About the School of Nursing

Providing Quality Education

The School of Nursing is an integral part of the College of Natural Sciences, and in accord with the primary goal of the University, provides a quality education.

Accreditation

The masters and baccalaureate degree programs in nursing at California State University, Chico are accredited by the Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education(opens in new window).

Organizing Framework

Diagram

A visual depiction of the vision, mission, values, strategies, program structural elements, curricular foundations, and student learning outcomes for the undergraduate and graduate nursing programs at CSU, Chico can be seen below.

These elements provide the foundation for the development of the curriculum and are consistent with the mission and goals of the College of Natural Sciences and the university.

Vision

Empower and transform graduates to meet global health care challenges in the 21st century.

Mission

To prepare professional nurses who are leaders, excellent clinician and lifelong scholars.

Values

• Integrity
• Accountability
• Caring
• Respect
• Stewardship
• Equity
• Diversity
• Inclusion
• Innovation
• Sustainability

Strategies

• Creative teaching methods
• Student centered learning
• Community engagement
• Integration of clinical and theoretical learning
• Interdisciplinary collaboration

Program Structural Elements

• Clearly defined student selection criteria
• Maintain a well-qualified faculty
• A positive supportive culture
• Active solicitation of student input
• Continuous program assessment and improvement
• Acquire resources needed to achieve program vision and mission

BSN Student Learning Outcomes

• Integrate liberal education to inform baccalaureate generalist nursing practice.
• Demonstrate the knowledge and skills in leadership, quality improvement, and patient safety necessary to provide quality healthcare.
• Demonstrate professional practice grounded in current evidence and best practices.
• Illustrate cultural awareness when caring for diverse patient populations.
• Use knowledge and skills in information management and technology to the delivery of quality patient care.
• Describe how financial and regulatory healthcare policies influence the nature and functioning of the healthcare system.
• Demonstrate communication and collaboration among healthcare professionals to achieve quality and safe patient care.
• Utilize clinical prevention at the individual and population level to improve health.
• Demonstrate professional behavior as fundamental to the discipline or nursing.
• Provide nursing care to patients, families, groups, communities, and populations across the lifespan.
• Demonstrate the appropriate individualized application and use of the nursing process in all baccalaureate generalist nurse roles.

MSN Student Learning Outcomes

• Integrate theory and research from the Sciences and Humanities in the delivery of evidence-based nursing practice.
• Utilize leadership skills to influence the quality of health care at the organizational and/or systems level.
• Demonstrate the knowledge, skills and attitudes necessary to improve the quality and safety of the environments graduates practice.
• Translate and apply evidence-based research in nursing practice.
• Integrates current informatics and health care technologies in nursing practice.
• Use health policy, political skills and advocacy to influence positive change in health care delivery.
• Demonstrates inter-professional collaboration for improving patient and population health outcomes.
• Identifies clinical prevention strategies to improve health of selected populations.
• Demonstrates Master’s level knowledge, skills, and attitudes needed to lead nursing education, leadership, and practice.

Four Major Concepts of the Metaparadigm

The organizing framework of the School of Nursing is composed of four major concepts of the metaparadigm of the profession of nursing. These are person, health, environment, and nursing. The curriculum is designed to reflect the relationships among and between the elements.

1. Person

Person includes individuals, families, and communities. Person implies a genetic endowment that sets the stage for subsequent growth, development, and health potential, and is strongly influenced by the environment and provides the baseline or foundation for health. Communication among and between persons, which influences development, health choices, decisions and meanings, is central to human connectedness. Person also includes development, which is a process that continues throughout the lifespan and encompasses the physical, emotional, spiritual, social, and cultural.

2. Environment

Environment provides the context in which person and health connect. Environment includes: physical, political, economic, social, and cultural realities that must be considered in planning the delivery of comprehensive health care for individuals, families, and communities.

3. Nursing

Nursing is composed of knowledge and caring processes that foster the health of persons in their environment. This knowledge base is derived from nursing theory and research, as well as the basic and applied sciences and humanities. The nurse applies knowledge through caring and the processes of nursing therapeutics, critical thinking, decision making, teaching, advocacy, leadership/management, and research. Nurses practice in accordance with evolving legal, ethical, and professional standards.

4. Health

Health is persons' actualization of inherent and acquired human potential and is influenced by life experiences, environment, resources, and stressors. Health includes a sense of well-being, satisfying relationships and behavioral adjustments necessary to maintain structural integrity. Future health is determined by current decisions and behaviors as well as the impact of the environment.