for Nursing Students with Substance Abuse Problems and/or Mental Illness 35
Guide for Formal Papers 39
INTRODUCTION
The University Catalog, the University Student Handbook, and the University Residence Living Handbook are the primary resources of information for the student. The College of Nursing (CON) Undergraduate Student Handbook is designed to be a supplemental aid to the nursing major to address policies and procedures unique to the College of Nursing. The College of Nursing Undergraduate Student Handbook was developed by a nursing student-faculty committee from the suggestions received from University of Mary Hardin-Baylor nursing students, faculty and administration. It is organized according to the following sections:
(a) introduction, (b) mission statement, (c) philosophy and conceptual framework, (d) student programs and services, (e) policies, and (f) student rights and responsibilities.
The Scott and White College of Nursing of the University of Mary Hardin-Baylor (UMHB) offers an undergraduate and a graduate degree in nursing. As a student progresses through the course of study for the undergraduate degree in the College of Nursing he/she is studying to become a member of an honored profession. Therefore, the student is to demonstrate professional responsibility by being a goal-directed learner who regularly attends all classes, clinical experiences, and school programs where attendance is expected. The student must conduct him/herself in a manner which is consistent with the Texas Nursing Practice Act and the ethical standards of professional nursing. Upon completion of the prescribed undergraduate curriculum, the student is awarded a Bachelor of Science in Nursing degree. Upon graduation students are eligible to take the National Council of Licensure Examination (NCLEX-RN®) to become a Registered Nurse.
The curriculum for a degree in nursing is planned within the framework of four years. During the first four semesters, the emphasis is on the liberal arts which form the basis for professional nursing courses. The nursing curriculum begins in the spring or fall semester of the sophomore year. Nursing courses form the majority of credit hours during the junior and senior academic years. The first semester of the Junior year is denoted as J1, and the second semester of their Junior year is denoted as J2. The first semester of their Senior year is denoted as S1 and the second semester of their Senior year is denoted as S2. A student may obtain a minor in another field of study; however, this is not required. Specific information about requirements for minors can be obtained from the University Catalog or through academic advising meetings. The undergraduate and graduate program are both accredited by the Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education (CCNE). The undergraduate program is approved by the Texas Board of Nursing.
MISSION STATEMENT
The mission of the Scott and White College of Nursing is to prepare excellent professional nurses who contribute to the health and welfare of individuals, families, and communities in diverse health care environments, The College of Nursing strives to prepare graduates to become leaders in the profession, life-long learners, and community servants who practice nursing based on Christian values and professional principles.
PHILOSOPHY
The Scott and White College of Nursing is an integral part of the University. The philosophy of the College of Nursing is consistent with the purpose of the University which emphasizes instruction in a Christian environment and service to individual students and the community.
The College of Nursing prepares graduates who, as professional nurses, contribute to the health and welfare of the individual, the family, and community. This outcome, supported by the liberal arts foundation and the nursing curriculum enables graduates to realize their own potential as individual citizens and practitioners in the health care system.
The faculty believes that humans are bio-psycho-social-spiritual beings. The role of the nurse is to assist clients in adapting to stressors in their internal and external environments throughout the life cycle. Nurses serve a diversity of clients; individuals, families, groups and communities.
The faculty further believes that the professional nurse must demonstrate leadership in assessing, analyzing, planning, implementing and evaluating nursing care to clients. To provide leadership in aiding clients to adapt, the nurse must effectively communicate and collaborate with the individual, family, group, community and with others who share in the provision of client care. Furthermore, the faculty believes that the practice of nursing involves decision-making and problem-solving which require analytical and critical thinking based on knowledge of the natural, behavioral, and social sciences; humanities; and nursing. The nurse must use therapeutic interventions which include the provision of physical, psychological, and spiritual care, health teaching and advocacy. These interventions require skillful utilization of the nursing process, health care technology, and communication, and multidisciplinary referral. The professional nurse must assume responsibility and accountability for nursing practice. The nurse must continuously strive to improve as a professional and to contribute to the advancement of the nursing profession.
The faculty believes that learning is a dynamic process, is influenced by the learner’s individuality and experiences, and is manifested by changes in behavior. The learner has the major responsibility for acquiring and applying knowledge. The faculty is responsible for assisting the learner in accomplishing the program objectives by providing well-planned learning experiences based on sound educational principles.
PROGRAM GOALS
To provide a curriculum which:
1. Enables graduates to enter first-level professional nursing positions
2. Is based on Christian principles, liberal arts, sciences, and the discipline of nursing
3. Focuses on persons of all ages who are adapting to stressors which influence their health status.
4. Encourages life-long learning and provides a foundation for graduate study.
5. Promotes involvement in both professional and community organizations and activities
STUDENT LEARNING OUTCOMES.
1. Provide safe and competent patient centered care
2. Utilize clinical reasoning in providing nursing care
3. Assume responsibility and accountability for the quality of and improvement in one’s own nursing practice.
4. Incorporate professional integrity in the use of information management systems.
5. Make evidence-based practice decisions
6. Use appropriate communication strategies in collaboration with nursing and inter-professional teams
7. Demonstrate appropriate leadership and management strategies.
8. Integrate guiding principles of nursing concepts into nursing practice.
CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK
The major constructs used by the University of Mary Hardin-Baylor, Scott and White College of Nursing, for curriculum development are human beings, health and nursing.
Human Beings
Important concepts relating to human beings that are given special note in this framework include holism, lifetime growth and development, and adaptation.
