Statement of Mission
The mission of Kaua‘i Community College Career Ladder Nursing Program is to provide access for the people of Kaua‘i to quality nursing education within a caring environment. Our goal is to prepare nurses who can successfully practice in a 21st Century health care environment and are prepared to progress upward through the career ladder.
Statement of Philosophy
The philosophy of the Nursing Department of Kaua‘i Community College is consistent with the philosophy of the College and shares in the responsibility of the education and development of individuals as contributing and responsible members of society.
Kaua‘i is located in the Hawaiian chain in the Pacific Basin. It is a multicultural society with diverse health-care values, practices, and needs. These variations influence the practice of nursing in that they require the practitioner to have an awareness and understanding of, first one’s own health value system and second, an appreciation of cultural diversity regarding health-care values. We believe in providing educational access to people from all ethnic backgrounds as well as pre-entry preparation for those with special educational needs.
A. People
We believe that, people are by nature holistic--including body, mind, and spirit, living within an ethnic cultural context--and that they move through predictable developmental stages throughout life. What effects any aspect of one's being affects the whole. The human being is a dynamic organism with capabilities for responding positively to a changing environment. People are members of social groups having needs for interaction, which influence their state of health. Social groups can range from familial to global.
We believe in the dignity of humanity--that people have an intrinsic value and as such are worthy of respect. They have a basic right to be given information, which allows them to make informed decisions about their health care. We believe that people have an innate ability and need for self-care.
B. Nursing
We believe that nursing is a caring profession with the ultimate goal of providing safe, competent, contemporary health care and promoting self-care during states of health and health deviation. Nursing is committed to improving the quality of life and supporting optimal wellness. Nursing incorporates principles from the sciences and humanities to be used as a basis for providing evidenced-based care with the promotion of self-care and adaptation within a dynamic environment.
C. Health - Illness
Health is a state of being able to function optimally within a social and cultural context. Illness is a state of health deviation which is identified as a change within the biological, psychological, sociological, cultural, and/or spiritual aspects of a person resulting in a less than optimal level of functioning.
D. Nursing Practice
The practice of nursing is based on the nursing process, which includes assessment analysis/nursing diagnosis, planning, intervention, and evaluation. The nursing process is administered through three interrelated roles of practice: provider of care, manager of care, and member within the discipline of nursing. There are specific competencies within the practice of nursing that should be addressed at the Associate Degree level that are included in the following roles. These include assessment, critical thinking, caring interventions, managing care, communication, teaching-lerning, collaboration, and professional behaviors.
Manager of care: Assesses and establishes priority of care for a group of clients, delegates appropriate aspects of nursing care to licensed and unlicensed personnel and directs their activities. The manager of care collaborates with other members of the health care team, including organizational and community resources, using effective oral and written communication skills. The manager of care recognizes roles and responsibilities within the levels of the career ladder.
Member within the discipline of nursing: Demonstrates accountability,advocacy, legal and ethical behavior, and responsibility for one’s own professional growth, behavior, and formal/informal education The nurse participates in self-evaluation and makes changes to improve nursing.
We believe that education is a dynamic teaching/learning process in which the individual’s cognitive, psychomotor and affective behaviors are modified. Optimum learning takes place in a nonthreatening, supportive environment where feedback is given. Learning involves active participation of the student and facilitation by the instructor. The content is sequenced from simple to complex with emphasis placed on developing critical decision-making.
F. Nursing Education
We believe that nursing education is a process of life-long learning and should insure students access to educational and career mobility. Each level of nursing education and practice has value and builds on previously learned principles and skills. We believe that the best method to implement these concepts is through an academic career ladder, which prepares a student at a first level of practice as an LPN, and at a second level as an associate degree RN. Concepts from the sciences and the humanities are presented throughout the career ladder curriculum to provide rationale for basic nursing practice. The second level builds upon the basic core presented at the first level and provides ease of entry into baccalaureate or graduate nursing curricula. This structure should provide for lateral and upward mobility within a system of community college and university schools of nursing.
We also believe that nursing career awareness and educational opportunities must begin through partnerships with the community. These partnerships should reach into the intermediate and high schools-with the purpose of arousing students' interest in nursing as a career opportunity and academic preparation to enter nursing. Educational partnerships should also extend into the community of licensed nurses to provide opportunities for upgrading clinical skills and knowledge.
G. Practice of Graduates
The graduate of the first level will assume a beginning practical nurse position, in various health care settings under the supervision of a physician or a registered nurse. The graduate will be able to perform safe direct nursing care consistent with the National League for Nursing "Entry-Level Competencies of Graduates of Educational Programs in Practical Nursing".
The graduate of the second level will assume beginning staff nurse positions
in acute and long-term care settings carrying out treatment modalities
and nursing protocols that have predictable outcomes. The graduate will
be able to perform safe direct nursing care consistent with the 2000 National
League for Nursing "Educational Competencies for Graduates of Associate
Degree Nursing Programs". The graduate will function as provider of care,
manager of care, and member within the discipline of nursing and be able
to assess, plan, implement, and evaluate care of patients with commonly
recurring health problems.
Program Objectives
Following the completion of the program of learning the student will be able to:
I. Provide safe, evidenced-based,caring interventions to clients/families during states of health and health deviation to promote self-care.
II. Collect and interpret a comprehensive, holistic database in order to individualize care of clients/families throughout the lifespan.
III. Utilize effective communication skills to interact with clients/families and other members of the health care team.
IV. Provide health education for clients/families with the goal of optimal self-care.
V. Demonstrate clinical reasoning and decision-making skills that reflect critical thinking and the current state of nursing science.
VI. Utilize organizational, community and technological resources to manage and delegate care of clients that is cost-effective and reflects continuity of care.
VII. Demonstrate committment to the practice of nursing through the professional behaviors reflected in the ANA Code of Ethics.
VIII. Collaborate with members of the health care team, including client and family, with recognition of roles and responsibilities within the levels of an academic career ladder.
Program Outcomes
The overall program outcomes include graduating a multi-cultural student group that has demonstrated accomplishment of the stated program objectives, is capable of completing the NCLEX-RN with a passing score, and is able to assume employment as an RN in areas of nursing found in our community.
Specific program outcomes are:
1. The graduating class will reflect the multicultural mix of Kaua‘i.
Organizing Framework
The nursing faculty of Kaua‘i Community College has designed the nursing curriculum based on an eclectic organizing framework, which is built on the following beliefs:
The outermost circle represents nursing education, with content being presented from simple to complex and opportunities for nurses to move from LPN to ADN to BSN to MSN through the career ladder program. This circle is shown with dotted lines to represent nursing education as an open system interacting with the overall health care system, the community, and the environment. The large inner circles represent the process and roles of nursing. The nursing process is administered through the three interrelated roles of provide of care, manager of care and member within the discipline of nursing. The inner overlapping circle represents the focus of nursing, assisting people in their need to care for self. These aspects are the holistic nature of people, the ability of people to adapt toward homeostasis and the developmental stages that people experience. The shaded areas represent a state of health when there is a balance between the various aspects of the individual allowing self-care. When people are unable to care for self, a self-care deficit exists. Nursing interventions are appropriate during both states of health and health deviation.
These concepts provide direction for the curriculum. Program objectives are identified based on the above concepts and serve as a foundation for each course.