Navarro College Associate Degree Nursing Program Excerpt from ADN Student Handbook

Transcription

1 Navarro College Associate Degree Nursing Program Excerpt from ADN Student Handbook I. INTRODUCTION The following policies, guidelines, and statements are subject to on-going review and may change due to changes in the learning environment and/or due to college, legal, and/or accrediting agency mandates. Revisions and new policies will be communicated and made available as addendums to this handbook. Communication will include, but not be limited to, classroom announcements, memorandums, messages, and class handouts. Students will receive a current handbook at the beginning of each academic year. In addition, please refer to the Navarro College Catalogue and Navarro College Student Handbook for further information regarding college policies and standards as well as regulations related to student conduct. This handbook is not intended to replace official publications of the college. According to the Standards of Professional Nursing Practice, the registered nurse is to know and conform to the Texas Nursing Practice Act and Texas Board of Nursing (BON) Rules & Regulations as well as all other laws, rules, and standards. A student enrolled in a professional nursing program in preparation for licensure as a registered nurse, is responsible for knowing and following the policies of the nursing program and for learning state laws regulating nursing practice. Students purchase publications from the Texas Board of Nursing and are instructed regarding those laws and rules. Updated September 2010 Equal Opportunity It is the policy of Navarro College to provide equal opportunities without regard to race, color, religion, national origin, gender, age, disability, or veteran status. This policy extends to employment, admission, and all programs and activities supported by Navarro College. Equal opportunity shall be afforded within the Navarro College system to all employees and applicants for admission or employment regardless of race, color, gender, national origin, age, or disability. Navarro College will make reasonable accommodations for persons with disabilities.

2 WELCOME To All Incoming Associate Degree Nursing Students: Congratulations on your success in entering the Associate Degree Nursing Program at Navarro College. Nursing faculty and staff at Navarro College are committed to promoting the best possible educational experience for you. Please do not hesitate to talk to nursing program teaching staff, nursing faculty, and the department chair/program director. The ADN Student Handbook is provided as a resource tool. Other information and course requirements are provided at the beginning of each course. However, please become familiar with the contents of this handbook. If you have any questions, please feel free to ask for assistance in interpreting any of the policies. An overview of the contents of this handbook will be included as a part of your orientation to the program. Again, congratulations!! ***WE ARE COMMITTED TO YOUR SUCCESS*** The Associate Degree Nursing Program at Navarro College is accredited by the Texas Board of Nursing (BON), as well as, by the National League for Nursing Accrediting Commission (NLN-AC). Initial BON , last renewal fall, 2009, full accreditation. NLNAC initial accreditation 1996; last evaluation visit spring 2009; continued accreditation with next evaluation visit scheduled for Texas Board of Nursing (BON) P.O. Box 430 Austin, Texas Telephone: Initial Accreditation Renewed Full Accreditation with commendations Spring 2011 National League for Nursing Accreditation Commission (NLNAC) 3343 Peachtree Road NE, Suite 500 Atlanta, GA Initial Accreditation 1996 Renewed 2009 with Follow-Up Report 2011 Next evaluation visit scheduled in 2017.

3 II. ADN PROGRAM OVERVIEW GENERAL PROGRAM OVERVIEW The Associate Degree Nursing Program at Navarro College assists students to achieve educational and career goals to obtain employment as Registered Nurses. Students who complete the program receive an Associate Degree in Applied Science. Graduates are prepared to make an application for licensure as a Registered Nurse and to take the National Council Licensure Examination for Registered Nurses, known as the NCLEX-RN. Graduates must also meet legal requirements for licensure as mandated by the Texas Board of Nursing or the state in which initial licensure is sought. Upon completion of licensure requirements and successful completion of the NCLEX-RN, the graduate is eligible to practice as a Registered Nurse in a variety of health care settings. Brief History The Navarro College Associate Degree Nursing Program was initially a part of the El Centro Nursing Program of the Dallas County Community College District. The program was known as El Centro-Navarro College Cooperative Program. The first class of the cooperative program graduated in May The program became the Navarro College Associate Degree Nursing Program in fall 1982 and the first class graduated in May NLN-AC Accreditation History The program is accredited by the Texas Board of Nursing (BON) as well as nationally accredited by the National League for Nursing Accrediting Commission (NLNAC). National accreditation allows graduates to be more marketable when seeking employment at some agencies and also allows for easier admission to RN to BSN programs. Initial national accreditation by the NLNAC was sought and awarded in 1996; continuing accreditation was awarded in July 2001 and July 2009 with a desk review scheduled for fall 2011 for compliance with standards 2 and 6. Graduate Pass Rate History The program has a long history of having a high pass rate for first time NCLEX-RN candidates. Published data from the BON lists annual pass rates. Recent pass rate outcomes for Navarro College ADN graduates are provided below starting with the 1989 pass rate. History of Pass Rates 1989 to most recent % % % % % % % % % % % % % % % % % % % % % % %

