West Chester University (Department of Nursing)

MISSION

The mission of the Department of Nursing at West Chester University is to provide high quality professional degree education in nursing. The baccalaureate program prepares graduates for entry to nursing practice and the masters program prepares graduates for advanced practice in community health nursing. The goal of the department is to prepare nurses for leadership and advocacy in the health promotion, disease prevention and health restoration of individuals, families and communities. Graduates of these nursing programs will be professionals capable of assuming leadership in present and emerging health care roles, citizens who contribute to society, and who are committed to life-long learning and personal development.

PHILOSOPHY

The Department of Nursing affirms the WCU Vision, Mission and Values Statements and the College of Health Sciences Mission Statement. It shares the University's commitment to teaching, research, and service to individuals, families and communities. The following statement reflects the Department of Nursing's philosophical beliefs.

The Department of Nursing recognizes that individuals, families and communities are entitled to access to health care. Health care is defined as services which promote quality of life throughout the life span. Nursing is the promotion of adaptive responses in clients using a variety of interventions. Advanced practice nursing roles include expert clinician, educator, researcher, consultant, and leader. The nursing programs at West Chester University recognize and value the holistic qualities of individuals, families and communities. The programs prepare individuals to practice nursing with the framework of these values through a strong liberal arts and science curriculum.

The faculty of the Department of Nursing provides a caring and supportive environment while respecting the diversity of the student body and communities which it serves. The University community cultivates and supports faculty/student collaboration and mentoring. Students are treated as individuals with unique qualities and learning needs. Through role modeling, the faculty reflects the department's philosophy of caring in their own nursing practice and in their relationships with faculty, students, and the community.

The AACN Essentials documents (The Essentials of Baccalaureate Education and The Essentials of Master's Education) provide structure for the curriculum content of both programs. The faculty designed both programs to facilitate the students' abilities to creatively respond to a continuously changing health system. Innovative educational experiences are cooperatively planned to meet the needs of students and clients and to empower them both. The interpretation, development and implementation of ethical research is stressed throughout the educational process. Ethical decision making, accountability, critical thinking, and effective communication skills are emphasized. This is achieved by the application of nursing theory to professional practice. Each program promotes lifelong learning and the pursuit of advanced professional degrees.

BACHELOR OF SCIENCE IN NURSING

The bachelor of science degree program in nursing is offered by the Department of Nursing, which is an integral part of the College of Health Sciences. The family-centered program is based on the concept that the person is a biopsychosocial being with basic health needs. The Department of Nursing believes that high-quality health care is a basic right of all people and that health care needs can be met through the practice of the professional nurse who has completed a systematic program of courses in the social and natural sciences, humanities, and the nursing major.

Characteristics of the graduate include the following: 1) evidences a concerned awareness and a sense of responsibility for contemporary health and social issues as these affect diverse populations; 2) provides leadership through professional and civic activities to advocate for the improvement of health care within society; 3) demonstrates accountability and competency in using the nursing process to assist clients at various levels of health in a variety of settings; 4) uses nursing theory and research to support nursing practice; 5) collaborates, coordinates, and consults as a colleague within the interdisciplinary health team in managing client care; and 6) characterizes learning as a life-long process.

---

Department of Nursing Nursing School Location

Department of Nursing Courses

HEALTH ISSUES OF WOMEN
This course encompasses the needs and concerns of women as consumers in our present health care system. It examines various biological, psychological, and social topics related to women's health care, including medical abuses, sexuality, sex roles, and women's health in the workplace. This course is an enrichment to liberal education, encouraging inquiry into previously neglected areas of women and health. It is offered in the Women's Studies Program and is open to all University students, regardless of major, as an elective.

TRANSCULTURAL HEALTH: PRINCIPLES AND PRACTICES
This course examines the health beliefs and practices of a variety of subcultural groups in the U.S. Emphasis is placed on the application of multicultural health beliefs to the caring process. It utilizes the cross-cultural approach in meeting the health needs of clients and families. It is open to all University students, regardless of major, as an elective.

NURSING THEORIES AND CONCEPTS
Taken in the sophomore year. Nursing theories and concepts, conceptual frameworks, theories from other disciplines that may apply to nursing, and the nursing process are studied in this course.

NURSING THEORIES AND CONCEPTS LAB
This clinical experience includes interviewing skills, physical and psychosocial assessment, vital signs measurement, basic hygienic practices, body mechanics, and infection control.

HEALTHY AGING IN THE NEW MILLENNIUM
The student will have the opportunity to form a relationship with a healthy, elderly individual. Students will utilize communication skills through interaction on a one-to-one basis with senior citizens in a private home setting. Students will become acquainted with the problems of day-to-day living and the crises that face this population along with the adaptive strengths and resources that are an essential part of the healthy older person's personality.

LOSS AND GRIEVING: WHAT TO SAY, WHAT TO DO
Loss, grief, and/or depression are universal experiences. Concrete measures to help oneself and peers better cope with these experiences are presented. Barriers that make providing comfort and support to others difficult or uncomfortable are identified and discussed. Effective measures for talking with and helping those who are grieving, depressed, or suicidal are presented, and each student is assisted to develop his or her own style in comfortably using selected approaches. Classes will be participatory with minimal lecture.