Holism
Human beings are holistic persons who have multiple interacting dimensions. The biophysical, psychological, social and spiritual dimensions are a total unit. They affect and control one another interactively (continuously and simultaneously). This holistic view implies that the whole is greater than the sum of the dimensions.
The human biophysical dimension represents a unique combination of interrelated anatomic and physiologic components. The functions of respiration, circulation, mobility, metabolism, regulation, elimination, and reproduction are integrated to make the whole human biological being.
The human psychological dimension is composed of a combination of intellectual/thinking and emotional/feeling capabilities that develop and change throughout one’s life. Each human has a unique intellectual and emotional response to the environment. A human has the ability, the right, and the responsibility to think, feel, and participate in decisions that concern one’s own life activities.
The ability to communicate thoughts and feelings, traditions, beliefs and values serves as a mechanism for making the human a social being. Most humans cannot thrive independently of others; therefore, they are usually members of families, groups, and communities. The family is considered to be the basic unit of our society. Families, aggregates, and communities differ in characteristics from those of individuals. Each family, group, or community represents a composite of the uniqueness of its individual members.
The human being is a unique creation of God and has the opportunity for a spiritual relationship with the Creator. This spiritual relationship with God influences perceptions and behavior, and enables one to form loving, caring relationships. The spiritual realm enables humans to find meaning and purpose in life and may facilitate adaptation to stressors from the environment. Faith in God and a variety of religious rituals/practices can be sources of hope, peace, and comfort as humans encounter the challenges and crises of living, suffering, and dying. The practice of nursing from a Christian perspective involves providing loving service to a diverse multitude of holistic, multicultural, and imperfect human beings. Inspired by the example of Christ, nurses provide care and nurturing for the sick as well as love and compassion for all.
Lifetime Growth and Development
Each person is born with an inherent desire to fulfill his or her self-potential. Essential to this desire is the capacity for growth and development over the entire life span. This concept assumes that people are always in a dynamic state of growth or change that includes the ability to learn and make choices.
Adaptation
Human adaptation is the active process of moving toward fulfillment of self-potential. Adaptation is defined as the response to stressors from the internal and external environments that affect or influence one’s four dimensions: biophysical, psychological, social, and/or spiritual. Events, persons, and objects influence human responses to stimuli in the four dimensions. Human adaptive responses may vary among the dimensions and the overall adaptation is equal to the integration of these responses. These responses are based on one’s perceptions, expectations, and needs at a particular moment.
The goal of human adaptation is to promote stability and enhance growth and autonomy. Each human possesses various strengths and limitations resulting from interaction with the internal and external environment. The relative dominance of strengths and limitations determines one’s state of health.
Health
Health is a dynamic state of being in which the bio-psycho-social-spiritual potential of the individual is realized to the fullest extent possible. The human state of being is influenced by hereditary background, past experiences, present lifestyle, environmental stimuli, state of mind, developmental level, social and spiritual relationships.
Nursing
Nursing is the holistic helping of clients to reach their highest level of potential in relation to their health. This is an interactive, interpersonal process that nurtures client strengths to enable the development and mobilization of resources for adapting to one’s circumstances and environment. The client may be an individual, family, aggregate, or community.
Professional nursing is both an art and a science. Theoretical and empirical knowledge from nursing is combined with knowledge from the natural, behavioral, social sciences, and the humanities to guide professional practice.
The role of the professional nurse includes planning, providing, coordinating, and managing health care with individuals, families, aggregates, and communities. The professional nurse must demonstrate leadership through influencing individuals and groups to establish and attain goals in health care settings. As an effective manager, the nurse coordinates and integrates resources necessary to accomplish these goals.
Four major processes are integral to the role performance of the professional nurse: critical thinking, nursing process, communication, and professional role activities. These processes are interactive and contribute to the dynamic client-nurse relationship.
Critical Thinking
The practice of nursing requires critical thinking which is essential in clinical decision-making, problem solving, communication, and therapeutic nursing intervention. Critical thinking occurs when nurses assess and analyze client situations, each having multiple unique variables. .“Critical thinking is all or part of the process of questioning, analysis, synthesis, interpretation, inference, inductive and deductive reasoning, intuition, application and creativity” (AACN, 2008, p. 9). “Critical thinking underlies independent and interdependent decision making” (AACN, 2008, p. 36).
Nursing accomplishes its purpose through critical thinking inherent in applying the nursing process, communication, and professional role activities.
Nursing Process
The nursing process provides focus and direction for decision making in the practice of professional nursing. The five components (assessment, analysis, planning, intervention, and evaluation) are interrelated and interactive. Continuous feedback occurs throughout the nursing process.
The nursing process is client focused. Client participation is an essential part of the process and enhances nursing efforts toward successful client outcomes.
Assessment is the deliberate and systematic gathering of client related data from a variety of sources. The primary source of data is the client, secondary sources include the family and significant others. Tertiary sources used are other health care professionals, records and the client environment.
The nurse analyzes the assessment data to identify areas of wellness, strength, and need to make clinical decisions regarding client care. These data may be expressed as nursing diagnoses, statements of need, collaborative problems, and wellness statements.
Planning includes collaboration with the client to prioritize the diagnoses/statements and establish desired client outcomes. The nurse and client then determine appropriate nursing interventions and formulate the written plan.
The intervention component involves the use of therapeutic nursing actions to promote the desired client outcomes. Therapeutic nursing interventions may include, but are not limited to, provision of physical, psychological, and spiritual care; the effective management of technologies; health teaching; and advocacy. In addition, nursing intervention may include collaboration with other health care providers.