4 ASSOCIATE DEGREE NURSING FACULTY & STAFF Fall 2012 ADN Program Director Betty Shumate, MS, RN Office Telephone FAX Health Professions Administrative Assistant Pending Office Telephone # FAX# Full-time Faculty (preferred phone contact is in each course syllabus) Rosemary Bell, RN, MS, ANP-C Lisa Lindsey, MSN, RN Alaine Long, MSN, RN Patricia M. Lucas, MS, RN Delores Price, MSN, CEN, CNE, CMS, RN Cathy Van Zandt, RN, MSN Sherry Wright, MS, MSN, RN, CNE Part-time Faculty Doris Jeanette Collins, MSN, RN Tonya Hill, MSN, RN Sigrid Jones, MSN, RN Johnes Monyoncho, BNS, RN Kathy Porter, MSN, RN Kathy Rozelle, MS, RN Dorothy Thompson, BSN, MSN, RN Christina Thomson, MSN, RN Lisa Updegrove, MSN, RN ADN Program Assistant Elizabeth Stroud, BSN, RN Office telephone # [email protected] [email protected] [email protected] Faculty telephones include voice mail, which accepts messages 24 hours a day. Faculty can access the voice mail from remote locations. Office telephone numbers and other instructor contact information is provided to students through the course syllabus. The Program Director can be reached during regular office hours at , , or Waxahachie Fax# Corsicana Fax#

5 ASSOCIATE DEGREE NURSING - MISSION STATEMENT The mission of the Navarro College Associate Degree Nursing Program is to prepare students (1) for employment in health care settings as safe, effective, competent registered nurses within the role of the Associate Degree Nurse and (2) for entering a higher level of nursing education. ASSOCIATE DEGREE NURSING - PHILOSOPHY The Department of Nursing functions within the framework of and subscribes to the purpose and mission statements of Navarro College. The philosophy of the Department of Nursing is congruent with the values reflected in the college purpose and mission. The following statements delineate our beliefs relative to nursing practice, practice of the associate degree graduate, nursing education, and the teaching-learning environment. Nursing Practice Nursing is a health profession, a service, a discipline, and a process which assists individuals to attain, to maintain, or to regain their optimum states of health or to support them toward a peaceful, dignified death. As a process, nursing involves critical thinking, clinical competence, accountability, and a commitment to caring. Nursing as a profession advocates an educational, ethical, and legal framework designed to promote quality care for the individual. In meeting the health needs of individuals and groups, the unique contribution of nursing is the creative synthesis of elements from related sciences and humanities with the evolving art and science of nursing. The means to transform this knowledge into a service is the nursing process. Intellectual, interpersonal, and technical skills are all necessary to perform the nursing process. Nursing practice is a supporting/assisting service and a discipline which utilizes cognitive, psychomotor, and affective skills from the bio-psychosocial and nursing sciences. Nursing practice uses a decision-making process / problem-solving process in assessing the individual s needs, diagnosing human responses to health problems, as well as planning, implementing and evaluating nursing measures. Practice of the Associate Degree Graduate The practice of a graduate from an associate degree nursing program is demonstrated in four basic roles: member of the profession, provider of patient-centered care, patient safety advocate, and member of the health care team. Member of the Profession In the role as a member within the profession of nursing, the Associate Degree graduate is prepared to value professional growth, learning as a life-long process, and selfdevelopment/self-care. Additionally, the Associate Degree graduate is prepared to function within the ethical and legal framework of nursing and to promote high standards of nursing practice. The Associate Degree graduate participates on institutional committees, attends appropriate continuing education offerings, and belongs to professional nursing organizations in order to contribute to the improvement of nursing and nursing practice. Provider of Patient-Centered Care In the role as provider of care, the Associate Degree graduate is prepared to provide direct care for individuals across the life span in a variety of health care settings where policies and procedures are specified and guidance is available. Settings include those that provide opportunity for health promotion, illness prevention, or a dignified death. Nursing Process: The Associate Degree graduate is prepared to utilize the nursing process as a basis for decision-making. The nurse establishes and analyzes a database, identifies health

