Program Philosophy
Bellevue College’s Associate Degree in Nursing philosophy represents innovation and excellence in nursing education. This program embraces identity role formation from a student nurse to a registered professional nurse who is:
- Prepared to enter and advance in the discipline of nursing
- Prepared to continue their education to the Bachelor of Science in Nursing and graduate programs
- Prepared to meet the needs of the community and profession.
The nursing program functions within the framework of the mission and goals of Bellevue College. As part of the larger community, the nursing program builds upon the college’s mission by preparing students for life-long learning by offering a high-quality, flexible, and accessible education. Our programs are responsive to the changing needs of the community, and is representative of the diverse demographics of the college. The nursing program provides full and equal access to opportunities for educational advancement.
Bellevue College’s Philosophy of Nursing represents innovation and excellence in nursing education. The program embraces the identity role formation of a student nurse to a professional nurse who is prepared to enter and advance in the field of nursing and continue to a BSN program in order to meet the needs of the community and the discipline.
Graduate ADN nurses provide safe and patient centered care. Education focuses on assessment, planning and evaluation of outcomes in the context of the following: caring theory; professional/ethical standards; teamwork; quality improvement; evidence based practice and informatics.
Graduates engage scholarly inquiry to construct questions and apply clinical reasoning to promote human flourishing at individual and community level.
Global awareness, diversity and opportunities for nursing experiences abroad help build an inclusive community. Student success is facilitated by meeting the diverse learning style needs of traditional students, non-traditional students, and at risk students.
Teaching methodologies are based upon cognitive (thinking), affective (feeling), and psychomotor (doing) domains of learning. Adult learning theories, constructivism, and cognitive development provide a foundation to construct a collaborative environment where the student is an active participant in the learning process. Simulation provides experimental hands on learning. Technology and informatics are utilized to facilitate learning that is innovative, accessible and relevant to today’s changing healthcare demands.
The philosophy is based upon the concepts of:
- Academic Progression in Nursing (APIN)
- Institute of Medicine Report
- Swanson Caring Theory
- Nursing Code of Ethics
- National League Nursing (NLN) Core Competencies
- Best Practices & Teaching Methodologies NLN Certified Nurse Education
- Bellevue College Mission/Values; Global Initiatives Programs
- Quality Safety Education Nursing (QSEN)
Conceptual Framework
The conceptual framework reflects the philosophy and mission of the Bellevue College Nursing programs. We believe that through caring, nurses maximize the health, wellness and quality of life of our clients and community. Through professional values, role development, scholarly inquiry, leadership, communication skills, health information technology and community and public health, graduates become managers of care, providers of care and active members of the profession.
Person
Each person is a complex, unique, biopsychosocial, and cognitive individual with unlimited potential for growth and development. Human beings live as biological individuals with strong interactive psychological, social, and spiritual bonds to those around them; they can survive by themselves but thrive within families, groups, and communities.
Consistent with humanistic learning theory, the nursing faculty assume that all human beings have an innate desire to survive and grow in a positive way. Such growth drives life-long learning, with both personal and professional components. This conceptual definition promotes mutual respect regarding human differences and prepares students to design holistic and collaborative care, which meets clients’ specific needs throughout the life span.
Health and Wellness
This concept represents a multidimensional and holistic state that changes in response to the environment. One’s perception of health is subjective, dynamic, and influenced by socio-cultural beliefs and practices. This conceptual perspective guides students in offering high quality, competent, ethical and culturally competent care within their scope of practice. Students are encouraged to recognize, in collaboration with others, the many variations of perceived health in order to promote the maximum potential of individuals, families, and communities.
Nursing
The discipline of professional nursing directs clinicians to provide respectful, dignified, safe, high quality, and evidence-based care to a culturally diverse population. The profession of nursing values life-long learning within a context of increasingly complex health care delivery systems. Nurses who deliver care must consider the interaction of biological, psychological, spiritual, cultural, ethical, and socio-economic variables. Using this conceptual definition as a foundation, nursing faculty work with students to apply knowledge from the liberal arts, sciences, informatics, as well as the body of nursing knowledge and other health-related disciplines. The goal of all the nursing programs is to promote an interdisciplinary, collaborative, and meaningful educational experience.
Environment
One’s environment has both external and internal components. The external environment includes physical features, and the internal environment for individuals includes biological, mental, psychological, social, and spiritual dimensions. The interaction between these internal and external environments is dynamic and complex and consists not just of the perceived present, but of the remembered past and anticipated future as well. Families, communities, and populations, in addition to individuals, interact with and are affected by their environments. Students must assess the impact of these environments on individuals and groups as they plan, implement, and evaluate care.
Last Updated June 13, 2022
