About the Nursing Department

Mission Statement

The Hope College Nursing Department will provide a baccalaureate nursing program of excellence within the context of the Christian faith that is recognized for its innovation in the preparation of professional nurses. Faculty will provide a collaborative teaching-learning environment to promote critical thinking, scholarship and professional development. Students will engage in the scholarly art and science of nursing and provide comprehensive, compassionate and culturally sensitive care for individuals, families, groups, and communities.

Philosophy

The Hope College Department of Nursing faculty believe that nursing is a scholarly, altruistic profession that focuses on the practice of Christ-like care to promote the optimal health of persons. God creates all people in His image. Individuals, families, groups and communities are unique, deserving of respect, and possess inherent worth, dignity, and autonomy. The individual is a dynamic integration of physical, psychological, social, spiritual and cultural dimensions and is in interaction with other people and society. All persons have a right to optimal health and to live and die with dignity. Nursing, through a variety of roles, has the unique opportunity to facilitate this process. Persons, throughout their lifespan, interact with the environment and strive to maintain health by adapting to environmental stressors.

Environment is dynamic and comprised of multiple internal and external factors surrounding and affecting the development, behavior, and well being of the individual, family, group and community. The internal environment consists of all influences within the person, including physiological, psychological, social, spiritual and cultural factors. The external environment is made up of all influences outside of the person, including structural, aesthetic, ecological, technological, political, legal and economic variables. The person adapts to the environment, influences the environment, and is influenced by the environment. Nurses, in their various roles, collaborate with the person to enhance or modify the environment to promote, maintain or restore health.

Health is optimal physical, psychological, social, spiritual and cultural well-being and is defined by the person within their culture. It is a dynamic multi-dimensional state. The person has an inherent right to optimal health and is responsible for maintaining health in relation to the environment. The nurse, in a variety of roles, recognizes the person's definition of health and collaborates with the person for a dignified life through health promotion, disease prevention, illness care, health restoration, health maintenance, or a peaceful death.

Nursing is an art and a science that builds on knowledge from the natural sciences, social sciences and liberal arts. Nursing is a scholarly discipline that is a distinct body of knowledge developed by theory and research. It is an altruistic profession that focuses on the provision of evidenced-based care, utilizing a variety of roles, to maximize the optimal health of persons. The essence of nursing is the provision of compassionate, empathetic, value based care that is Christ-like in its expression, holistic, and congruent with the culture of the person. The vocation of Christian nursing is often undertaken in response to a divine calling to use one's God-given gifts. Faculty believe the professional nurse provides comprehensive, complex care from a community-based framework that facilitates the person's adaptation to the environment for optimal health. Nurses value social justice and act with professional integrity. Nurses utilize the nursing process in accordance with professional standards and guidelines of practice.

Nursing education is the engagement of the student and teacher as interactive partners in scholarly learning. Learning occurs in an environment of trust, mutual respect and recognition of the uniqueness of each learner. Faculty and student utilize a variety of teaching-learning strategies to facilitate the achievement of expected competencies and skills. Learners assume responsibility for their own learning by identifying their individual learning goals and evaluating their progress toward these goals. Learning is a life long process that occurs in the cognitive, psychomotor, and affective domains. Faculty facilitate student learning through mentorship, role modeling, integration of faith and learning, and continued professional growth through life long learning. A liberal arts education and research based baccalaureate-nursing education, within the context of the Christian faith, provides a solid foundation for the development of critical thinking, integration of knowledge and practice and preparation for graduate study.

Program Outcomes

Upon completion of the program, the Hope College Nursing Department graduate will:

• Provide value-based nursing care to promote the optimal health of persons, within the context of the Christian faith.
• Assume accountability for complex, comprehensive, holistic community-based nursing care for persons from culturally diverse populations.
• Practice evidence-based professional nursing care based on scholarly inquiry.
• Be prepared to engage in advanced education and activities of life long learning.

Expected Outcomes (Results)

• 100% of graduates who seek Registered Nurse positions will be employed within 1 year of graduation.
• 87% of graduates will pass state board examinations the first time they take the exam.
• 100% of graduates and graduate employers will express satisfaction with the knowledge and abilities of graduates.
• 90% of students who are admitted into the nursing program will graduate with a BSN degree.
• 100% of Hope College Nursing Department faculty will engage in excellent teaching, sustained professional development through scholarship, and service.