CONCEPTS IN CARING
The emphasis of this course is that caring is a universal concept that can be viewed from many disciplines. Nurses, professionals in the caring business, serve as the guides in a creative journey connecting human caring and the various disciplines.

COMPUTERS AND THE HEALTH CARE DELIVERY SYSTEM
This elective course will be of practical importance to any student who is interested in the impact of computers on the health care delivery system. The course is divided into three areas: 1) an overview of the computer; 2) application of the computer to the health care delivery system, including the role of the health care professional and the consumer; and, 3) issues pertaining to the computer and the health care delivery system. Use of the computer with a variety of applications and CAI software is integrated throughout the course.

SKILLS FOR PROFESSIONAL SUCCESS
This one-credit elective for level III and IV nursing majors is designed to help students foster clinical judgment skills by focusing on study skills, critical thinking, and test-taking. Emphasis is placed on preparing students with skills that are essential for success on the National Council Licensure Examination for Registered Nurses (NCLEX-RN).

ISSUES IN TRANSCULTURAL HEALTH CARE DELIVERY
This is a systems approach to health care delivery. Surveys health needs of diverse U.S. populations using a multidisciplinary approach. Introduces the origin and evolution of sociocultural health beliefs as they impact health behaviors and outcomes of culturally and ethnically diverse individuals and populations. All concepts will be approached from business/economics, health, and political science perspectives. Promote collaboration among disciplines, to improve student communication skills to facilitate their ability to advocate for diverse populations, and to improve health care services for diverse populations.

ADAPTATION I
Must be taken during junior year, fall semester. The emphasis of this course is on the prevention of illness and promotion of health by assessment of the health status, appropriate intervention, and evaluation of the health promotion plan. The nursing process provides the framework for promotion of wellness in a variety of settings with clients of any age group.

ADAPTATION I LABORATORY
Clinical experiences are provided in agencies where relatively well populations have been identified, such as schools, nursery schools, well baby clinics, and health maintenance clinics. NSG 311 and NSL 311 always must be taken concurrently.

ADAPTATION II
Must be taken during junior year, spring semester. The emphasis of this course is on the maintenance of health and promotion of adaptive responses in clients with chronic health problems. The nursing process is used to assist these clients to adapt to stressors through supportive therapeutic, palliative, and preventive measures.

ADAPTATION II LABORATORY
Clinical experience is provided in settings where clients with chronic health problems have been identified. These settings include rehabilitation centers, child development centers, nursing homes, and acute care settings. These environments provide flexibility for students to implement changes for clients and acquire skills that will be utilized in other nursing courses.

INTERNSHIP
This course is designed to provide nursing students with the opportunity to enhance knowledge and skills acquired in Adaptation I and Adaptation II. Students will have the opportunity to participate in the care of a group of clients over a consecutive span of days and to increase their awareness of the professional role.

COPING WITH CANCER
The emphasis of this course is on coping with clients who have cancer. Various physiological and psychosocial effects this disease has on clients and their families will be examined. The course will allow students to explore their own feelings related to cancer and assist them in their contacts with cancer clients. Topics that will be discussed include dealing with loss, pain, pain management, hospice care, and communication with the cancer client. This course is open to all students.

WOMEN, SEX, AND SEXUALITY
This course examines ideas and information about women, sex, and sexuality from biological, psychological, political, and social perspectives. Areas of focus include the importance of sex and sexuality as to who women are and how they live; the effect on women of the social construction of women's sexuality; and how increased understanding will change and improve the way women see themselves and are served by social institutions.

SELECTED TOPICS IN NURSING
An in-depth study of selected, current topics relevant to nursing and health care. This course will emphasize the critical analysis of current topics on health care. Each student will develop a commitment to reading and critiquing nursing literature in professional journals as part of the teaching-learning process.

CARE OF THE INNER SELF
This course focuses on care of the inner self or spirit. The purpose of the course is to prepare one to understand the inner self and to know how to use the power within the self to maintain wellness and prevent illness.

NURSING IMPLICATIONS OF DRUG INTERACTIONS
The student will be introduced to essential pharmacological principles and concepts. The nursing process will provide the framework for the application of the theory in a variety of health care settings.

ISSUES IN NURSING SCIENCE
This course will explore a variety of approaches to nursing science including grand- and middle-range theories and their application to nursing practice. Current issues that affect nursing practice will be addressed.

INDEPENDENT STUDY IN NURSING
The student produces an independent, research-oriented project under close faculty advisement on a nursing topic of special interest to the student. Participation in a selected field experience is optional.

Other nursing schools in Pennsylvania

Mansfield University (Robert Packer Department of Health Sciences) Mansfield University’s Robert Packer Department of Health Sciences and Physical Activities offers a nursing program, accredited by The National League... Address: 212C Elliott Hall

Neumann College (Division of Nursing and Health Sciences) Franciscan values and tradition infuse the strong liberal arts and professional education which is basic in developing the professional nurse within c... Address: One Neumann Drive

Neumann College (Division of Nursing and Health Sciences) Franciscan values and tradition infuse the strong liberal arts and professional education which is basic in developing the professional nurse within c... Address: One Neumann Drive

Back to: » Nursing schools in Pennsylvania » Nursing schools in West Chester

More information: » Marinas » Boats for sale