Avila University (School of nursing)

According to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics, in 2012 the nation will need one million additional nurses to meet the raging demand from hospitals, alternative care facilities, and private facilities. The need for more nursing graduates in Kansas City is equally critical. Avila University is one of Kansas City’s oldest and most respected nursing programs. A major renovation in 2006 resulted in a state-of-the-art clinical lab facility. The newly renovated nursing laboratory simulates a patient care environment where students learn to provide physical care for patients. Fifty students have been admitted to the program for the Fall of 2007. HISTORY The history of nursing education at Avila University demonstrates with pride the academic preparation of nurses who contribute to the health care of those in need. This educational vision was made possible through the efforts of the Sisters of St. Joseph of Carondelet mission at St. Joseph Hospital and many others at the College of St. Teresa and Avila College (now Avila University) who valued the importance of academic preparation for nursing practice. The Sisters of St. Joseph established the St. Joseph Hospital School of Nursing in 1900 under the direction of Sister Irmenia Dougherty. This school of nursing became chartered in 1901. The development of the four-year nursing program originated after the close of World War II. The Sisters of St. Joseph of Carondelet recognized the need for advanced educational preparation for women in nursing and began to formulate plans for establishing a department of nursing within the college. In August of 1947, Sister Gerard Joseph Brewer and Sister Mary Pachomia Lackey attended several workshops in preparation for one of the first baccalaureate programs to be established in the state of Missouri. The department received its first accreditation from the Missouri State Board of Nursing in 1948. Prior to September 1960, the college offered three programs in nursing: a three year diploma program, a basic baccalaureate program and a supplementary program for graduate registered professional nurses. In 1958, a decision was made to discontinue the three-year diploma program and to revise the curriculum of the baccalaureate program to enable the student to complete the requirements for a Bachelor of Science degree in four academic years. These changes took place in 1960. From 1970 to 1998 the Department of Nursing offered a RN to Baccalaureate degree. Currently, the School of Nursing continues the tradition of excellence in nursing through its undergraduate curriculum which provides the health care community excellent, well-educated nurses prepared to adapt to the ever evolving health care environment. MISSION The nursing faculty is dedicated to preparing nursing graduates for practice in a diverse health care environment. Graduates will: 1. Discover, understand, and appreciate the human responses and varied perceptions of life experiences; 2. Participate with others in achieving health and optimal responses to life experiences through a caring informed relationship; and 3. Assume professional nursing roles of clinician, advocate, educator, leader, manager, and colleague. PHILOSOPHY The School of Nursing at Avila supports and is consistent with the values and expectations of the larger Avila Community including excellence in teaching and learning, the Catholic identity of the college, the worth, dignity and potential of each human being, diversity and its expression, commitment of the continual growth of the whole person, and interaction with and service to others. The School of Nursing gratefully acknowledges the sponsorship, contribution, and far-reaching vision of the Sisters of St. Joseph who established this program over 50 years ago. The professional nurse is educated through a four-year degree at a college or university with a major in nursing. This educational process includes preparation in the liberal arts, behavioral, biological, and natural sciences, communication and higher-level thinking abilities. This process prepares the graduate for minimum entry into practice and facilitates professional role competency as clinician, advocate, educator, leader, manager, and colleague. To best meet these role expectations, the professional nurse must embrace the value of caring and recognize varied perceptions of and responses to life experiences that people encounter. These perceptions and responses are influenced by such things as age, gender, culture, socioeconomics and spiritual beliefs. The professional nurse respectfully acknowledges individual differences and the importance of these differences in achieving health and optimal responses to life experiences. Health is viewed holistically and globally, encompassing individual, families, and aggregates with varying degrees of health- or illness-related needs and perceptions. Health is determined by the perceptions of the individual. Health includes promotion of wellness as well as the treatment and prevention of illness. Person is defined broadly as individuals, families, and aggregates. Health and illness related needs are encountered in broad and diverse environments including the home, the school, the hospital, the clinic, the neighborhood, and the church. The faculty believe that all individuals have the ability to self-determine and to impact their well being as well as their environment. Through teaching strategies faculty make visible the connection between the liberal arts, sciences, and nursing practice. This connection builds on the foundation provided in a four-year education and models life-long learning. Effective teaching occurs in a non-threatening and supportive environment. Teaching/learning strategies should facilitate active learning and be collaborative. Learning is evidenced through the student's increasing knowledge base and personal, social, spiritual and professional development. Responsibility for learning resides in the student. Learning requires self-direction, self-motivation, acquisition of new knowledge and skills, use of effective and facilitative communication, and critical thinking and decision making. Evaluation of learning is directed toward achievement of higher-level thinking skills and role development. Outcomes assessment of the curriculum and constituency satisfaction guide curriculum decisions.

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School name: Avila University (School of nursing)
Address: 11901 Wornall Road
Zip & city: MO 64145 Kansas City
Phone: (816) 501-3672
Web: http://www.avila.edu/nursing/index.asp
Email: Click here to email this school

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