Mission and Philosophy

The nursing program at Green River Community College consists of three separate yet complementary parts. The three components of the program are the theoretical content, the campus laboratory, and community lab sites. The theory portion of the program is taught in the classroom utilizing a variety of teaching methods to facilitate the transmission of nursing knowledge from the medical, surgical, obstetrical, pediatric, and psychiatric arenas to the beginning nursing student. Teaching occurs from simple to complex as each course builds from a foundation to a holistic product. The campus laboratory simulates healthcare settings that will enhance nursing skills utilized to deliver care to clients in actual healthcare facilities. The community laboratory consists of those healthcare facilities where the student combines the knowledge learned in the theory courses and the campus laboratory and applies them in delivering care to patients. These three components are taught each quarter and each must be successfully completed in order to move to the next quarter.

The Program of Nursing is an integral part of the Green River Community College and agrees with the Green River mission statement, goals, and philosophy.

MISSION: The mission of the Green River Community College Nursing Program is to provide quality education to prepare students as safe, competent practitioners within our diverse healthcare community. Graduates of Green River Community College Nursing Program will be qualified candidates for the successful completion of the NCLEX and prepared for advancement in continuing healthcare education.

PHILOSOPHY:

Program Philosophy: The nursing faculty values all members of the collaborative healthcare delivery team. The faculty believes in preparing all students to be safe, quality, and competent practitioners within each level of nursing practice and within their scope of practice.

Philosophy of Education: The philosophy of the nursing faculty is to value the individuality of each student. The faculty believes in the adult learning principles. The faculty believes that learning occurs more effectively when the student is actively engaged in his/her learning. The faculty promotes critical thinking regarding related concepts throughout the nursing process and the evaluation is based on the satisfactory performance of the individual course criteria.

Philosophy of The Nursing Program: The Nursing Program’s philosophy is grounded in four paradigm concepts. It is from these four paradigm concepts that the conceptual framework and the curriculum are developed. The content included in the conceptual framework is representative of the mission, values, beliefs, and practices of the program. The four major nursing paradigm concepts include the individual, health, nursing, and the environment.

1. Individual: Each individual is viewed as a human being whose health and wellness is affected by cultural and social dimensions. Individuals include the patient or community member, families, groups, communities, the student nurse, faculty member, or an entire culture. The faculty and students focus upon the seven cultural and social structure dimensions as identified by Leininger’s Transcultural Nursing Care Theory which includes: (1) cultural values, beliefs, and life ways, (2) kinship and social factors, (3) religious and philosophical factors, (4) economic factors, (5) political and legal factors, (6) educational factors, and (7) technological factors. Erickson’s Eight Stages of Development and Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs are also included in student coursework.
2. Health: The nursing program curriculum is all inclusive of the cultural, psychosocial and physical health of individuals throughout the lifespan. Health can be ever changing on the wellness/illness continuum. It is not merely the absence of disease but rather a state of wellbeing that is culturally defined by the individual. Each individual has an inherent right for dignity and autonomy in making informed decisions regarding their pursuit of health care.
3. Nursing: Nursing is both a humanistic and a scientific profession which includes specific actions that assist the individual to attain or maintain an optimum healthy state. Nursing provides culturally congruent care which promotes health, healing, and well-being. Nursing care is guided by Leininger’s three care modalities of judgment guidance, which are:
1. Cultural care preservation (or maintenance);
2. Cultural care accommodation (or negotiation); and
3. Cultural care repatterning (or restructuring).
4. Environment: The environment is all of the physical, ecological, sociopolitical, and cultural things that surround and impact an individual. The environment is conceptualized by those factors that affect a person’s sense of wellbeing and are present both internally and externally. It is the aggregate of social, cultural, and climatic conditions that influence life. Culturally competent care is provided in an environment that is beneficial, safe, and therapeutic to individuals.