6 problems/needs, selects nursing diagnoses, involves the client in setting individual or familycentered goals, plans and implements care utilizing evidenced-based practice to achieve the goals, and evaluates outcomes. Patient Safety Advocate In the role as patient safety advocate, the Associate Degree graduate promotes safety in the patient and family environment by: following scope and standards of nursing practice; practicing within the parameters of individual knowledge, skills, and abilities; identifying and reporting actual and potential unsafe practices; and implementing measures to prevent harm. The Associate Degree Nurse provides safe administration of medications and treatments. Member of the Health Care Team In the role as member of a health care team, the Associate Degree graduate provides patientcentered care by collaborating, coordinating, and/or facilitating comprehensive care with an interdisciplinary health care team to determine and implement best practices for the patient and their family. The Associate Degree graduate is prepared to provide and coordinate care for a group of individuals who have health care problems/needs with attention to quality of care and cost effective use of resources. In organizing nursing care, the Associate Degree graduate may delegate nursing tasks to licensed and unlicensed personnel based on their educational backgrounds and experience. The Associate Degree graduate is responsible and accountable for tasks delegated to others. Nursing Education Education is a developmental process incorporating experiences whereby an individual assimilates knowledge, develops potential, and establishes a value system. In nursing education, the responsibility of the faculty is to utilize knowledge about the student and the teaching/learning process to enhance the nursing educational environment, instilling commitment to life-long learning and promoting the value of evidence-based practice. Nursing education is a process through which the student may acquire behaviors essential for competence and accountability in professional nursing practice. The process occurs in a variety of settings and may be influenced by physical, psychological, political, economic, cultural, and social factors. Teaching-Learning Environment Faculty and students share the roles of teacher and learner, in that often the teacher learns, and often the learner teaches. Learning is enhanced in an environment in which the student is provided guidance and given opportunities for self-direction. The student has responsibility for his/her own learning. Teaching incorporates caring, student engagement, and facilitation of the learning process. Learning is facilitated when the learner exhibits readiness and motivation, participates in the decisions which influence learning, and has sufficient opportunity for meaningful practice. Faculty are responsible for managing the learning environment and facilitating achievement of the ADN mission. Accepted December Revised January 1995, July 1995, July 1996, July 1997, July 1998, February 1999, March 2000, May 2004, December 2004, May 2005, May 2007, May 2008, March 2011

7 OVERVIEW OF CURRICULUM AND ORGANIZING STRUCTURE Curriculum Concepts and Threads The nursing curriculum is designed to assist the student in meeting program outcomes and educational objectives. The curriculum flows from normal to abnormal and from basic to more advanced. Four essential curriculum concepts represent the roles of the ADN graduate nurse. Curriculum Concepts: 1. Member of the Profession 2. Provider of Patient-Centered Care 3. Patient Safety Advocate 4. Member of the Health Care Team These components are the focus of the ADN philosophy, are introduced in the first nursing course, and serve as the vehicle for presenting theory in all subsequent nursing courses in the program. The Curriculum Concepts are woven together with seven curriculum threads. (Definitions based on Critical Thinking in Potter & Perry (2001) Fundamentals of Nursing. St. Louis: Mosby, and Standards of Professional Nursing Practice TX BON NPA/Rules & Regulations.) Curriculum Threads: 1. Critical Thinking and Nursing Process (The nurse utilizes critical thinking when implementing the nurse process.) Critical Thinking - An active, organized, goal-directed, purposeful cognitive process in which situations (problems) are viewed as having more than one single solution. Critical thinking is questioning what you know and how you know it. The nurse utilizes critical thinking to determine what to do in a situation in accordance with established safety standards. Nursing Process - A systematic approach to nursing care used to provide individualized goal-directed care by performing nursing assessments for data collection, analyzing data to formulate nursing diagnoses, developing a plan of care, implementing the plan, and evaluating the individual s response to nursing interventions and evaluating the overall plan of care. 2. Differentiated Essential Competencies (DEC) for Associate Degree Nursing Role - Competence is the effective demonstration of the knowledge, judgment, skills, and professional standards and values needed to provide effective, safe nursing care in the role of the ADN Graduate.*(Appendix C) 3. Patient Safety Advocate - Nursing intervention which involves providing patient safety including medication administration utilizing the basic five rights of medication administration as well as incorporating client teaching and nursing implications. Providing, organizing, and/or coordinating care in a manner that does not jeopardize the client s well-being. 4. Support of Client & Family Individuality, Participation in Own Health Care, & Achievement of Optimal Level of Wellness - Being an advocate by assisting the client and his or her family to provide input into the plan of care in order to attain, maintain, or regain an optimum level of

8 health or to support a dignified death. Also by assisting the client and his or her family in attaining health goals, illness prevention, and health-promoting behaviors. 5. Therapeutic Communication - Nursing intervention which involves specific responses, verbal and non-verbal, by the nurse to convey respect, acceptance, caring, empathy, and encourage the client or family member to express his or her feelings and ideas. 6. Teaching-Learning - Nursing intervention which involves teaching as an interactive process that promotes learning. For the nurse, teaching refers to a planned set of actions that help individuals gain new knowledge and change attitudes and behaviors. Learning refers to the attainment of knowledge which is exhibited by changes in attitude and behavior. The three basic domains of learning are cognitive, psychomotor, and affective. 7. Role of the Associate Degree Nurse - Although multifaceted and complex, the role of the associate degree nurse is demonstrated in four roles: (1) member of the profession (2) provider of patient-centered care, (3) patient safety advocate, and 4) member of the health care team. Differentiated Essential Competencies of Graduates of Texas Nursing Programs are defined by the Texas Board of Nursing for each of the four roles of the ADN Nurse and are integrated into the theory and clinical courses.